Quark Latest Software Firm to Put Focus on Customers

By Gordon, Andrew

DENVER: Quark, best known for its desktop publishing and graphics software, is the latest software company to launch a branding campaign focused on its customers.

Quark is re-establishing its focus on the customer by launching new products, tripling its sales staff, and offering free customer support, explained Glen Turpin, director of corporate communications. “We want to focus on the evolution of the company and on our renewed commitment to our customers,” he added.

Adobe Systems, BEA Systems, and Autodesk are among the software companies that have placed the customer and his needs at the center of their most recent branding initiatives.

This reflects a maturing software market, one that has seen massive consolidation, said Brad MacAfee, an EVP with Porter Novelli, Quark’s AOR.

“The emphasis on retaining customers is higher than it has ever been,” said MacAfee. “As the market has consolidated, so has the customer base. You want to make sure you’re protecting that customer base. It’s much more profitable to retain and grow an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one.”

Turpin admitted that the company was not always as receptive to customers’ needs as it could have been. But the company’s new mantra focuses on ways its software allows for more efficient and productive collaboration between users.

Quark unveiled the new campaign at Print ’05, an international printing industry event that was held from September 9 to 15 in Chicago. The company is targeting design, publishing, and content management trade publications.

The company also is planning a user conference and is helping coordinate a team of executives to meet face-to-face with customers.

Quark… unveiled new branding campaign at Print ’05

Copyright Haymarket Business Publications Ltd. Oct 3, 2005