I met Lynn Pechinski of 1st Straw Marketing & Promotions way back in 2010 at a networking event sponsored by the Business Mingle. But most recently, I witnessed Lynn’s digital-marketing prowess at a Google+ seminar she presented as part of NAWBO South Jersey’s educational series in fall of 2014.
Lynn’s business has evolved from a company that offers traditional marketing strategies and promotional items into a full-service digital firm. Find out why 1st Straw Marketing is an ideal choice for your forward-looking marketing efforts…
By All Writes: Why did you decide to start 1st Straw Marketing & Promotions? When did you found/start it?
Lynn Pechinski: While working for a family-owned business, I wanted to protect the clients I had gained and nurtured during my two-year tenure. I attempted to arrange a non-compete agreement with my employer, but the process transformed into a non-negotiable ultimatum.
There was no turning back for me–I decided to launch my own company, and did so in May 2002.
After working for Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies throughout my career, I was confident about my business experience. The first pleasant surprise came after announcing my launch. Several loyal clients offered to prepay for their marketing projects, helping me to establish open terms within the vendor community.
BAW: What specific SEO, direct marketing, graphic design, and social-media solutions and services (as well as promotional products) do you offer your current and potential clients?
LP: We offer localized SEO programs to our small-business clients so they can actively manage their websites for improved visibility, trust, and authority. We (humbly!) feel we create websites that help our clients attract more visitors.
If a business wishes to generate leads online, it’s essential to actively manage its digital presence: the website, social media, and beyond.
Our direct-marketing programs are expansive, and our promotional-product strategies have a focused, far-reaching, long-lasting effect. Ideas for promoting your company with corporate giveaways and goodies are nearly limitless!
Our functional (and fun) items are custom printed and packaged to your specifications. In my honest opinion, promotional items can carry a compelling message, develop goodwill, and (hopefully) leverage the Law of Reciprocity.
You see, it’s not enough to select a pen or other product and print your business’s name and phone number on it. Our programs are successful because we give careful thought to the message, the product itself, the distribution method, and the target-recipient list.
We also create printed collateral (this includes copywriting and design) for direct-marketing campaigns and mailings. Our ultimate goal is to craft printed collateral that’s compelling enough to capture attention, elicit action by the recipient, and generate a lead.
We also offer cross-platform programs that use direct mail to drive traffic to your website and generate real-time leads.
BAW: Who makes a good client for you?
LP: We attract companies that need to outsource their marketing, both print and web. Good clients recognize they are subject matter experts within their industry’s niche but readily admit they are not experts at marketing.
But we don’t work exclusively with private-sector/for-profit companies. Non-profit organizations are a significant portion of our clientele. These clients use marketing campaigns and strategies to create a (budget) surplus–thus, they can continue to do and expand upon their good works.
BAW: What is your ultimate “happy moment” when working with your clients?
LP: Nothing pleases me more than nurturing a client who then becomes a loyal fan and refers us to his or her valued business clients. That’s a very happy moment for 1st Straw Marketing & Promotions!
Another gleeful occasion is when we report metrics documenting real, incremental sales growth for clients as a result of one of our marketing programs. Feedback such as this elicits my “happy marketer” smile: “Yes, run that program again; it not only paid for itself, it brought me an extra $8 million in sales this year!”
BAW: If you could relocate 1st Straw Marketing & Promotions to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
LP: That’s an easy question to answer–the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Standing at my favorite mountain peak shows me a different perspective of the world and my place in it. I’m also reminded of the world’s abundance and its limitless opportunities–it ignites my creativity and frees my imagination from self-induced boundaries.
When I design marketing programs for my clients, my most creative ideas come from abstract thinking. Being on the mountaintop forces me to get away from becoming too granular (yes, a huge business buzzword these days) in my thinking. The Rockies are fertile ground for both me and 1st Straw Marketing!
BAW: What are your favorite books (or who are your favorite authors) to read and why? Please share generously!
LP: I read and/or listen to audio books every day–I could spend a lot of time here. But for the sake of brevity…I enjoy historical fiction. Ken Follett is one of my favorite authors; his writing is masterful. Start with Pillars of the Earth, then proceed to Fall of Giants and Winter of the World. Follett’s books are toe-breaker size if you aren’t using a Kindle!
Books I read long ago but still remember: Atlas Shrugged, The Kite Runner, One Thousand White Women, The Red Tent, The Help, The Good Earth, Crime and Punishment (I had to read it in college for Russian Lit), Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and Under the Banner of Heaven.
Right now I am reading This Is My God: The Jewish Way of Life by Herman Wouk. The book was written long ago; it was updated and re-released in 1985. It was a gift to me (in soft cover) from my rabbi’s son. The book is about Judaism, and I am learning something new on nearly every page.
Was the most recent print or web marketing campaign for your business ineffective and literally the “last straw” for you? Are you looking to work with an innovative marketing professional who evolves as quickly as the digital world we are all now indentured to (as 21st-century business owners)? Then it’s time for you to partner with Lynn Pechinski of 1st Straw Marketing & Promotions!
To reach Lynn directly, give her a call at 609-654-2576 or send her an e-mail (Sales@1st-Straw.com). Additionally, you’ll find Lynn Pechinski of 1st Straw Marketing circumnavigating the wondrous world of social media via her Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts and pages.
I have the pleasure of knowing Lynn Pechinski–and her husband Alan. Aside from being astute marketers, they are both very caring people. Lynn started out as a client a few years ago and we have become dear friends, and have worked together on several projects and you will not find a more professional, thoughtful person anywhere! Lynn’s the best…simple as that!
Hi Terry,
Thanks so much for stopping by the Moonlight Blog.
Your obvious enthusiasm for Lynn, Alan, and 1st Straw Marketing is the type of commentary I best love to receive on here. If you haven’t already done so, please shower Lynn with some digital affection by sharing and re-tweeting her guest post. Thank you!
Regards,
Lori