Bob Smith
President
If Bob Smith didn’t enjoy what he was doing, it’s unlikely he’d still be involved in the dealership he founded back in 1985 at the ripe old age of 50. Prior to starting Copiers Plus in Fayetteville, NC, Smith had already logged 28 years in the industry. Today, Copiers Plus has grown into a successful family business with five locations and a branch office in Raleigh, NC all with a foundation based on the basic principles of honesty, integrity, and total commitment to customer satisfaction. Copiers Plus represents Kyocera, Canon, Muratec, and OKI Data, and has enjoyed a fair amount of success with its inPrint Managed Print Services program as well as document solutions. The latter two segments of the business has grown 50-70 percent over the last three years largely because of the implementation of mobile solutions, cloud scanning, and print management.
Bob Smith, President Copiers Plus in Fayetteville, NC, Smith had already logged 28 years in the industry. Today, Copiers Plus has grown into a successful family business with five locations and a branch office in Raleigh, NC all with a foundation based on the basic principles of honesty, integrity, and total commitment to customer satisfaction. Copiers Plus represents Kyocera, Canon, Muratec, and OKI Data, and has enjoyed a fair amount of success with its inPrint Managed Print Services program as well as document solutions. The latter two segments of the business has grown 50-70 percent over the last three years largely because of the implementation of mobile solutions, cloud scanning, and print management.
Copiers Plus has a long track record of success― success that’s been recognized by its primary vendor Kyocera, which has honored the dealership with the Kyocera Premier Dealer award for more than 10 years. That award is presented to less than 4 percent of Kyocera dealers and represents year over year growth. Copiers Plus has also been recognized by Kyocera with a Kyocera Service Solution Provider award for 10+ years as well, honoring the dealership for maintaining the highest services standards year over year. The dealership has also been recognized locally with a North Carolina Top 100 Business award.
What’s impressive about Smith, aside from his longevity in the industry, is his willingness to embrace new technologies, services, and solutions along with new marketing approaches. Consider that Copiers Plus uses daily social media advertising through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, and Manta. The dealership also produces bi-weekly blogs and a quarterly newsletter, and regular e-mail marketing campaigns.
Recently, I had an opportunity to talk to Smith about his successful dealership, the industry, adapting to social media, and the challenges and joys of running a successful dealership. His responses were succinct and to the point.
How’s business?
Smith: 2014 is showing positive signs of being our best year in the past five or six years.
What segments of your business are doing well for you?
Smith: The color copier/printer market.
Why is that?
Smith: As with any technology, color copying and printing is now much more affordable for the small to medium size businesses within any industry.
What segments of your business would you like to see do better?
Smith: Managed Print Services.
What will it take to do that?
Smith: Actually, we have taken the first step in achieving this by hiring an MPS expert and IT specialist to champion our efforts. It has made all the difference in the world in that he has inspired the Account Managers to become more involved and believe in the program. Recent MPS contracts have really opened their eyes to the benefits of Managed Print Services to them and to the customer. Also, the use of success stories will help us present the MPS Program more effectively.
What skills were you looking for your MPS expert and might those come from outside this industry?
Smith: Ideally, an MPS Specialist should have outside copier sales experience and have elevated themselves into a position of selling Managed Print Services and have a full understanding of its process and benefits to the customers. Ideal candidates outside of the industry would be cell phone sales reps, phone book advertising reps, and satellite television and radio reps.
Do you think your existing people can be trained to sell MPS effectively?
Smith: It depends on a sales person’s longevity in the industry. Those that are veterans in the field are often of the “box” selling mindset. Millennials are the ideal target age for high-tech selling. One reason that those with a “box” selling mentality are not ideal is that they are accustomed to a quick turnaround on the sale. Managed Print Services takes longer due to the in depth analysis process but yields a greater return.
How did you come up with the concept of inPrint as your Managed Print Services program?
Smith: We felt that with the implementation of a Managed Print Services Expert that we had streamlined the process into a “Program” uniquely our own and wanted to name it in order to better project its benefits. inPrint represents the integration of all aspects of a business print environment into one solution. Remote monitoring and distribution of supplies, service, and volumes make the inPrint solution intelligent, intuitive and inclusive.
Do you expect to get into Managed Networked Services as well?
Smith: We have already begun integrating this aspect of the business into our service solution. Our Fayetteville and Asheville locations have a full time IT Specialist on staff. We also utilize Remote Tech technology to improve our IT Service to our customers.
What will you need to do to do that effectively?
Smith: Continue to work with the current IT Service process and to perfect it prior to opening it up as a Solution to all of our customers.
You’ve been growing through acquisitions. What’s the biggest challenge of making an acquisition?
Smith: First, integrating new branches into the Copiers Plus workflow process and making staff in the branch offices feel like an intricate part of Copiers Plus as a whole. Secondly, reaching and informing the acquisitioned customers of the change in a timely manner and building their confidence in Copiers Plus.
Your dealership has embraced social media, why do you think that’s important?
Smith: Because your marketing must go where the people are. Since every business everywhere is a candidate for what we have to offer and since everyone in every business is on social marketing, we are there.
As someone who has been around for awhile, was the concept of social media difficult for you to grasp?
Smith: It was not. Our Director of Marketing was very much on the forefront of social media and began our social media marketing campaign years before our manufacturers.
What specifically are you posting about on social media?
Smith: We post about all of our products, our programs, our solutions, our business as well as “Bob’s Stolen Quote of the Day” and industry humor. We feel that diversification in advertising will ensure that we reach the interest of every prospect possible.
Do you still enjoy doing what you’re doing?
Smith: After 55 years in the industry there are still different challenges every day but this industry has been good to me. There is always something new, something better and that motivates me to come up with better solutions to these challenges in order to ensure that “The PLUS always stands for Service”.
What’s the best thing about what you do?
Smith: Knowing that Copiers Plus and its employees are dedicated to giving the best customer service in the industry and are committed to continuing that tradition.
What’s the one thing you know now about running a dealership that you wish you knew when you founded Copiers Plus in 1985?
Smith: How quickly and drastically the industry would change and how to be better prepared to deal with these changes.
How does the rest of the year look for Copiers Plus?
Smith: I feel that 2014 will be our best year since 2008. Loyal, dedicated employees along with the most up to date technology, equipment, and inPrint will help Copiers Plus see this to reality.
