Transforming into a Cross Media Services Provider: How CustomXM Did It

LITTLE ROCK, AR—Our company has never been afraid of change. My father started Custom Printing Co. out of his garage in the early 1960s before moving the business to its current location in North Little Rock in 1966. My mother joined him as a business partner and since then the company has undergone no fewer than five expansions. In the early 1970s, we were the first commercial printer in the area to embrace the new “direct-to-plate technology,” and a few years later we were also the first to install high-speed copiers.

When I came aboard in 1990, I quickly learned that succeeding in this business meant delivering value to our customers and providing unequalled customer service. It was all about building strong, long-lasting relationships. That definitely has not changed.

Today, as president of our family business, I can tell you what has changed: just about everything else. For several years we watched closely as traditional printing was modified and reinvented by the “digital revolution.” Instead of resisting these changes, we embraced the new technologies to ensure that we could continue to provide our clients with the communication tools they need to succeed. In short, to help our clients grow their businesses, we had to transform ours.

So began our transition from Custom Printing Co. to CustomXM. Since installing high-end production digital equipment in 2006, total sales revenues have increased more than 35 percent. Digital color revenues alone have increased 102 percent during this same time period. Additionally, as digital production drives direct mail, our mailing services revenue increased 394 percent.

The “XM” in CustomXM speaks to the “cross-media” campaigns we help our customers execute. This represents the integration of digital printing, database technology and the Internet, all of which changed the face of marketing. The marketing strategies needed by our clients have moved beyond a simple print job. We realize that value to our customers is based on our ability to offer cutting-edge technologies that enable them to develop and track very sophisticated marketing campaigns.

“Market Smarter”

Helping our customers utilize a customized mix of media to deliver a consistent message across multiple channels helps them build loyalty with their various audiences. We’re really working to help our customers “market smarter.”

Our first experience with “personalized cross media” was working with personalized URLs (PURLs). We leverage customer data and use a variety of media—direct mail, emails, text messages—to drive target audience members to their PURLs. This increased some customer response rates by as much as 30 percent or more!

We quickly realized that our traditional role with our clients was changing. Instead of being just a resource for commercial printing services, we became a one-stop shop for cutting-edge marketing solutions.

The Digital Solution

A few years ago, we reached capacity with our existing digital printing equipment and sought a new printing solution. We needed one with greater productivity and uptime that would help us to stay up to date as the technology advanced, without incurring large costs for doing so. In 2007, we met with a Kodak representative to test a Kodak Nexpress S2500 digital production color press. Thirty days later, we closed the deal. It immediately increased our capacity and allowed us to go out and actively seek new business.

The primary reason we selected the S2500 was its modular nature. Being able to stay current with the technology was very important to us. Without a doubt, it’s one of the main reasons that we successfully completed our transformation to CustomXM.

Soon after purchasing the Nexpress S2500 press, we upgraded to the S3000 model. Continuing to leverage our initial investment, we did an in-field upgrade with the addition of the latest Kodak Nexpress Fifth Imaging Unit solution, with Dimensional Clear Dry Ink. The 3D tactile printing it enables really helps our work stand out, and acts as a huge boon to customer response rates. When posed with the choice betwen a “flat” printed piece compared or a “dimensional” piece, clients overwhelmingly have selected the dimensional piece. The advertising agency community has greatly embraced this new printing concept.

Most recently, we purchased the Intelligent Calibration Service (ICS) to maintain our excellent image quality. With the ICS system in place, production uptime is even greater. When a rare troubleshooting issue has arisen, what may have taken an hour to resolve is now taken care of in less than 10 minutes.

One of our most effective cross-media tools, GetNtheGame.com, allows us to integrate online marketing with our printed products. CustomClick, our online digital storefront, allows our customers to place orders, review proofs, send files and manage their inventory from their desktop computers.

Print Lives!

People ask me if print is still a relevant medium. I love exclaiming to people in reply, “Print lives!” The fact is: print is evolving. And as print evolves, so do we. It used to be the only tool in our tool box, now it’s one of many integrated tools in our marketing solutions mix. And it’s one of the most powerful action- and result-oriented tools in that toolbox. The technology available today allows us to take advantage of all of these tools to help our customers market smarter with relevant 1:1 content.

In our business, we have to use all of the channels available to us. That’s what keeps print alive. Even social media? Absolutely. Our effective use of social media is a continuing success story in helping us foster great customer relationships.

We started by listening and absorbing what was out there. We set up a Twitter feed, and started following Kodak’s “Kodak I Dig Print,” Jeff Hayzlett from Kodak, and other industry feeds.

By following some local folks, we connected with potential customers like marketing, advertising and communications agency representatives. We started to meet in person through local “Tweet-ups,” and I can tell you it’s turned into significant wins for us, as far as creating new customer relationships. We’ve even hosted “mini Tweet-ups” right here at our shop, as several from the Twitter community have stopped by for tours.

Sometimes, these relationships blossom without ever meeting in person. I joined a conversation, replying to three marketing folks from different local organizations, who were discussing paper on Twitter. I just love paper, so I had to share my thoughts. We had a great dialogue through Twitter, and I followed up by sending them sample kits we printed on our Kodak Nexpress S3000, featuring our Dimensional printing capabilities. We have worked with each one of those organizations since.

Transforming a Brand

When we made the transformation to CustomXM, we were essentially rebranding our company. This was not an easy move, and not without risks, to be sure. What if people didn’t recognize this new company? Actively engaging in social media helps us to create a buzz around our new brand, and now a lot of our customers only know us as CustomXM. We’re building on the strong foundation that my parents established for this business, and enhancing it by communicating to our customers that we are ahead of the curve, delivering top-notch marketing solutions that meet their ever-changing needs.

With all the changes swirling around our industry, I steadfastly maintain that print is very much alive. The way we use it is changing, and companies like ours are changing as a result, but print is not going away. Everything we do is still print-centric. We take a lot of pride in our ability to creatively use print to enhance the digital experience for our customers’ different audience members. That’s what helps our customers grow their business, and that’s what ultimately helps us grow our business in this time of incredible change and evolution for our industry.

About the Author
Paul Strack is president of CustomXM in North Little Rock, AR; www.customxm.com.