The typical working teenager is busy stocking grocery shelves, ringing up customers or hoping for a generous tip. Edward L. Dignam's experience was a bit different.
At 16 years old, he landed his first full-time job at a local print shop in Baldwin, N.Y., where he performed a variety of tasks including running a small press, making plates and assisting in the bindery. Dignam was immediately hooked. "I loved the excitement and fast pace of the shop and I would read everything that came off the presses," he recalled.
Although Dignam's time at the shop eventually ended, he continued to thrive in a fast-paced lifestyle. He got involved in sales, worked in finance and real estate, and even played some gigs with various bands. But, in 1997, the print industry came calling again—and Dignam jumped at the chance to return.
Dignam's sister and her husband had just launched ASAP Printing Corp. in Salt Lake City, and needed his help to build revenue. Harnessing his energy and experience, Dignam won several major accounts, and today he serves as senior vice president of the $20 million company.
Here, Dignam talks shop.
Print+Promo (P+P): How does the economy continue to affect the industry?
Edward L. Dignam (ELD): Economic uncertainty had caused many printers to question the value of what they do. In the absence of such clarity, many printers discounted their prices and began to create what I call the "Race to Zero" over the last few years. Today, business cards are almost free, postcards are very low margin and even flyers have little value left as a result. The discounting hurt everyone. And it continues because many printers are still guilty of training print buyers that pricing is everything, without regard to quality or service. This is unsustainable. Lowering prices works for some companies, but only for a while—there isn't much the industry can shave off at this point. What is sad is that only about one-third of consumers are purely hung up on price. That means two-thirds of this market will pay you for your services good and proper, if you will work for it. Printers who communicate with passion can earn a solid customer base, because no one believes the lowest price ever equals the best offering. Even in a slow economy, there is no reason to ever fall into the pricing trap—except for laziness.
P+P: How does your company remain nimble and ahead of the curve?
ELD: We get customer feedback from day-to-day communications, and we survey the landscape regularly and then follow up. We have found that properly educated customers will spend more time and money with us because they have confidence in what we can do for them. So, training your customer[s], responding to their questions, getting quotes done fast and listening to what is happening keeps you in front of their business. It takes a lot of time and effort to do this, of course. But relationships matter because you must keep each other informed. I tell my team to "amaze everyone" and practice outstanding customer service.
P+P: What keeps you up at night?
ELD: Well I sleep fine, but I hear the complaints of many print sellers in the industry. As I mentioned before, it is the devaluing of print by those who think cutthroat pricing is the answer in this market. Nowadays, most advertisements for print contain a discount or some other pricing gimmick, and I think printers are really selling themselves short. It is completely unnecessary. All customers want service, consistent quality and value. You can compete on that. The "beat everyone's price" sales approach diminishes the entire industry and creates a weaker market from top to bottom. Those of us who love printing work hard and place a value on what we do. Customers will always respect us for it. Price yourself correctly and do the job right. You will lose more than sleep if you sell yourself too cheap.
P+P: What do you think is the most exciting, cutting-edge thing your company is doing right now?
ELD: We have developed our own internal enterprise software to manage all parts of our business. Our websites, estimating, production, CRM, invoicing, shipping and so forth are all tied together seamlessly. More than 100 people on my team can answer any question about any order, estimate or other detail without delay. We can change things on the fly, update or revise small details with pinpoint precision across the country. We have three production facilities tied together and our logistics management is incredible. [...] My customers have complete access to whatever they need to know from wherever they are.
P+P: What would people be surprised to learn about you?
ELD: I love computer graphics and print, but I also play guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, and sing in my spare time. I have a complete recording studio at home and I create soundtracks for video production. The video clip on our website (www.asapprintingcorp.com) has some music in the background I produced.
- Places:
- Baldwin
- Salt Lake City