GerardMcLean.com

This week, I had a need to print a limited run of personalized white papers in color. I called my printer with whom I had been doing business for 20+ years. He was no longer there and the new sales rep didn’t know why he left, where he was or even if he was in the printing business. (I think he was down-sized)

I would try calling him at home, but I guess that would make me as creepy as Melvin Udall in As Good As it Gets (1997, Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear)

Here is the rub. John (not his real name) knew me. He knew what kind of paper I wanted when I said “corporate-y.” He understood that if there was a typo in the copy I didn’t catch, he could correct it and it was ok to do. He also knew that I never signed off on proofs and that if it was my fault, I would pay for another run. He knew what I meant when I said RED-red, deep blue and very rich black. He knew to offer alternative, out-of-the-box suggestions when I was struggling with a “need it to look cool but I have no budget” problem. He knew that I would take care of all pre-press issues and what I gave him would image perfectly. He would shave off the cost of this piece here and add it to another piece down the road when I did have budget. He was, in any definition of the word, personally-branded as the company to me.

And now he is gone. And probably out of the printing business as any smart man would be.

And now, I am looking for another printer because while he was only right around the corner when we did our first piece of business, he is now 35 miles away. And I willingly drove those 35 miles because of him, but I won’t do it any more for his replacement. She just quoted me and asked for the paper weight, brand and Pantone® colors — like I was just another number.

It is the same amount of work to do business with a new printer who is closer to me, but will require less driving time. And I will probably go through a few before I find another John.

As a small business owner, my personal brand is my company. But, for John’s printing company, his personal brand cost the company a client. I have no particular loyalty to the “company” and if I knew where John was working, I would take my business there.

Yet, the paradox appears to be that to gain a customer’s trust, you should be working toward building a personal brand, even as you work for a large corporation. However, the strength of that personal brand will most likely cost the employer a client when you leave. Brands can’t NOT allow this, nor can they really allow it.

It’s a pickle but one the market will ultimately solve. I’m just glad I have box seats.

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