Graphic Media Alliance

04/14/2026

How to Measure What Matters in Print Business Growth

Source: Print Media Centr, April 2026

Print business owners need to know if they are measuring the right things to gauge company growth. How do you measure what matters? The short answer is that you need to know your goals, understand what success looks like in tangible terms, and build companywide improvement programs that bring everyone together. Things have to matter to be able to measure what matters. 

What We Tend to Measure

Typically, in a print business, growth is measured after the fact. Owners look at the dollar figure for net revenue, for example. 

Did it go up or down? It went up? Great! However, this approach doesn’t measure the “ingredients” we need for growth. 

What Should We Measure?

When I start a growth program with a print business, the first thing we measure is the current state across the company. Let’s get all those baseline numbers recorded. 

Although my role as a consultant and advisor is to drive growth through sales and marketing, I measure beyond those two areas. I want to know what is really impacting growth – or lack of growth – inside the print company.

A print business needs to be internally capable of supporting the growth program we are building. The work we do solidifies the company’s “standing,” which is reflected in salespeople – and through all your sales and marketing channels. 

I want to know what’s happening beyond the sales and marketing departments. 

For example, we may decide to measure company morale. We might examine overtime use, equipment downtime, injuries, makegoods, and employee complaints.

We record it, we graph it, and we schedule the next measurement. Then we define what success looks like in specific numerical terms. That way, we can understand how employees probably feel about the company – and where there’s room for improvement. 

Print Business Growth is More Than Sales Revenue

Making measurable improvements in a print business puts the spotlight on what can change and what we can control. 

When the printing company runs smoothly, and when we’re hitting (or exceeding) our measurable goals, the whole feel of the company starts to change. I don’t say this lightly. 

Belief is a motivator, and it is an accelerator. 

It is easier to help you grow if everyone in the company can see that the company and everyone around them is worthy and capable of improvement.

Everyone in the Company Needs to Measure What Matters

Most printing companies are flowing with data. 

Unfortunately, that data doesn’t always flow down to the people who need it. And it rarely flows regularly enough to be useful. 

Measuring what matters should happen at all levels in the organization. The owner, executives, and department heads need to create an atmosphere of continuous improvement so everyone can pull in the same direction. 

Employees must be part of the initiative and included in reporting.

What Will *You* Measure?

How we define growth – and how we measure it – will differ within each print business. 

I can tell you this with certainty:

Everything you project through your sales and marketing flows from the progress you make internally.