The International Sign & Printmakers Guild, a member-led organization designed to help sign and print providers grow their businesses and reduce costs, has announced that 1,000 sign and print business have already signed-up to join the new organization. This follows its official launch only two months ago by founding sponsor SA International (SAi), and represents one of the fastest growing membership organizations in the sign & print industry.
A fundamental objective of the Guild is to send its members new customers, giving them the opportunity to secure new long-term business relationships. Rusty Merkle of Cynosure Custom Signs (pictured), based in Willowbrook, Illinois, was recently enrolled as the Guild’s milestone 1,000th member, and will now benefit from this support while also having access to a host of other business-enhancing tools and cost-saving benefits.
“It was always my intention to sign-up to the Guild after hearing of its launch in January, but I never quite got around to spending the few minutes required to do so,” explains Merlke. “I couldn’t believe that the association was nearly 1,000-strong when I checked the website recently, so I made a point of joining there and then.”
By joining as one of the Guild’s first 1,000 members, Cynosure Custom Signs received a 15 percent discount voucher on selected Arlon vinyl, but, according to Merlke, it was the wider benefits of membership that proved attractive.
“For businesses like us, it’s all about bringing trade through the door and, where possible, establishing a working relationship with customers to secure future business with them,” he explains. “If support is there to assist in driving that work our way, then we aren’t going to refuse that helping hand.”
Membership in the Guild gives sign and print providers significant other added-value benefits, including the possibility to create a free web storefront for their business using sign.com templates and content. By having their own “microsite” branded to their individual businesses, members can leverage the sign.com name and content to market their services directly to prospective customers.
Maximized Group Buying Power
The Guild maximizes group buying power to extend discount advantages to its members, such as its recent contract with Echo Freight and UPS for discounts on freight and parcel deliveries. Other advantages include lower credit card processing fees, with some members already announcing a 30 percent reduction in their fees.
To ensure that members can communicate and work directly, The Guild will soon provide a free on-line peer network to enable them to interact on outsourcing and insourcing jobs, obtain advice, and enhance their business in numerous ways.
The International Sign & Printmakers Guild is supported by a growing list of industry-leading sponsors. The Platinum Guild sponsors include Arlon, Mutoh, and SAi, while the Silver Guild sponsors include Aptinet, The Big Picture, The Bad Wrap, Digital Output, Flora, Image One Impact, Roland, SignTracker, Signs of the Times, and Summa.
Those interested in joining the Guild or becoming a sponsor should visit http://signprintguild.org.
