Millers Blog

How do we know we are improving? If we are improving, do we know where and why?

Awaiting every Miller’s production group each morning are numbers and spreadsheets generated to give them an immediate and very accurate assessment. These numbers compare our performance in quality, timeliness and productivity, both group and lab-wide, with the same period last year. Constant, steady improvement is our goal. Although our percentages steadily continue to approach 100%, we know they can be improved. Developing this information was a large task, but we know it is the only way to evaluate ourselves. We have had this invaluable information available to us for the past seventeen years so we certainly have a handle on our performance. Each year adds another year of experience. To our knowledge, no other lab has this detailed of a monitoring program in place.

How we perform is such a priority that it is the basis of our company vision statement, “to deliver our services with the greatest quality and speed in the industry”. Our criteria of quality, timeliness and productivity is the true litmus test to our performance – our value to you.

You are the one who directly determines our quality. Each order that leaves the lab is carefully tracked.  If an order comes back to us, either as a remake or credit memo, the statistic is assigned to the work group that was responsible for the order.  We use these statistics to not only monitor quality, but to also set goals for improvement in each area.

How about our timeliness? It is even better than last year at this time. How often have you been pleasantly surprised by receiving one of your Miller’s orders earlier than expected?  Here is an interesting statistic. Roughly 1 in 200 orders is shipped later than the promised delivery date while better than 1 in 3 is shipped ahead of the promised delivery date!

Many believe that a business must decide on either quality or timeliness. This is not the case as long as proven systems are in place and adjustments can be made on the spur of the moment.

Our labor efficiency (sales/salaries) is our measure of productivity. How does this affect you? Because of our improved efficiency, we have been able to hold our prices since 2001 on almost all products within the lab – in spite of our increase in wages. We take great care in carefully managing our labor costs. Our staff has been trained to be very flexible and quick to adjust its schedule. Work schedules even adjust daily depending on incoming volume, flight and weather delays as well as other conditions beyond our control.  

Without these daily statistics, we can only guess on performance. They are accurate feedback but they also bring to light the specific areas where we need to improve.

So why is this collection of numbers so exciting? This year’s performance – in all three categories – is the highest in our recorded history! Hopefully, you have noticed.

Striving for continuous improvement – this is our promise to you!

Check out Miller's Remote Suite PLUS Proofing!  Just recently released, our new Proofing application is PC and Mac compatible.  It joins our other PLUS Final Print and Fine Art applications, and just like those, has an easy-to-use interface to help you place your proofing orders in just a few minutes.  A few other features include...

...Our new and improved Proof Impression Cases!  Your design now wraps around the entire box and is finished off with a high gloss lamination and black satin ribbon.  Order it individually in the new Proofing app or as an add-on to your proofing order.  Learn More

...ProFiles 2 Mpix for the shoot and burn workflow.  When creating a proofing order, select our new ProFiles 2 Mpix option.  We'll create an Mpix account for your clients and upload it with high-res images for ordering.  Learn More

...Our Press Proof Books now available in Proofing.  Although our Press Proof Books are printed on Miller's press paper, as a proofing product, we decided to add them to PLUS Proofing too.  You will continue to be able to order the same offering in Miller's Remote Studio Press and Press Quick Order.  Learn More

If you've previously installed Remote Suite PLUS, it will automatically update with the latest changes, including the new Proofing application.  Don't have Remote Suite PLUS installed?  Download Now

Please note: All new orders should be created with Remote Suite PLUS Proofing, as Remote Studio Proofing will not be available after October 18, 2009.

After an exciting year of charity giveaways in 2008, we’ve now kicked off the Miller’s $100K Charity Program for 2009.  With your help, we’ll once again be handing out $100,000 in charitable contributions during this year’s tradeshow season.  Simply drop by the Miller’s booth at any of our scheduled conventions to register.  If your name is drawn, we’ll give you $1,000 to donate to your favorite charity in your name!  Winners and their selected charities to date are listed below:

SPA

Peg Bucker and Michael Hewitt: Donating $1,000 to the Churchill Animal Protection Society

Steve Ervin: Donating $1,000 to the Eugene Field Foundation

Nicholas Williams: Donating $1,000 to the Saguaro High School Band Boosters

Phillips Mitchell:  Donating $1,000 to Refuge Ministries

Elizabeth Sampson:  Donating $1,000 to Autism Advocates of Indiana

Imaging USA

Meagan Yohnke: Donating $1,000 to the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation

Jay and Jeanette Pierstorff: Donating $1,000 to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Mac McDougal: Donating $1,000 to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona

Linda Hamilton: Donating $1,000 to the American Cancer Society

Christine Paulsen: Donating $1,000 to the Spinal Cord Society

Jim Peterson:  Donating $1,000 to the Sedona Jazz on the Rocks

Patty Fox:  Donating $1,000 to the PPA Charities

John & Cindy La Barge:  Donating $1,000 to Home Care & Hospice

Danny & Teresa Emrich:  Donating $1,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Cook County Area

Jessica Edwards:  Donating $1,000 to The Empty Stocking Fund of Cumberland, KY

Don and Corlis Adams:  Donating $1,000 to The Flint Riverquarium

Teri Quance:  Donating $1,000 to Victim Relief Ministries

Mid-East

Carmen Frederick:  Donating $1,000 to the Pregnancy Resource Center

Valerie Traynor:  Donating $1,000 to the Golden Retriever Foundation

SYNC

Lisa Sibley:  Donating $1,000 to the Local Community Housing Corp./Cops and Kids

Kathleen Hall:  Donating $1,000 to the Metropolitan Ministries c/o Feinstein Challenge

WPPI

Janet Parker:  Donating $1,000 to Christian Homecare Services Inc.

Corey Brown:  Donating $1,000 to Heart 4 Kids

Kalise Smith:  Donating $1,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters

Kristi Klemens:  Donating $1,000 to Grace for Children Foundation

Daniel Peluso:  Donating $1,000 to the PKD Foundation

Julie Kettler:  Donating $1,000 to Beavercreek Baptist Church

Tait DeBaca:  Donating $1,000 to Planet Pethood International

Robin B. Langsdorf:  Donating $1,000 to Shoot For Success, Inc.

Brandon Miller:  Donating $1,000 to XP Family Support Group

Karen Lindberg:  Donating $1,000 to The National Humane Society of the United States

Anthony Holguin:  Donating $1,000 to the Assistance League of Saddleback Valley

Jeremy & Hara Cook:  Donating $1,000 to Globe International

David Jensen:  Donating $1,000 to Friends of Pets

Aaron Marron:  Donating $1,000 to Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Chris Jesus

Connecticut

Lynne Wentworth:  Donating $1,000 to the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation

Rocco Leone:  Donating $1,000 to St. Jude's Children's Hospital

North Carolina

Bonnie Berlin:  Donating $1,000 to The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County

Lance Richardson:  Donating $1,000 to Chordoma Foundation

Rose Mary Cheek:  Donating $1,000 to Day Spring Ministries

ProPhoto Expo - California

Bill Watson:  Donating $1,000 to Moment By Moment

Victoria Wispell:  Donating $1,000 to Mustard Seed Tutorial Center

Christine McDowell:  Donating $1,000 to Good Neighbors Campaign

Daniel Avila:  Donating $1,000 to American Heart Association

Ohio

Matthew Farson:  Donating $1,000 to Hope Street Kids

Heart of America

Art & Soul Photography:  Donating $1,000 to the International Institute of Christian Studies

Brian Baer:  Donating $1,000 to Merryman Performing Arts Center

Jerry Kramer:  Donating $1,000 to Mount Pleasant Community Church

Kate Wright:  Donating $1,000 to Log Providence Missionary Baptist Church Building Fund

MARC Spring Convention

Tonya Davis:  Donating $1,000 to Baby Fold

SEPPA

Billy Ross:  Donating $1,000 to H.O.P.E. Center

Darrell Galloway:  Donating $1,000 to Griffin High School

Anne Grant:  Donating $1,000 Sally's Angels, Inc.

Mississippi-Alabama

Melissa Tash:  Donating $1,000 to IMS First Stop

Texas School

Melissa Darst:  Donating $1,000 to Lena Pope Home, Inc

Louisiana

Jay Faugot:  Donating $1,000 to St. Thomas More Catholic High School Foundation

Chris Martinez:  Donating $1,000 to The City of Love

Oklahoma

Meghan Norton:  Donating $1,000 to Edmond Women's Club

Tennessee

Michelle & Tracy Batte:  Donating $1,000 to Veterans Administration/VA Hospital of Nashville, TN

Florida

Gina Weaver:  Donating $1,000 to Tree House, Inc.

PPANE

Isabella Britain Hill:  Donating $1,000 to Akita Rescue of the Mid-Atlantic

Susan Malboeuf:  Donating $1,000 to Nashua High School Music Booster Association

Leigh DiLeonardo:  Donating $1,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

SWPPA

Ginna Melhorn:  Donating $1,000 to Ft. Bend Young Life

Katherine Stone:  Donating $1,000 to Jeremy's Friends

After Dark

Austin, TX:  Donating $2,500 to Operation Smile

Austin, TX:  Donating $2,500 to Dress for Success

Thanks to all who registered!  To learn more about the Miller’s $100K Charity Program or to find out what convention we'll be attending next, click here.

The film era has been truly magnificent.  Up until just a couple of years ago, we watched thousands of rolls of film come in each day.  Our film printers and their skilled operators have produced hundreds of thousands of large wall portraits that are still treasured by their owners.  And, who knows how many competition prints have been awarded merits over the years that were printed right here? 

While technology has marched on since those days, we have and will continue to offer film services at Miller’s, following in the traditions that helped us start and grow our business over the last forty years.  However, to adjust to the changing market, we will be making a couple of modifications to how we handle film, effective January 1, 2010. 

Just what exactly will be changing?  We will continue to print optically for orders 11x14 and smaller, as we’ve always done.  However, print orders larger than 11x14 will be scanned and printed on our digital printers.  Because we are printing these digitally, requests for negative retouching will automatically be sent to digital retouching. 

What exactly will this mean to you?  You probably will not notice any change at all!  In fact, if you are used to traditional retouching, you may be happier with the flexibility digital retouching can offer.  And, we are confident that you will be just as thrilled with the quality of your large digital prints.  We genuinely believe they are the best the industry has to offer!

We’ve had an exciting couple of contest-filled months here at Miller’s!  In July, we crowned 21 winners in the Miller’s 2009 Baby & Child Contest.  And just last week, we proudly named four winners in the We Are Miller’s Ad Contest.

To participate in the first annual We Are Miller’s Contest, customers submitted portraits of themselves alongside their favorite Miller’s products.  As you can imagine, we had a great time reviewing the entries – from seeing the different ways Miller’s products are being used to the unique approach each individual took when creating their self-portrait. 

After a week of public voting, where participants asked their friends and families for support, 25 Miller’s employees stepped in, helping narrow down the public-voting finalists to two first-place winners, Sara Kauss and Matt Lucas, along with second and third place winners, Paige McAfee and Kristina Young.  Sara and Matt will star in our national We Are Miller’s ad campaign, featured in both Professional Photographer and Rangefinder, in upcoming months.  To view the winning portraits, click here.

Congrats to the winning entries and thanks to all who participated! 

Just released – fun, new products in the Miller’s Pic-A-Pac line!  All are now available in Miller’s Remote Studio.

Temporary Tattoos:  A great way to show school spirit!  Create your own custom page of tattoos, or drop team mascots and logos into the provided layouts.  They’re easy to place and can last up to three days.  Learn More

Water Bottles:  Our new Water Bottles hold up to fifteen ounces; even better, they include a compartment, perfect for keys and money when at the ball field.  Customize with your client’s image and up to three lines of text.  Learn More

Small Clings:  Our new Small Clings are an affordable alternative to our popular Wall Clings.  Small Clings are 7-inch precut circles.  Drop in your image, and select from our sports templates, which run along the border of the cling.  Learn More

If already installed, Remote Studio will automatically update with all new products once launched.  Don't have Remote Studio on your PC?  Download Now

New Pic-A-Pac products will be added to our Mac ordering solution at a later date.  For an immediate solution, please contact Customer Service.

Customer Service team members from both the Pittsburg and Columbia labs got together recently for a weekend of team building, fun and learning.  Our theme of “We Are Millers” was evident in all we did – from our challenge course activities to our skills training to bowling and even on our t-shirts!  We put to use our teamwork, trust and communication skills to get through the challenge courses, having plenty of fun along the way!  We also honed our everyday skills for better serving you, our customers.  We feel it’s important to frequently brush up on the basics like telephone and email techniques, effective listening skills, and goal-setting. 

We have a pretty amazing group (if I do say so myself!).  This weekend reminded us all that we really enjoy being part of the Miller’s team!

Debra Radell
Customer Service

Spread cheer this holiday season with new Slim-Line designs from Miller's.  We'll be expanding our holiday collection for the 2009 season, adding fresh, modern designs to our current offering.  New Slim-Lines will include both Christmas and Hanukkah designs and will be available in Miller's Remote Suite PLUS | Final Prints. We'll unveil the entire collection soon -- in the meantime, take a sneak peek at a few of the new designs pictured above.  To learn more about Slim-Lines, click here.

My first project when starting at Miller’s was analyzing responses collected from our annual survey.  Being a newbie, it was an extremely insightful view for me into our customers’ wants and needs with the biggest takeaway coming loud and clear from our active customer base – we need help marketing. 

When the economy hit a rough patch, it became apparent that if there was ever a time to help you market to current and potential customers, the time was now. With a little help from several marketing experts and a group of willing Miller’s customers, we set out to develop a marketing solution that was not only quick and easy to use, but equally important, one that delivered results. 

As you’ve hopefully read in the last few newsletters, we’ve made progress, creating a program called MarketNow.  Initially focused on Wedding, Portraiture, and Sports, MarketNow gives you the ability to easily step through the process of building a marketing campaign.  Start by researching your segment by reading informative articles available on the MarketNow site.  Then begin reaching out to leads by using one of our customizable marketing pieces, printed at a discount by Miller’s.  If you have a mailing list, simply upload it for automatic address printing, or if you need help building a list, purchase any of the segmented lists provided by MarketNow.   Finally, implement the campaign, and actively track your results on our lead generation spreadsheet.

We say we’ve made progress, but you’re probably wondering what that really means.  I’m happy to report that as I type this, our willing customer group is walking through MarketNow, creating their own campaigns and helping us identify any last details we might have missed.  Once testing is complete (so far, feedback has been very positive), we’ll be ready to formally launch.  Of course, you’ll be the first to know.

Take 50% off Proof Impression Cases when added to a proofing order. Proof Impression Cases are available for all proof sizes. Each case can be customized with your own design or image, creating one-of-a-kind presentation cases for your clients. Hurry, sale ends August 31st!  Learn More

We at Miller's are proud to have recently received one of the Columbia Business Times first-ever TITAN Awards.  The awards honored local business and civic leaders who have made significant contributions to our community.

Miller's Professional Imaging (and our neighbor, MFA Oil) received the TITAN Employer awards.  This category honored exceptional businesses "who effectively employ and manage people in an orderly, respectful and mutually beneficial manner.  They strive to ensure a harmonious and productive working relationship for all involved."

We certainly value the effort and commitment of each of our team members, especially during the upcoming few months as the busy season approaches.  It's truly an honor to be recognized in our local area this way.

COMING SOON! Enter the We Are Miller's Ad Contest and win a starring role in a Miller's Lab ad!

It's easy to enter -- upload an image of you with your favorite Miller's product and tell us why you love it or how you use it in your studio. The submission period starts Monday, July 27th at noon CST and will run through August 27th at 11:59 PM CST.  The entries and voting process will be done via the Miller's facebook page.

Once posting closes, you'll have a chance to vote for all your favorite entries, as well as invite your friends to vote for the entries too! We'll take the top images with the most votes, and employees of Miller’s Professional Imaging will select first, second, and third place winners out of the pool of finalists.

The first place winner will be featured in the national We Are Miller's ad campaign, running in both Professional Photographer and Rangefinder. Additional details coming soon -- stay tuned!
 

After much deliberation, 2009 Miller’s Baby & Child Contest winners have been crowned! Thanks to all of you, this year's contest was a huge success. High levels of both posting and voting participation lead to 11,426 entries, easily breaking last year's record. With your help, we were able to narrow the submissions down to eighty fantastic qualifying images. Our panel of judges took it from there, selecting their own favorites, resulting in twenty-one truly stunning portraits, including the Grand Prize winner, Flawless by Carol Scott. With winners now selected, Miller’s will be giving away $24,000 in cash prizes to the families of the winning portraits.

We want to express our gratitude to each of you for making this year’s contest the best yet, as well as thank our judges including: Elizabeth & Trey Homan of San Antonio, TX, Brianna Graham of Rockford, MI, Dave Huntsman of Versailles, KY, Michael & Tina Timmons of Vassar, MI, Peg Buckner of Fallon, NV, Damon Tucci of Orlando, FL, and Jessica Vogel of Shelbyville, KY. We appreciate both the time and expertise they shared with us this year.

Congratulations to our 2009 winners! If you haven't had a chance to check out the winning portraits, view them here now.

Bill Rosenberg, the founder of Dunkin’ Donuts, had a very basic philosophy about marketing. When he was young and beginning to peddle watermelons in front of his dad’s grocery store, he would ask himself, “If I were in their position, why would I buy this product I have to sell?” Then he would create one-line phrases like, “Bring a watermelon home! Surprise your family!” It worked! He then began an industrial luncheon service in 1946 to factory workers in an innovative way. He designed and built mobile “canteen” trucks (very common today) and brought the food to them. You know how successful this has been! Today, Dunkin’ Donuts has 9,000 shops around the world and $5.5 billion in annual sales. That’s a lot of doughnuts! Bill’s philosophy was built around what his father told him. He said, “Reputation, not money, is the most important thing. When you die, the only thing you are going to die with is the reputation you created as a person when you lived. Integrity means when you say you’ll do something, you do it. It will be done the way you said it would be done at the time you said it would be done.”  Being a business partner and son-in-law of Bill Miller for almost four decades, I recall these same ideals coming from his lips and being the foundation of Miller’s. These words should be framed and on the wall of every business.
 
You have told us that marketing support is a very important “value added” service due to today’s competition. Our marketing coordinator, Julie Brown’s primary role is to help you market to your clients. After all, if you are growing your business, so are we. Hopefully, you have noticed that we are doing this more aggressively than ever. With all that said, this article is to remind all of us to never forget about the basics and what brings clients to us. Standing by what we say is never out of fashion. It will build stronger, faster and longer relationships than any marketing tool. Marketing “gurus” agree that the best advertising is word-of-mouth. Standing by what we say will bring us referral accounts like nothing else.

We just closed out another terrific year of the Miller’s Baby & Child Contest!  We once again shattered previous submission records with 11,426 portraits entered in this year’s contest, and with your help, sent eighty beautiful images into the Final Round to be voted on by our esteemed panel of judges.  They’re working hard right now to determine the 2009 Grand Prize winners, which will be announced by the end of the month.  This year’s panel includes:

Elizabeth & Trey Homan of San Antonio, TX
Brianna Graham of Rockford, MI
Dave Huntsman of Versailles, KY
TriCoast Photography of Lake Jackson, TX
Michael & Tina Timmons of Vassar, MI
Peg Buckner of Fallon, NV
Fran Reisner of Frisco, TX
Damon Tucci of Orlando, FL
Jessica Vogel of Shelbyville, KY

Thanks to our panel for sharing their time and expertise with us.  If you haven’t had a chance to view the qualifying images, check them out here.  Again, we appreciate all who participated in the 2009 Baby & Child Contest and look forward to announcing the winners very soon – stay tuned!