Print MIS Archives - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

Picture this: You’re ready to grow your print business, but every day feels like you’re trudging through quicksand. Your MIS system, once the lifeline of your operations, now feels more like a ball-and-chain. It’s slow, outdated, and no longer serves the growing needs of your business. If that sounds familiar, it might be time to embrace a fresh start—without the baggage of the past weighing you down. Moving to a new MIS (Management Information System) can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’ve accumulated years of data. But clinging to an outdated system in the name of your old system’s history might be doing more harm than good. Instead of hauling old, incomplete data into a modern platform, there’s a better way: starting fresh with tools designed to meet the demands of today—and tomorrow. The Hidden Cost of Clinging to Old MIS History Every system has its shelf life. As technology evolves, outdated MIS systems can limit productivity and growth. Old data can be messy, incomplete, or poorly structured, making migration complicated. Trying to import everything into a new system often leads to frustration and confusion—dragging old inefficiencies into a platform built for efficiency. While Odyssey (the Print MIS

Welcome back to another edition of “Sell More Printing,” where we consider sales and marketing strategies that can significantly boost your printing business. In this issue, we’re spotlighting how your Management Information System (MIS) can be so much more than just a management tool; your MIS can also be a key element of your sales and marketing framework. Keep reading below, but also watch the replay of the Your Marketing-First Blueprint for Website & MIS Success webinar to discover how this strategy unfolds in more detail. This all-in-one solution, with its one-of-a-kind approach, specifically addresses the challenges of running a print business. In today’s competitive market, integrating your MIS with your marketing strategies is not just innovative; it’s essential. If your marketing strategy is designed to lead your prospects and customers to your website’s order forms, why can’t your website ask for the sale when they arrive, “Ready to make a purchase?” Why can’t your MIS tell your website to say to your customer, “Thanks for your order!” and then turn to your production team and say, “I’ve got a new order for you to print!” Odyssey Connects Marketing to MIS That’s exactly what happens with Odyssey, the Print MIS that lives

Odyssey 2.0 MIS shown on computer screen

As a print owner, you know how important it is to stay competitive and efficient in today’s fast-paced world. One way to achieve this is by using a Print MIS solution. A Print MIS solution, or Management Information System, is a software tool that streamlines your workflow by managing customer information, materials, labor costs, and prices, and here are the top five reasons why your print shop needs one. 1. Print MIS Improves Efficiency One of the most significant benefits of using a Print MIS solution is improved efficiency. With Odyssey 2.0, you can manage customer information, materials, labor costs, and prices in one place. This eliminates the need for double entry and ensures accurate pricing. You can also estimate jobs faster and take on more work, which allows you to grow your business. 2. A Print MIS Gives You the Competitive Advantage In today’s fast-paced world, speed is essential. Print buyers expect quick turnaround times, and if you can’t provide that, they’ll look for another print shop that can. By using a Print MIS solution, you can provide accurate quotes to customers within minutes, giving you a competitive edge over those who still rely on manual estimating methods. Odyssey

“Does my print shop really need a Print MIS Solution?” The short answer to that question is: Yes! And here’s why… Print MIS Explained MIS is an abbreviation for “Management Information System.” Like most manufacturing businesses, the printing industry requires juggling a lot of information to function profitably. An MIS solution helps you with the juggling, and therefore, the profits! Here are some examples of the types of information a Print MIS solution will manage for you: Customer names and contact info Paper cost Ink cost Click cost Hourly rates of each piece of equipment in your shop Boxes Tape Overhead Accounts receivables Account aging Sales commissions You get the idea. Although it might seem like an overabundance of bullet points there, that’s really just scratching the surface of the knowledge you can have at your fingertips with a Print MIS solution for your print business. Back in 2006, we implemented our first robust MIS solution. We were able to prepare estimates so fast that many customers reported that we had delivered the completed job before our competition even delivered pricing! A Rocky Path to an Imperfect Result Take a minute to picture this and see if it sounds familiar:

Imagine a world where you’re able to sell more printing online AND in person. (This isn’t some dreamy place beyond the realm of possibility.) It sounds easier said than done, but it is VERY possible. A recent experience of mine with my cell phone company touched on one of the most important goals to not overlook in selling more printing: having an in-person AND an online focus for your business. My Experience(s) Let me start by saying I hate dealing with the details of cell phone agreements and contracts. When my kids were young and impressionable, I told them, “Hate is a strong word.” I don’t use the word “hate” lightly, but I hate trying to make sense of cell phone agreements and contracts. Recently, my wife and I decided to add our youngest child to our family’s cell phone plan. I approached the task with a combination of fear and the perseverance of a bully-mindset where I got my way by taking no prisoners. Ordering Online: The Path of Least Resistance I went for the path of least resistance: online ordering, here I come! It was more convenient and, quite honestly, it empowered me to make better decisions. If I need to

five things im thankful for, Odyssey, Print MIS, Marketing Ideas For Printers

Here’s a quote that has really impacted me in recent days: …there’s a danger in overfocusing on the finish line. When you do, you lose the power of seeing how far you’ve come. ~ Jon Acuff When working on a project as big as Odyssey, our Print MIS, that finish line can be elusive. The truth is, there is no finish line for Odyssey because it makes its home in the cloud. The cloud is never “done.” Instead, the cloud allows for a neverending stream of updates that will enable Odyssey to grow well past any finish line. Finish lines are so limiting! There is no finish line, but there’s a definite starting point, and in the spirit of this season of thanks, when I look back at the starting line I see so many things I’m thankful for. When looking through the lens of the work we do here at Marketing Ideas For Printers, here are five things I’m grateful for this Thanksgiving season. Our wonderful team. There’s power in numbers, and there’s super-power in a team that’s united for a common purpose! The support of Odyssey’s Early Adopters. These are Odyssey’s very first customers; we would have never been able

A successful Print 17 is in the history books, and all the activity surrounding the event has now been assigned the status of “memory.” To help keep those memories alive, here are my Top 10 takeaways, reflections, and observations of Print 17, which ran from September 10-14, 2017 in the south hall of Chicago’s McCormick Place. #1: The show’s footprint is much smaller. One of my very first experiences as an exhibitor was “way back when” at Print 01. That show filled up both sides of McCormick Place. Of course, that show was overshadowed by the events of the original 9/11, so there’s no way at all to make a fair “then” and “now” comparison. However, excluding the events of 9/11, it’s easy to see that the current version of the show is much different than it was back in 2001. The footprint of today’s show doesn’t fill both halls, it fills just two-thirds of one of the halls. Things change. For the Print show, that’s not necessarily better or worse, it’s just different. Don’t ever count on today being the same as yesterday. Be prepared to adapt to a changing environment and an unknown future. #2: Chicago-style pizza tastes best

Odyssey, MIS, Marketing Ideas For Printers, How Much Does Odyssey Cost?

The countdown is on to Print 2017! Soon, from September 10th through the 14th, our team from Marketing Ideas For Printers will be in Chicago, claiming Booth 351 as our temporary home away from home. Last year at GraphExpo we presented a preview of Odyssey, an all-in-one Marketing, Web-To-Print, and Print MIS system. One year later, we’re ready to show how Odyssey is ready for you, and that’s exciting! Where Do Your Customers Shop? We know it’s important to you to be where your customers are. With more and more of your clients online than ever before, you need a solution that meets them where they’re at. After all, according to a Pew Research Center study published in December 2016, …roughly eight-in-ten Americans are now online shoppers. (Source: pewinternet.org: Online Shopping and E-Commerce) But where your customers shop online and where your team works are two different places. Now, you can close that gap between where your customers order printing online and where your team manages those tasks that make printing happen because Odyssey is a Print MIS that lives online in a web browser. When that gap gets closed, you and your team get to experience the efficiency you’ve been aiming for, and

Here's How You Eat An Elephant, Marketing Ideas For Printers, Odyssey, MIS

You’ve started your next big project. It’s the big idea that will leapfrog you past other printers competing with you. It’s the revolutionary change that will usher in your next period of success. And it’s intimidating. You’ve lost your momentum, and you’re stuck. The mighty elephant in the room is your obstacle. It’s easy to see, but at the same time you don’t know how to get past it, so it seems even easier just to ignore. You can beat the elephant! How? You beat an elephant the same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time. We’ve Been There Our “next big project” is our Print MIS called Odyssey. Building a new Print MIS from the ground up is challenging. It would be nice if we could say that we perfectly executed a plan that took us from concept to launch with no surprises. The truth is much different, of course. There were days we’d have a stare-down with Odyssey as we tried to figure out how to move past the elephant in the room. If you’re stuck on your project, borrow some ideas from us. Here are three ideas the team at Marketing Ideas For Printers