Business Knowledge

Your business will not die if you fail to use Twitter or LinkedIn. But, it may not grow as fast as it could either. Consultant Jacky Morgan uses her 25+ years marketing experience and business knowledge to uncover the truths and realities about online networking.

You’d have to to have been living in a cave for the last 12 months not to be aware of the impact that Social Media is having. But it’s an impact that, on the whole, seems to be passing printers by. The legendary Jeff Hayzlett, ex-CMO of Kodak, brands those in the print sector who don’t adopt social media as “stupid”. He’s convinced that there’s money to be made from it and can’t understand the reluctance. When I’m speaking to clients they’re ready with a wealth of reasons why they’ve not opted in. I too have a theory, but unlike Hayzlett, I don’t think it has anything to do with stupidity.

Failure is not something you would associate with fast-growing pixartprinting, but its expansionist plans have not delivered in the UK, which is why it has switched tactics.

Localise to internationalise is the strategic thinking behind Italian Web-to-print specialist PIxart’s new partnership with the UK’s Precision Printing to form pixartprinting.co.uk and behind the creation of ‘virtual shops’ across Europe and beyond. It’s a bold move by PIxart founder Matteo Rigamonti but it’s his bold moves that have taken the fast-growing company into a new 12,000m2 facility in Quarto D’Altino just outside Venice, which boasts an eye-watering array of wide- and small-format digital kit, plus two litho presses, and employs a staff of 120 working around the clock to deliver 2,000 print jobs per day. Rigamonti expects 2010 to have delivered a 55% growth over 2009, but he’s not satisfied.

Make the most of your talents by taking to the road and flaunting your capabilities and business knowledge.

Want to show off your talents? Then stage it so that you play to the biggest audiences possible. Scour the events and shows listings, highlight those that will attract the customers you most want to impress and get your act together. Using exhibitions outside the print trade arena could be the making of you in 2011.