Conventional thinking would have clients choosing just two of these three options. Fortunately, for their clients, there’s nothing conventional about Lindsay Yates.
When a project is ready to go to market, it’s all systems go! Time is suddenly of the essence – and in many cases, a key drag is the ability to print high end material quickly, to a standard that faithfully represents the quality of the offering at competitive pricing.
With millions of dollars worth of sales in the balance, the project marketing fraternity is well accustomed to the requirement for outstanding printed marketing material.
Design agencies agonise over stock selection and finishes such as embossings, foils and UV varnishes, all of which helps to bring a sense of prestige and quality to a development in the off plan sales stage.
But of course, none of this is worth very much if marketing materials aren’t in hand by the time the pitter patter of buyer feet begin to echo through display suites.
By November everyone needs their brochures in October
The process of printing marvelous brochure material requires highly specialised knowledge, expertise and experience – and for the minority of print providers who possess all of the above in the right quantities, it’s a fairly well-trodden path.
Where it becomes tricky though, is at that time of year, or in those moments, when getting to market suddenly becomes a frantic race and developers and agents alike need their marketing brochures in order to begin making urgent sales.
The fine art of printing, finishing and binding suddenly becomes an adrenalin fuelled dash across fairly precarious terrain – and, in many cases, results in quality control issues that reflect poorly on the development itself.
Needless to say, delivering quality, on time and on budget under these circumstances requires a steady pair of hands, bucket loads of experience and an organisational structure that understands and can adapt to this often unpredictable process.
Great printing is a by-product of great service.
As Paul Richardson of Lindsay Yates will tell you, keeping your focus on the customer at every point in the production process is the key ‘‘You know when you’re too big,’ Says Paul. ‘When you start to lose that personal contact with clients, when the business has too many systems in place. Systems are important but they must be supported by people who have a ‘feel’ for the client, how the job is going to work and where there may be some flexibility or lateral thinking required.’
In visiting Lindsay Yates’ premises, we discover a surprisingly comfortable environment. A sense of calm and control emanates from the tidy offices of its management team. The boardroom is flanked on either side by two large whiteboards, that offer a rare insight into the machinations of this wisened organisation, as the wins and difficulties of the previous day’s business are laid bare following their daily 10.30am status meetings.
A 95% success rate, or “DIFOT” (Delivered Full & On Time), on a high volume, bespoke business doesn’t come easy. So much so, that even after decades of relentless daily analysis of procedures and checks, the organisation’s management still seem to adopt an ethos of “you’re only as good as your last job.”
Efficiency is the key to meeting quality, deadline and budget requirements.
It may sound like we’re stating the obvious, but achieving a state of constant efficiency is easier said than done. ‘It requires effective communication to extract the right input from both parties,’ says Paul.
He goes on to say how important it is that the owner should ‘know the clients’ – again, a fact that may not seem like groundbreaking thinking.
“But you’d be hard pressed in today’s
world of systems and optimisation to
find a company servicing hundreds of clients,
all of whom have a direct access to the owner.”
Beyond the outstanding quality and delivery our office has come to expect from this remarkable organisation, this unobstructed, direct access to Paul on absolutely every job has been something of a marvel to us.
Within the last three weeks alone, we’ve put their delivery to the test twice in ashamedly requesting foiled and embossed brochures to be delivered to client within 4 days of receiving artwork. And while Paul may not want us to encourage all of his customers to work towards these kinds of timelines, this kind of performance is hard to ignore, especially in the light of quotes that seem to come in at consistently more competitive pricing than that of their competition.
PAUL RICHARDSON
p | 02 9420 5500
e | paul@lyg.net.au
w | lyg.net.au
