Competitive advantage

We all fixate on size at times. If you’re a smaller printer, it can be daunting to compete against bigger, more sophisticated, and wealthier companies. Sometimes, though, size can work in your favor.

Smaller companies are often more nimble and can pivot quickly to innovate without having to navigate excess red tape and bureaucracy. Companies that serve local markets, for example, may find it easier to network and forge community ties that can turn into business. Smaller firms also have the advantage of lower overhead costs.

But if you find yourself facing bigger competitors, several strategies can help you flourish.

It can be tempting to regard skills training and staff upgrading as a cost that must be managed down, rather than an investment that promotes growth and future-proofs your business. 

Skills training, from keeping up with the latest print software and equipment to mastering design or digital marketing, can be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to daily operations. Plus, it’s easy to believe that staff will go elsewhere once they upgrade their skills, leaving you in the lurch.

In reality, a skills training program will generate handsome dividends for your company and place you in a much stronger competitive position.

Your employees are your biggest asset. They’re more important than the multi-million dollar presses on your shop floor. It just makes sense to invest in maintaining them, just as you would with that expensive equipment.