Websticker was mentioned in Seth Godin’s book Meatball Sundae. I read the book and think it is excellent. I also read Seth’s Blog and find great value in what he has to say. But, I’ve got to comment on his statement in Meatball Sundae that Websticker is “too slow”. Here’s exactly what he said…
“The online world has compounded the need for speed. Just ask Brooke Kaltsas. She prices jobs for Websticker a web site that, no surprise, prints stickers. If you need stickers, you go to their site, pick out what you want, and then submit the job to them for pricing. I posted a job Sunday evening at nine. I heard back from Brooke at twelve thirty P.M. on Monday.
Anywhere else in the printing industry, that sort of pricing turnaround would be considered astonishing. After only three business hours had passed, she came back with a price. Too slow.
Too slow by an hour and a half. Bandmonster.com had closed the sale two hours earlier. And only because no site I found in a few minutes of searching would do the job without making me wait even that long.”
First of all, every customer is looking for something different and when it comes to printing usually it is not an off the shelf stock item. If it was, you wouldn’t need to “submit job for pricing”. Websticker specializes in custom (often die-cut) promotional stickers. Custom printed stickers are not like books you can research, find best price, stick in a shopping cart and they’ll ship out the next day. Most customers don’t know exactly what the most economical sticker option is for their needs and may not have completed artwork (or artwork as optimized as it can be). I’m not sure what Seth was looking for and speed was obviously of the essence. Most people, I feel, don’t just care about price and speed (although many do). It should matter what print methods are used, how long they will last, can the design be improved, and who exactly they are buying from. This is especially important when you are spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
At Websticker we have always been, first and foremost, a marketing company. Part of our mission is to act as consultants helping choose and design the best custom stickers for an organization’s unique promotional needs. When people visit our website our first order of business is to start a relationship and build trust not make an order ASAP. Note that one of our employees, Brooke, was mentioned in Meatball Sundae and no names mentioned for where Seth ended up buying his stickers. In my mind, we did an exceptional job. While speed is important it does not usually help build relationships and trust. Speed can also lead to mistakes or disappointment in the final product. And, if a mistake is made or you are disappointed who are you going to call to take care of it?
If I’m looking for marketing advice or advertising services I’d really rather start a relationship with someone who I trust can help. If I’m shopping for those consulting services at 9 on a Sunday night, no one expects to have a marketing plan, ad designed, or a personal consultation done by noon on Monday. In the same light, If I’m looking for custom stickers but I’m not sure of the best print method or if my design can be stronger, I’d also like a contact I can trust and work with. If I want to design a simple label or bumper sticker myself and order it right now, yes, there are places where I can do that instantly.
Every company is different. Every client’s needs are different. Generalized examples might help illustrate certain trends in a book like Meatball Sundae, but in the end I believe businesses are still built on relationships and trust. Seth Godin is doing it well with books and blogs on marketing. Websticker is doing it with custom sticker products that advertise, build identity, support promotions or can make a popular and profitable stand-alone product.
Jeff Nicholson is the founder and Creative Director at 
5 Responses
If you make a decision based solely on speed of response (on a weekend no less) I question if price or quality even crossed his mind. When we rush our business decisions , like who to choose as a vendor, and if a good one, a partner for life, we don’t make good choices. reckless choices yield reckless results.
If a 3 hour turnaround isn’t fast enough for Seth Godin, I don’t think I’d want him as a customer. I don’t think his blog post will hurt your business one iota, either! 🙂
nice post!!
custom stickers
Seth has a lot of good things to say but not everyting he says is “gold”.
Seth is only measuring websticker.com on a single dimension, turn around time on a RFQ, which is ok if your attitude is “I want my stickers NOW!”.
As a customer of Websticker.com and a marketer I am finding that most consumers desire a QUALITY experience. Quality cannot be measured on a single dimension, sure speed may be a component, but it is not the only measure of quality.
The reality is you cannot meet the needs of every customer every time. I find your level of service and willingness to help your clients refreshing! I think I will need to make another order soon.
Nate Staples
President/Founder
The Nauti-Dog Company
http://www.Nauti-Dog.com
I agree. I remember reading that in the book and thinking that she got back to him with an estimate in a very fair amount of time. As Marketing Director for Advantage Business Forms, Inc. I run into the same problem. People can go online and get a price on printing instantly and think they’ve really accomplished something. But did they get the best service? Talking to a sales person who can find out exactly what your needs are and can suggest different ways of printing, offset vs. digital, or different types of stock can often lead to greater savings and better satisfaction.
Next time I need stickers I’ll go with Websticker.com. That way I know I am dealing with real people who care-not some automated system that only knows as much as it’s programmed to!
Sherri D. Paxton
Marketing Director
Advantage Business Forms, Inc.
http://www.abfprints.com