Halloween is in our rear view mirror, but if you’re a publicly-owned company or one considering going public, there’s still plenty of reason to be frightened, especially if you’re using anyone other than 2engage Financial Media as your financial reporting service provider.
You might say, “No problem, Bob. I’m using a popular self-filing solution and don’t need a full service reporting provider.”
Back in the not so distant past I was an advocate of self-filing solutions as a way to break the mold of traditional financial printers when it came to service providers. I was impressed at how quickly they became popular.
The majority of revenue for Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) self-filing software companies is acquired in the form of subscription-based services. Essentially, companies pay to “rent” self-provisioning software that enables them to file their registration and disclosure documents. This model of doing business plateaus quite rapidly as the number of subscribers using the software soon peaks. Companies who sell subscriptions to their software as their primary method for creating income eventually have to do something else to keep money streams flowing.
The way the most popular of the self-filing solutions has handled this revenue stagnation issue is to file to become a publicly traded company themselves. This will generate much needed cash, and buys them some time (to consider how best to diversify their product offerings and halt their declining subscriptions). It also allows their principal shareholders to become wealthy, while possibly leaving its customers anything but as they contend with potentially debilitating quality and support issues. The self-provisioning software financial reporting provider that goes public is ultimately serving its shareholders first and customers second.
You can argue the point with me all you like, but it says here that self-filing reporting providers who go public as well as traditional financial printers who are already publicly-owned, have lost some (if not all) of the personalized service that propelled them to the top as a consequence of their going public.
Personalized service has never been easier, smarter or more cost-effective
If you wisely don’t want your company’s important documents to get lost in all the hubris that comes from dealing with old school financial printers and flavor-of-the-month self-filing solutions, there’s good news for you.
2engage Financial Media is the new home of true, personalized service in the digital age for your critical EDGAR, XBRL and Registration work. While having more than enough capacity to handle the biggest jobs, 2engage is able to do so in a manner that speaks to professionalism while avoiding the arrogance that emanates from working with a publicly-traded financial reporting provider more concerned with when their next round of layoffs is or where offshored typesetting sweatshops should be based.
Seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Education by the customer is still the key to quality service. If customers ask questions, they will soon find out that not making the switch to 2engage Financial Media is an error in judgment best avoided in an otherwise well thought out decision-making process.
What the other guys don’t tell you
Hidden costs and lack of support lurk everywhere when working with traditional financial printers and self-filing reporting companies. With 2engage Financial Media, competitive pricing and outstanding service are the premise and cornerstones of how they do business. At 2engage Financial Media, fairness is still part of the business equation. Try getting treated fairly anywhere else. It may or may not happen. Personally, I wouldn’t count on it.
The other thing to be concerned with if you utilize self-filing solutions is lack of support. Things will change within the business structure of self-filing companies. They’ve experienced exponential growth but their revenues have leveled off. When their first round of layoffs is announced, your service and support may be interrupted. The pricing you may have once enjoyed can be abandoned and replaced with something else–that while healthful to them, does little to create value for its customers.
These are the types of hidden concerns that are moot when you experience the service and quality at 2engage Financial Media. They understand all about focus and attention, too. How can the competition, who are in decline, truthfully make similar claims? The answer is they cannot.
The words too big to fail applied to companies that were bailed out during the 2008 financial crisis. In my opinion, they might as well apply to the remaining traditional financial printers and SEC self-filing software providers of today. The singular application difference here is that instead of the American people footing the bill, the customers of these providers ultimately pay to keep these companies afloat while they experience loss of quality, service and support as a result of doing business with them.
But all is not lost, especially if you want to enjoy the best quality and service available. I would suggest if you give the fine folks at 2engage Financial Media a call instead of dwelling on the horrors of Halloween like customers who use everyone else, you can look forward to a bountiful Thanksgiving celebration.
You’ve worked hard to build your company’s reputation and brand. Aren’t you and your organization’s important documents worth the personalized, professional touch that only 2engage Financial Media offers?
I believe after reading this far you know exactly what to do. The only question that remains is, “What are you waiting for?”
2engage Financial Media—the best new choice for work too critical to gamble on.
Bob Skelley is Founder, Senior Writer and Editor-in-Chief of bobskelley.com—home of the popular and influential blog, “hittingthesweetspot by Bob Skelley.” A commercial and financial printing veteran, Skelley spent over 25 years combined in both businesses. In an exclusive agreement with 2engage Financial Media, Bob will bring his unique financial reporting insights to our company’s web pages. Check our website regularly for more of Bob’s commentary, analysis and continuing coverage of the 2engage Financial Media difference.
This blog post was sponsored by 2engage Financial Media.