Member of the Month
Member of the Month — July 2020
Name: Jim Suhre
Title: co-owner
Business: IMD4 (Innovative Media Design 4 You
Website: IMD4.com
Email: jimsuhre@gmail.com
Tell us a little about your business/organization: how did it begin; what are your services/products, etc.
Advertising, branding, consulting, strategic expansion. We can brand or rebrand your business, we can design and create your advertising across many platforms. We can analyze your business and identify weaknesses, and opportunities.
Tell us about your role in the business/organization.
I have been mostly an independent contractor in advertising/strategic communications my entire adult life. While my college degree was in Economics, I got work out of college in New York City as a graphic artist in ad agencies. Desktop publishing was brand new, and I was lucky to be a pioneer in the field. At one point my job was to train art directors on how to use the Macintosh for art—but soon I was made an art director myself.
Now with my wife, Kate, IMD4 is the current iteration of this advertising/consulting agency going back to 1988. In the early 2000s, I started working with community banks and earned a graduate degree in banking from GSBC in Boulder, Colorado. Understanding how a bank works has been invaluable in many aspects of career and life – and allows one to be a better consultant to any and all businesses. My sub-specialty has become branch expansion, doing much research on how to identify a successful new location. I have now sited 7 new locations (3 banks and 4 pharmacies), and my research is included in the library of the GSBC.
Tell us something that makes your business/organization unique.
The combination of national advertising and television experience, banking and economics expertise, and a small-town sensibility definitely makes IMD4 unique. We like to say, “Madison Avenue expertise at Main Street prices” – and that is true! We can provide expert branding, marketing and strategic planning that largely matches the level of firms costing many times what we charge.
What do you see for the future of your business/organization?
We plan to stay in Delaware and build on our client base. We are happy to have gained some great clients here already, and our work is already showing up on Delaware’s billboards, televisions, radios and newspapers. We love working for the “Mom and Pop” business, the smaller company battling the large corporate chains, the locally owned bank or pharmacy.
How has the Chamber helped your business/organization grow?
The Chamber has helped very much. When we moved to Dover, we did not know a single soul here. We completed the 5-star program and received an opportunity to have a “New Member Spotlight” article published about us, and that led to our first Delaware client. Then, that client led to other clients. So, it’s true that our membership in the CDCC has led to much business for us.
What is your best advice to other businesses/organizations?
Work hard every day, but also make sure to have fun every day. You must do both, every day, or else you will get out of balance. As for marketing and operations of a business—be consistent. Pick your “brand” (business model and business image together) and then BE your brand—each time, every time. Lack of consistency is probably the number one problem in marketing for many businesses. And this is key: Stop thinking like yourself, and start thinking like your customers. Do that, and your ads will get better, and you will have more customers.
Do you want to be a future Member of the Month?
Enter your business card in the drawing at the
Any Sunset Business Mixer
Last Wednesday of the Month (see Event Calendar for details)
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
