Printing Services Broker Business Plan

Our strategy is to offer an unusually high level of service while aggressively maintaining and pursuing customer relationships. Organized, regimented and sustained contact will facilitate ongoing opportunities. Our service strategy is three fold:

1. Our business premise is one of reducing customer action. We pickup and deliver all projects and when customer involvement is needed for review and/or opinion, the meetings are at the customer site.
2. We manage our time wisely. Each project has a realistic due date which allows Copriso to manage and produce a job while meeting and exceeding our deadlines consistently. Although we build in sufficient time for any issues that might arise, we typically offer timelines that are far shorter that the industry standard. This is possible through our regular contact with our customers and, therefore, our knowledge of their upcoming needs to eliminate the “crisis management” that is so prevalent in the quick-print industry.
3. Each project is handled with care. We manage each step of the process to insure that the job is moving within our timeline and meeting or exceeding our expectations. We work closely with our vendor partners and reinforce our expectations along the way. We take great pride in presenting a perfect finished product to a satisfied customer.

Contact is the key to service. Marketing is designed to gain market share, new opportunities, new contacts, and eventually new customers. Sales is not only closing the order, but is customer service, knowing the customer, making sure that the customer feels like they are our most important client, and maintaining regular contact with the key decision makers.

Our strategy is supported by a contact management software platform by Symantec Corporation called ACT! It is one of the top three contact management software programs available and has proven invaluable in managing customer interactions. Our new marketing manager has implemented this program as a foundation for our new marketing strategy. Regular contact facilitates new opportunities, knowledge of personnel changes, company focus shifts, referral possibilities and customer comfort level. Regular contact assures customers that we are a part of their team and not just someone else to contact if and when a need arises.

5.1 Competitive Edge

Our strongest advantages are our consultative philosophy and purchase methodology. We come to the market with 18 years of printing knowledge in the Colorado area and over 14 years of direct Business-to-Business sales experience. Additionally, we have 12 years of experience with computer technology which we will integrate with our business model to enhance and streamline our capabilities. Our focus on customer service is our foundation. The goal is to reduce the number of our customers who are willing to try someone else from the industry standard 80% to zero.

5.2 Sales Strategy

The first element is to get an onsite appointment. We will develop a rapport with the customer by taking a genuine interest in them and their business needs. Next we address current and future printing needs, develop a customized solution and present that in a clear format as quickly as possible. Finally, we follow up on all opportunities in a regimented manner. We utilize our customer contact management software to facilitate this goal.

Furthermore, we will continue to seek new contacts through our chamber memberships, seminars, business associations, referrals, and continued telemarketing. Our sales strategy is designed to both maximize and maintain existing relationships while continually looking for new opportunities. We also continually strengthen our existing vendor relationships while exploring new sources. This assures our clients that we can accommodate their needs with the best possible resource for their particular job. It also helps Copriso maintain multiple sources of supply to insure competitive supply pricing and timely turnaround availability.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

With no sales efforts on existing business, Copriso (as ePrint) handled approximately $160,000 in annual sales over the past three years. Our new marketing strategy should increase our sales only slightly in the first few months, due to the extensive efforts that will be put forth to build and coordinate our operations. We expect to get approximately 3 new customers per month for the first 6 months. We have arrived at our target sales figures by adding these new customers and their business volumes to the numbers from previous years’ history, and also growing the business printing needs of the existing clients. Future projections indicate that a 30% increase per year is very attainable.

5.3 Milestones

The accompanying table lists important program milestones with dates for each. The milestone schedule indicates our emphasis on planning for implementation.

What the table doesn’t show is the commitment behind it. Our business plan software includes complete provisions for plan-vs.-actual analysis, and we will be holding monthly follow-up meetings to discuss the variance and course corrections.