In their August edition, Marking Industry Magazine announced Durable Technologies as their Gold Manufacturer of the Year.
Marking Industry Magazine's Anne Shadis met with Kari Lunden, Durable Technologies president and CEO, Matt Martin, director of sales and marketing, and Jim Maybach, Durable Mecco vice president of operations. In the excerpt below they discuss how customer service and quality have played a huge part in the success of the company.
Anne Shadis: Have you learned any lessons along the way—ways to do business, things to always remember?
Jim Maybach: The most important thing that stands out to me is customer service. You’ve got to respond quickly. If you promise something and you can’t deliver, you have to let the customer know so they can plan accordingly.
Matt Martin: Our response time and communication skills are very important to our new inbound marketing strategy. Our inside salespeople in each location are the first line of defense—it’s up to them to create a positive first impression with our customers and new prospects. We talk about the Durable Difference all the time and it definitely starts with the level of service that we provide. We want it to be a very enjoyable and memorable experience so that the customers want to do business with us again in the future.
It’s always been the service and quality that set us apart from our competitors. I think that starts from the top—from Kari, Clem, John, Jim, as well as Chris in our Worcester office—and works its way down to all the other employees. One of our most experienced saleswomen at our Worcester office, Jane Lewis, always says, “If we don’t service our customers, someone else will.” It really is all about the customers for us.
Kari Lunden: We learned early to diversify and focus on our strengths and to direct our efforts towards what we do best. Over the years, we acquired a few companies that were outside of our normal comfort zone and had mixed success with those companies. We still own and operate two restaurants that we acquired from bankruptcy. They are now successful four-star restaurants. However, the credit for the success goes to the qualified and experienced managers hired to run them; so if lacking in expertise, you should surround yourself with competent people or just stick to what you really know and are familiar with.
Rubber stamp companies quickly recognized the importance of diversification when industry component suppliers entered into end-product manufacturing, and it drastically changed the landscape of the office marking industry. Today’s stamp manufacturers are branching out into signage, digital printing, personalization, engraving, awards and other related items.