Family Run Commercial Printing – Warm and Fuzzy or True Customer Advantage?

Qualprint was founded almost 60 years ago by my parents, Nicholas and Theresa DiSantis, as the Quality Printing Company. I grew up in the business – steeped both in printing technology and my parents’ strong commitment to helping customers succeed with their print marketing programs.

During those years it became clear to me that being a family-founded and run commercial printer is a mark of distinction for Qualprint. In fact, it’s a key part of the company’s “brand.” Many of our customers see it as a promise of something better than what’s offered by most of corporate America.

But is it just a warm or fuzzy for them or does being family-run actually translate into a better experience for our customers? The many stories written on the subject strongly suggest it could, typically listing a number of potential advantages offered by family-founded, owned or run companies. These include:

• A stronger work ethic fueled by a lot of things including often strong family-generated values, family pride in the business and a more employee friendly work culture. This usually takes the form of higher quality work for customers.
• Business stability – including lower employee turnover – the result of leadership that has stayed within the same family for years, consistently applying the same values and strategies. This means customers can count on a consistent relationship and experience over time.
• Flexibility meaning greater creativity and freedom to adapt to customer needs across everything including pricing, processes and timing.
• And probably most important to customers, family-run companies often follow a longer-term business strategy driven by the belief that they succeed only when their customers do, making them true business partners focused more on customer satisfaction and less on quarterly earnings.

The result of all these things usually translates into more satisfied customers and longer customer longevity.

But is all that true for Qualprint? Of course, I believe it is! As Vice President and 3rd generation of family management, I have tried hard to make it so. But as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. That’s why I was so excited to see the results of a customer survey we recently conducted.

Survey Says…

The survey’s primary goal was to help us understand how customer print needs are changing and how we need to change to meet them better. But it also asked customers to rate their experience with Qualprint in terms of work quality, service/support and value for the money. We got forty-four responses, and on a scale of 1 to 10 we scored an average of 9.4 or higher on all three measures.

More important, when asked to explain why they stayed with us, the respondents answers were almost always exactly what I wanted them to be. Here’s a sample.

• Great personalized customer service
• Quality and craftsmanship
• Responsiveness
• Flexibility
• Great staff
• Dedicated representatives who know my business
• Competitive pricing
• Willing to go the extra mile

These are exceptional reviews for any business. They are also backed up by our record for customer longevity significantly above the commercial print industry’s average. Together these tell me that we are successfully offering customers an extraordinary level of service. Is it the direct result of being family-run and founded? I can’t prove it, but in my heart I know it is!

If you want to learn more, just contact us anytime.