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| Branching out |
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| Broadening its range of services beyond its printing industry roots has helped Cross Media to flourish
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Dallas Business Journal - August 4,
by Lisa Tanner 2006
Staff Writer |
Cross Media has its roots in the printing industry. But the company has
bloomed by recreating itself as a marketing implementation company,
making itself a partner in its clients' initiatives.
Cross Media President Jeff Bradford joined the company in 1993 to help his
ailing father, who had founded it in 1991 as Pro Printing Services. He
became president and majority owner in 1999 and changed the name to
Cross Media in 2002 when he acquired the remaining shares in the
company.
After learning the business from top to bottom and resolving a difficult
situation with a former partner, Bradford set out to increase the services the
company provided. That allowed Cross Media to build more business lines
and at the same time strengthen its ties to customers, who could now turn
to the company for additional services.
Recently, for example, Cross Media won a contract from Perot Systems to
provide marketing services including managing the invitation, registration
and promotional products aspects of an upcoming executive summit and
another from Ryland Homes of Texas to manage its orders for printed
marketing materials and other marketing services for 42 residential
communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Other clients include
Hewlett Packard, Blockbuster, the American Cancer Society and Texas
Instruments as well as many smaller companies.
Cross Media offers services including automated marketing campaigns,
printed marketing materials management, direct marketing, graphic design
, lead tracking and promotional products. To do that, the company uses
technology to help small and mid-sized businesses beef up their marketing
to the level enjoyed by much larger companies.
That innovative technology and its availability to companies of all sizes
would be the keys to the company's growth, Bradford realized. It meant
clients could track the movement of their jobs via the Internet, and they
appreciated that access.
"It's so important to be a company that is easy to do business with,"
Bradford said. "Our customers look to us to help them streamline their
businesses."
The company's quick turnaround on small print orders has been especially
helpful, said Jake Weber, senior buyer with the educational and productivity
solutions division of Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN), which has used
Cross Media for about eight years. Often small batches of materials in
French, Spanish or Portuguese are needed for use with the company's
calculators, and many printing companies require a minimum order that is
larger than needed, he said.
"It's important that everything be right and that we have it in a quick turn
time," he said.
Change management
To supercharge Cross Media's offerings, Bradford realized he needed
specialized help with the technology side of the business as well as skills
in organizational development. He found both in one individual.
"The industry was changing, and it was important to be a leader in the change," he said.
So in 2002, he brought in Michael J. Tobias as chief executive officer and
added to the management team as well.
The payoff of the changes: Cross Media reported a 40% increase in revenue
in 2005, growing from $10 million to $14 million.
The company had grown from need, but it was crying out for an
organizational structure that would allow it to function more effectively,
Tobias said.
"We created a culture of change to attract people who want to change in a
stagnant industry," Tobias said. Cross Media now employs 85.
Then the company pulled its suppliers together to explain the changes and
get their buy-in and commitment to spread the word. It's about people,
processes and technology, and the company has the system in place to
reach its vision of being a $50 million company, he said.
One way the company reached out to customers was to create a business
marketing needs assessment, which documented the company's particular
needs. Then the different pieces of the customer's marketing initiatives
were carefully tracked through the process.
"We're helping customers increase their revenue while decreasing their costs," Bradford said. |
MARKET SAVVY
NAME: Cross Media
BUSINESS: Marketing implementation
HEADQUARTERS: 4818 Woodall St., Dallas 75247
TOP EXECUTIVES: Jeff Bradford, president
Michael J. Tobias, CEO
OWNERSHIP: Private
EMPLOYEES: 85
LOCATIONS: 1
ANNUAL REVENUE:,/ $15.5 million (projected 2006)
PHONE: 214-367-3600
WEB:http://www.crossmediamgmt.com/
ltanner@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7117 |
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