Success Stories
We regularly hear unique success stories from our owners regarding how they are using their website to build relationships and drive sales. Below are just some of the success stories we've heard, our goal is they will provide ideas to enhance your own business strategies.
It's no secret that spam e-mail annoys business people everyday. But when Cindy Winkle of Minuteman Press in St. Paul began receiving over 50 junk mail messages a day, she knew that this nuisance had crossed the line. It was more than an inconvenience for her business; it was a waste of valuable employee time and a risk for potential viruses.
So Cindy took the initiative to fight back. By subscribing to the spam and virus protection service offered through her Minuteman website, she eliminated the problem before messages ever reached her inbox.
"We just signed up for the spam protection and I love it! I used to get 50-60 e-mails per day of junk, and I think it's more like 5 now", said Winkle, "it has been a big timesaver for me."
Cindy Winkle, Minuteman Press St. Paul, MN
It's a basic principle of business in the printing industry. Make it easy for customers to order your product and they are likely to return.
This is a principle that Matt Risi actively embraced with his Customer Portal campaign. By providing his customers maximum convenience in the ordering process, Matt has laid the foundation for increased orders and enhanced loyalty.
"This is a wonderful tool. We have set up portals for customers to facilitate ordering from individual employees and offices around the country" said Risi.
By allowing numerous people in a variety of places to conveniently place orders online, Matt has been able to foster an increase in orders from many top customers. This increase has resulted in a direct return on his website investment.
Matt Risi, Minuteman Press San Diego
Time is money. That is the mantra of today's fast paced world. Therefore, businesses that offer convenience and efficiency are capturing and keeping customers like never before. Realizing this mindset, Dee Bisel utilized efficiency enhancing tools from her website to capture new business and lock in existing customers.
"We just landed a new client that was shopping around for a printer. When my competitors' prices came in, they were cheaper than mine, but I was selected based on the efficiency of online ordering," said Bisel. "And once the client uses Customer Portals, it is very difficult for them to leave."
Since launching her site in 2001 Dee has been able to convert 60-70% of her customers to handle proofing online. This has led to faster turn arounds and happier clients. In a world where time is money, Dee is enjoying an increased supply of both thanks to her Minuteman website solution.
Dee Bisel, Minuteman Press Lawrence KS
Everyone has heard the old adage, "it's better to give than to receive". Don Krieger from Minuteman Press in Napa, California, proves it is actually better to give AND receive, through the effective use of vendor links.
Don has leveraged a link on his website that directs customers to a vendor's site, where they can order their holiday cards. By giving his customers such seamless simplicity in the ordering process, he has received increased orders and improved profits this holiday season:
"In cooperation with Birchcraft we can now put in our daily message to go to our website and order your holiday cards. Yesterday we received our first order for $1,310 in Christmas Cards. All we had to do is read our e-mail and bill the customer. How easy was that?"
Don Krieger, Minuteman Press Napa, CA
Below is Jim Pawlicki's approach to utilizing Customer Portals as a sales tool.
I had been having problems getting past the receptionist/gate keeper at a majority of the cold calls that I make. My liaison from Minuteman Press, suggested I find out who the decision maker is, and then make up a packet containing brochures, personalized notepads and something nice to soften them up like candy, and return that packet in a Minuteman bag labeled with the decision maker's name. Also included is a short letter that explains that I just want to get together for a short meeting.
I also postscript the letter to explain our web presence and our customer portals, then personalize a Customer Portal with their company logo, and the contact's name. I detail to them how to access their own portal, and encourage them to give it a test run on their own. My reasoning is that if they take a second or two to try it, I have a very warmed up call when we meet.
The response has been great. I meet with the appropriate person on most occasions, which allows me to present myself and my company, and to quote on their needs. You may be interested in some of the comments that I receive from these warmed up contacts. While they absolutely love the package, they are most impressed by our Web presence and their own personalized Customer Portal. It just makes our professionalism that much more apparent.
Jim Pawlicki, Minuteman Press Williamsville NY
Without even making a sales call, Joel has used Adobe PDF JobReady to get new customers that were referred from existing customers.
According to Joel, they started the conversation like this "Joel, I heard you were the guy to instruct me how to get software that makes it easy to print?" During that same call Joel walked them through the installation setup and was printing a $1000 job the next day.
With dozens of clients using Adobe PDF JobReady Joel says he can "now skip the proofing process all together, which is a huge time saver."
Joel has also used Customer Portals to keep existing customers even when they move thousands of miles away. After one regular customer that orders for all their offices nationwide was transferred out of town, Joel was worried about losing the $1500 a month business so he set him up on Customer Portals. Now the customer can place an order from anywhere.
As Joel has also found out they'll place orders at anytime of the night too "you should see the times they place orders, 3:00am, midnight... etc. it does make it convenient."
Joel Steinman, Minuteman Press Harford, CT
