Matching its offering to market conditions, putting more people in the fild and a fresh focus on strategic marketing have seen the Dublinbased fim grow by 50% in the last 18 months
Established in 1970, EMS Copiers is active mainly in Dublin and Leinster, albeit with a number of offices across Ireland that allow it to provide a local service to customers.
The business is led by a management team of John Cahill, who bought the business 15 years ago, Sales Manager John O’Brien, Service Manager Ken O’Regan and Financial Controller Brian Kiernan.
Six years ago EMS Copiers made the decision to switch from being a dual-line reseller to become a UTAX-only provider instead – a decision that O’Brien describes as “wholly positive”.
“We share our plans and goals and are fully committed to the UTAX offer. In turn, their support is excellent; they understand our challenges; and have assisted us in implementing new ideas to support our growth. Working cheek by jowl with UTAX, we’re enjoying success. As a partner they understand what we’re trying to achieve and how we’re going to do it,” he said.
O’Brien adds that he is very impressed with the quality of UTAX products. “From a maintenance and support perspective, UTAX products are much more attractive to us as a business. They deliver a long duty cycle and long life. Performance in the field is excellent and, for us, that’s the key thing.
When we’re upgrading MIF, the sales cycle is a whole lot easier as we’ve got a proven track record,” he said.
Stellar growth
The economy in the Republic began to recover two years ago and that helped usher in a period of stellar growth for the company. For two years running, EMS Copiers has been crowned UTAX Partner of the Year for recording the highest number of unit sales across all products, including colour devices and software solutions.
“Recovery wasn’t an overnight sensation; it was gradual,” explained O’Brien. “We spotted the signs; the phones started ringing again and we tooled up to be ready.” That, he says, included the hiring of three new field sales people to fulfil EMS’s mission to win new business. “We matched our offering to market conditions and put people in the field. If you’re going to grow you have to be out there knocking on doors. It’s as simple as that.”
A year ago EMS expanded its marketing capability, employing a dedicated in-house specialist to promote its offer, generate leads and, most importantly, to assist the sales force in converting those leads.
“We are incredibly activity-focused,” said O’Brien. “We know that we’re not going to convert every potential lead straight away, but what we’re really good at is tracking them, categorising them and ensuring that when they’re ready to buy, we’re there.”
A brand new website, www.emscopiers. ie, went live just a few weeks ago and the firm is now driving traffic to the site using Google Ad words and monitoring and measuring its impact. “We really drill down into the numbers, to see what works and where we’re successful. It’s a much more strategic and cognitive approach and it’s paying dividends,” explained O’Brien.
SME focus
EMS Copiers’ customer base is mainly SMEs in and around Dublin and this focus, says O’Brien, has underpinned the company’s rapid growth.
“Ireland in the main is a nation of SMEs and the bulk of our business is conducted in Dublin. Hence that’s where we have our head office. In the main, the sales cycle is shorter, even when delivering a full-blown MPS solution, as we’re dealing with the business owner/decision-maker. This is a contrast to larger enterprises where you have to sell different benefits to different people and tailor the message to ensure you cover all the ‘what’s-in-it-for-me’ bases.”
He added: “Growth has all been organic to date; there have been no purchases or acquisitions. But if the right opportunity came along we would consider it. We’re very proud to have grown the business by 50% in the past 18 months. We are without a doubt one of the fastest growing MPS providers in the Republic.”
O’Brien is confident EMS Copiers can continue its upward trajectory and is looking forward to further growth. “Unemployment is the lowest in seven years; the market is really starting to pick up; and, whereas previously people were cautious about investing in new equipment, the mindset is changing,” he said.
