In the beginning it took some getting used to
Marcel van Denken was employed by us for 10 years on 1 August 2020. Most of our customers have sat down with him or know him from trade fairs and conferences. The ideal time to check out how he experienced his first decade at Crius Group.
Marcel Van Denken
Sales Director at Crius Group
How did you and Crius Group get together?
I had been working in the publishing industry for a while and started in this sector as sales for logistics (warehousing, cash management, web shops). In addition, I have also worked at other companies that are more or less comparable to Crius Group. Then it's a small worldl! I had heard of Crius Group before and especially of the product Core, the predecessor of the current version. I met Jurgen Willems at a conference for publishers and that immediately clicked very well.
So it was an obvious step then?
Not quite. At the time, the industry was doing very badly and it was difficult to be successful in sales. Not one but two sales managers were hired and results were expected quickly. Moreover, Crius Group was not well known on the Dutch market at the time and I was not well known on the Flemish market either!
Was it a happy marriage right away?
In the beginning it took some getting used to. Despite the fact that I myself come from North Brabant in the Netherlands, I sometimes had a bit of difficulty with the language and certain expressions. More importantly, Crius Group had no experience with sales managers. Once and a while, I saw some colleagues thinking: “What are these men doing all week?”. Furthermore, I often had to explain why things in the Netherlands sometimes go slightly differently than in Flanders.
In the end, did you not regret taking the plunge?
On the contrary! It was partly necessary because my former employer was doing badly. And it is of course logical that you have to get used to your new environment and vice versa. But I was especially charmed by the story which Jurgen came up with to make Crius Group future-proof. Both the content and the reason why, really appealed to me!
The current owners (Jurgen and Jordy Willems) are the second generation to join the company at a young age. As said, this did not happen in the easiest time. Not only did publishers have a hard time, but offshoring was also explicitly looked at. In short, there were a number of major dangers lurking. There were several options at the time. They could sell the company directly or continue profitable for a limited number of years without investments and then dispose of the leftovers. But… they opted for the latter and that is investing, focusing on innovation and trying to create something beautiful on their own.
That sounds like a fairytale, did it all just work out?
Absolutely not. Especially the first period this really went with trial and error. There had been far too little work for the technology department for some time. We also tried to market many products, services and partnerships that have partially or completely failed. That cost a lot of time, money and energy.
Can you give some examples?
How many do you want? We started with Crius Mobile with the launch of the iPad. Regular apps, an app management system and enriched e-books, we did it all. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that it was often very difficult for publishers to make these products profitable. But there is much more. At the moment we are quite successful with Core, but not everyone knows that this is the 2.0 variant. The first version looked very different and just completely failed.
But of course it is also part of pioneering and innovation. Some things work, others don't. But this has brought us to where we are today. As a sales manager it gnaws at you. Is it the product or was the story wrong? Those are things that you ask yourself.
So pioneering and innovation are the keys to your success?
Yes, although I would like to add focus and the right culture to that. The publishing sector has been inundated for years with reports about a changing market, digitization and new business models. Everyone heard it but no one knew what to do with it. We then decided to invest in a declining market. This by focusing exclusively on the publishing market, investing in marketing and sales, but especially with new products and services that really benefit publishers.
Bring on those success stories.
Well, you can actually break it down into a few categories. We mainly try to help publishers with optimizing the process. By this I mean that we want to organize the process from delivery from manuscript to PDF or digital file as efficiently as possible. That sounds drastic and sometimes it is. We often do this with software that involves a new way of working. We also increasingly see that entire processes, including editing, are outsourced to us. But what many people forget is that it can also be much more accessible. By changing little things we can often already make a considerable profit.
So it's about cutting costs?
That can be an important part, but it is not just that. We also offer continuity. We do this by processing content in such a way so that there are also possibilities to a digital format, immediately or later. Then the advantage is on the turnover side.
We also invest a lot in knowledge and transfering this. This results in fairs or congresses such as the Frankfurt Book Fair or Crius Update Live. We also like to think along with complex issues without directly requiring an assignment.
Pioneering and innovating have brought us where we are today. Some things work, others don't. But that, together with the focus and the right culture, is the key to the success of Crius Group.Marcel Van Denken
But where is the focus then? It actually sounds very broad!
Well, that's simple. We only do this for (book) publishers! Not only do we know technically what's going on, but we also keep a close eye on all market developments. This allows us to respond quickly to what the market demands.
And then of course the key question, what will the future bring?
We have decided to really consolidate a bit in a number of areas. For example, our IT department has grown tremendously and we have to pull out all the stops to serve our customers. But we certainly have a number of spearheads! For example, we are busy looking at opportunities to put Core abroad and we hope to have our own editorial office in Amsterdam!
So for you there will be another 10 years?
I already mentioned the culture of Crius Group, you really have to fit in. We all have a passion for the publishing profession and have both feet on the ground. I think and hope our customers see us that way too. In any case, I feel very much at home here.
And well, many Dutch publishers are in the outskirts of town and still see me as a bit of a Belgian. And in Flanders I am 'the Dutchman', so I have thought for myself that I bring the best of both worlds together 😉.