SGIA has released the 2010 Market Trends Survey Report for the specialty imaging community. Based on 472 responses to a survey conducted in May, the 33-page report provides insight into how sign and graphic companies and garment decorators are responding to the ongoing changes and challenges in the marketplace.

“The survey shows strong evidence that specialty imagers are exploring new markets and opportunities as a way to bolster their business,” says Dan Marx, SGIA’s vice president of markets and technologies. “Further, the survey shows how specialty imagers are using sales, management, and production initiatives to strengthen their competitive advantage.”

The full report is available to all SGIA members and survey participants and includes data on primary markets served, top methods used to attract new customers, and sales and promotion expenditures.

Although LexJet isn’t involved in the garment decoration side of the specialty imaging business, we’ve been keenly observing the evolution of the sign and graphics business over the past 16 years. Here are some of excerpts and statistics from the SGIA Market Trends Survey Report that caught our eye:

• “The graphic and sign community is truly a multi-technology industry, with 54% of the companies reporting they are multi-technology shops. While more than 44% report digital to be their sole technology, the number of companies reporting they exclusively use screen printing has dwindled to less than 2%. Screen printing, however, has proven to be a value-added capability that provides a competitive advantage.”
• The top five business concerns in 2010 are: sales growth (64.8%), pricing (62.4%), the national economy (61.8%), health insurance costs (56.4%), and maintaining margins (55.8%).
• Some of the ways companies are responding to the tight economy are to reduce operating costs (67.3%), add new product lines (58.8%), and add finishing capability (47.9%).
• Some shifts have occurred in which markets survey respondents perceive as growing. Between the 2009 and 2010 surveys, the number of respondents who expect the interior décor market to grow jumped from 42.7% to 48.4% An increasing percentage of respondents also see opportunities for growth in the following markets: government and government contractors; non-profits and associations; health care institutions; hospitality services (hotels, night clubs, resorts, casinos);  transit advertising; and business-to-consumer sales.
• Despite the current hoopla about social networking tools (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), only about 10% of survey respondents rate them as effective or very effective in generating results, and 35% of the respondents don’t even use them. According to the survey respondents, the most effective ways of getting results continue to be referrals (70.2%), outside sales (24.1%); and inside sales (21.3%). However, the percentage of respondents with company blogs has grown from 4.6% in 2007 to 13.5% in 2010.  The use of published articles has dropped from 33.3% in 2007 to 17.7% in 2010.

If you are an SGIA member or participated in the survey, you can click here to access the full report.  If you would like more information about joining SGIA, or participating in its next round of surveys, visit: www.sgia.org