That headline is a complete misnomer. UniFi Equipment Finance isn’t exactly a new member of the office imaging finance community rather it’s a rebranding of the former Ervin Equipment Finance, a company whose financing roots date back 35 years. During that time, Ervin, now UniFi, has funded more than 9,000 vendors, totaling in excess of $1 billion.
In addition to changing its name to Unifi Equipment Finance, the company has a newly developed logo and Website. The rebranding went into effect July 1 and is a culmination of events that began in January 2013 when Ervin Leasing became the vendor financing division for Bank of Ann Arbor. Later on in 2013, the company changed its name to Ervin Equipment Finance to better reflect its services offerings to the channel. The latest name change takes the rebranding one step further.
Last week I spoke with RJ Grimshaw, CEO/President of UniFi Equipment Finance, about the rebranding. “There was probably 100 names we looked at, is because we’re a vendor-driven shop. We get up every morning focused on helping our partners grow their business and we view that as mission critical to what we do. That is our “WHY” hence the new company name. UniFi signifies that we’re unified with our partner, we’re unified with the customer, and we’re unified with our employees and we all come together with one mission.”
The new UniFi logo is embedded in a round circle, and according to Grimshaw, “represents the way we want all client relations to go smoothly, flawless without interruption, forever.”
Although UniFi Equipment Finance had been growing since reemerging on the office imaging financing scene a little over a year ago, it hasn’t had as high a profile in the office imaging dealer community as many of its larger competitors. “We’ve had pockets of success, but there still needs to be brand awareness of who we are and what we offer,” acknowledges Grimshaw. “Ervin was very good at flying under the radar, but we’re changing that.”
One question Grimshaw is often asked by dealers is what makes UniFi different?
“What makes us different is we’re a company that’s been in business for 35 years and made it through the downturn, UniFi now has a parent that can provide the capital to support our growth in the business,” responds Grimshaw. “The average tenure of our employees is 22+ years. We still pick up the phone when it rings and we’re extremely proactive in helping our partners. That’s what resonates with partners who we partner with. There’s great competition in this space, and if they want to do business with another company, and that’s okay. We try and choose partners where UniFi can add value and be relevant. When dealers learn about UniFi and review our programs, and give us a shot in terms of processing their deals, they are impressed with the great job and we win them over.”
Besides the rebranding and the various activities surrounding that rebranding, there are other changes taking place. The company recently implemented a new leasing platform to provide dealers with the tools they need to be successful, particularly in the copier space, including bundle pass through capabilities and web portal for portfolio management.
UniFi is also embarking on a new social media initiative that will add more value in supporting their partners.
Social media is an area that Grimshaw feels some dealers have a difficult time understanding how to leverage in their business. We have developed a new tool “It’s like social media in a box where we can help support their initiatives and give them content, a Google+ page and show them how to use those tools,” states Grimshaw.
UniFi is actively using social media and Grimshaw contends it’s time dealers acknowledge the importance of social media. “Dealers might not think it’s as relevant today, but in five years it will be,” he says. “You will need a presence across all social media. The bigger dealers understand it. BTA is trying to educate the dealers, but the dealers have to participate on a regular basis. What we’re finding is they don’t do it, or if they’re doing it, it’s haphazard.”
He adds that a lot of what dealers are using today for social media is mass produced, which means people are seeing the same exact content from eight different dealers across different geographies.
“It’s word for word the same thing,” laments Grimshaw. “There’s no value in that because it’s a broadcast of content and doesn’t speak specifically to that dealer. That’s something we’re working on where we can add value to the dealer other than being just another leasing company but a partner on many fronts.”
This social media initiative is currently being beta tested by a few dealers and will be available to other UniFi dealers later this year.
Visit www.unifiedge.com to learn more about UniFi Equipment Finance products and services.
