If you’ve lived in Greater Omaha for any length of time, odds are you know the company’s signature service offering – that instantly recognizable blue envelope packed, every month, with deals and discounts on dining and entertainment, home improvement, health and beauty…
But, here are five things you might not know about Valpak of Omaha, a thriving direct marketing company and the Greater Omaha Chamber’s July Small Business of the Month.
1. That trademark blue envelope does not encompass all of the company’s services.
Valpak mails its envelopes to 190,000 homes in the Omaha metro every month. (They haven’t missed a deadline since opening in January 2005.) But, the company, a franchise network owned by Cox Target Media and parent company Cox Enterprises, provides an array of other services – from email and social media campaigns to mobile solutions.
“This allows us to offer a 360-degree suite of results,” said Scott Farkas, who owns and operates Valpak of Omaha with his wife, Mimi Rogers. “We can serve you with print, but we also provide some incredible services online where we’re not just putting you on a website, we’re putting you on more than 100 websites. We’re putting you on a mobile platform that’s one of the strongest out there. When you put those together, your reach is crazy.”
The Valpak Digital Network is partnered with Google, Yahoo! and Bing, along with a host of other websites and portals, including Valpak’s new sister company, Savings.com. A year ago, Valpak introduced a GPS-based mobile application that allows users to easily find Valpak-affiliated companies and redeem their offers.
“The app is gaining momentum. We’re seeing the reports – more and more redemptions are coming directly from the app. on the phone,” Farkas said.
He continued, “Digital is getting stronger and stronger. The results we’re getting for clients used to be 95-100 percent from the print coupon. Now, it’s more like 70/30. Advertising is about frequency. The internet allows us to take a print piece that goes out once a month and sustain it now beyond the first couple of weeks.”
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2. Everything Valpak does is research-based.
“It’s all about getting great results for the people and businesses who invest with Valpak,” Farkas said. “We go deep into the business to understand their needs and goals – and then we
create a program that fits that business.”
Valpak direct mail solutions uses a system called Neighborhood Trade Areas®, which allows advertisers to target qualified customers geo-demographically for the best possible results.
“Of our advertisers who follow the research – we have about a 94 percent retention rate,” Farkas said.
The key, said Farkas, is the team’s approach to customer service – it’s not about “selling people;” it’s about consulting with them, being more like a utility to clients than an advertising company.
3. Valpak of Omaha is among the top Valpak offices in North America and its sales team is nationally-recognized.
“With us, it is 100 percent about what can we do to help you grow,” Farkas said. “A great day for me is when I hear from someone that we had a tremendous impact on their business.”
Valpak Corporate, in 2010, named the Omaha sales team its Sales Team of The Year, a one-time only award. The team includes Krista Sevening, Nicole Thomas and Holly McAtee, a Valpak National Rookie of The Year, Sophomore of the Year and a member of Valpak’s President’s Club. (McAtee also volunteers with the Chamber’s President’s Club, our membership sales force.) Chrissy Larsen serves as Valpak Omaha’s business manager.
4. Valpak of Omaha is a longtime member of the Greater Omaha Chamber.
“When we first started, the first thing we did was the Buy the Big O! Show,” Farkas recalled. “When you take a look at our base business – the people who have been with us for a long time – our relationship with many of those partners started at the Buy the Big O! Show.”
5. The Company’s reward comes from seeing their clients succeed.
“I’ve had clients tell me that we’re responsible for 60 percent of their total business,” Farkas said. “We view our advertisers as partners. Our job is to help you take your business from where you are today to where you want it to be tomorrow—and we do everything we can to try and make that happen.”
Want to learn even more about Valpak of Omaha? Check out the company’s website or watch this short video.
PayPal is the sponsor of the Small Business of the Month award. View more information or nominate a small business online.