Founded more than 80 years ago, The Dingley Press has endured both growing pains and growing spurts en route to becoming the fifth largest catalog printer in the United States. Based in Lisbon, Maine, The Dingley Press and its 400+ employees serve a long and varied list of customers who rely on them for expertise in catalog printing. Building that list can be a lesson in patience, however, as the sales cycle is often years long.

Staying top of mind
“We are exclusively B2B, and it takes a considerable amount of time to build a prospect’s confidence in us enough to award us the work,” explains Jim Gibbs, sales and marketing manager at The Dingley Press. “The typical sales cycle is several years — and sometimes longer.”

The Dingley Press sales team traditionally has relied on direct mail, phone and face-to-face meetings with prospects to keep in touch and earn their business. Thanks to a referral by a sister division at The Sheridan Group (parent company of The Dingley Press), a quarterly email newsletter recently was added to the mix of tools the company uses for reaching out and staying in touch with customers and prospects.

Gibbs says, “Quite often, closing a sale depends on being there at the right time, and the newsletter keeps our company name in front of everyone, so they hopefully think of us when that time comes. The newsletter’s value is the regular communication with prospects and customers, even when there is not a bid cycle or anything pressing to talk about.”

Great response
Proven Systems produces and manages all aspects of The Dingley Press eNewsletter, The Cataloger. According to Gibbs, having an outsourcing partner with whom he and his team could trust to create a newsletter that met The Dingley Press’ high standards has made all the difference in the newsletter’s outcome.

“Time is what initially held me back from doing a newsletter,” says Gibbs. “If time is the only thing stopping you from regular customer communication, don’t be afraid to outsource it. You will end up with a more professional product at a fraction the cost of adding staffing.”

The Dingley Press’ eNewsletter has been warmly welcomed not only by the company’s sales team but also by the customers and prospects who receive it.

“I always receive great feedback from the recipients with each mailing, and our customers and prospects enjoy reading it,” Gibbs explains. “The majority of the people that I market to are actually marketers themselves, so their positive words reaffirm that this is a great product. I am absolutely thrilled with the newsletter and overall service of Proven Systems.”