Wagner Design Associates: Integrated Marketing Communication

Wagner Design is a perfect example of a business which started out as a shop with only one or two people and was able to grow into something much bigger because of their creative style and consistently good ideas and services. They are a model of the small business because of their flexibility by being able to assist numerous industries at the same time regardless of their specific needs and budgets. This is a unique and important characteristic because it helps them stay in business amongst their bigger competitors who don't have the luxury of helping everybody out as their plan would be more focused on one group of people. Wagner Design also has the advantage of maintaining a direct and personal touch with its clients because there are only seven people working for the company. As the ladies explained, they wouldn't want to expand their business much more than they have because they feel this personal relationship to their clients is a huge factor in their success until this point. No expansion would also leave out the problem of uncontrolled growth which is often experienced by a successful small business. Employees also seemed to be managed efficiently by Wagner Design. They recognize their special needs for their company and do a good job in recruiting the right people with the right skills needed. They also don't burden their budget with full time employees, but rather use their people on a part-time basis only in situations where their special skills are required. This is effective employee management and budgeting as well because they are not tying up extra cash by keeping employees around full time who might not always have work to do. The size of the company also allows them to keep a minimum physical capital and makes a great opportunity for use of social capital. That means simple word of mouth and communication between people who know the company and know that it does good work could pay great dividends if it draws enough new customers who need help coming up with a creative design. From an advice standpoint, I think Wagner Design excels in many cases because they sit down with the company and help them do a SWOT analysis specific to their market. By clearly identifying the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats in a given company's market, Wagner helps their clients craft designs and innovative ideas which help them capitalize on the positives and suppress the negatives enough to where it is beneficial and profitable for the company. What I like about this blog is that it proves a business can stay very small and still have great influence and success in their community. Chris Puzzuoli