Print Solutions Magazine, February 2002 -- 433

It's a different world. Attitudes have changed. We keep hearing that the "truly important" things get more attention now than they used to. In a slow economy, the tendency is to sell, sell, sell. Some people confuse sales and marketing as the same thing. (OK, we live in a confusing world. If you're an Arthur Andersen executive tallying Enron's books, accounting becomes confused with shredding.)

How is the world different? There are no easy answers, but the question is clue enough. You can't conduct business as usual. In the wake of Sept. 11, many people have changed outlooks. Their attention is grabbed in different ways. Many people have new opinions about what's "truly important." If you're in charge of marketing, you'll often have to deal with uncertainty, and you'll have to make everyone else in the company comfortable with it.

One constant truth about marketing, however, is even more important today: Keep it simple. Don't be longwinded about why prospects should do business with you. And, whenever possible, have a sense of humor.

Successful marketers use other important ingredients, too. In this month's cover story, Managing Editor Darin Painter shows you how mastering some of the basics works so well.

"Who really has the advantage is the company that knows what it wants, then takes the right marketing steps to get there. Those are the ones who see the fruits of their labor," says one of the experts in the story. "Marketing is like moving a steering wheel, then waiting months before the car turns," says another.

Analyze your strengths. Plan. Research. Execute. Evaluate. Don't be too proud (or too cheap) to get professional help with writing, design or market research.

Your competition is getting stronger. They have more product diversity than ever before. How do your company's products and services emerge from the clutter? How many breakfast cereals are on your grocery store shelf? How many brands of bottled water? ("I just WILL NOT shop there--crummy water selection.") Is competition any less crazy in your market?

We've crossed the branded water divide and haven't even mentioned the internet, where products tend to become commodities and where features, benefits and opinions of products can be searched, sorted and compared with very little effort. More and more, it's a world less forgiving of half-baked marketing plans.

What's changed in our world--even though it's still the same--is that marketing is one of those truly important things. It deserves more of our attention.

Brad Holt

VP, Publications and New Media

bholt@PSDA.org

Editor in Chief

Peter L. Colaianni, CAE

Vice President, Publications & New Media

Brad Holt

Managing Editor

Darin Painter

Assistant Editors

Kara S. Carpenter

Rita Tiefert

Circulation Manager

Diane Saunders

Art Director/Production Manager

Roxanne Rash

Contributing Editors

Mark J. Trumper

J. Buster Weinzierl, CDC

Publications Committee

Gary W. Nelson, Chairperson

Allen Conway

Ric Fisher

Ginger Garrett

Dennis King

Kevin Lombardo

Marvin A. Makofsky, CFC

Markus Marfurt

Dominic Mencarini

Donald D. Patteson, Jr.

Nick Nesci, CFC

Jeffrey P. Townsend, CFC

Mark Trumper

Advertising Sales

Jack Burris

The Townsend Group Inc.

4920 Elm St., Ste. 325

Bethesda, MD 20814

Phone: (301) 215-6710

Fax: (301) 215-7704

jburris@townsend-group.com

Print Solutions Online

Print Solutions, the only industry magazine to win awards for writing and design excellence, is available online at www.printsolutionsmag.com. The site includes daily news, a comprehensive archive of Print Solutions articles, a complete media kit, links to industry companies and other features not included in the magazine.

Print Solutions is the official publication of the Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA), the Association for Business Printing Independents. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Please address all submissions to: The Editor, Print Solutions Magazine, 433 E. Monroe Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301-1693. Phone (703) 836-6232, fax (703) 549-4966. You can reach us via email at bholt@printsolutionsmag.com Visit our World Wide Web site at www.printsolutionsmag.com.
Volume 40, Number 2, February 2002. Print Solutions (USPS 205-400, ISSN 1535-9727) is published monthly by DMIA, 433 E. Monroe Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301-1693, (703) 836-6232.

Subscriptions: $29/year for DMIA members included in dues, $49 for non-members (plus postage for Canada and foreign). Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, VA, and additional mailing offices.

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Statements of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply approval on the part of the Publications Committee, Officers or Membership of DMIA.

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