Marketing a Good Cause

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Jared

While we print and mail a ton of postcards for our customers, we typically don’t get to see the results our customers generate from their marketing efforts. So it was especially good to hear back from one of our local print customers – The Community Closet – about a campaign they recently ran.

But first, a little context. The Community Closet is a non-profit thrift store serving Park County in Livingston, Montana. Since 2005, they have been providing low-cost, pre-owned, clothing and household items to those in need in the local community.

In addition to donating merchandise to schools and other non-profit organizations, the Community Closet board of directors distributes store profits to Park County non-profits, civic organizations, and individuals in crisis. One of these non-profits includes the Livingston and Park County Food Pantry – and Community Closet typically donates $1000 each year. But due to the poor economy of late, and the increase in demand at the food pantry, they wanted to give even more. The store set aside this past January as Food Pantry Month, and committed to donate 10% of revenues to the food pantry.

To promote their Food Pantry efforts, they came to PrintingForLess for help in designing both a postcard mailer and a print ad for the local newspaper. They spent just over $1,000 on their marketing campaign (postcards, postage and newspaper ads combined) and shared the following results with us:

An average daily revenue increase by 20% compared to January of 2009;
Total, January 2010 donations to the Food Pantry were $2,184.00 with a cash donation increase of 114%;
Many donors commented on the Food Pantry program when they came into the store with their thrift donations; and
The Community Closet was able to build positive awareness in the local community.

Caron Cooper – the Executive Director of the Community Closet – was ecstatic with the results they generated from their advertising campaign, and made the comment that she had never before seen such a direct correlation between their advertising efforts and results (increased revenues – and in this case, an increased donation to the food pantry).

Kudos to the Community Closet for a job well done and for being such a positive influence in our community!

Why a fun culture gives me a stomach ache

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Jessie

I knew I was in trouble when Janell, a member of PFL’s fun team (more on this later), approached me to ask a favor. I quickly and foolishly agreed to be one of five judges in PFL’s soup cookoff last Thursday.

You must understand that I don’t have a very refined sense of taste. In fact, a coworker told me last week that my palette hadn’t evolved since I was 17. Nevertheless, I had no qualms about being a soup judge. I take pride not in nuanced tasting, but in the volume and efficiency in which I can sample food.

Fast forward to the end of the judging: I’m using my napkin to wipe sweat from my forehead and clutching my cramped stomach after eating 17 soups in 30 minutes flat. Everything from clams and crab to meatballs and spicy chili was mixing in my belly with unknown consequences.

So, what does a stomach ache have to do with fun culture? That’s easy: silly events like a soup cook off are an inexpensive way to get employees engaged with your company’s culture and engaged with each other. Just be wary of taking on a judging role if you don’t have an iron stomach!

Why a fun culture gives me a stomach ache

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Jessie

BURN THE SHIP: a story of an entrepreneur in Montana

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Tim

Doug Fletcher found fly fishing, or more appropriately, fly fishing found him. And it changed his life’s direction.

In 1996 he and his wife left Atlanta, a high paying job, security and a safe career path for Montana, blue ribbon trout streams, mountains and a large measure of uncertainty. The momentum behind this big move was a long trip to Montana after grad school two years earlier, backpacking and travelling, and of course fly fishing, thoroughly enjoying all things Montana has to offer.
This exposure to the Big Sky state and the quality of life he witnessed helped him make up his mind. “It was a huge imbalance with life”, Doug recalls, referring to what Atlanta and his current career path did NOT give him. The couple made up their minds. It was time to jump…

In 1996, after grad school and several years in the corporate grind, Doug found himself in Bozeman, Montana, more or less “chronically underemployed” and looking for his niche and direction. One observation he had at the time was the successful people in town were all small business owners-beverage distributors, a high quality shoe and boot maker, some real estate. They were the familiar fixtures in the community, worked hard, and had carved their own place in the area and were flourishing. This was all Doug needed to realize his own direction-his instinct from his early twenties kicked in-being your own boss is the answer. The soon to be entrepreneur had to step up.

Fast forward to today after a decade in business, Doug Fletcher and North Star Consulting Group is recognized as a leader in the field of global, web-based market and organizational research. This includes projects for employee and client satisfaction surveys as well as comprehensive employee performance evaluations.

I sat down with Doug over a burger and beers to pick his brain, and see what an entrepreneurial Montana transplant has to say about success, the prospect of failure, stick-to-itiveness and fly fishing.

Q: What brought you to Montana?

Doug Fletcher:

“Believe it or not, fly fishing. While I had ‘the Life’ in Atlanta, a house, good job, the right choice it appeared on the surface, but it was not what I truly wanted. After grad school during the summer, my wife and I packed up and headed west to travel, explore and fish in Montana, before my job started in Atlanta. And that was it. When I got back I realized that there was a huge imbalance with my life, and I couldn’t do the things I really wanted to do there [Atlanta]. Fly fishing was part of it, sure, but it was just one thing that represented the quality of life I wanted. When we finally decided it was time to quit, pack it up and move, we were bound and determined to make it work-we had to. And, by the way, I did manage to fit in 100 days of fishing that year!”

Q: How did North Star Consulting come about?

DF: “At an early age, maybe in my twenties, I decided that I wanted to pursue an entrepreneurial life-corporate life was not my bag. So, after realizing that the successful people in the area were their own bosses, I collaborated with two friends, kicked in a little money, made some contacts, and the company was born in 1998-with $7500 between the three of us.”

Q: What does North Star Consulting do?

DF: “North Star evolved into a company that helps other companies and corporations do employee surveys, customer surveys, and recently with our release of Rave Review, performance evaluations for professional HR infrastructures. Our clients are small to medium sized businesses, and we are internet based, using proprietary software. With regard to clients, we do not advertise. We built our business in the early days through networking on a national basis and once we got a critical mass of clients, we have grown via repeat business, organic growth with existing customers and word of mouth.”

Q: What in your view are some of the pros and cons of living and working in Montana?

DF: “To a certain degree, starting from scratch in more traditional jobs in Montana can be an uphill battle-prohibitive transportation costs, small, widely dispersed population, difficulty in moving a lot of goods-all make for a complex go of it. Being web-based with a low cost structure has given us the freedom to be national and worldwide. Additionally, Montana has a wealth of talented people, with a very good knowledge base. The ‘white collar’ population is strong here.”

Q: Who is your competition? How do you differentiate?

DF: “We really have two levels of competition. There is the lower end, quick-hit inexpensive DIY sites and the very large, corporate agencies. Both serve a good purpose; the low-end services are great for college students, non-profits, highly bootstrapped start-ups. Then there are the larger ones that we occasionally compete with. But our advantage over them is twofold: one, when you call us, more than likely you are speaking with me or one other person-the level of service is highly personalized and dedicated. Secondly, we are fast. Many times I can be on a call with a client, have a proposal by the afternoon, and be rolling on a project the next day if need be. That is difficult to do with a much larger company, and that is not the business plan or value of lower end sites.”

Q: What are you doing, or will be doing, to weather the current economic climate?

DF: “We are maintaining a low cost structure, we have low overhead, and we are small enough to be nimble-we can change as we need to, so as to ride out anything that comes at us.”

Q: What are some of your personal goals you have set for yourself and your company?
DF: “My short term goals, say in the next 12 months, are growth related. We are not worried about survival of the company; it is in a good place. But, we won’t be able to probably grow it like we did the previous 5 years at a rate of 10-15%. I want to keep it level. From a long term view, the key is diversification. Too much of the company in ‘one big egg and two small eggs’ can be risky; I want to get more of the company in more places.
My personal goal is to train the next generation of senior management. This is two-part: one, to groom good new managers who our clients will see as competent, and really just an extension of me, and the company, and to get someone in place to eventually transition into my role.”

Q: What is your advice to new entrepreneurs looking to strike out on their own?

DF: “My advice to anyone looking to go out on their own and be their own boss is pretty straightforward. First, take a long, hard look your personal strengths and weaknesses. And don’t just trust your own opinion-talk to others, people you respect, who can give it to you straight. Second, be very honest and conservative with your financial resources-we started North Star with $7500, and in the last 10 years, we have done roughly $5 million in revenue, with 2 full time employees and 2 part time. If you drain all your resources to get it going, or go way beyond your means, you can fail. There is no such thing as an overnight success-you hear about the story of Google and the like, but that is not the norm. It takes consistency and that day-to-day presence in the market. Additionally, whether you call it luck, good timing or opportunity, every start-up will get that chance, that time at bat where you will get a shot. The trick is to make it work, recognize the opportunity, and start climbing up.

I think about what it took to get North Star off the ground and start being successful, and really it was like ‘burning the ship’. The Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez would literally burn his ships upon entering uncharted territory, thereby making it essentially impossible to just turn back and head to safe ground. They had one direction to go-forward. That is how I viewed it. There was no safety net, no deep pockets-I felt I had to succeed, and I would.”

Doug Fletcher, 42, is the co-founder and CEO of North Star Consulting Group. He is an avid (you guessed it) fly fisher, bowhunter, traveler, runner and trains and competes in triathlons whenever he can. He has completed an Ironman, the Bridger Ridge Run (more than once), and completed a (nearly) cross-country solo bike trip, from southeastern United States to Montana. He and his wife, Brigitte, have two children and make their home in Bozeman, Montana.

Andrew Field proposes SMB stimulus package

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Jessie

Ok, so I’ll label myself biased right off the bat, but when an idea is great, you just have to get the word out.

The point of the $700 billion dollar bailout was to ease the pressure on the banks and free them up to extend credit to Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) in order to keep our economy moving in the right direction. With all the money being thrown at large corporations with little to no effect, SMBs are feeling the squeeze more than ever. In short, banks still aren’t providing loans and SMBs aren’t getting the credit they need to keep their businesses running.

Andrew Field, CEO and Founder of PrintingForLess.com and contributor to this blog was featured in Forbes.com today outlining his idea for providing loans to SMBs who keep and create jobs.

The essence of the plan is to preserve and increase small-business jobs by letting them be used as the security for low-interest loans. Make available to small businesses $20,000 in unsecured loans for each full-time employee … The proposed plan would immediately halt the loss of jobs in the SMB sector and keep alive many businesses that suffer from the sudden drop in revenues …

Andrew’s article has caught the attention of Montana’s own Max Baucus as well, one of our US Senators and chairman of the Senate Finance committee.

The plan is simple, smart, seems easy to implement and more importantly, is desparately needed to keep the engine of our economy going. If you like what Andrew has to say, particularly if you’re a small to medium business owner, be sure to let your elected officials know.

Cool Software

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Andrew

The team asked me to do an occasional post on the Print Soup blog. I told them that as the president of PFL, I’m a generalist, not a specialist, and that others know more about design, printing technology, and even Montana recreation (nice assignment, Tim!) than I do. So they told me to write about things that interest me, figuring that I probably have some shared interests and perspectives with some of our tens of thousands of small business customers. As I left the room, I think I heard Chip mumble “we can always delete his posts…” So here goes. Thanks for reading.

Well known blogger Furqan Nazeeri raved about a piece of software called Flowchart.com. Which got me thinking. Once in a while someone comes up with a piece of software that is intuitive, useful, and priced right. I think great software should be usable with little or no instructions or training. Guessing as to how to do something should get you the right result most of the time. BaseCamp doesn’t quite meet that standard, but it is pretty good, and a heckuva lot better than MS Project for anything but the largest projects. And the price is right.

I started using SnagIt a year or 2 ago, and it absolutely rocks. A great use is including screenshots in emails about website changes, or even Excel snags when discussing numbers. I probably dump snags into 3 Word, ppt or emails a day. And no, I have nothing to do with the company, I just love their software. 90% of the time I use it instead of Photoshop or Illustrator. Before you flame me, I want to be clear that I’m a businessperson, not a design professional, and I realize SnagIt doesn’t replace Photoshop, AI, etc. It is just a handy tool for everyday business tasks.

Using a snag for quick, clear email communications.

I’d be happy to hear about your favorite software tool.

Back to basics

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Jessie

Given recent developments, I would remiss if I didn’t lay down my thoughts on the current state of the economy. There is enough blame to go around, no matter where you fall within the political spectrum. The very real credit market connection between Wall Street and Main Street will affect Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). But the things we need to concentrate on, as owners of businesses and members of the middle class, are what we can control–not on rending our garments and gnashing our teeth about the things we cannot.

There are very real factors that can weigh in on what we can and cannot control–most of which are subjects for other posts on other blogs. Socioeconomic, education, and social-justice issues are just a few. However, when we go back to basics and follow simple principles they usually don’t let us down.

Keep costs down. Renegotiate with your vendors. They might be going through tough times too, but one thing you can count on is that they don’t want to lose your business. Save when you can: Having cash on hand during a credit crisis for home or business will make it easier to pay for the things you need going forward.

Invest in your employees. Numerous studies have proven that it is always more expensive to hire a replacement for an employee than it is to invest in the good ones you have. In the end, the ROI will be increased productivity, increased loyalty, and happier customers. Do right by your customers. We’re all feeling the squeeze, but I would wager that even the squeezed-iest among us would still rather pay a little more for a great product at a fair price that comes with great service than a mediocre product at a cheap price that comes with terrible service. Any joker can lower his price; don’t fall into that trap.

Invest wisely in a marketing plan that has a proven track record for you. Maybe that means going after loyal customers with a call to action that will encourage them to spend more or seeking out new customers that you can wow and retain for the long haul.

When it comes to facing down the downturn, getting back to basics is all about what you can control.

How are you handling the economic crisis? Or, in the words of the new contest that PFL recently announced, “What recession-busting marketing tactics will you use to ensure your business comes out on top?” Share your ideas in comments, or enter the contest.