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Home / Washington Business - November/December 2005 / Made in Washington: Printcom |
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Made in Washington: Printcom |
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Written On: November/December 2005 |
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Written By: by Shawn Sullivan |
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Two months before a major trade show, Sam, the owner of a computer services company, frantically searches for the promotional products he needs. The yellow pages and Internet provide little assistance, but then Sam remembered an eye-catching product from a prior trade show. He asked a colleague about the product and she directed him to Printcom — the company innovative enough to bring any idea to realization.
Sam decided on a customized coffee container with a special hourglass shape. He thought it would be effective to serve coffee at the tradeshow, while he explained the value his company could bring to prospective clients. Then he called Printcom to see if its team could produce 500 cups in 60 days.
Printcom offers a vast array of promotional products and services. They create everything from the most basic business cards to extraordinary items, such as full-sized, imprinted sport towels shrink wrapped to the size and shape of a putting green, with a real golf ball in the middle. To sum it up best, the company’s motto says it all, "Printers we are... just printers we are not."
Printcom began in 1986 with a small printing press and a big idea. In 2006, owners Jim and Judy Coovert will celebrate their 20-year anniversary. They attribute their success to taking the concept of customer service to a new level—removing stress from the process of selecting and purchasing personalized materials.
"We provide our customers with the highest quality products," Judy Coovert said. "But in addition to that, we provide our customers with any possible promotional product they can think of." Such products can test the limits of imagination, but thus far Printcom has delivered the unimaginable, and always before deadline. Several clients offer Judy a vague idea of what they want, leaving most of the conceptualizing and creativity to Judy. The result of her imagination is easy to see. Every client that leaves the production to Judy is completely satisfied with the result. No small feat by industry standards and an accomplishment shared by a select few—even outside the printing industry.
"We began with the idea that customers do not enjoy taking time to shop at one store for letterhead, another for custom coffee mugs, and yet another for specialized materials to present at trade shows," Jim Coovert said. "At Printcom, a customer can shop for all three at the same time." All Printcom requires from its customers, big or small, is that they tell the company what they want and when they want it. "The rest is up to us," Judy said.
After a business places an order, Printcom can deliver the finished products to any shipping address or trade show location. "We can ship any product ordered for a trade show directly from the factory to the exhibitor’s booth," Judy Coovert said. This alleviates the typical hassle of ordering promotional products and paying the shipping costs twice.
One of the ways Printcom revolutionized the printing industry is through its state-of-the-art ordering system. "Full internet procurement is one of our most valued options for our clients," Jim Coovert said. Printcom designed a system that allows clients to shop for products via an individual Web site. Printcom provides the software, so each business can log on to their personalized Web site.
"Each client has its own Web site within our system," Judy Coovert said. "All a customer has to do is log on to their individual Web site and order refills of any available products." Within this system, each department, whether it’s marketing, human resources or accounting, has access to its own section of the site. This streamlines the ordering process and eliminates errors, such as ordering business cards for the wrong department. Integration of its Web site includes security blocks that allow specific divisions of a company to order for that division.
Printcom also offers clients the ability to store excess quantities of stationery, letterhead and other printed products at its warehouse. "We understand that available space is sometimes rare, so we offer our own space to clients," Jim Coovert said. "This way, the client can order several boxes of printed products without worrying where to put it." Companies can choose from several custom printed materials such as business cards, stationary, checks, invoices and much more.
Printcom is so effective at providing both basic printed items and specialized promotional products that it does not have a marketing department searching for new customers. "A few years ago, we decided to stop advertising for new clients," Jim Coovert said. "It was meant to be temporary, but we soon discovered we didn’t need to advertise." Printcom relies on word-of-mouth advertising, and its reputation for success and professionalism continues to recruit new clients, even without a marketing team.
Jim and Judy Coovert built a printing powerhouse from the ground up, but they didn’t lose sight of their clients. "We focus all of our attention on our customers," Judy Coovert said. "We don’t sell products—we sell fulfillment." Printcom will even offer solutions to problems the client may be unaware of during the fulfillment process. "Our customers feel we are competitive because of how we treat them," Jim Coovert said. "We figured if we made it easy for our clients, they will buy from us." The reality is that most clients do like the ease of use Printcom offers, and most clients build lasting relationships with Printcom.
Two days after calling Printcom, Sam receives a call from Judy Coovert about his promotional products. She informs him that Printcom filled his order and 500 cups with an hourglass shape will arrive at his booth before the opening day of the trade show.
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