Branding is not just for Coke or P&G. Like it or not, your company has a brand and a position in the eyes of the market, and you need to pay attention to what it is and take charge of it. Not only that, a brand can be an important aspect of getting your employees to view your company the way you do. Find out about the power of branding and positioning--inside your company as well as out-in this thought-provoking presentation.

There are good reasons for printers to move into marketing services. But how far should you go? In this presentation, you'll see all sides. Rick Littrell makes the argument for the agency role: help customers identify promising markets and devise campaigns to reach them. John Mahoney doesn't think you need to go that far, but his customers do want help exploring new possibilities created by today's digital-printing technology. For Ed Warren, each new piece he adds to his business-digital printing, web-to-print, design services-brings him closer to the agency role. But what about conflicts with existing customer relationships? Read this presentation to see how the different sides grapple with the issues of moving into marketing.

Solution sales requires an entirely different approach from commodity sales, and making the transition isn't always easy. In this presentation, you'll get an introduction to the S3 approach and hear from two companies that have taken the S3 idea and run with it. They'll tell you about the obstacles they had to overcome as well as the successes they have achieved.

Just because you've printed high-volume static direct mail doesn't mean transitioning to relevant, variable direct mail will be easy, but it might be worth it. Learn how IWCO managed the transition from low-cost commodity shop to solution provider offering digital printing and other services. They walked away from two-thirds of their customer base, but increased revenue from the remaining customers ten-fold. Learn from the details of a wrenching transformation and hear how IWCO emerged far stronger in the end.

In a time of industry consolidation, business owners need to be thinking about whether they should consider merging with other companies to gain synergy or reduce competition. They also need to think about whether it makes sense to accept buy-out offers (or even to solicit them). What do you need to do to get your company ready for a transaction? For a sale? How will a banker or a potential purchaser look at you? What professional assistance will you need?

You've listened to a lot of sessions about strategies. Now it's time to get yours down on paper and into action. In this interactive session, you'll work through a booklet that will help you turn your business strategy into a business plan that you can consult in your day-to-day decision-making. Step by step, consultant and track chair Kate Dunn will take you through the process. You'll walk out of this session with a tool to turn your strategy into reality.