Danie and Antwanette Snyman were awarded the Top Marketing Award for Minuteman Press in Umhlanga at the South Africa Countrywide Meeting earlier this year. The Snymans first opened their brand new Minuteman Press franchise in Umhlanga in October of 2021. They have steadily grown their sales through direct marketing, the Minuteman Press International Internet Marketing Programme, and providing outstanding customer service.
Danie Snyman said, ‘Winning the Top Marketing Award was a great honour for us and it reflects our dedication to grow our business in this very competitive market. Minuteman Press Umhlanga was established as a new location nearly four years ago with no customer base. From the start, we came to realise that sales volume was the driving force for any business to survive. To achieve continuous growth in our sales volumes, we realised that it was critical to add new prospects continuously to our customer base.’
Before opening Minuteman Press in Umhlanga, Danie Snyman was a Geotechnical Engineer at one of the largest mining houses in the country and Antwanette was a stay-at-home mom during their children’s school years. Snyman said, ‘After almost 30 years in the mining industry, I was given the opportunity to apply for a very favourable severance package. After my severance package was awarded, we spent a lot of time reading about starting and running a business. We wanted a business where we had total control over our own destination and work with a small professional team. Our research indicated that the franchise route was the safest because of the proven business plan.’
‘Being a Minuteman Press franchise gives us a huge competitive advantage over other printing businesses in our area. Just the Minuteman Press brand alone attracted a lot of initial business to our store in the beginning. We can thank the well-established and pioneering Minuteman Press store owners throughout South Africa for building this top-notch reputation,’ said Snyman.
Snyman said, ‘We have invested in the Internet Marketing Programme to maintain a high online presence. This is the easiest and most effective way to attract new customers. We also keep our landing page on the Google Business Profile active by adding new photos and services regularly to the page.’
He continued, ‘For Training Providers, which are our most lucrative prospects, we obtained the national accredited training providers database to identify potential leads. For these types of customers, we make use of targeted telemarketing with bulky mail in an effort to get access to the decision-makers. These people rarely respond to social selling efforts and are always fenced behind strict gatekeepers. We spare no effort to secure meetings, conversations or appointments with these people. It takes a lot of work to land only one of these customers, but we regard each of them as Company Makers.’
One of the most important things to do when opening a new business is to learn about your community so you can meet the needs for local businesses. Snyman said, ‘Umhlanga is a rapidly growing suburb of the Greater Durban Area, which is a very popular holiday coastal city. Durban houses one of the big shipping ports in South Africa and is a hub for import and export activities. Because Durban has a humid subtropical climate with pleasantly warm and dry winters, which are snow and frost-free, many nationwide companies have established their headquarters in the area.’
Snyman continued, ‘We take advantage of this fact because you can aim the marketing efforts towards the decision-makers in these offices. Many of our products are ordered by these HQs and shipped countrywide to their branches. The printing industry in the greater Durban area is vibrant and very competitive. An effective marketing strategy is critical for a new printing business to survive and ultimately grow in the area, which is what we’ve done with the help of Minuteman Press International.’
Snyman shared the following advice for other owners, ‘We are very new to the industry and have a lot of learning still ahead of us. The Minuteman Press brand helped us a lot in the beginning when our location was very new in the area. We are very impressed with the online visibility that the Internet Marketing Program has given our location. Also, direct marketing can be time-consuming but once you have identified your ideal customers and put in the effort your sales will grow. The level of service we provide is also aimed at ensuring that customers always come back to do more business with us.’
Snyman concluded, ‘You must be actively involved in the building, marketing, and managing of the business. I’ve learned that what you receive is directly tied to what you have put into your business.’
MINUTEMAN PRESS
https://minuteman.com/za/
