Print & Promo Marketing’s ongoing feature series, Executive Perspectives, tells the personal entrepreneurial stories of leading professionals in the print and promotional products industry. This month, we interviewed Casey Duke, partner at Metrographics (asi/268937) in Fairfield, NJ. In our chat, Duke discussed everything from taking over the reins from his father and modernizing the business, to adapting in hard times.
How did you get started in the industry? What path did you take to your current role?
Casey Duke: The business was started by my father back in the mid-1980s. Ever since I was in 5th or 6th grade – this is in the early 2000s – I was in the warehouse making boxes, packing orders and helping back there.
As I went through college and graduated, I didn’t really have a large enough book of business to work as a salesperson full-time, so I took a couple of sales jobs outside of Metrographics. I was doing door-to-door marketing, in-home sales, and as I grew through those sales, I became the “swag guy.” It was a side hustle for me, selling swag. Eventually, probably three or four years out of college, I had a large enough book of business to pursue sales, marketing and promo full-time [at Metrographics], so I made the jump. Throughout the years, it’s been quite fruitful thanks to some of the relationships I built.
How do you set goals for yourself and for your business?
CD: I always try to learn something new every day, whether it’s industry-related or not. I’m constantly trying to gather as much information as I can on trends – find out what’s popular and what’s gaining traction within the industry.
How important is adaptability in business?
CD: I like to look at it as focusing on what we can control. A great example of that is when COVID came and everything shut down. It seemed like a lot of these smaller companies were going out of business or not making it. Fortunately, we were able to pivot. We asked, ‘Hey, how can we handle this?’ What we did was shift gears. For about two years, I would say 70% of the products we were moving were sanitizers, face masks and floor decals that focused on social distancing.
What are some of the biggest challenges the industry is facing?
CD: We’re seeing a lot of consolidation with the vendors and producers. That’s of course going to drive prices down. On top of that, it’s really just a matter of providing the best service, even with consolidation and lower pricing.
What keeps you up at night?
CD: There are a lot of moving parts in the industry, with everything from graphic design to production, a lot of things are out of our control. For example, ‘Hey, can I trust UPS?’ ‘Can I trust FedEx to meet these deadlines?’
What do you think is the most exciting or cutting-edge thing your company is doing right now?
CD: We’re going through a pretty good transition period. Like I said earlier, my dad started the business in the early 1980s, so a lot of the processes that he had in place are a little outdated, though I can’t knock him for it because they’ve been working for the past 40 years. Just to have a small company being in business for 40 years is impressive alone. Still, it’s time for certain changes and that’s exciting. As we implement new technologies, new software with inventory tracking and order entry, it’s really cool to see how we can do so much more with a lot less.
What would someone be surprised to learn about you?
CD: I’m actually a good combo between a full-blown nerd and an adrenaline junkie. You put me in front of my PS5 with some video games and my buddies or throw me some LEGOs and I’ll be happy. But at the same time, I’m always itching to get out on my dirt bike or go skiing and get that hit of adrenaline.
