Home Media & Consumables Selling Recurring Media: A Guide to Growing Profits

Selling Recurring Media: A Guide to Growing Profits

by Felicia Jordan

Estimated reading time: 1 minutes

Every business student knows about the ‘blade and razor’ model—the idea that when you’re selling razors, you can just about give away the handle because you make your real money on the blades. In the world of business technology, it’s not quite that simple… but it is true that you can make more money and serve your customers better by focusing on consumables.

We’re talking about printers, and we’re talking about profit. When you sell the label, receipt, barcode, and form printers your clients need, you should also be selling the supplies that make those devices useful. Finding the right hardware for your customer should be the beginning of an ongoing relationship in which you provide the right support and supplies as needed. In economic terms, you’ll be tying the aftermarket to the platform.

The best example of this high-return strategy is media: the material that printers turn into labels, receipts, forms, and more. Many business-class printers use ink, toner, or ribbon, and they all consume media. What’s more, that media – used for things like barcode labels, wristbands, receipts, and forms – is often specialized. Over time, media costs can far surpass the initial cost of the device. Here are some numbers to think about:

As you can see, the cost of print media is substantial—which means you should position yourself as the expert who makes that media available. Those dollars, multiplied by the install base in your accounts, is revenue for you. If you placed the device with the customer in the first place you’ve got the inside track for selling media over the life of the device; if you didn’t, now is the time to let your clients know that you’re the best source for their media needs.


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