Jan. 2005, Digial Queue Newsletter—The decision has been made. You know what new printer you want to buy, it has been ordered and is on its way. But now comes the next challenge: selling the new capacity and capabilities to clients.

Shouting From the Rooftops
While you may be tempted to start telling the world about your new printer right away, before it even arrives, Kelli Ramirez, Oce U.S.A., urges a more circumspect approach. "It's OK to promote new capabilities early on, as long as the print shop's customers aren't expecting a finished job on the day the printer arrives. ...Go ahead and let the shop's best customers know that a new machine is on the way, but refrain from accepting jobs on it until it is installed and the operator is fully trained. And once it is installed, promote it fully to existing and prospective customers."

Give yourself some wiggle room to learn the machine, play with it a bit, learn the limits of what it can and can't do, and learn what new applications it brings to your product mix.

Selling the Service
Once you have the new machine up and running and are ready to start booking jobs on it, there are a few different techniques you can use to get the word out.

Jane Cedrone, Vutek, recommends open house events. They are "a great way to bring customers in" and let them see for themselves what the new machine can do. You can have an open house for your best clients, for every client in your address book, even for specialty groups like college students getting ready to graduate with graphics degrees and enter the market.

Another method, according to Ramirez, is to send out press releases. "For general announcements, issue a press release to local press - they all have business sections that gladly profile local companies. Send the release to local groups, schools, local governments, service clubs, chambers of commerce, etc."

Other things to consider:
Create a marketing piece with samples printed off the machine. Include such things as unusual substrates to demonstrate the capabilities.

Hold seminars for clients and the public on printing, specifically on the new printer. Teach them about digital printing and how it can be used in a variety of ways and for a variety of messages.

Use the acquisition as an excuse to call everyone in the company's address book. Touch base with both the regular clients and the ones who haven't run any jobs with you in a while. This is also a good opportunity to arrange face-to-face meetings, since you have new and exciting information to give them.

The ROI
According to Ramirez, a machine doesn't necessarily have to be filled to capacity to recoup your ROI. "Instead of asking how many months/years will it take to repay my investment turn the ROI model on its side and instead calculate 'how many billable hours per day are needed to pay back the investment and maintain profitability?' Start with the average per-square-foot selling price and multiply it by the average print speed of the new printer. This equals the total billable revenue per hour. Add up the first year annual costs, then determine how many billable hours are required to cover these costs. For some printers, it will be as little as 3 billable hours per day to pay off an investment over 12 months time."

So have fun with your new machine, know what you need to do to recoup the investment and get the word out by educating clients and potential clients about just what the new machine can do.