Namifiers brands promotional products to the advertising specialties industry that embrace a wide choice of tags and accessories. The company offers competitive pricing and selection for name tag printers, cutters, magnetic clips and additional backings, as well as laserable blanks, ID holders and lanyards, IPI Plastic, wholesale printing and embroidery completion.

Bryan Welton is the President and originator of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Namifiers, a business serving 78,000 customers and employing 85 workers-no tiny feat for a man who is presently 31 years old. “We consider ourselves to be in the production of identification advertising,” Welton says. “This is different than normal promotion because we make the merchandise. We have a dozen different product lines, and within those product lines, we present individualized help to the consumer. For example, in a small business start-up, a corporation needs help getting off the ground. We help them with everything: their logo, embroidery, design, engraving, promotion, and branding. We don’t really offer a huge package deal; instead, we cater to each individual client. They might need a banner, full color name tags, and several t-shirts.”

Though Welton at this instant runs an determined and growing recognition small business, he came to Namifiers circuitously. Welton studied political science but became interested in ways to instill technology into businesses. “We began this company in 2001,” he says, “but I came interested in the industry after functioning in the search engine optimization (SEO) field. By means of a few family members and associates, I learned of a small engraving shop with good quality equipment doing mostly local business.

“I approached them and presented my SEO services to take their production to the next level online,” he continues. “At that moment, people were still timid about doing business online in this industry. The sense was that the customer sought to touch and feel the product. But we launched an agreement with them in 2001, and a few years soon after we ended up buying the business and acquired a few companies along the way. In 2004 we came to what is at this time our current force.”

In that somewhat rapid period of time, Welton has seen considerable change and contends he came to the industry with a fresh eye, which helps continue his small business running strong. “In the beginning, there were name tags, custom printed lanyards, and badge holders at the company,” he says. “The added lines, like embroidery and apparel printing, happened here as time went on because of customer requests.”

A Brand New Perspective on Namifying Your Product
“Tripping” into this business gave Welton a fresh angle in an industry characterized by various family-run businesses. “A a small number of big players were out there who understood how technology could take [a business] to the next level but generally it was a few people with a few employees,” he says. “Then I came on board. I don’t have a technical background. I had a bachelor’s degree in political science; I was getting prepared to go to law school. It was around the year 2000 and about 3 weeks before departing, I decided to give it up and I told my wife I’d like to do some freelance things for a while. I got interested in this industry with that sort of rareness. I had fresh eyes, but I had a lot riding on the line. I gave up a lot to do this.”

Digging up business doesn’t appear to be a great effort for Namifiers. Welton says lean production and same-day delivery keep his products and services very much in demand. “The thing that helped us grow was that we took the same-day service model and a lean manufacturing approach to several industries,” he says. “Customers who desired 20 plaques usually had to wait 3 days. We found that people don’t like to buy something and then have to return 3 days later and pick it up. We told them that we could do everything the same day. That’s the chief avenue where we gained clients. People were getting things a week or two after promised delivery dates. Our objective is if you telephone at 11 am or even 1 pm, we can have a proof in 30 minutes, and everything produced that day. If a customer needs something sent overnight, we know how to do that.”

Welton is an smart marketer and appreciates the effort it takes to secure and keep a rising clientele. “We invest in marketing and advertising, which includes everything from banner exchanges to Web links to help our SEO,” he says. “We are vested in all of the main search engines, which have verified to be some of the greatest channels for reaching new customers. People can download to a Blackberry or iPhone. Our approach is very current.”

Employees Are Important to Company’s Success
Employees are also key to Namifiers’ success. Though most of the company’s workforce works at a facility located about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, the company works on a international level. “We’ve got about 85 employees,” says Welton. “But we also retain some affiliate partnerships that are shared ventures out of the country for raw goods in China. And we indulge our people. We’ve got an 80,000 square foot opening, and 25,000 of that is office space. Everyone has a good sized 15 x 15-ft office. The office space houses our salespeople, marketing team, and graphic designers. People are surprised when they come to our facility.”

Welton plans to bring in even more surprises to the business in the type of product thoughts. He sees security and combination applications as the next new development for the identification and awards business. “Things took a major shift in security after 9/11,” he says. As a result, we’ve seen the digital ID business grow to smart cards and data-embedded badges. As time goes on, people will place more radio frequency IDs on a name tag. One of the brands we’re helping develop makes the name tag more functional. People have by tradition carried an electrical device and then they’re also required to wear an ID badge. We’re looking to marry those thoughts. That’s what the future looks like – surfacing technology and multiple functionality.” Join Namifiers Affiliate Program http://www.namifiers.com/Affiliates.aspx