Why eCopier Solutions built its copier offer around a flat rate
David Salamon is president of eCopier Solutions, a New York firm that leases copiers and printers to businesses nationwide, bundling service and unlimited toner into a flat rate. David Salamon explains how transparent pricing won early customers through referrals, why the company refused an escalating-price deal, and what a hiring misstep taught the team.
A clear alternative to customer-unfriendly pricing can earn trust and referrals, but it needs to be backed by consistent decisions and sound hiring. Get processes right before using new technology to accelerate the business.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
When I was in this space in 2011, I saw countless clients being screwed over by their copier lease – extra costs, annual escalations, high service & maintenance charges tucked away deep in the contract. The number 1 gripe I heard from customers was never the copier itself, it was the lease/contract terms. I started eCopier with the aim to provide the reverse experience. Flat rate monthly, all services + unlimited toner. No additional costs or escalations. Essentially we took everything our competitors profited off of and excluded it from our offer.
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
We simply charged the customer the amount we quoted. Easy, right? Not when you consider the rest of the market at the time. My first customer came after having a terrible experience with another copier supplier. I offered them a straight monthly fee with zero extras, and they referred me to 3 friends who did the same. This has continued to this day and remains the bulk of our customer acquisition, requiring minimal (if any) advertising.
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
I declined an opportunity to take on a large customer who required an escalating price structure in their quote. Many of my staff questioned my judgement at the time! However it demonstrated to both my team and customers that we would continue to break the mold of traditional copier supply. From there our team ethos really took hold.
When we began to scale we hired for quantity rather than quality. We subsequently lost a significant portion of our team as they didn’t meet the standard, costing us many months to recruit & train new staff. I learnt the hard way that you must hire for longevity from day-1 (and beyond!).
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
As mentioned, customers have become more informed. Through social media they can identify poor lease agreements and the pitfalls they may incur. We’ve continued to offer the transparent approach and made it front-and-center of our sales conversation and public offering (see our pricing page). We’ve incorporated AI into some of our operations, e.g. reviewing lease contracts, generating notes/calls. We’ll always ensure a human element is involved with the customer.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
Identify a market that takes advantage of its customers. Become the antithesis of that and stick to your guns. Your offering doesn’t need to be superior, it just needs to be the alternative that you stand behind consistently over time. Resist the temptation of quick-fixes and shiny new tech to accelerate your business. Get your processes right and implement tech/AI to complement, otherwise you’ll just be compounding your issues. There are no shortcuts to success in business, beware of anyone who tells you otherwise.
Thank you to David Salamon and the team at eCopier Solutions for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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