A quick introduction can go a long way. After a brief meeting almost three decades ago, it didn’t take long for Flanagin's Bulk Mail Service and AMA Design & Print to decide to seal the deal and team up for business. Ever since, the two have worked in tandem to make sure professional, polished postage can be swiftly sent throughout Northwest Indiana and beyond.
It all began when Flanagin’s Owner Donna Flanagin was looking at Northwest Indiana-based printers to help when her business was just getting off the ground.
“When we first went into business, we contacted all the local printers because mail houses and printers work pretty close together,” Flanagin said. “We either went in or asked for a meeting and just got to know them a little bit. AMA got to know what we do, and very shortly after that, they had a project for us – we've been truly working with them ever since.”
Printing and bulk mail go hand in hand and very much complement the other’s services. Printing companies are responsible for the mailer's overall look, so it’s crucial that the printer always handles the mail with the utmost care. Even the smallest nuances, such as the wrong-sized envelopes or the presentation of the postage, can have major consequences in the world of bulk mail.
This is why Flanagin has always turned to AMA for her company’s printing needs. Even with such high stakes, she’s certain AMA will dot the I’s and cross the T’s to make sure the job is always done correctly while saving customers money in the process.
“The quality of their work is wonderful. It matters to a mail house because there are a lot of nuances. If the print job is not handled professionally, it can be bowed or have dog-eared edges on it, and all of that matters. When you're in the mail business, it goes through more machinery and it has to be good quality,” Flanagin said. “It's not only the quality of the print – there are lots of things that may matter, like if we have to have something kept in a particular order. They do a wonderful job of that.”
Business can go both ways – sometimes customers approach AMA first with printing needs. If AMA finds bulk mailing will benefit the customer along the way, the design team knows just who to call.
“There’s been so many times AMA is the first contact for the customer. The customer goes in and wants to do direct mail, although they may not know what they're doing. At that point, AMA shows them the printer guide and tells them they can do a postcard or whatever it happens to be,” Flanagin said. “At some point, if it's advantageous, AMA would mention that they can do this as a bulk mailing and save money on the customer’s postage, and then that's where we come in.”
This creates a seamless process for both companies that has allowed a great relationship to form over the years. The partnership’s longevity has also been helpful for business matters – when working closely with a specific company for so long, you get to pick up on little tips and tricks that help the other run smoothly. With those notes in mind, AMA and Flanagin’s can refer customers to one another for almost any project, even if it only has certain details at their disposal, because it knows how to best pass that information along to make the project a success.
“It's very nice to have a working relationship because eventually, they start to know more about what is critical for what I need: sizing, proper permits, and address placement,” Flanagin said. “I also get to know a little bit more about what they do over the years. There's lots of things we've been able to understand, and it makes things much easier for the customer.”
All in all, Flanagin couldn’t be happier with the relationship she has formed with AMA and can’t wait to see what the next 30 years deliver on their business endeavors.To see how Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service can help with your bigger postal needs, visit mybulkmail.com. To learn more about how AMA Design & Print can help with your business’s printing needs, visit printama.com.
