Applying Smart Customization to Publishing

In 2003, custom publishing was again the fastest growing publishing activity for academic and professional publishers, with most enjoying double-digit sales growth.

But some publishers saw little or no profit margin improvement in their custom publishing activities. Why, then, do some custom publishers continue to outperform the industry in sales and profits, while others lag in one or both of these key performance indicators?

A Booz Allen Hamilton study, titled Smart Customization, Profitable Growth Through Tailored Business Streams, provides insight into how some companies convert incremental revenue from custom products and services into a better bottom line.

Companies who were 'smart customizers' "focused simultaneously on value creation strategies and delivery alignment outperformed industry peers 2-to-1 in revenue growth, and had profit margins 5% to 10% above competitors."

It also reports companies that don't align the value of variety with the cost of complexity are five times as likely to grow at rates below their industry average."

Smart customizers, the study found, consistently used three best practices: One, they understand the sources of value that customization provides their customers. Two, they find 'virtuous variety', the point at which customization adds value to both the company and customers alike. Three, they tailor product development, marketing and sales, production, distribution, customer service and align them to meet customer demand and provide customer value at a low cost.

We've observed situations where the costs and complexity arising from custom publications and services is greater than incremental revenues from publications and services, resulting in poor margins.

In many instances, these publications and services were added quickly to 'meet the competition', without truly aligning them with the publisher's editorial, marketing, and production activities.

Custom publishing can be an expensive activity. If it is not organized and executed properly, the result is the new economies of scale that publishers have acquired over the past 10 years are actually diminished by custom publishing.