Recharger Magazine

A New Perspective on Color

This guest blog was contributed by Gary Michaels.

The remanufacturing industry owns 7 percent of the marketplace. With literally millions of dollars spent on R&D, marketing, training, new technologies and certifications, we capture only 7 percent of the marketplace.

Maybe we need to look at color a different way. For years, we manufacturers have come to our customers with new technologies, components, color matching and various techniques to have them salivating at the mouth in search of the golden ticket, which is color OEM-alternative cartridges and all they could mean to clients’ profits and businesses.

Today, collectively, we have only managed to scratch the surface. Maybe the perspective we take should be from the people that matter most to our livelihood: the end users.

What expectations do your customers have of the color products that you provide? If we go back to the basics of selling, we have all heard that buying anything is an emotional decision. How can we, as an industry, tap into this emotion to win additional business and grow our market share? Let’s explore some of the buying decisions an end user might make when choosing color compatibles:

1. Is the product attractively packaged? The days of the plain brown box are over. The OEMs have invested millions in packaging research to ensure that the customer will be attracted to the brand of product that they are searching for.

Our tip: Challenge your manufacturing partner to get more creative with packaging, designing something that will draw people to you, the product, and most importantly, back to you for repeat business.

2. Is the product readily available? Have you experienced your manufacturing partner being out of stock in a particular product – even one of the four colors? Color requires an investment in inventory that is four times the monochrome investment. End users expect the product to be in stock so they can print. They do not want to wait for back orders. When HP announced earlier this year that certain products were on allocation, many dealers ensured that they had sufficient inventory to manage customer needs.

Our tip: Invest and manage inventory to ensure end-user expectations are met. Nothing can be worse than selling from an empty shelf. Your customer will pursue the product elsewhere, and you will lose the sale.

3. Does the product perform? At the moment of truth, does the product perform as advertised? The bottom line is the product has to perform. If not, the end user forms an opinion of compatibles that later becomes a tough objection to overcome. Price, availability, packaging, certifications and technologies do not matter if the product does not work. Period.

Our tip: Hold your manufacturing partner to a high standard of performance. In today’s world, it is tough to get customers and keep them. Ask your partner to provide performance reports specific to the color category, not just an overall mix of product.

4. Is the product a great value? Too often, we start (and end) the dialogue with end users with price and forget to build value in the product. Without value, the end user does not see the need to switch from OEM to compatible. The slogan “It’s not cheaper, but it’s a better value” has been around forever; end users want to get their money’s worth.

Our Tip: Add value to every consumables sale – whether it be an extended warranty (which the aftermarket does offer), CPP versus the OEM product, or simply a percentage of savings. The end user must see the value.

EPILOGUE: Our industry owns 7 percent of the color consumables market today. Where would we be if we owned 10, 15 or 20 percent? If we view our business from the perspective of the ultimate decision-maker (the end user), we may find that we have a long way to go in making sure that our color offerings live up to expectations. Good selling and prosperous times to all.

Contact Gary Michaels at 800-937-2880.

Posted by Gary Michaels on Jan 09, 2012