Blog.Lucidiom » Photo Industry

Noritsu Acquires Lucidiom

Rachel — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:53:44 +0000

To our customers and partners,

Noritsu America Corporation today announced the acquisition of Lucidiom Inc. As I said back at PMA 2009 when the intent to acquire was first announced, most simply put, Lucidiom will stay Lucidiom. This means we will stay the course as the industry’s most open, flexible and brand agnostic imaging solutions provider. Although we are now part of Noritsu, Lucidiom will continue to develop our full product line and will continue to support third party printers and other equipment. More than 55,000 Lucidiom APM licenses are deployed worldwide and we realize we’ve achieved this level of success in 8 years largely because of our willingness to work with each and every customer to find just the right solution for their particular business. We remain committed to these company ideals.

The Lucidiom team will remain intact as well, so the only noticeable change for our customers will be the expanded offerings, service and support made possible by our new affiliation with respected global leader Noritsu. Becoming part of Noritsu will allow us to deliver our company’s award-winning technology beyond where we could have taken it solo. We’re bullish about the possibilities now before us.

We at Lucidiom have always prided ourselves on pushing the industry forward – first with offering enlargements alongside standard print sizes, then with the ‘Beyond 4×6’ Long Tail revolution and now with social picturing. Consumers have turned the imaging experience into a social phenomenon via the internet and Lucidiom is busy building profit-generating technologies to help photofinishers capitalize on the experience.

Our APM photo kiosk software features connectivity between the kiosk and the customer’s Photo Finale Web account. From the kiosk, consumers now can upload photos to or download photos from, a Photo Finale account. As well, we have added an enhanced product finder and a helping hand for retailers in tough economic times – a unique up-sell engine at the end of each kiosk order that suggests complementary products.

But my favorite new feature is our new RSS feed. This means the customer updates his photos on Photo Finale Web, and any RSS device, like an iPhone, Facebook or even a digital picture frame, picks up that live link and shows the new photos. This type of full circle access for customer and retailer alike is the key to the industry’s success going forward and we’re proud to be at the forefront of it all.

We’re the same smart technology company with the same people, entrepreneurial spirit and passion for the business of printing emotions. Lucidiom’s EQ (emotional quotient) remains our customers. We will continue to deliver the industry’s best in-store and online imaging solutions so that you don’t have to think twice about the technology driving your business. We understand your EQ is your own customers. So go get ‘em – we’ve got your technology covered.

Steve Giordano, Jr.
President, Lucidiom Inc.

Read the press release here.

Cross-selling and Up-selling – Not Just for Cameras Anymore

Rachel — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:32:23 +0000

The camera cross-sell you all know and love.

If you’ve been successful at selling cameras you’re no doubt familiar with the cross-sell – a selling technique that brings to the customers’ attention products or services complementary to the ones they came in to buy in the first place. At its best, cross-selling also includes up-selling – pitching products with higher profit margins.

the camera cross-sell

Most photo retailers have these retail strategies down pat when it comes to hardware and traditional photo products, but are you cross-selling and up-selling your creative finishing products and services? For most retailers, the answer is no.

photo book and cover

Cross-selling and up-selling are sales strategies that increase your profit, customer loyalty and customer value, as you know with the cameras. But suppose you sell photo books delivered in an hour from a kiosk or website and during the selling process you offer a personalized dust jacket for that book. The two products work perfectly together. Your customers like the idea; they buy them both. This means you sell the second product using a cross-selling technique. Similarly, by offering a back-up CD to a standard print order, you are cross-selling.

If you offer a premium photo book for a slightly higher price, you are up-selling. Besides the standard product offer, you can obtain higher revenue from other cross- and up-selling options such as:

Premium options (enhanced surfaces, better binding, branded content, etc.)
Add-ons (extension products like envelopes with folded cards, wrapping paper with notepads, or affordable frames for posters)
Lateral developments (modifying a product for special customer like a book for your weekend warriors or wedding flip books for the wedding photographers)
Custom made developments (a calendar for the local dentist with his phone number on it, a calendar for the local car dealer with their products on every month)

What is the best way to impact cross-selling?

Price. First, of course, is the price…it’s easier to add a small-priced item that adds great value, like a dust jacket, for example.

Fit. You must also consider how well the additional product or service fits the customer’s needs and wants or how much the customer appreciates the main product they want to buy (applicable to upgrades or adds-on). Suggesting unrelated products or ones that just aren’t right for that person may turn customers off by being simply too far off-target.

Testimonials. Testimonials also make a huge impact. The beauty of the internet here is that you can post testimonials about various products right on your website when they appear as a suggested product in the customer’s shopping cart.

7 cross-selling tips for Lucidiom APM 7.0.

kiosk product suggestion screen

Choose complementary products (In version 7.0 of the kiosk Lucidiom has already selected some cross-sell items. Review those items and price them appropriately.)
Use an automated recommendation system based on past purchases (a feature of APM 7.0 and upcoming Photo Finale 7.0)
List best-sold products (communicate customer satisfaction via testimonials)
Target your clients – estimate which clients are suitable candidates for the cross-selling process and create clients’ behavior profiles and models
Provide your clients with good customer service to increase repeat sales, which have higher chances of cross-selling and up-selling success
Inform your clients correctly about the opportunity to buy an additional product without forcing them to wonder or search
Keep track of refusals to accept cross-selling or up-selling offers

Tips for up-selling finishing products.

minilab photo book

Up-selling is more risky than the cross-selling technique since you are trying to sell something more expensive. You’ll want to carefully keep track of customer’s behavior and needs, so use the Photo Finale and APM Network reports to guide you. If you don’t have that data, contact your sales rep and they can provide it to you.

Emphasize the added value of the more expensive product. For example, your premium book should be the “Best Value.” The up-selling offer should be made directly and in person. A great time to do this is at pickup…“I noticed how great your vacation looked as an 8×6 book. I can throw in an 11×8.5 for $5 off today.”

Don’t forget to use new releases. Point out against the suggested additional product (for instance on the store POP) that is “Just released” or “Limited Time.” Offer discounts and special promotions.

And who doesn’t want a customer that decides to buy as a result of a pleasant in-store experience. Your sales staff should: be knowledgeable about every product, inspire trust and confidence, be quick and courteous with information, and provide enough product details.

You don’t necessarily need more foot-steps to make more profit.

Certain consumers will have the potential to generate more profit than others through up-selling and cross-selling, but you have to know who they are. You need data about customers’ buying behavior, their needs and preferences and the ability to predict their future behavior using this information. The Lucidiom APM Network and Lab 50 are great tools to start to understand your customers. If you need help, contact your sales rep and they can get your information for you.

train your staff which suggestions to make

Involve your staff.

You can also task someone on your staff with keeping an in-store log. Track how often clients return and visit your store, which are the products they respond better to, which communication or sales method they prefer. Have the discussion with your staff about what kind of products should be promoted and to what kind of consumers. Which is the next product the consumer will search for (holiday, season) and how can your staff be ready? What products can be promoted together? Give your staff a script, practice with them, train them on what to say…make reminder cards! If it helps to give them incentive, you can keep track of sales made in this manner and reward accordingly.

The Bottom Line: In order for cross-selling and up-selling to work, the focus should be on the customer, not on pushing certain products. Before talking about additional products or services, the customer’s interest must be peaked. Remember, the cross-sell suggestion done properly will come across as helpful, not as a sales push, resulting not only in a sale, but in a happy customer as well.

(posted by Steve Jr.)

Noritsu to Acquire Lucidiom–What Does This Mean for Lucidiom Clients?

Rachel — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:52:12 +0000

The slot machine noises have just about stopped haunting me at this point, but I’m still pumped from last week’s PMA show. As always, it was a great opportunity to catch up with Lucidiom’s friends and partners, but this year we also noticed that attendees were serious about strengthening their businesses and were more focused than ever. We had some big news to share this year, as well – our pending acquisition deal with Noritsu America Corporation. The announcement came the day before the show opened, so the Noritsu and Lucidiom booths were buzzing with questions from attendees, press and customers. In case I missed you at the show, here’s what it all means for you.

Most simply put, Lucidiom will stay Lucidiom. This means we will stay the course as the industry’s most open, flexible and brand agnostic imaging solutions provider. Although we’ll be part of Noritsu once the deal is finalized later this spring, Lucidiom will continue to develop our full product line and continue to support third party printers and other equipment. More than 55,000 Lucidiom APM licenses are deployed worldwide and we realize we’ve achieved this level of success in 8 years largely because of our willingness to work with each and every customer to find just the right solution for their particular business. We remain committed to these company ideals.

The Lucidiom team will remain intact as well, so the only noticeable change for our customers will be the expanded offerings, service and support made possible by our new affiliation with respected global leader Noritsu. Becoming part of Noritsu will allow us to deliver our company’s award-winning technology beyond where we could have taken it solo. We’re bullish about the possibilities now before us.

We at Lucidiom have always prided ourselves on pushing the industry forward – first with offering enlargements alongside standard print sizes, then with the ‘Beyond 4×6’ Long Tail revolution and now with social picturing. Consumers have turned the imaging experience into a social phenomenon via the internet and Lucidiom is busy building money-making technologies to help photofinishers capitalize on the experience.

Our latest photo kiosk software, APM version 7.0, is one such technology. This latest award-winning software version, which we demonstrated at PMA 2009, features connectivity between the kiosk and the customer’s Photo Finale Web account. From the kiosk, consumers now can upload photos to or download photos from, a Photo Finale account. As well, we have added an enhanced product finder and a helping hand for retailers in tough economic times – a unique up-sell engine at the end of each kiosk order that suggests complementary products. But my favorite new feature is our new RSS feed. This means the customer updates his photos on Photo Finale Web, and any RSS device, like an iPhone, Facebook or even a digital picture frame, picks up that live link and shows the new photos. The best part about this for the retailer is a little Order button under each photo, that will link back to your PF site for easy ordering. This type of full circle access for customer and retailer alike is the key to the industry’s success going forward and we’re proud to be at the forefront of it all.

(posted by Steve Jr)

Steve’s Five Ideas for 2009

Rachel — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:41:09 +0000

Today, the photofinishing industry faces significant, but not insurmountable hurdles. Not only are we in the midst of a major industry transition to personal publishing, or as I like to call it, ‘social picturing,’ but at the same time we are in the midst of a challenging international economic environment. While the headlines paint a grim picture for businesses large and small alike, the New Year also brings new possibilities and new resolve.

Like most of you, in college I was forced to study all kinds of useless stuff. Something from those studies has been running through my mind lately. It is a quote from the British poet Anne Bradstreet. She said, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” Together, let’s welcome that prosperity. I for one am sick of the adversity. Here are my ideas for 2009.

1. Increase creative sales. Did you realize that in 2008, ninety percent of orders were non-creative and 10 percent were creative? And the average non-creative sale was $17 while the average creative order was $37? Clearly, creative is how we will get back to prosperity. In 2009, the industry should strive to move creative orders from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Creative is not only more profitable, it’s what consumers want. With the digital revolution, consumers have gained greater control over their personal content, including pictures. The photo book has gained traction, but consumers are quick learners and soon they’ll be looking beyond the photo book for new creative products to use to express themselves and share their memories. If you’re not already on board the creative train, it’s time to get an express ticket. Give me a call.

2. Push the personal publishing revolution forward. In the 80’s, the industry experienced the minilab revolution as retailers shifted to 1-hour photo. Today, we’re in the middle of a revolution to the brave new world of social picturing. Consumers no longer walk in and out of your store simply dropping off rolls of film. They are exploring the plethora of new in-store and online possibilities and many of them are looking to you for guidance. Be prepared to walk them through the Long Tail of personal publishing. Need help? Give me a call or visit www.Lucidiom.com.

3. Focus on the consumer, not the technology. Photofinishing at retail has been going through a shift for some time. The consumer used to spend about 5 minutes in your store for every roll of film. With digital they started spending more time; the kiosk became a vital tool for your success. The trend has been to find the best technology in all sectors, massage it to meet your needs, and then find more technology. This is the year that needs to shift. The focus needs to be on the customer not the technology. How can you help her find what she is looking for? How can you help him express how he feels? How can you help your customer explore the possibilities of social picturing? It’s also more important now to find a technology partner you can trust so you can forget about technology. “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” as they say in the Wizard of Oz. Focus instead on your customers, marketing and the amount of your average sale (reminder – creative orders have a higher average sale!).

4. Focus on the up-sell. The most difficult thing to do in running your business is to attract new customers. Customer retention and up selling are much more lucrative in the short run. Since attracting customers will be tougher this year, bundling and up-selling will play important roles in maximizing the sale. Don’t just promote folded cards; show your customers how they can create a complete set of event stationery from that favorite photo or set of photos. If they’ve come in to create a personalized birthday party invitation, encourage them to add custom photo wrapping paper, a poster to hang at the party, customized party favors and thank you notes to send out afterwards.

5. Invest smart. The fight or flight instinct certainly comes out during tough economic times and while it might be tempting to flee or hibernate, now is not the time to stop moving forward. I am not saying you need to invest like you did in the past. If you used to spend $150,000 on new technology every year, just don’t take the budget to zero. Find out what is really important to your customers, then figure out if there are smart investments that can pay off this year. If you don’t invest in the future at all, you’ll come out weaker than you started. Invest wisely and you’ll come out stronger. Drive through it and most of all market into it. Your brand is vital to your success. Let your customers know that you are still moving forward and are bringing their stories to life at your store.

(Posted by Steve Jr)