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Big Fish Rule

Program sellers live large on promotional products

By Andrew Brown

Brand extension, lead acquisition, customer and employee appreciation and retention—these never-ending objectives are pursued by all successful businesses. In their pursuit, many companies have turned to promotional products distributors for help. In fact, promotional products have become nearly a $19 billion industry. “There are new suppliers and products almost every month, as well as competition from new distributors, both online and off,” says Dennis Bevers, owner of BASSCO Inc., Sulphur, La. “In spite of the constant change, the industry on a whole is still growing.”

Although the industry’s expansion means more distributors and direct-selling manufacturers offer these products, not all of them do it well. A clear demarcation exists between experts in the field and reps who simply sell “stuff.” As with the printing industry at large, the challenge for companies offering these products is to differentiate themselves from competitors. “You’re not going to differentiate yourself on product, because everyone has the same products,” says Mark Yokoyama, director of marketing and merchandising of ePromos Promotional Products Inc., New York City. “You can differentiate yourself on price, but that’s a race to the bottom. What you have left to offer is service and expertise. That means knowing how the industry works and having experience doing the logistical aspects of it.”

Fortunately, print distributors start with an advantage. Unlike traditional promotional product distributors, they immediately add value by providing packaging, marketing collateral, business forms, labels and tags—virtually any printed product the end user needs. That’s not enough, however. There’s a reason that many promotional products distributors don’t need to sell anything else: A broad product line won’t substitute for consultative, problem-solving skills. Only distributors who know the nuances of the promotional products industry will continue to reap its benefits.

The first step is to understand how and why end users use the products.

Branding 101
Promotional products serve specific purposes. At best, they act as “solutions” to clients’ business and marketing challenges. Brand extension, for instance, is a common application for promotional products. Brand extension happens in many ways, but the goals are always the same—get prospective customers to remember the name, get them to associate the name with positive qualities, and ultimately transform those positive feelings into new behavior (i.e. to buy the companies’ products or services). “At the end of the day, we’re not in the business of selling pens the way that Staples is in the business of selling pens,” says Yokoyama. “We sell ads. We sell tools that will help people modify their behavior.”

The term ‘branding’ refers to the historical practice of marking livestock with a unique symbol to signify a rancher’s ownership. In marketing, the concept refers to efforts a company makes to positively associate its culture and capabilities to customers in the marketplace. Because consumers are bombarded daily with marketing messages, repetition is a bedrock principle of any branding campaign.

As marketing tools, promotional products can be very effective at repetition, but not if they are chosen haphazardly. Distributors’ value-added role in the process begins with finding products that align with their client’s message and brand. Distributors who fail to recognize the relationship between marketing goals and products risk compromising the client’s campaign. To achieve repetition, for example, those products must be something that potential customers will continue to use over and over, such as apparel or office products.

Quantity and Quality
Distinguishing business-to-business from business-to-consumer campaigns is another step in matching end users’ goals with the right products. Generally speaking, B2B campaigns benefit more from high-quality, unique or custom products.

These campaigns tend to focus on smaller target markets. They may even want to reach specific prospects within a niche market, such as C-level executives only. Whether branding or lead acquisition is the objective, the campaign is more likely to succeed by placing memorable items in the hands of key decision-makers.

At trade shows, for example, a software company with complicated products might choose a high-end item but make prospects sit through a presentation to receive it, suggests Yokoyama. If the software is expensive and its features are difficult to understand, the company wants a target audience to spend time with its sales reps. The right giveaway combined with conditional steps to receive it deters unlikely prospects.

On the other hand, widespread distribution of a brand drives most B2C campaigns. They’re served more by large quantities of cost-effective products. The products should still promote visibility and functionality, but the end goal is to saturate a market or mailing list with promotional products that will touch as many prospects as possible.

Logistics Is Key
The value-add process continues after products are chosen. Although finding the right products helps differentiate distributors, there are many instances when clients already have ideas for products, in which case the distributor’s role in the creative process is moot. Also, the barrier to purchasing products is low, so any distributor can provide them to an end user. A tight production, inventory and tracking operation combined with superior customer service often sets professionals apart from amateurs in the promotional products business.

Partnerships with manufacturers facilitate operations success. Sorting through vendors to determine which ones provide consistent, reliable service takes research, but it pays off when an end user needs a rush order. Promotional products distributors who are confident with their vendors enjoy a competitive advantage. “There’s no way I can know 5,000 suppliers,” says Greg Taylor, owner of Abante Marketing, La Vista, Neb. “That’s absurd.” Taylor currently is narrowing his list to 25 vendors based on product quality, customer service and delivery.

Customer service also sets distributors apart. Distributors who sell, quote on jobs, and shuttle proofs back and forth between end users and vendors will find it hard to compete with experienced promotional products distributors who employ immediate customer service through a knowledgeable support staff. “If you work with us, you’re not working with one rep who won’t answer his phone when he’s in another meeting,” says Yokoyama. Taylor concurs: “We respond to our customers very quickly. If they need something, we get it for them, if not in a couple hours, then the same day.”

The Impact of Technology
Differentiation is particularly important in online ordering. The ability to attract customers through websites has helped many small distributors broaden their markets, but their success lies in efficient backend processing and a user-friendly interface. These two elements determine whether technology is a help or hindrance to distributors.

On the front end, ePromos attracts visitors to its site by posting educational resources and case studies. It also offers users a wide variety of ways to search for products, including by use, industry, shape and theme.

At Abante Marketing, backend processes are streamlined to increase efficiency and reduce errors. “The most important things, like orders, invoicing and confirmations, go through one person,” says Taylor.

Ongoing Education
Even as the promotional product industry grows, it faces commoditization by end users fixated on price and distributors eager to accommodate them. While it’s possible for individual companies to position themselves as consultants, the challenge is long-term and requires an industry-wide effort to educate end users. “We don’t want to be the only people who understand it,” says Yokoyama. “We can keep customers by doing our job really well, but beyond that, we can really help people be successful by growing [the promotional products] market. If you can teach someone how a promotional product can solve a human resources problem, then you actually start to develop and grow the business.”

Yokoyama cites a campaign in which ePromos supplied “new hire” kits to internet service provider Earthlink. To reduce turnover and incorporate staff from multiple locations into the company culture, each new hire received the kit in the mail a few days before his or her start date. The kit included imprinted items that employees could use inside and outside the office, including a water bottle, mouse pad, baseball cap and drawstring backpack. A welcome letter from Earthlink’s CEO accompanied the promotional products. All the items were delivered in custom packaging that utilized the company’s orange corporate colors. By making employees feel like part of the company before they even started, Earthlink reduced its new turnover rate by 50 percent. “Someone couldn’t be more positive about his or her job on the first day after receiving it,” says Yokoyama. “The future of the industry is helping people understand how effective these products can be. It’s up to the industry to educate the customer, and the best way to do it is to help people have promotions that are really successful.”

Andy Brown is managing editor of Print Solutions magazine. Email comments to abrown@PSDA.org.