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February 2004 |
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 About two years ago, while I was presenting a seminar to a small group of about 70 printers, I mentioned I was working on a top secret marketing program I nicknamed “The Kinko’s Killer.” I explained I was going to develop a very specific sales, marketing, in-store merchandising, direct mail, and pricing strategy all designed to put the Kinko’s store located one block from my print shop out of business. Well…during the next break at that seminar, I think all 70 printers approached me and asked if I could keep them informed and updated on the progress of my Kinko’s Killer. Many of the printers in attendance told me that Kinko’s had hurt their business and took away market share from their print shops. Others said that Kinko’s wasn’t a competitor of theirs, but they faced a similar "800 lb. gorilla" competitor that was bigger, better financed, or better equipped – and they would be interested in how a smaller, locally-owned printer could compete and win against the big guys. Beating the 800 lb. Gorilla Over the last 2 or 3 years, I’ve made it a sort of obsession/compulsion/addiction kind of thing to stealthily study, learn, borrow, and obtain every bit of information about Kinko’s – that I legally can! I’ve visited Kinko’s stores in over 30 different cities, purchased dozens of copy jobs from them, and asked Kinko’s employees hundreds of “confidential” questions about their store/company’s operations – and gotten a lot of surprisingly good answers! I’ve been given permission to photocopy “confidential” Kinko’s operational forms, selling systems, quarterly strategic operational plans, price lists, and even obtained a blueprint of the Kinko’s store, when it was being built next to my own print shop, that showed all the furnishings, equipment, and work flow systems. I’ve asked to be put on their email list and mailing list…and I’ve used “secret shoppers” to scout their prices and observe customer service skills. After all of my efforts, I’m convinced more than ever, that Kinko’s can be beaten. I do feel they are a very worthy competitor – strong and well financed. They have hurt many independent quick printers and small commercial quick printers (like me), and taken away a lot of our customers. However, I think I have discovered some serious weaknesses in the Kinko’s business model that we (independently and locally-owned printers) can use to turn it around and beat Kinko’s at its own game. But along the way, I also discovered (sadly), that we independents often have more weaknesses in our business models than Kinko’s does. Thus, we often drive away customers…often sending them directly to Kinko’s (or another 800 lb. gorilla) without realizing it. Kinko’s is a tough competitor, and may even get tougher after the Fed-Ex merger/acquisition. We need to be prepared to defend our turf. Although I admit to not having all the answers, I do think I’ve discovered some really good ideas that will help you and me compete with Kinko’s. For the nearly 500 of you who emailed me requesting that I share some of my discoveries about Kinko’s, and my own personal strategy to compete against them, I ask just one favor as we begin – if you know or have any helpful knowledge or information about Kinko’s, please email it to me so that I may add it to the “knowledge base” that I’ll be sharing with everyone. The Essential Elements of Success Here is my list of strategies that I think are the “essential elements of success” you need to implement in order to compete with and beat Kinko’s. It’s my strong opinion that if you think you can effectively compete without doing these twelve things…you are living in denial. For a long time I thought I could compete against Kinko’s because I was a local, hardworking, honest entrepreneur, and I “deserved it.” Don’t be like me. My thinking was naïve…and a little dumb. Realize you need to enact a better business plan, based on the twelve essential elements listed below, to begin winning the battle against Kinko’s. Beating Kinko’s – The Twelve Essential Elements of Success
Part II – Topics 1-4 will be discussed in an email dated February 20th. Part III – Topics 5-8 will be discussed in an email dated March 5th. Part IV – Topics 9-12 will be discussed in an email dated March 19th. But just to give you a small idea of what’s ahead, here is my new copy shop’s name and logo:  and a picture of our new lobby area.  Well, that’s all for now. I will post the next three Kinko’s Killer updates on the printers’ list –but if you would like to be sure you don’t miss them, please send me your email address and I’ll make sure you get a personal version (your email address will be kept confidential). I hope you are all busy, making money, and having fun! Happy Printing and Keep Those Presses Rolling! Mike Stevens MarketingIdeasForPrinters.com Executive Suite 222 3137 32nd Avenue South Fargo, North Dakota 58103 800-736-0688 Ext. 132 MikeStevens@gutenblog.com |
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