Martin Group Received Elite Dealer Award for the Third Consecutive Year
November 29, 2012
Martin Group, an office technology dealership based in Lake Geneva, Wis., won a 2012 Elite Dealer Award by The Week in Imaging (www.theweekinimaging.com), an online information and news publication for independent dealers and resellers of imaging technology, supplies, and services, for the third year in a row.
In 2011, Martin Group was selected as the 2011 Elite Dealer of the Year by the same publication. With the exception of 2010, the Elite Dealer awards have been presented annually from 1989-2009, with 2011 the first year they were presented by The Week in Imaging. The Elite Dealer Awards honor the best and the brightest in the imaging technology dealer community.
According to Scott Cullen, publisher and editor of The Week in Imaging and a long-time office technology industry journalist, “It’s not any one thing that makes an Elite Dealer, it’s a combination.” In his article announcing the 2012 winners, Cullen reviewed the wide variety of strengths and successes that Elite Dealers possess in order to win this coveted award, “The dealers being honored… aren’t necessarily the biggest dealers in the business, although some are and many are doing well from a financial perspective. However, many are still enjoying growth, offer innovative marketing and sales programs, are deeply involved in their community, have a strong work culture, treat their employees well and have shown a willingness to do what it takes to remain relevant in an ever-changing market by adapting new technologies, services, and solutions.”
Cullen mentioned Martin Group’s outstanding service and client retention. Mark Follett, Martin Group’s field service manager, has been with the company for 18 years. “We continually strive to provide our valued clients with exceptional service and support. Our first-call effectiveness for service repair is 63%. That’s almost twice as high as the industry average. Martin Group has won the Konica Minolta Pro-Tech service certification award for seven consecutive years. With ongoing training and a team of service technicians who average 18.6 years of experience, we stand behind our commitment to do whatever it takes to satisfy our clients.”
Another factor in awarding Martin Group the Elite Dealer award was the success of their OneSource Managed Print Services (MPS) programs, which have grown by more than 800% since 2009.
“Our OneSource programs offer clients a total print management solution, with guaranteed savings of 10% or more on their printing costs,” John Stensland, president and owner of Martin Group, said. “A great example is a local school system that switched to our MPS program this year and has already saved $13,000. It’s a great feeling to be able to help our local school reduce their budget and save time by letting us manage and service their printing fleet.”
Martin Group’s commitment to community service through direct corporate contributions to local grass-roots organizations and schools, in addition to their employees’ personal contributions through time and resources is another reason why they were selected as a 2012 Elite Dealer.
“We are not a pillar of our communities because we want or are looking for any special recognition or award,” John Stensland noted. “We are a pillar of our communities because every Martin Group staff member is an asset to their home communities.”
“When developing strategies to ensure our long-term growth and profitability, we always come back to our key driver—people,” Stensland emphasized. “That, and planning for the future… restructuring the organization as necessary, focusing on training, investing in software to foster growth and profitability, and exploring new solution opportunities for our clients. We’re honored to receive our third consecutive Elite Dealer Award from The Week in Imaging, and we’ll never stop looking for ways to better service and support our valued family of clients.”
