Reflecting on the secrets of our success

Sharing Experience: Mark Baker, CIM Signs

I started in this industry at 18 because I was arty and creative and it seemed like a fun job. And from day one, I just loved it. Not just the design aspect, but the challenge of getting the jobs out on time and keeping customers happy. After five years, having gained experience and learnt my craft, a vision was created to start our own business. And in the year 2000, CIM – Creative Image Management – was born.

In the beginning, we took on all kinds of projects – from pub signs to vehicle livery – and bit by bit, we steadily grew, investing in both machinery and people along the way.

Today, we have a team of 28 working out of purpose-built premises at Rackheath, near Norwich, with a focus on green and economical solutions while maintaining our high standards using some of the best print kit available.

Milestone reflections

This year, we mark 25 years of the business and throughout that time, trust has been at the core of everything we have achieved.

Having grown largely organically, we’re almost completely a repeat custom and referral-based business. We don’t really advertise and while we might put our work on social media, we always make it more about the client – how great the end product looks and how proud we are to have done a project for them.

In short, we don’t want to sell, we want to be chosen.

So, how do we make that happen?

It’s about reputation. We’ll never let anyone down. Small or large, they know they can put their trust in us; trust us to do what we say we’ll do, to deliver on time and to respect their privacy. If a client places an order today and needs it tomorrow, they can be confident that we will deliver, that’s never in question.

Similarly, if we have a customer who has made a mistake – potentially picked the wrong colour or signed something off with the wrong number – we have a mantra: “It’s not our fault, but it is our problem.” In other words – let’s just get it sorted. We can pick up the pieces afterwards and have a chat about what went wrong, but we need to get it over the line and ensure the client has what they need.

A trusted reputation

The retail store QD is one of our longstanding customers. When we started working with them, the MD told the buyers: “Give them one chance, but if they let you down, that’s it.” Nearly 25 years on, we are still doing projects with them. They trust us to deliver what we’ve promised and always provide value for money.

Ultimately, we want all our clients for 25 years plus, not just until they have paid us for a single job. We know it takes time and commitment to gain that kind of loyalty and trust, but once we’ve got it, we don’t want to lose it.

Because it isn’t that complicated – just do what you say you will, when you say you will, for a fair price and never fall short on your promises. Your reputation is everything and if you become known for both skill and integrity – well, that’s all it takes.