If you still don’t believe that technology is key to business success, just look to the industries which have struggled most to maintain momentum in the 21st century. ‘Traditional’ businesses have had to adapt and integrate the online world into their very core, or face being left in the dark.
Paperstone, an office supplies company, are currently celebrating their 10th birthday! It’s certainly a feat that they deserve, given how much they’ve brought their strategies in line with modern times. In spite of the fact that their product line – such as pens, paper, so on and so forth – may now be regarded as a little old-fashioned, it’s nonetheless stuff that we all still need. Of course, they also sell things like printers, and so the technological innovation is there in their repertoire, yet it’s their digital integration which has proven so successful. When they first started in 2004, their products were mail order, and displayed in a catalogue. Clearly, this wouldn’t really wash in today’s times, and so in 2005, they started their very own website.
Over the years, their website has grown, allowing their business to flourish. They’ve had over 100,000 orders placed, and there’s currently around 20,000 items of stock on there! As the world around them prospered, Paperstone were listening. Using modern methods, they stayed ahead of their game, and it even won them business awards – their first in 2009, and, notably, the BOSS award for e-tailer of the year in 2012.
It was arguably their venture into social media marketing in 2010 that really secured them their reputation. Their Twitter has a moderate yet respectable following, and they seem to be completely on brand in their Tweets. Their voice, whether talking about industry news, office gossip or fun facts, is consistent, yet light, to encourage engagement. This, as well as other digital marketing strategies, has helped catapult them to the front of their game.
Paperstone are a brand who lead by example. Rather than letting new methods destroy them, they’ve utilised each by integrating them into their own strategy. It’s certainly working – sales remain good, and there are no signs of them slowing down. If your business seems a little stale, perhaps you can follow their lead.
