Communications

Fortusis promotes communication to the franchise system in several ways. Our support team is available via a toll-free number and an emergency line is available for after hours support. We also provide a ListServ to facilitate communication between franchise owners and our online newsletter, the UPDATE, to keep owners informed on industry trends, vendor information, and more.

• ListServ
  • Your “chat line” to exchange information with other franchise owners
    • Equipment, sales ideas, staffing issues, pricing, vendors, or any other questions you might want input about
    • You can attach files to share
• The UPDATE
  • Published bi-monthly
  • Vendor news
    • Specials, road shows, contact info
  • Company news
    • Staff contacts
  • Owner news
    • Community involvement, births, deaths, and other items of interest

Workshops & Webinars

To keep our franchise owners up to date on best practices in business and the printing industry, we host periodic workshops and webinars designed to address specific topics like sales and marketing, financial management or personnel.

• Designed to address a specific topic
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Financial
  • Staffing
• Workshops
  • Offered regionally
  • Offered at Fortusis offices in either Houston or Utah
• Presenter
  • Has special knowledge of the topic
    • A recommended vendor could give overview of their products and services
    • Highlights of news and events at the company
    • Enables group interaction through the Q & A session
    • Additional vendor webinars will be added

Focus Groups

Fortusis will facilitate peer-based “Focus Groups” to help our franchise owners get the most out of their business. The goal of a Focus Group is to improve profitability and operational efficiency in a print center. The owners in each group serve as the “Board of Directors” for each other. Members assist each other in understanding the aspects of the businesses and developing the tools needed to monitor their financial condition, identifying problems and formulating.

Being held accountable is part of what makes this program so successful for owners.

Peer-based groups

• To help you FOCUS on your business
  • Centers of a similar sales volume
  • Centers at one sales volume wanting to grow to the next level
• Centers in the same market are usually not in the same group unless both centers agree
• A full financial review is provided for each participating center
• A facilitator leads the meeting
• Requires a two-year commitment for optimum benefit

Consulting

The veteran support staff at Fortusis provides support in all areas of business. The staff consists of previous business owners and managers contributing over 100 years of business and print industry experience. The staff assists franchise owners in areas like equipment purchases, computer software, financial benchmarking, new profit centers, staff management and workflow

• Equipment Purchases/Leases
  • We know the capabilities of current equipment in the industry
  • We’ll help you analyze your needs – now and future – against the cost of the purchase
  • We know who has specific equipment and can draw on that experience
• Computer Software
  • Assistance with management information systems MyOrderDesk (MOD), PrintSmith, Printer’s Plan, Presaro, and website updates
• Financial Benchmarking
  • Current industry statistics
  • Pricing assistance to facilitate your profitability
• New Services/Profit Centers
  • Analysis of your product mix and guidance on how adding a new product or capability can enhance your position in the marketplace
• Workflow – to enhance efficiency
• Personnel *   

*Not legal advice

Preferred Vendor Program

Fortusis works diligently to establish and maintain relationships with key vendors in the industry. All of our preferred vendors provide one point of contact for our owners to help solve a problem. A vendor can be dropped from our program if they have two unresolved complaints within a year or if we feel that the customer service is not up to program standards. When possible, discounts are negotiated.

• How the program works
  • A prospective vendor may be recommended by an owner
  • A vendor may contact us as a prospective customer group
  • We could meet prospective vendors at an industry gathering
  • We contact the vendor and ask them to complete a profile
  • Vendors provide one point of contact
  • Some may provide discounted prices or offer special shipping
  • Vendor can be removed from the list for two unresolved issues within a year

Mailing Services

Fortusis provides mail lists and mail list processing at a reduced rate for our franchise owners, allowing them to provide mailing services to their customers without the need for expensive software subscriptions.

• We can purchase and process your mailing list
• List procurement
  • .12 each — business
  • .05 each — residential
• List processing
  • NCOA, CASS, De-Dupe
    • Full processing – $20 per list
    • NCOA & De-duping only – $10 per list
• Turnkey mailing services on an individual basis

Training

Fortusis provides a two-week in-depth training class for our new print center owners. Training includes business planning, print industry overview, product knowledge, production and pricing, and personnel management.

Franchise Start-up

Fortusis assists the new franchise owner with site selection, center layout and a complete equipment and fixtures package. Fortusis oversees delivery and installation of the package to ensure a turn-key experience for new franchisees.

Marketing Services

Rather than a cookie cutter approach to marketing, we prefer to assist our franchise owners with a marketing program appropriate for their market area. That includes a series of mailings to a curated list of prospective customers, perhaps targeted to a primary industry such as medical or legal. In a market with a variety of businesses, our marketing is designed to acquaint print buyers with the breadth of services our franchise owner can provide.

The center website is a marketing tool, demonstrating the full spectrum of products and services we offer. The website is a full e-commerce site, allowing the customer to place orders and pay for them online, speeding up the turn-around time.