22% Sales Increase Through Second Quarter of 2012
Hoffman Estates, IL • July 26, 2012—Amid the lingering effects of the recession and a difficult business environment for the printing industry, Plum Grove Printers has achieved a dramatic upswing in sales during the first six months of 2012. Compared to the same period last year, the printing and business services firm realized a 22-percent improvement in sales.
Plum Grove has rebounded due to the diversity of its services and the acquisition of key new clients. The printer has spent the last decade diversifying its services beyond its core ink-on-paper business—offering marketing consultation, custom print-ordering websites for franchise organizations and other large firms, and even QR Code SmartPhone websites for mobile devices. The firm has also expanded sales of promotional products, such as imprinted shirts, hats and mugs.
Direct mail marketing, one of Plum Grove’s key services, has also been making a comeback. The printer offers a comprehensive direct mail marketing program with targeted consumer lists, a professional design studio, printing and sophisticated mailing services.
Peter Lineal, who founded the company in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in 1980, acknowledged that direct mail is “old school,” but nevertheless effective.
“While businesses must use digital marketing, our clients have found that traditional print, collateral, and direct mail are coming back because they’re working. Real estate marketing has rebounded, using direct mail as a way to reach potential clients in their homes,” Lineal reported.
He also cited technology changes as lowering the cost of direct mail, such as the U.S. Post Office’s Every Door Direct Mail program offering discount postage to mail every house within a zip code, and Information Age prospect-targeting techniques.