Providing the right answer to every printing question. That is the goal Gerard Rooijmans has had in mind from the start of his printing career. Over the years, he became increasingly skilled at responding well to the customer. This has made him a good combination with his brother Sander, who handles production at Rooijmans Print. Originally a commercial printer, the brothers now run a flexible printing company with digital production from Brabant in The Netherlands.
Client
Rooijmans
Since
2015
Software
WhiteLabelShop
Graphic genes
Father Rooijmans, who once started the printing business, can still regularly be found in the company. The graphics genes are obvious. For Gerard, it was a natural step to go straight into printing after graduating from the Graphic Lyceum. “I actually didn’t even consider other options.” As steadfast as this choice was, work in the printing industry proved to be volatile. “A lot of things changed. My father was still working with a degel and we handle everything on digital printers. Although, everything, we still sometimes punch special productions ourselves on a Heidelberg. Then our father’s knowledge is very valuable.”
Choices in producing
Construction drawings, business cards, brochures or stickers; it all comes along in the print shop. “About three-quarters of the jobs we produce ourselves,” Gerard says. They outsource the remaining 25 percent. “That has become more since we are connected with our web shop to the Prindustry platform with other producers. We then like to work with the producers who work exclusively for resellers, such as Probo or Print.com.”
Webshop: more customers, with personal component
Two interesting developments can be seen at the webshop. On the one hand, Rooijmans is gaining new customers. “We mostly work in the area around our company, but because of Prindustry we now also have orders elsewhere in the country and sometimes even from Germany or Belgium.” On the other hand, Gerard notices that the personal component can never be completely eliminated. “I think 70 percent of the customers who visit the webshop still send an email to us first. Some just can’t find what they are looking for or find it difficult to choose from the many options. This gives us the opportunity to explain our added value. Just then you can respond well to the demand and offer the best solution.”
Personal with UPS
In order to make the right interpretation of the customer question, it is usually essential to speak to someone live for a while. “That is more difficult in the current corona time, but as soon as we can we are back at the table with clients. That’s important to be able to deliver our added value. It’s incredibly nice that there are many good digital alternatives, but that doesn’t make up for meeting in person.” Partly because of the commitment to personal contact moments, they have a UPS shipping point in the print shop in Nuenen as of the summer of 2020. “That way you see people in person again and potentially they can become customers. It’s good for brand awareness. Furthermore, it is convenient for our own shipments; those packages can be taken away immediately.”
Strong with construction companies
At Rooijmans, too, the coronapandemic affects sales, but Gerard does not want to complain: “At least we can continue working. In March and April 2020 things really went down considerably, but then there was a recovery. We mainly do a lot for construction at the moment. Construction drawings are digital, but many companies still want to see them on paper as well. From that need, we can often provide even more for construction companies, from signs to stickers. Those are fun assignments. In our online promotion, we therefore focus specifically on construction drawings, because this is where we can differentiate ourselves from the many other Internet printers with more standard print work.”
Looking ahead a week
Looking far ahead in these times is difficult, but according to Gerard, that is always more difficult in a graphics company. “As far as assignments go, we can never plan far ahead. Assignments almost always come last minute and have to go out quickly. We can’t really plan further than a week ahead. Of course, we do look at longer-term investments. For example, we recently bought a laminator and started working with gold and silver foils. That was just in time for Christmas and with this we were able to make beautiful Christmas cards. We continue to make sure that orders go out the door quickly and in the meantime, we hope to have more face-to-face meetings again soon!”
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