PEiR and PlanWell to Share Social Media Marketing Experiences

Social Media Update

To help our members become more aware of the features, advantages and benefits of social media and social networking, the PEiR Group team will be implementing a variety of social networking initiatives to demonstrate that all  sized reprographic businesses need to embrace this revolutionary  "technology approach" to marketing.

First it is important to get a good understanding of what social media actually is!  According to wikipedia "social media is web-based technologies that turn communication into interactive dialogues".

What web-based technologies you may ask?  Maybe you shouldn't?  There are literally thousands of providers of these technologies but for our purposes we have narrowed them down to just the following few:

1. PEiR Group's Web Site http://www.peirgroup.com/
2. PEiR's Point of View Blog http://peirgrouppointofview.blogspot.com/
3. Facebook http://www.facebook.com/arctechnology
4. Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/arctechtweets
5. Twitter http://twitter.com/thepeirgroup

All of these social media sites offer the capability for us (or you)  to communicate an appropriate message about  product and services information  to folks who want want to be informed but do not want to read emails or ordinary mailings because they are; too busy, out of date or not specific to their particular needs or interests.  Social media allows us to reach our unique audience of customers in real time 24/7/360 anywhere in the world; by using both the web and mobile computing devices like iPhone, Blackberry's, iPads and Laptops  that are connected to the Internet wirelessly.

Social Media is not about posting propaganda and advertising about your products and services on web sites but rather; Social Media is about how you can be of service to your customers and prospects.

One of the most important components in successful social media marketing implementation is building "social authority". Social authority is developed when an individual or organization establishes themselves as an "expert" in their given field or area, thereby becoming an " influencer" in that field or area. 

As an industry influencer , the PEiR Group is well positioned to help share information on the trends, best practices, business strategies and technologies that reprographers are evaluating and adopting in their businesses for the future.  How do we get that message to our target audience? Social Media!

I have posted the links to our social media sites above, please take a few moments to note and visit them, follow, and comment on what you think. I will also be updating the Point of View Blog on our next social media effort!

 How can we help you??

 Best regards,

Shaun Meany

A Major New Release of AbacusPCR "Print Cost Recovery and Print Tracking Software" is Announced

Today PlanWell Technologies is pleased to announce a major upgrade to its Abacus PCR print cost recovery software. Used for keeping track of printing costs and reimbursable print jobs in both an office or professional print production environment, the Company highlighted the software’s new features and functionality while maintaining the easy-to-use interface that has been a hallmark of the application since its general release in 2008.

“Once users see how much money they can recover by tracking reimbursable print costs, demand for expanded tracking capabilities spikes quickly,” said Jonathan Styrlund, product manager for Abacus PCR. “While simplicity is the key to Abacus’s popularity, once users see the potential for greater profitability, they want to capture more and different kinds of data and greater interactivity with other systems. Our new functions go a long way toward addressing those needs.”

New features in the latest release include:

• Print Retrieval – allows administrators to hold print jobs in a printer’s queue until the recipient is physically at the printer to retrieve them in order to avoid forgotten or wasted printing, and to increase security for confidential documents.
• Rules-Based Printing – sets permissions and parameters for jobs to be printed on higher-cost devices.
• Color Recognition – detects color print jobs even when sent to [multi-function] printing equipment.
• Cisco Call Manager Integration – allows the ability to track job-related phone calls and other non-printing functions such as laser cutters [and other finishing equipment].
• Third-Party Integration – includes the ability to assign project information from applications such as Newforma and PlanWell EWO to reduce redundant data entry and enhance the level of detail assigned to a print job. Printing equipment from Konica/Minolta and Sharp have also been added to the equipment Abacus can track.

For a complete list of the features and capabilities of Abacus PCR, visit http://www.abacuspcr.com/. 

If you would like to join us for a webinar that hightlights the newest features of  AbacusPCR 3.5 please sign-up by visting the following link.

Thanks.....Shaun

Offer "Self Managed" Project Workspace Solutions to Your AEC Clients

The document management needs of the AEC marketplace are changing and reprographers who fail to acknowledge these changes will be challenged to survive in the years ahead.

Over the last several years we have seen more and more AEC end-users starting to adopt low-cost file sharing tools that are diminishing the needs and value of traditional reprographic offerings, even On-line Plan Rooms.

Owners, GC’s, Sub’s and Design Professionals are aggressively moving towards using self managed solutions for distributing critical project information to project stake holders. Many are choosing to use CD’s, E-mail, FTP and web-based technologies like: BaseCamp, iSqft, SmartBidNet, Yousendit, BoxNet, DropBox, FileGenius, and a slew of others products to share and exchange project documents digitally.

Questions that you need to ask :

1. If you are experiencing these workflow changes with your key clients, what are you doing to stay relevant?
2. Does your existing plan room offering meet the needs of your clients today?
3. Are you having a difficult time getting your customers to pay for your plan room services?

Many plan rooms offered by reprographers today are mostly Repro-Centric (developed by reprographers for managing files at the repro-shop along with a web component for end-users to view and order prints and digital files). Although plan rooms are still a valuable offering from reprographers, I hear almost every day that posting and organizing documents into plan rooms is being done at a loss or with the hope of future print or download orders. This is a very risky business model for reprographers!

AEC end-users who were once comfortable using plan rooms and paying for digital services are now resisting paying for these tools and services and are now requesting the use of these services for free (due mainly to some repro companies who have not charged for digital services or subscriptions to their plan rooms). Others are just not interested in using plan rooms at all and are looking at using inexpensive managed file transfer (MFT) solutions mentioned above; by-passing the reprographer all together.

If you are struggling to overcome these challenges you might want to take a look at what PlanWell's Development Team  has been working on to respond to these new paradigms.

The reality is, many AEC end-users want the ability to manage and distribute project information themselves. More and more, Project Managers are asking for tools that simplify the process of notifying and distributing documents to select team members.

Reprographers who respond by offering these capabilities will have an opportunity to remain valuable to their AEC customers. Reprographers who fail to introduce these capabilities will be overlooked by the AEC community because the services they offer are not relevant to the workflow needs of today!

To learn more about The “New PlanWell Solution” click here:

Sincerely

Shaun Meany

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Should be a Wake-Up Call for Disaster Preparedness

It is always after a catastrophic event that one begins to think about disaster preparedness and what should be done to mitigate costs and losses when and if it should ever happen. Last week’s earthquake, tsunami, nuclear power plant explosions and radiation leaks certainly woke up the citizens of Japan, and it too, should be a reminder to all of us that we need to have a disaster preparedness plan for our businesses as well as for our personal lives.

It’s hard to imagine what the true cost of this disaster will equate to in dollars, lives and the environment. Insurers and reinsurers estimate losses somewhere between $12 billion to $25 billion; some other experts think the costs will be in the neighborhood of several trillion dollars. Most of these estimated losses come from damages to property and human lives but what are the costs associated to other things like businesses that were totally wiped off the face of the earth, radiation contamination to the environment, and jobs and future incomes of the disabled and injured? What about tourism and food exports? The list of lost revenues is endless.

Natural disasters are difficult and almost always impossible to prevent. But one thing we can all be assured of; disasters seem to strike at the most inopportune times. In the case of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, science might have been able to give the people in the impact area (Sendai) better warning and strategies to evacuate in a timely and orderly manner. However, from what I have read, tsunami waves began to hit the coast of northern Japan in as little as 30 minutes after the first earthquake. Not much time for anyone to evacuate from the area. Estimates are as high as 15,000 dead or missing.

So what can we learn from this disaster? Communities, individuals, businesses need to be prepared for the unexpected. Whether it is a fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, tornado, monsoon, or nuclear explosion we all need to have contingencies for responding to the unexpected.

Communities need to prepare their citizens with up to date evacuation routes, secure shelters with access to fresh water, toilets and rations for up to 72 hours.

Individuals need to be prepared by keeping an emergency kit up to date. Have non-perishable food, water, warm clothes and bedding to last three days or longer? Supplies need to be in a place where you can get at them easily?

Businesses need to have their businesses prepared to operate virtually. This means the records, data and information that are required to continue the business needs to be backed-up, secured and available within 72 hours. Businesses who fail to prepare for data and record recovery will most probably cease to exist.

Also, with disaster come opportunities. Yes, I said opportunities. As reprographers we have an opportunity to help your clients, as trusted advisors, develop prudent disaster preparedness strategies for their firm’s continued operations. Start a conversation with your clients about strategies for helping them develop a disaster preparedness plan; offer to convert paper records to digital records, store documents off-site at secure (redundant) data centers that are backed up with UPS and diesel generators—these are are just a few example where you can start.

So in closing, don’t wait until you experience your own disaster to start developing a strategy for disaster preparedness; take some action today, while it is still fresh in your mind, make a plan for you, your family, your business and your customer to be prepared for the unexpected. You will be glad you did!

Also please join me in saying a prayer for all those who perished or lost love ones in the disaster in Japan.

Sincerely,

Shaun Meany