The printing industry needs new strategies to deal with a changing market. According to IBISWorld, Australia’s printers are expected to generate revenues of $9.14bn and employ 40,257 people in 2011-12. That still makes it one of Australia’s largest manufacturing industries. But it is stagnating. IBISWorld says revenues are expected to rise just 1.4% in 2011-12. That follows decreases the previous three years.

The problem is that consumers are increasingly choosing to receive information via alternative mediums, such as the internet, rather than print. Many would say print is too slow to produce and costly to distribute. As well as that, it’s a crowded market with excessive competition driving down margins.

This creates a pressing need for strategy. Business history books are filled with examples of business models that were overtaken by market forces. Telstra did not invent Twitter. Sony failed to use its technical expertise to gazump Apple and create iTunes.

What are the big strategic mistakes companies make? The first, and most common, is to have no strategy at all. Companies need to develop strategic plans. They should articulate their most important goals over the next five years. Do they want to be market leader in their niche? Or do they aspire to be a price leader offering the cheapest products? Do they want to constantly innovate with new products and services or do they just provide the cheapest solutions? Are they committed to constant growth and by how much do they want to grow each year? By exactly how much do they want to reduce their costs? Whatever strategy they choose, they need to articulate it and make it part of their culture. Another big mistake that many companies make is to get tactics mixed up with strategy. The two are very different.

Tactics are short term; strategy looks out over many years. For example, two companies might be competing
on price. One company might lower the price every time they have too much product it needs to sell. It might offer discount deals for special customers. Or if its competitors are running a sale, it might do the same. But the following week when things are back to normal, the goods are selling at the normal price. That company has used tactics. Strategy is different. A company focused on long-term strategy might say “we will be the price leader”. This means they have to work their procurement and logistics to fit in with that strategy, so that they get their goods at the cheapest possible price. Everything will be built around offering the cheapest goods in town, everyday.

The company here has to make a choice: will it go with tactics or strategy? If they go with strategy, they will have to make hard decisions.

Other strategic mistakes entrepreneurs make include not planning for problems, trying to do too much instead of focusing on the most profitable niches, not planning an exit strategy and assuming they will be there forever and poor reactive recruiting instead
of focusing on areas that they should specialise in.

The bottom line is that without strong strategies, the printing industry will continue to struggle.

Leon Gettler is a senior business journalist who writes for a range of leading newspapers and journals

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