Direct Mail: The Good, the Bad and the Annoying

By Jim Stavis

     I was recently thinking about our
monthly newsletter. Each month we
try to impart a message to a varied
audience of steel users and company
professionals. We receive some
positive feedback from many
prospects and customers, some of
whom read the newsletter, but never
give us an inquiry or order. We hope
you are one of those that find it
useful and that reward us in part
with your business.
     Unfortunately the reality is that
most people’s mailboxes—both
physical and electronic—have really
runneth over. Each day you are
bombarded with pitches to buy
stocks, refinance your mortgage
or get medicines online. This swirl
of offers has worn out the weary
public, as illustrated by a survey
which found that 60% of consumers
now “feel that most marketing and
advertising has very little relevance
to them.”
     We understand that solicitations
must connect with our customers in
both meaningful and beneficial ways. In order to succeed, we must
think beyond SIC codes, but rather
must understand the real needs of
our customers. As customers
become more active, they expect us
to know them, add value to their
lives, make relevant offers and not
waste their valuable time.

     Our newsletter has now been in
existence for over 12 years. Our baby
cartoons began when we were trying
to find a creative mascot to represent
the company and patterned it after
the owners’ then two year-old sons.
The babies from whom they were
modeled are now 14-year-old
teenagers. We began the newsletter as
a way to keep in contact with our
customer base on a consistent basis
and hopefully provide some value
and entertainment along the way.
     Today, the world looks different
than it did when we started the
newsletter. Many customers prefer
to receive their communications via
the Internet rather than through the
mail, facsimile or telephone. For
those, we have posted our newsletter
and material offerings on our
website (www.paragonsteel.com).
     In an effort to provide our
monthly newsletter to you in the
format you desire, we ask that you
take a few minutes to answer a few
questions and get back to us.

Exhausting Work

By Jim Stavis

     Paragon Steel was instrumental
in providing steel and fabrication
to the THUMSCO power plant
located at Pier D in Long Beach.
     Paragon built the steel
ducting that would transport
approximately 500,000 lbs/hr of
exhaust gas to the adjacent
Georgia Pacific facility for
drying their wallboards.
     The exhaust duct is 9 feet in
diameter and stretches out over
900 feet.
     The only way for us to display
the project is from a bird’s eye
view taken above by a helicopter.

     The project was designed by a
group of engineers to be
environmentally emission
compliant and save an estimated
1/3 of Georgia Pacific’s power
costs. The installation was
performed by TIC (The
Industrial Company) located in
Long Beach.