Update on HP. It's about Distribute and Print.

At 5:10 yesterday, Adam Dewitz over at PrintCeo.com updated the original post to include comments directly from HP. I found it this morning.

By the way, if you can afford it, sign up for the premium service over there. To be clear, I get not comp from them in any way. But as they keep getting better and better, the easier it is for me to keep blogging.

The last two paragraphs from the post,

For customers that choose to receive their order via mail delivery, MarketSplash is working with Print Service Providers (PSPs) for print fulfillment. The PSP network for MarketSplash is not exclusive and HP expects the network of PSPs to grow as MarketSplash and its customer base grow.

MarketSplash’s intent is not to be a printer or print provider. MarketSplash actually works in a complimentary manner with PSPs and enables and promotes printing for them.”

I'm betting that no way does HP want the manufacturing piece of the network. In this case, they don't even mind that they are missing some of the toner sales, as Staples runs mostly on Xerox boxes.

The growth engine is the network.

Consider the information that can be harvested from a distribute and print network serving SMB. Every business card order indicates a new business formation or a change in business. it also gives all the contact information and the time of the event. If they have the systems in place, imagine the continuous stream of live leads that gives to their network of equipment resellers.

The Use Case:
Abc SMB in xyz town orders a "free" business card. Three days later, an HP equipment reseller, or maybe the HP store or maybe Staples, or maybe a member of PSDA, or best of all HP sends in the name of one of the above . . . sends an email.

Subject line: Congratulations on starting "abc SMB".

Content: Please give me a call if there is any way I might be able to help.

I can offer you a start up deal on computers, printers, cameras, MFPs and by the way, we're doing a co op deal with Staples for your supplies.

Here's my mobile number. Please don't circulate, but feel free to use it if you have a problem in the next couple of months, I could help you solve.

Personalized direct mail peices follow at appropriate intervals.

What this means for the rest of XORiHK
Let's say that HP is the leader in consumers and this is the plan to increase their share in SMB. For those in the same space, I would respond sooner rather than later. If and when they get this to critical mass, their first mover advantage is going to be very hard to overcome.

Meanwhile, learn from them. Do the same thing for the networks you run. I don't know enough about Ricoh to say anything even remotely realistic.

But for Xerox and Kodak. Stop chasing advertising and ROI. Xerox , you own the education space at the school district level. Kodak, you own the commercial offset space and are real players on the Cloud with the Kodak Gallery.

The principles are becoming clear.
1. Distribute and print.
2. Aggregate users on the Cloud.
3. Harvest the Cloud based information to figure out who might buy what, when and where.

Go get 'em.