Succeeding With Fresh Thinking

This article previously ran in the September 2020 issue of PS Magazine.

It’s easy to equate “innovation” with sleek West Coast startups. You know the type. Companies run by wickedly smart 20-somethings burning through venture capital to bring us the latest technological marvel.

But what if it’s more than that? Scratch that. 

Innovation is more than that. It’s scrappier, tougher and, arguably, slower. Innovation is born from a will to survive. Its seeds are planted in failure and frustration — even global pandemics — and nurtured through curiosity and determination. 

And it can be alive in any department of a distributor or trade supplier. Across the print and marketing services industry, innovation is everywhere from the board room to the break room. It’s in creative HR policies adapting to work-from-home mandates, streamlined workflow processes and new growth strategies built upon collaborative relationships with partners outside the field.

Here are two examples of companies whose fresh thinking sparked growth. 

Innovation in Marketing: Midwest Single Source  

“Always one step ahead.”

That’s how Kevin Ulwelling, president of Midwest Single Source (MSS), describes company founder John H. Osborne. Whether it was getting into the office supply world, digital printing and statement processing or, more recently, screen printing and embroidery, the Wichita, Kansas-based distributor has always found ways to adapt and more efficiently serve customers. 

Consistent evolution, however, is not without its hiccups. And the team at MSS found it harder and harder to relay the company’s wide range of products and services to its customers.

“Being a true ‘single source’ can mean different things — both good and bad — to different people and buyers,” says Ulwelling. Not wanting to cause “paralysis by analysis” by throwing too much at the customer too soon, MSS prefers a more customer-focused approach. The goal being to get to know their customers’ businesses first and then find ways MSS can help streamline purchases.

But more and more, the company felt boxed in by their brand, which, for the past 10 years, had centered on the acronym POMP (Print Office Mail Promotion). The four pillars, originally a solid footing, were now making it harder to tie in key areas such as apparel, gifts, cleaning supplies, office furniture and, more recently, PPE. Areas that Ulwelling says offer the greatest ceiling for growth at the company.

Innovative thinking can sometimes get lost in the day-to-day busyness of doing business. That’s when a fresh set of eyes can help. And Ulwelling admits MSS hadn’t gained much traction trying to educate customers themselves. 

“We’d invested in the equipment and people; now it was time to invest in awareness,” he says. They turned to a digital marketing company — who was also an MSS customer — to help bring energy and focus to the brand. 

The decision to bring in an agency helped MSS be more strategic about their vision and goals for 2020. “I’d always recommend getting help from the outside” Ulwelling says. “It forces you to look at your company from a different perspective. And it’s allowed for some great feedback from many of our employees, helping our employee engagement.”

The resulting campaign employed a website redesign, mixed with social media and email blasts. The new website breaks away from POMP and puts the broad range of products and services front and center. Vibrant colors, fun graphics and solid patterns strengthen the brand connection with potential customers via email, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Each week features different services such as apparel, office supplies, furniture and banners.

Launching a brand awareness campaign on the cusp of an unforeseen pandemic only added to the challenge. Fortunately, when challenges arise, innovative companies leverage their partnerships to adapt and thrive. For example, the campaign’s original videos called for actors and MSS staff. But with social distancing and safer-at-home orders in place, the agency opted to create animated video shorts to keep the campaign on track.

Ironically, Ulwelling notes that with just about everyone on their phones more frequently because of COVID-19, mobile is where the company’s ad placements are gaining traction. Overall, MSS has seen a significant increase in website traffic, hits and click-throughs, with a direct correlation to new customers placing orders in the last 90 days.  

With pandemic uncertainty still rippling through the country, it’s hard to say what the next 90 days will bring. Together with their friends at the agency, MSS will re-evaluate the campaign’s future in the fall. Innovation, after all, never stands still.

Innovation in Strategy: Synergent

Some distributors provide data and analysis of their customer communication across all channels. With this information, end users can assess the effectiveness of their communication to create proper follow-up messages that generate action.

Turning data into action is an ongoing goal of Synergent, located in Westbrook, Maine. The company provides technology, business and service solutions to credit unions throughout New England.

Synergent’s Print and Creative Services division recently underwent an innovative change. Rather than simply provide printed products such as statements to its customers, it wanted to enable credit unions to deliver customized messages to specific members at specific times, thereby engaging them and developing deeper member relationships.

Synergent revamped the division, renaming it Direct Marketing Services. A centerpiece of the new strategy was integration of the firm’s direct marketing capabilities with data collected and managed by its core technology group, enabling the creation of targeted marketing programs based on data analytics.

Today, Synergent’s direct marketing team has created new revenue opportunities by offering integrated cross-media services, including opt-in email campaigns, e-newsletter marketing programs, personalized direct mail, list management and more.

Synergent also helps credit unions profile their membership and use the information to create creative, targeted print and email campaigns that are more attuned to meeting the needs of credit union members. For example, if a member has a car loan that is nearing the time when it is paid in full, the credit union can send a personalized message regarding loans for a new car. For homeowners, the credit union may promote a line of credit for kitchen remodeling or other home improvements. 

Synergent has been able to increase direct mail response rates from the typical average of 2% to above 10% with targeted and personalized marketing, it says. Today, the company’s CSRs, now called “marketing service reps,” deliver a bimonthly newsletter, customized with their photo and contact information, to credit unions to promote Synergent’s services.

Laurie Hileman is a freelance writer and trade writer who creates custom content for those in the paper manufacturing, print distribution, nonprofit and planned giving spaces. You can find her at www.lauriehileman.com.