Hypocritical commentary
Hi,
As a partner in PRstore Corporate in North Carolina, thanks for your rant on PRstore. You raise interesting questions that everyone wants to know about everywhere PRstore goes.
We're definitely not PRstore Walmart! No crap here. PRstore Target? Maybe. Or even Pottery Barn moving toward Nordstrom's.
PRstore is a very unique concept for helping small businesses get all the marketing help they need at a very professional level.
We are full service -- everything from business cards to TV commercials -- delivered professionally and affordably.
There's plenty expert marketing advice at the local store along with high-quality, professional marketing products produced by the writers and designers at our DesignCentral unit which services -- and guarantees consistent quality -- at all PRstore locations in 18 states.
We are the answer for small business owners who have struggled to get professional marketing help at an affordable price.
Take logos for example. The most you can spend on a custom logo at PRstore is $2750. A typical agency would easily charge $12,000 or more. You can see the quality of our logo designs at PRstore.com.
Everything is custom. No cookie cutter. No templates. It's all about you and your business -- custom text, photos, colors, everything. Take a look at brochure samples on prstore.com.
Our website will answer a lot of your questions, and the response of the Portland market to what we offer will answer the rest. Sometimes even BMW and Lexus get a little nervous.
Contact us anytime. mbutler@prstore.com
Regards,
Mike Butler
Partner
PRS Franchise Systems, LLC
Mike,
Thanks for stopping by to respond. It's definitely a good sign that you're paying attention to what is being said about the company.
Contrary to your direction, however, the Web site either didn't answer most of these questions or I'm not seeing where they are answered. That's why I posed them.
I would tend to agree with your assessment that if you're paying $12,000 for logotypes and trademarks like the ones on the PRStore site, then you're getting ripped off. I'm still curious as to how you manage to pull off a logotype for a client for less than $3000. (I'm never one to shy away from fully admitting my own ignorance. I still have a great deal to learn about your company.) But I'm glad that you can provide this service. There are many small businesses who need it.
Again, thanks for taking the time to comment. It's definitely a plus in my book.
I'll continue to watch the franchise here in Portland. And should I ever form a solid opinion of the company--one way or the other--I won't hesitate to post it.
For now, I remain skeptical but intrigued.
PRstore: On Target!
Your comparison of PRstore to big box retailers and auto makers is accurate but misses the target. You seem to be focusing on price as the core competency and benefit of PRstore. Move your aim a little to the right and you will see what PRstore brings to small business (and non-profits and government agencies, etc.) is access. (Retail setting, no appointment needed) This access creates value to the small business person who is busy doing what they do and do not have time to market what they do.
I was such a small business person. When I started my company, I found myself standing at the edge of a great abyss. On one side I had to forage among a potpourri of designers, copywriters and other vary talented individuals for my marketing needs (I didn’t have time). On the other side, the waiting arms of various sized agencies who promised to like me if I had $15,000 to $500,000 to spend. I didn’t.
Ten years later, when I heard of PRstore, I got it instantly. They have a straightforward system that allows me to market my business, my way and on my timeframe and within my budget. It is one stop where I can turn my ideas for my business into reality and it’s a fun place.
So, take your car and retail analogy back to the 1900’s and it starts to work. Henry Ford put a lot of horses out to pasture by making cars accessible to everyday folks so they could drive to the general store (Target) and buy their clothes instead of making them at home on their Macintosh!
Thanks for the great conversation. Pop by sometime and see the store.
Fee Stubblefield,
Franchisee Owner
PRstore 201 in Tualatin (not Tigard)
PS. We are run by very qualified advertising and marketing professionals and owned by me, who started with one employee in 1996 and now has over 400. Hopefully, others identify with my story and we can help others grow their business.
Fee,
Thanks for both stopping by and for taking the time to comment. As I mentioned about Matt, I think it's a testament to your organization that you're taking the time to respond to these types of inquiries.
I was going to correct my post to read "Tualatin" instead of "Tigard," already belittling myself for making that mistake, when I went back to the PRstore site to check my facts. Your store is currently listed as Tigard on the site, so I hope you're able to make that change.
And I also appreciate your tweaking my analogy. You're right. I was focusing on price.
Access makes complete sense in a FedEx Kinko's / 24-hour drive through way. I completely get that. And I can see the appeal to small business owners.
To tweak my analogy even further and to show my continued ignorance about franchises, I'll also call on the only franchise model I tend to recollect: restaurants.
If we take restaurants, my analogy completely falls apart.
Portland also has more restaurants per capita than any place else in the US, but McDonalds, Subway, and KFC (all franchisees) seem to be doing a fine business here. I know I frequent them more than I should. Mostly because of the access. And conversely, their success doesn't really seem to dampen the restaurant market here in town.
Thanks, again, Fee. I'll make sure to swing by the store in the near future.
I love my Big Macs at 11p, but also at 11a. They are there when I need them, and always prepped up in a very consistent (though not necessarily newsworthy) way.
I look forward to reading about PRStore University in HBR. I am always impressed to learn how franchises create quality control across diverse locations. This case study of applied management in the services space will be fascinating.
Whew!
That seemed like a lot of reading and yet I came away feeling that there is a lot of skepticism though it's a perfectly natural reaction to an idea or concept that isn't totally understood. Mike Butler mentions paying 2750.00 for a top of the line logo that would sell for $12,000.00 at some agencies and a snide remark follows. Why? I've seen examples of logos and brochures costing thousands of dollars more and wondered why? PRstore can and will debunk that myth as perception can only take an agency so far. My wife and business partner has over 20 years marketing experience in new product development and market research. I know her expertise exceeds many indie's qualifications and yet these agencies have perpetuated the myth to the american business that their product is superior. FYI, PRstore has designed brochures for Marriott Courtyard, RJ Reynolds and Warner Brothers to name a few of our larger clients. We're not just for the small to mid-size business.
Whew!
That seemed like a lot of reading and yet I came away feeling that there is a lot of skepticism though it's a perfectly natural reaction to an idea or concept that isn't totally understood. Mike Butler mentions paying 2750.00 for a top of the line logo that would sell for $12,000.00 at some agencies and a snide remark follows. Why? I've seen examples of logos and brochures costing thousands of dollars more and wondered why? PRstore can and will debunk that myth as perception can only take an agency so far. My wife and business partner has over 20 years marketing experience in new product development and market research. I know her expertise exceeds many indie's qualifications and yet these agencies have perpetuated the myth to the american business that their product is superior. FYI, PRstore has designed brochures for Marriott Courtyard, RJ Reynolds and Warner Brothers to name a few of our larger clients. We're not just for the small to mid-size business.
One more comment, a question arises if we have seasoned pr professionals or recent grads or what?? my store employs seasoned pr professionals and marketing grads. Again, my wife and business partners resume speaks for itself. She has over 20 years of experience consulting with consumer-focused companies in the U.S. and Europe, on the development, marketing and promotion of new products. Her career highlight was being a co-founder of a new subsidiary that applied well respected marketing principles from consumer packaged companies to other industries, including telecommunications, software, retail, medical, and consumer electronics. One of Suzanne's more complex and interesting consulting assignments was working with Philips Consumer Electronics on the worldwide marketing strategy for DVD and DVD-RW prior to their respective product introductions.
Suzanne has lived in various locations throughout the US, as well as living and working abroad in Sydney, Australia and Brussels, Belgium.
Should the local agencies be worried? You tell me. We're here to stay and will be more than a blip on the radar screen. I know our television commercials advertising PRstore are creating a buzz and creating awareness and customers are coming in the door. We're all about PR and we know how to create it.
Danny,
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Sorry there was so much reading. I tend to fall on the verbose side. It's a curse.
I know it's hot down there in Arizona. So, grab a cool drink before diving into this response. It may take awhile. 
I mentioned I was skeptical in my first comment response. I remain skeptical due to my own ignorance.
I've tried to be completely upfront with the fact that I don't know everything there is to know about the PRstore. That's why I'm asking. I'm sorry if you felt that wasn't clear. What I'm trying to do is resolve my ignorance through questioning.
Maybe I'm too wrapped up in the myths, but I'm just having a difficult time getting my head wrapped around this one. Admittedly, I'm often a tad slow on the uptake.
So I've been asking questions.
And a number of PRstore folks have been nice enough to stop and comment to help answer those questions.
And as for any critiques I'm lobbing, it's no different than the critiques I have for typical agencies. I don't believe anyone is doing it exactly the right way. I don't know that we could ever get there.
Now, where was I? Oh yeah.
Your six stores are in Arizona. My question, perhaps inadequately positioned, was as to whether every single PRstore in the United States has the same level of quality that your Arizona employees provide.
That was really the gist of my question. Do the folks at the PRstore in one town have the same expertise that you provide? Or do they outsource the work to your store? Does it get sent to home base and then parsed out? Does the Portland shop pay to fly your expertise up here to meet with clients?
Fee has got me thinking that access is the true benefit to this system. He's right I was focusing on the wrong element. So, now, I'm less concerned about price.
If we're competing on price, we're all going to lose.
I mean, if we really want to talk about professional and low-cost, let's discuss the Nike Swoosh. It was created locally in Portland for $35. I don't think any of us are going to beat that price.
Now, my focus has changed. I'm really curious about the access to professionals and talent in my local market. Or in a market where I may be temporarily. Like for a tradeshow. Am I going to get the same level of design and expertise at every PRstore, nationwide?
On a tangential note, given that PRstore does work for all sizes of clients in all types of media all across the United States, isn't it really just a different flavor of big agency?
Again, Danny, thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it. You're helping to flesh out a better picture of the PRstore, the talent it delivers, and the services it provides.
A question comes to mind when I hear about professionals like Suzanne: why would they mask such strong skills and (presumably) personal brand behind a franchise nameplate?
I can see where a professional seeking a shift would gravitate to a franchise - like a corporate guy starting a pretzel stand or a quicky lube car care center.
But if you are expanding and selling against your base of expertise, why is it necessary to "buy" credibility through a franchise? Is this simply a sign of inadequate personal branding?
You would be better off going to Walmart and having the greeter do your marketing then what prstore has done in the past. Stay away, you get what you pay for. I would bet that some of the examples on their site are for "make believe" companies.
Frank,
since I've never been to Walmart I might have to take you up on your suggestion.
Again, you're very much welcome in our store in Tucson, Scottsdale and or the Phoenix metro area next time you're in the desert.
Danny Hernandez
Owner
PRstore, Tucson
Rick, Fee is a he not a she. Thanks for your complement on "access".
And for Frank, before I purchased the rights to the Portland MSA I tried PRstore out for my established business. The results where great! Further, I know my local philosophy as well as the Butlers is 100% satisfaction. We are here to satisfy small business needs not sell hamburgers. Stop buy sometime and extperience the culture as well as the results then you can speak from experience instead of speculation.
Fee,
My apologies on that mistake. I'll make that correction.
As a recent grad of Portland State University I had the pleasure of working on a marketing audit piece for the PRstore.
Rick- As you were, I was a little skeptical about a "marketing superstore" (and still personally don't think "superstore" accurately represents the PRstore) and how well a product could really be made for what seemed to be very cheap prices. However, by the end of a visit made by Fee and his counterpart Maya, to PSU, I was sold.
The store is invaluable for a small business owner who knows he needs to advertise, but does not have (1) the time to do it himself (2) the knowledge to do it himself (3) the crazy amounts of money needed to go to all those agencies previously mentioned that populate Portland.
I was so impressed with the PRstore, and more specifically the people including Fee and Mike, that I met that I would be honored to work there, and will surely advise any small business owners I know to use their services.
I sincerely hope that you soon actually set foot in a PRstore and see it for yourself.
Best regards,
Jennifer Hagen
2007 Portland State University
Advertising Management and Marketing Graduate
Jennifer, thank you for all your great work on the PSU project. I think your class will have a positive impact on PR Store nationally. Please come by the store sometime. Have you put an application in?
runescape moneyrunescape gold wow power levelinglkkjl
Commenting by HaloScan.com
