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Variable data pitfalls Kate Dunn, president of Digital Innovations Group (DIG) (Richmond, VA) has an interesting print background. In her 15 years with Xerox, she developed programs on selling digital printing, the power of variable data and market strategy development. She’s also spent many years selling traditional offset and digital printing. Prior to founding DIG in 2003, she was vice president of sales and marketing for Choice Communication, where she helped develop a personalized printing division called Choice 1:1.  DIG, a five-person marketing services company, often serves as a front-end partner for printers seeking help on digital projects. "Most printers typically aren’t marketing specialists," says Dunn. "They’re more manufacturing oriented. Some need a higher level of expertise-for smaller clients we almost take the place of an agency."
We asked Dunn to identify common variable print pitfalls. Here’s what she said:
Failure to plan. "Variable digital printing is a major business initiative," says Dunn. "You need strategic, operating and marketing plans. What resources will you need to succeed? Can existing reps sell it? Do you need additional salespeople? Do you need marketing expertise? How will you market new capabilities to your clients?"
Poor project management. According to Dunn, project management often is misunderstood. "If someone wants to do a direct mail campaign, you don’t just say, ‘OK, when the art is ready, call me and I’ll come print it.’ If you’re acting as a consultant, you have to [discuss] who they are talking to, what they want to say, a call to action, sales process to support the call to action, how the project results will be tracked and measured, what will be considered a success, what the current response is and so on. To provide value, as Jack Welch would put it, you’ve got to wallow in your customers’ problems."
Premature pitching. "Some printers tend to go for the kill too soon," says Dunn. "A customer [describes] anything that could even remotely be viewed as a problem and [printers] are saying, ‘We have this, this and this.’ The customer will say, ‘What does that cost?’ You might as well get up and walk out."
Unrealistic sales cycle. "To do [digital printing] well, you’ve got to take the time to develop it," explains Dunn. "Often management and owners are undermining their salespeople because they’ve put in a big press with big associated costs. The message is, ‘Sell variable data, but sell it fast.’ But you can’t."
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