We all have things happen at the last minute to screw up production, but your client needs total confidence that you'll find a way to overcome any problem to get a job done on time. If at all possible, finish the job at least one day in advance to allow for unexpected problems.

It's also a very good idea to work with some other printers who can bail you out, in case the problem is impossible to solve in time. You won't make much on that job, but you will preserve the trust of your client. Be sure that you don't lose track of quality control when outsourcing and, at the risk of being annoying, go over every single detail of the job with the outsource company.

By the time they found us, a great deal of our clients were, you could say, disenchanted with the whole graphics industry. Either someone promised the world and dropped the ball, or perhaps the colors were wrong or the sizes miscalculated. Maybe they were just treated rudely.

Here is a level battlefield on which to beat the low-priced, impersonal print shop. Believe me, these customers want everything to go smoothly so they look good, and they're willing to pay a fair price for relief from the nightmares they suffered before. Be courteous, keep your word, show you care, and, it's not a bad idea to make them laugh.

TAKE A STAND
Some customers are just difficult to deal with. You sometimes have to assert your opinion to keep from being taken advantage of, but it's all in the delivery. Calm logic, with a touch of sadness thrown in, seems to work.

I had one customer who, after repeated promises, delivered the art one day before the project was due instead of the requested seven days. We had massive equipment failures that night, so in the morning I had to have a happy little conversation with the client. He was outraged and demanded a discount for the delay.

But, aside from the occasional stalemate, most customers should be treated like gold in every way.

It never ends. As much as I would love to think that someday we'll reach a point where we can just relax and do business, it will never happen. Even your most loyal customers are constantly being infiltrated by the competition with new products, lower pricing, cute sales reps and you name it. A successful business requires constant surveillance to keep its customers and find new ones.

I am proud to announce that we've finally established our domain name for our Web site, and by the time this is printed, our site will be done. Now you can test me on this deadline mumbo-jumbo stuff that I was rambling about earlier.