Example of a co-operative content marketing story, featuring a direct mail marketing firm and its new printing press vendor.
The <Client Name> story spans four generations and more than a century. It begins in 1884, with a horse and buggy dropping workers off at their routes to hand out flyers, newspapers or whatever printed material they were assigned. As the decades passed, <Client Name> evolved into providing mail-out services to its customers, working closely with the US Postal Service. The company gradually introduced printing services to support the original distribution business.
When current CEO <Client Name> joined the business with his dad, his role was to build the printing side of the company to complement the existing mail-out services. When he started, printing represented about 10% of <Client Name>’s business. Today, printing makes up the lion’s share of <Client Name>’s operations, bringing in a full two-thirds of company revenues.
Family Traditions
It’s a company built on two family traditions. The first tradition is relationships. <Client Name> has always based its marketing on word of mouth based on long-established repeat and referral business. They also make it a point to build quality relationships within their industry network and with their vendors and suppliers.
That tradition of relationships also extends to its employees. <Client Name> employs a small but dedicated team of well-rounded printing and mail-out professionals. In other companies, a press operator may spend their career working with just one piece of equipment. <Client Name> cross-trains its teams so that everyone can take on a co-worker’s project at a moment’s notice.
Progress
However, don’t get the idea that <Client Name> is old-fashioned. <Client Name>’s other vital family tradition is progress. That’s why <Client Name> now relies on the <New Press> to flexibly deliver critical print projects to its valued customers. As <Client Name> puts it, “It’s been a game-changer.”
Customers deal with <Client Name> for many reasons. Perhaps the most important is their flexibility. Having a branch of the US Postal Service right in their building is a crucial advantage. <Client Name> has worked very closely with the USPS for decades. As always, they work hard on maintaining their amicable, long-standing relationship with the postal service and their processes are tightly integrated with the very latest USPS standards.
In an age when many businesses try to pigeon-hole their customers into service offerings based more on their internal workflows than customer needs, <Client Name> takes a different tack. <Client Name> still provides the same personal touch that only a family business can deliver. They don’t push back on last-minute change requests. They do business in a responsive, nimble way that puts the customer first.
All kinds of organizations rely on <Client Name> for their printing and distribution needs. Some of them are elegant brands and household names. You’re sure to have seen the work <Client Name> has produced for them, either in your mailbox or in impressive point of purchase displays.
Diverse Customers with Sophisticated Needs
Other customers are in pharma, retail or education. Chances are, those political flyers you find in your letterbox during next year’s elections will come from <Client Name>. That versatility we talked about means that <Client Name>’s customer base is diverse in terms of both industry and size.
The print business is more sophisticated than ever. When <Client Name> joined the firm, mail-out printing was simple. There was no color or elaborate stock involved. Today that has changed, and <Client Name> is at the forefront of delivering the intricate illustrations, coupons, flyers, samples and specialty items today’s customers demand.
Variable data printing is a crucial trend in today’s direct mail marketing industry. <Client Name> meets that challenge every day. Their flexibility, versatility and attention to detail make them a perfect fit for this innovation in the business. Customers know that moving to variable printing can dramatically boost their response rate. <Client Name> also educates its customers on how to mine the data generated from variable print jobs to better measure results.
One of the threats <Client Name>’s competitors face is being written off as a one-trick pony, based on the equipment in their shop. Customers may choose a mail-out company to handle one kind of project without it crossing their mind that the supplier could take on related jobs.
<Client Name>’s customers are different. <Client Name>’s reputation for flexibility and versatility along with its emphasis on the long-term relationship mean that organizations look to them to deliver a full range of printing and distribution-based marketing solutions.
<Client Name>’s customers may start out working with them on a mail-out project. Before long, they are branching out into other print or marketing services. These can range from annual reports to fulfillment services to large format printing to product launches. The emphasis on healthy relationships, flexibility and progressive technology give <Client Name> the ability to provide one-stop shopping tailored to each customer’s marketing goals.
<New Press>
The workhorse behind this versatile and customer-focused operation is the <New Press>. <Client Name> didn’t choose the <New Press> lightly. The decision was too vital, both in terms of the up-front investment and for guaranteeing the flexible service delivery for which <Client Name> is famous.
What first impressed <Client Name> about the <New Press> was an interview he took part in long before the <New Press> was released. <New Vendor> staff met with him and showed a sincere interest in <Client Name>’s needs and what <Client Name> thought the industry trends were.
When <New Vendor> launched the <New Press >, <Client Name> was impressed. He could see that all the features he had asked for had been included. Even so, <Client Name> possesses a healthy degree of skepticism drawn from experience.
He compared the <New Press> with all the other players in the inkjet press space. He also insisted on waiting until he could see a <New Press> deployed in a real print shop and delivering as advertised. In the end, none of the <New Press>’s competitors provided the reliability, flexibility and quality output of the <New Press>.
What finally sold <Client Name> on the <New Press> was its underlying design. Having a long history with offset press equipment, <Client Name> was impressed with the fact that <Manufacturer> manufactures the <New Press>’s underlying press. That meant it had all the design features of the working presses <Client Name> had depended on for decades.
Exceeded Expectations
<Client Name>’s experience with the <New Press> has exceeded expectations. The <New Press> gives <Client Name> very high and reliable throughput, image quality that rivals an offset press, an excellent variable printing interface and support for the many substrates <Client Name>’s customers demand. On top of that, the <New Press> features operator replaceable parts. Letting the operators maintain their machines themselves is a perfect fit for <Client Name>’s well-rounded, hands-on printing team.
They say that a craftsperson is only as good as their tools. That’s why <Client Name> knew that choosing the right inkjet press was a make or break decision. By selecting the <New Press>, they have guaranteed that they can deliver the sophisticated, high quality, variable printing services that today’s discerning marketers demand.
David Morton Rintoul Freelance Writer 