Interviews | April 07, 2022
Arnold Printed Communications Embraces Delight in Every Transaction
By Annabel Steele, Brand Chain Staff
Picture this: you’re walking through Arnold Printed Communications’ facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As you walk past the machines and employees, you glance up at the walls and see the company’s motto painted there, bright and visible:
“Delight the customer with every transaction.”
The motto’s prominent placement in Arnold’s facility underscores the company’s core values. Arnold has prioritized its customers since it opened in 1969, and when Greg Paul (pictured below) bought the company last April with his business partner Doug Arnold — who represents the third generation of Arnold family members at the helm of the firm — he knew it was vitally important to retain and reinforce that culture.
“If you’re delighting the customer, you’re taking care of the customer,” Paul says. “Then everything else will fall into place.”
Prioritizing Customers and Employees
Arnold tries to delight its customers with all of its services and offerings, which run the gamut from printing to promotional products to logistics and fulfillment. Back in 1969, Arnold focused almost exclusively on business forms, but has since pivoted and expanded multiple times. Paul, who now serves as the company’s president, credits this ability to be nimble and explore new product areas as one driving factor in Arnold’s growth and success over the years.
When a potential customer comes to Arnold with a request, the company jumps into action. According to Paul, one of Arnold’s value-adds is its practice of thoroughly evaluating the potential customer’s strategy. Paul likens it to a comprehensive audit and says Arnold issues recommendations based on its findings. Sometimes, the recommendation is to partner with Arnold for the printing needs; other times, Arnold advises the potential customer to keep certain tasks in-house.
“My team will put in hours and hours of work seeing what these companies are doing and how they’re doing it,” Paul says. “Even if it’s not the most profitable thing for us all the time, it goes a long way. That’s how we get the word of mouth [exposure]. They know we’re actually looking out for their business and helping grow their business.”
Arnold is a staple of its community in Lancaster, and while the company now works with a number of larger national corporations, Paul still treasures the opportunity to do work with local businesses. He says Arnold never turns down a request from Lancaster-based customers, even if it’s just printing pamphlets for a soccer team.
“There’s a big difference between getting an order for 20,000 brochures from a corporation and dealing with somebody who’s making handmade barbecue chips in their basement,” Paul says. “Seeing their product come to life is really special.”
One Lancaster-based customer turned out to be one of Arnold’s most notable success stories. Paul says a local company from an Amish community came to Arnold asking for help labeling their handmade jams and jellies. It wasn’t a big operation, and sometimes the label orders were small. But Arnold gladly jumped in to help, and was therefore in a prime position to watch the company’s success skyrocket.
“They became a really prominent and national company, and we’re still printing for them,” Paul says. “It’s really cool to be part of that story from the beginning.”
Arnold’s work printing labels for the jam and jelly company highlights its commitment to delighting the customer. But Arnold doesn’t just focus on delighting the customer. The company also strives to delight its employees, creating a warm and welcoming work environment. As Paul puts it, happy employees who feel taken care of will in turn take care of customers.
Paul says Arnold has always focused on its employees. When he and Doug Arnold bought the company last year, they decided to introduce some new initiatives and benefits to show their appreciation for their employees. One perk is the Arnold Day of Caring. The company’s employees can take time off throughout the year — not just one day, but as many days as they need — to do something they’re passionate about or something that’s important to them. This might mean an employee takes the day off to chaperone their child’s field trip or to visit nearby Civil War battlefields as part of a research project. The only requirement is that the employee share their experience with their coworkers during company-wide team meetings.
Arnold Printed Communications’ leadership team, featuring (from left to right): President Greg Paul, Board Member Craig Arnold, Director of Customer Experience Kathy Jones and Vice President Doug Arnold.
Embracing Brand Chain
Last year, Brand Chain’s Supplier Directory found its way to Paul’s desk. He was immediately intrigued by the networking possibilities he saw in the association, so he sought out more information and decided to join.
“There’s a whole network of people like us out there who are communicating, helping and sourcing; that’s what really got us interested,” he says. “The networking power has been really impressive.”
Though Paul was initially hooked by the networking, he has also found himself perusing other Brand Chain resources, including PS Magazine, the Brand Chain Community and the Supplier Directory — which he keeps at his desk for easy access. Meanwhile, he is considering becoming more involved in the months to come, including attending future Brand Chain events.
In the months since he joined the association, Paul says he has had a fantastic experience with his fellow members and that he was “wowed by the support from the other people in our industry.” He’s glad Arnold has joined the Brand Chain community and hopes to continue forging partnerships with his association peers in the months to come.
Brand Chain, Paul says, has been “a breath of fresh air within the industry.”
Paul and nearly 3,000 other members take advantage of all Brand Chain has to offer. Interested in joining them? Find out more about membership.
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Business/Growth Strategies Member Spotlight