Down to Business with Tony Pytlak, President/COO at SFG, LLC

Tony Pytlak, President/COO at SFG, LLC

Describe what you do and how you can help AAMP members.

We offer AAMP members an all-in-one solution that combines our flexible and scalable order management system, FlexOMSTM, with our integrated operational services, FlexOpsTM. Combining FlexOMSTM + FlexOpsTM supports the many new ways in which companies transact with their customers – as well as the more traditional types of support like customer care, printing and lettershop, mail processing, back issue fulfillment, etc. As AAMP members extend their brands using multiple business models, SFG can help them create a seamless customer experience across all their models in one location and in one system.

What is the profile of your typical client?

The typical SFG media publishing partner (we consider our clients “partners”) is a forward thinking, innovative publisher who is looking for the advantages of a technology-focused provider that can anticipate and innovate in tune with the changing market. Our partners are looking for great ways to extend their brand by applying business intelligence to their marketing efforts or adding new programs such as membership, donations, products, or subscription boxes to its media content.

What is the biggest challenge your clients are facing in 2020, and how are you able to help them over the hurdles?

COVID-19’s takeover of 2020 is raising the stakes for all media publishers. Some our partners’ marketing efforts are actually doing better than anticipated so far this year, probably in response to stay-at-home orders. However, some publishers are facing circulation decline and the proliferation of free information online. SFG’s technology and support of a wide selection of programs has helped some of our partners implement quick tests of new business models, including:

• switch to or test into a membership-based model
• expand into new product sales or new packages of existing products
• begin taking donations

All of this is supported by SFG’s real-time system backed by our truly relational database, designed with the customer at the center. 

What new and exciting services and/or technology are you working on?

Later this summer we are launching SFG’s FlexPage™ System 2.0. The original FlexPage™ System allows our partners to design their own online/mobile order pages on the fly within minutes, but FlexPage™ System 2.0 adds the capability of combining multiple business model offerings on a single order page. Imagine the power of offering print and/or digital magazine subscriptions, products, subscription boxes, memberships, donations, or any combination to your customer in a single order page and transaction – and designing and launching it within minutes!

In addition, our list of secure application programming interfaces (APIs) continues to grow, enabling us to respond to customers in real time, no matter where the data resides.

What is your favorite kind of pizza?

I grew up in the Chicago area, where deep dish pizza reigns supreme, and Lou Malnati’s Pizza is a Chicagoland legend. My favorite pizza is The Malnati Chicago Classic, made with Lou’s lean sausage, some extra cheese and vine-ripened tomato sauce on buttercrust, with pepperoni added.