By Milt Vine
I always look forward to the mail, curious to see what interesting sort of printed material comes my way. But these days it seems that much of what I receive consists of catalogs, usually more than ten a week, many of them advertising computers, but others offering clothing, furniture, garden tools, books, etc. The catalog printing portion of our industry must be a healthy one, I think.
But as I continue to flip through these catalogs, I start to wonder. It looks as if each company also offers a website (the URL in bold on every page), and we're assured that these websites offer secure ordering that is simpler and easier.
Remember how we used to mail in order forms? No one I know does that anymore. Everyone simply calls in his or her order because it's faster. Now it seems that companies are offering ordering via the web as the next logical step. No more phone calls, listening to Muzak while we wait. No more operators, who inadvertently mess up our address, size or item number. No more catalogs clogging my mailbox. And if I shop via the web, I even get free gifts. (A computer pool game, anyone?)
So, could this shift in habits really happen? Well, in a recent insert to Stores magazine prepared by Ernst & Young (my former employer of 14 years), my former boss, vice chairman Stephanie M. Shern, says, 'The Internet has arrived as a shopping channel.' And, from what I learned reading 'Internet Shopping: An Ernst & Young Special Report,' I believe her. It 's time, then, that we consider the place of printers and postpress houses in the midst of the many changes e-commerce could bring.
Retailers Online. According to Ernst & Young, leading companies such as Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney and Sears have all begun selling online. In fact, I just bought garden seeds online from a national seed company. Even Macy's offers basic merchandise on the web. Perhaps more importantly for printers, traditionally catalog-driven businesses such as Eddie Bauer, Lands' End, J. Crew, and every computer company with a catalog I can find are also blazing the trail. In addition, the Web has spurred the growth of pure Internet retailers such as Amazon.com, Toys.com and CDnow.com, where I have listened online to CD cuts. These companies have skipped the printing process altogether.
Of course the majority of retailers are still taking a wait-and-see attitude because of cost, "the nascent state of Internet technology" and security. But, according to the study, Ernst & Young believes these concerns will abate over time. Companies are working to solve security issues, Internet sales are increasing and Web technology is rapidly improving. As proof, the report offers statistics showing that in addition to the twelve percent of survey respondents who currently sell via the Internet, an additional twenty-two percent plan to do so by 1999.
Marketing Changes. It's important to realize, too, that marketers, those folks who make up a sizable percentage of print buyers, are already adapting to these changes. And they're wise to do so.
A series of recent articles in Business Week suggests that e-commerce could create the most efficient market of all time because it shares characteristics of traditional mass communication channels and interpersonal communication. Unlike television or radio or newspaper, the Internet adapts to one's particular needs and doe s so instantly. And it does the same for millions simultaneously. On the Internet, information is pulled by the individual instead of pushed to the masses.
Therefore, marketing and public relations specialists are turning more of their sales efforts to the digital realm in the form of Internet websites, digital annual reports, CD catalogs, etc.
So, we need to recognize that no worthwhile marketer is going to ignore the findings of a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey that informs them of the following: twenty percent of 377 CEOs from the world's largest companies believe that e-commerce will completely reshape business methods. And fifty-nine percent believe it will lead to significant changes.
Printer Reactions. It occurs to me that much of whats being signaled in these reports, articles and surveys is that the printing industry is at the start of a fundamental shift in the way it conducts business. We can no longer remain content to be specialists of the printed word, even if we prove excellent at the job, because the job is changing.
Instead, we need to become managers of information, both printed and digital. If fewer catalogs, reports and certain types of marketing materials are being printed in the future, what jobs will we perform instead to stay efficient? We need to start answering that question right now.
After all, recent news reports claim that the amount of information relayed via the Internet is doubling every 100 days and a recent World Trade Organization study forecasts that e-commerce will grow to $300 billion in the next three years. We need to prepare.
Milt Vine is president of Seattle Bindery, a postpress house specializing in custom
tabs and presentation folders; folding and stitching; foil stamping, embossing and
diecutting; plastic spiral, Wire-O® and perfect binding. You can reach Milt at
206/682-2558. ©1998, Seattle Bindery.
© 1998, Seattle Bindery. Reprinted from Printer's Northwest Trader, October 1998.