Early in June, we were looking for a Fourth of July flag to hang on the front porch. We searched the SRDS mailing list directory (www.srds.com) to buy from a company that sells flags by mail, and that has a mailing list for rent.
We found Quinn Flags in Hanover, PA. It’s one of only two mail order companies in SRDS that sell a full line of flags, pennants, banners, bunting, and flagpoles online and by mail. It’s an independent, family-owned business founded in 1994 that’s still managed by the original entrepreneur.
Quinn Flags sells high quality products at reasonable prices, with fast and efficient order fulfillment, and superb customer service. The sales are about 65% business-to-business and 25% consumer.
Matt Quinn, the founder and president, was not thinking of flags when he went into business. He was working in his father’s real estate office in Long Island City, NY, handling apartments in Queens, when he decided that he wanted to go into mail order. “I started looking for a lightweight product to sell by mail, and I bought the entire Thomas Register (a big 20-volume directory) to look for possible products, and found flags,” he said.
He started calling flag manufacturers and building relations with them, and published a small self-mailer to launch the business in 1994, mailing to a rented list of 5,000 veterans organizations. He regularly mailed manufacturers’ catalogs with the Quinn Flags name imprinted, to generate new names. For the past five years, Quinn Flags has been publishing its own catalog, now 32 four-color pages.
Within six months of starting the business, Matt Quinn began creating his own Web site. “Our company was number one for many years, the first flag company to go on the Internet,” he said. “Now many others are there.” His company’s Web site, www.quinnflags.com, is a masterpiece of easy navigation and convenient ordering.
Matt asked his brother Mark, who had founded Quinn Communications (Web site development and Web marketing) to create the Quinn Flags Web site. Mark continues to manage it. A choice of 26 flag product categories is accessible on the home page. They link to colorful pages of American flags, state flags, and world flags, plus flagpoles large and small. The line includes strips of pennants, banners for sales and grand openings, pro sports logo flags, and logo flags for gasoline and fast food brands.
“Most of our orders are online or by telephone,” Matt says, “but we’re still surprised by the number of orders that come in through the mail.” He still makes two large catalog mailings a year, to lists of businesses and organizations. The company also generates inquiries from a Web site that lets customers buy catalogs online, a source that delivers new customers at a lower net cost than any other promotion.
“U.S. flags are our best sellers,” Matt says, “especially stick flags (attached to a staff) in many different sizes.” Popular outdoor display sets for homes feature a selection of 3x5-foot cotton, vinyl, or polyester flags with a metal pole and an angled mounting bracket.
Flags of many different countries are an important category, he said. “Hardly a day goes by without shipping an overseas order.”
In-ground outdoor flagpoles are a good seller, for both business and residential uses.
What kinds of customers buy flags? “There are a lot of different niches in this industry, “ Matt says. “ Automobile dealerships, real estate companies, and car washes are among the most important segments.” Veterans’ organizations, clubs of all kinds, and schools are also customers.
What about seasonality? “The peak season begins a few weeks before Memorial Day, and it lasts through the Fourth of July,” Matt says.
The Quinn Flags current mailing list consists of nearly 70,000 customers and inquiries from the last 12 months. Of these, 10,000 are buyers whose average order is $275. Many of the inquiries are written requests for proposals. The company remained in New York for many years, but around two years ago, it was moved to Hanover, PA, Mrs. Quinn’s hometown.
Matt Quinn has organized his total company around customer service. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so I know how to provide good service,” he says. The company buys and warehouses most of the products they sell, and they ship immediately. Their in-house computer system is highly efficient, and connects directly to UPS computers.
“We warehouse 80% of the products we sell,” Matt says. “Although we promise to ship in three to five days, 70% of our orders are shipped within 24 hours. We don’t advertise this because we don’t want to disappoint our customers, but this is what really happens.”
“When customers have problems, we address the matter right away,” Matt said, ”but with our management systems, we don’t have too many problems. We employ six customer service specialists who take phone orders, answer questions, and call customers immediately when there’s a question about an order. I get 300 emails a day, and talk to many customers myself.”
In acknowledging a customer order, Quinn emails the customer once when the order is acknowledged, and again when the order is forwarded to UPS, with the tracking number included.
Our own flag order took less than four business days. It was ordered on a Friday afternoon and was delivered by UPS ground, with no extra express shipping fees, by noon the following Wednesday.
Fred Morath is a direct mail consultant, copywriter and list specialist at Fred Morath Direct Marketing, Natick, MA.
Early in June, we were looking for a Fourth of July flag to hang on the front porch. We searched the SRDS mailing list directory (www.srds.com) to buy from a company that sells flags by mail, and that has a mailing list for rent.
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