Network Marketing - A Case Study inDigital Innovation and Retail

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1 Analysis April 2015 Reinventing Your Business: It s about Telling Your Story!

2 Table of Contents Key Highlights... 2 Introduction... 2 Allied Printing Gets Customers to Rethink Ink... 3 Qdmh Creates a Buzz by Rebranding Itself as Innovairre... 4 Hudson Printing Makes a Bold Statement... 5 The Bottom Line... 6 About the Author... 6 Key Highlights Even the best products and services can get easily lost in the shuffle, and competitors might gain ground not through product innovation, but by telling better stories. A number of innovators that have established themselves as digital innovators have achieved success by recrafting their narratives and finding new ways to articulate what they stand for. A well-designed website is the starting point for telling your story. Introduction New and emerging technologies are bringing major transformations to businesses of all types. Today s business owners face a whole new set of challenges, and the printing industry is not immune. Josh Linkner s book entitled The Road to Reinvention provides a clear path for firms that are hoping to transform their business models. According to Linkner s book, the way that you position your company and communicate to your various audiences and target markets is a critical component of transforming your business. Business transformation actually falls into the category of storytelling. Even the best products and services can get easily lost in the shuffle, and competitors might gain ground not through product innovation, but by telling better stories. Linkner asks his readers to answer a basic question: How can you reinvent your organization through the use of powerful stories in addition to product or process disruption? I will be speaking at the upcoming Inkjet Summit, which is taking place during April in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. To prepare for my speech, I decided to interview 20 firms that have established themselves as digital innovators by becoming early adopters of high-speed production inkjet technology. I quickly learned that a number of these organizations have achieved success by recrafting their narratives and finding new ways to articulate what they stand for. InfoTrends

3 ANALYSIS Reinventing Your Business: It s about Telling Your Story! Allied Printing Gets Customers to Rethink Ink When prospective buyers set out to learn about your business, one of the first places they will consider visiting is your website. A website can provide a lot of information about an organization. It is a public statement about the amount of thought that a firm has put into its brand. Rather than sending a bunch of different messages that won t be received, your website must clearly and concisely communicate why your business is the best choice for the visitor. A well-designed website is the starting point for telling your story. Allied Printing Company (Ferndale, MI) has assisted its clients with traditional print for more than 60 years. When the firm began envisioning its future, it made extensive investments in technology and redesigned its website to reflect its new thinking. The launch of a new URL, was part of an overall strategic growth initiative that focused on amplifying the company s leadership in today s technological marketplace and reinforcing its expertise as an innovator in print, targeted direct mail, and on-demand fulfillment services. This growth includes investments in new HewlettPackard digital equipment, software, and facilities that combine to make Allied the most technologically advanced digital printer in the state of Michigan. Allied has long been attuned to the ever-changing needs of its customers, and the company wanted to communicate that it is capable of more than just putting ink on paper. Allied wanted to reposition itself as a progressive full-service firm that offers a variety of solutions beyond traditional print. The company revamped its website with a new logo and a Rethink Ink tagline to help tell its story. Figure 1: Screen Shot of Allied Printing Company s Website InfoTrends

4 Qdmh Creates a Buzz by Rebranding Itself as Innovairre One of the forgotten tools among print service providers is the use of public relations (PR). PR is a way for companies, organizations, or people to enhance their reputations. It usually involves communicating with the media and through the media, and it often involves cooperative efforts with others to create goodwill within the community and enhance a company s overall image. A well-timed PR campaign can increase your business' chances of reaching your target market with exactly what they want to hear, when they are ready to hear it. A worldwide leader in fundraising, Qdmh provides support for partner agencies and nonprofit organizations. Servicing more than 500 charities, the firm has 4,000+ employees and works across five continents. Qdmh sends out over a billion direct marketing packages on an annual basis to reach its targeted prospects and donors. In 2013 alone, the company s operations helped its non-profit and agency partners raise more than $5 billion. Qdmh achieved its growth through start-ups and acquisitions, and the end result was nine different brands that operated somewhat autonomously. All of the pieces were in place to offer a comprehensive integrated marketing offering that offered creative, data analytics, direct mail production, and premiums, but the businesses were being run as silos. Although Qdmh had always been a technology innovator, the company realized that it was time to revive its own brand to reflect its true capabilities. Qdmh developed a value proposition that would resonate with its audience. Two core themes emerged your cause is our cause and innovate for good. Based on these themes, the Innovairre brand name was born. In addition to conducting a massive overhaul of its website, the company developed an aggressive internal and external public relations campaign to communicate the new brand. The management team made a conscious decision to launch its new brand on December 2 (#GivingTuesday), further cementing its efforts to become the worldwide leader in fundraising. The firm also laid out a plan to get employees and customers excited about its actions and new direction. To build enthusiasm among its employees, Innovairre ran a food drive on #GivingTuesday. The company s employees ultimately delivered over three tons of food to three countries. The company also introduced an Innovarrian Award for its employees to further generate excitement and action within its workforce. According to Don McKenzie, President and Chief Growth Officer, Our employees are brand ambassadors. The Innovarrian award is designed to recognize our biggest asset our workforce. Customers come to know our employees as true representatives for our mission, and this means so much more than simply creating a new logo or hiring an actor for a commercial. Establishing an award program was critical to recognizing the people that convey our brand to customers and prospects every day. InfoTrends

5 Hudson Printing Makes a Bold Statement As part of its extensive investments in digital technology, Hudson Printing (Salt Lake City, UT) believed that it was essential to tell customers a fresh story about print. According to Director of Innovation Paul Gardner, We decided to make a bold statement... Reinvent Print! At Hudson Printing, we believe that an industry reinvention is underway. Our bold statement is an affirmation that in addition to being a part of this reinvention, we intend to be among the leaders. Figure 2: Screen Shot of Hudson Printing s Website Hudson wants its customers to think about the impact that printing has on everyday lives and business. Gardner explains, Our work has moved millions it can rouse actions, generate anger, or move people to tears. We offer customers a megaphone that amplifies their ideas. The craft of printing is continually being reinvented it has gotten faster, more controlled, more beautiful, more consistent, more available, and more colorful. Now, it s getting more personal and more connected, and the capabilities of inkjet will drive even more innovation. InfoTrends

6 The Bottom Line As a print service provider, it s your job to tell your story and effectively communicate your value proposition. Your messaging needs to be consistently delivered through your website, market engagement, social media, public relations, advertising, and direct mail. Ask yourself why did you start your business? What was missing in the marketplace before you entered? What major advantage does your business have over others? Linkner sums up the advantages of telling your story by stating, A company with a great overall story can consistently outpunch its competitors across many aspects of business sales, recruiting, procurement, and even operational excellence. It s time for you to effectively tell your story! This material is prepared specifically for clients of InfoTrends, Inc. The opinions expressed represent our interpretation and analysis of information generally available to the public or released by responsible individuals in the subject companies. We believe that the sources of information on which our material is based are reliable and we have applied our best professional judgment to the data obtained. About the Author Barb Pellow Group Director barb_pellow@infotrends.com A digital printing and publishing pioneer as well as a marketing expert, Barbara Pellow helps companies develop multi-media strategies. She assists companies in creating strategies to launch new products, building strategic marketing plans, and educating their sales force on delivering value. Comments or Questions? InfoTrends