LSC Managing Director, Mark Johnson, shares a few words on the eve of the release of the 500th Edition of the LSC Newsletter
Remarkably, this is our 500th edition of the “ LSC Newsletter.”
The very first was sent out July 1983 and doing the calculation, five hundred editions equates to over 41 Years!
On the front page of that first edition, I said that the ‘newsletter will be published every month’ and I’m very proud to report that is exactly what we’ve done. In fact, in that time, we haven’t missed one edition.
I also said we wanted to ‘keep Locksmiths informed of new and interesting products, stock lines you may have forgotten and monthly specials.’ I also wrote, ‘the public are starting to realise the need for added security.’ This is obviously still true today!
Our first newsletters were very labour intensive with a lot of scissor and sticky tape handiwork. The photocopier got a severe workout as did a typewriter and liquid paper.
Today, our newsletter is created and published digitally – both in terms of how the team lay out the content with sophisticated desktop publishing tools, but also how the images are captured, with a digital camera or from content supplied digitally by suppliers. It’s delivered digitally now too via email (although we do still print and send out hundreds of hard-copies). Customers can look at it on their phones, on desktop computer, or on a tablet.
When we started doing the newsletter in 1983, phones had dials!
The analogy of how technology changes everything couldn’t be more apparent, and is a metaphor for our lives in general, and more specifically our industry.
That first issue displayed products such as BDS padlocks, some Silca ‘fancy’ key heads, HPC 1200CM code machine, Slim Jims, and half a page on graphite – exciting stuff. Such was locksmithing in 1983.
Looking at Issue 499, some things haven’t changed – Protector mortice locks or ABUS padlocks for example. But the flipside – WOW. McGrath smart locks, a van-load of automotive gizmos, world class alarm products. And guess what – you can use your phone to open doors too – it’s not just for reading the LSC newsletter. We’re clearly in the age of electronics.
I keep saying it (but I’m going to say it again anyway): the security industry, and opportunities for our customers has never looked stronger. Consumers are crying out for help to make their lives more comfortable, more convenient, and more secure. Locksmiths are ideally placed to offer this help – as a service business, you can solve what your customers perceive as complex problems easily and reliably.
I hope you enjoy reading our newsletter every single month. We strive to make it interesting, and to keep a balance of stories about product (which will always feature heavily), with some industry news, and some tips & tricks.
Thank all of our customers for reading our newsletter. When I’m out visiting locksmiths, or at industry events, plenty of you mention ideas or topics you’d like to see, and this shows the publication is (we hope) useful to your business.
We also get a lot of feedback via our branches, customer service and account management teams, and this feeds into how we craft stories and articles that are
designed to help you gain that important edge in your business. Once again thanks for making us the number one publication in our industry.
Mark Johnson