As PODI show continues, I am amazed at how the forum always offers new and exciting ways for participants to stay relevant. AccuData exhibited at Print ’09 and I came away from the event struck by not only the incredible printing technologies available to marketers today but the additional value-added services offered as well.

One of the best exhibits last year was Kodak’s. It was large and very high-tech but on a more practical level, it was jam-packed with great information for printers interested in becoming “MSP”s – Marketing Service Providers. This year, I can only imagine that many more attendees will be offering – or looking for just those kinds of services.

Why? Because it’s just smart business. At the end of the day, printers touch a huge portion of the direct mail and other direct marketing materials produced every year – direct mail alone is still a huge $51 billion business. But thanks to shrinking margins, dwindling budgets and attacks by competitors, the printing business is more competitive than ever before.

To remain competitive, many printers have become, or will become MSPs. What this means is that they are layering value-added marketing services (advice, creative, PURLs and email, data, analytics and database systems) on top of their traditional “ink & paper” business – allowing them to assume the role of seamless partner as opposed to disposable vendor.

Today, a successful MSP can help their clients more accurately target and develop better direct marketing materials and increase ROI.  The risk of NOT doing this is the possibility of losing key accounts to more sophisticated players. I’ve seen this happen and it’s ugly.

If you aren’t at PODI, give AccuData a call. We’re here to help as we have done for hundreds of other printers across the country.

Wow, 2010! The New Year has always been my favorite time of year for business –it’s a time of renewal and excitement for the future.  We all get a fresh start on January 1^st.

Or do we?

The boom is over – and boom-time companies, executives and marketers are done if they don’t have what it takes to survive in the new economy.

Most economists believe the country is out (or nearly out) of recession and that we’ll see some growth this year.  But recovery isn’t the only story we’re likely to hear about in 2010.  If you are a student of business history you know there is something very interesting going on – something that has already reshaped industries across all sectors and will continue to do so all year long.

Frankly, for some companies it wasn’t hard to make money during the boom.  While some companies and executives certainly did better than others, success was evident in abundance.  New ideas were easily embraced by investors and consumers.  The bar for marketers was low – everything worked and delivered sky high ROI!

Not anymore.  Now it’s time for the real stars to emerge.

Companies without a clear competitive advantage and sound management won’t make it.  Marketers can’t just throw money at the problem; products and services must have compelling value, quality marketing and delivery to succeed.

If you don’t believe me think Pontiac or Circuit City and countless other mid-sized and small businesses whose storefronts were shuttered all over America.  I’ll wager that many of the superstar CMO’s from the past decade won’t make it in the next.  Now it’s about strategy, planning, sharp pricing, distribution, etc. and these things are hard.

Now is the time to get smart – while you still can.

There are a host of great service companies, including AccuData that can help.  Now is the time to reach out, challenge your thinking and see if you can find better services at better prices.  If you don’t use services, you should seriously consider it.  Service companies can spot trends across industry sectors well in advance – they deal with hundreds, even thousands, of companies.  It’s sometimes easier to spot opportunities from this vantage point.

I promise that your competition (and your colleague down the hall) is thinking hard about this.  They are making a move.  You don’t want to be standing still when they run past you.