JIM DOHM DOESN'T NEED TO BE TOLD THE DOCUMENT
management industry is changing--he knows firsthand. When sales of traditional business forms began to decline, the president of Digi-Tex, a 10-year-old distributorship in Wrightsville, Pa., began looking for ways to diversify. Dohm found the solution in promotional office supplies and desk accessories.
"Promotional products were a natural because we could sell them to our existing customers," Dohm says. Promotional office supplies and desk accessories are also good door openers. "With prospects, sometimes we can't sell them printing because they like their commercial printer," he says. "We can't sell them forms because they like their forms supplier, and we can't sell them labels because they like their labels supplier. Promotional products get us in the door."
Though Digi-Tex has sold promotional office supplies and desk accessories for only three years, the products account for approximately 10 percent its sales. Half of the prospects Dohm calls on for promotional office supplies and desk accessories open a new account within 60 days, he says.
The office supply and desk accessories promotional product market grossed an estimated $4.6 billion in 2000, according to Promotional Products Association International. Popular items include writing instruments, paper clip dispensers, document holders, letter openers, desk calendars, executive golf putters, paper weights, desk clocks, highlighters, rulers, business card holders, calculators, staple removers, briefcases, computer cases, mouse pads, stress relievers and planners. Such items help businesses achieve name recognition and build customer loyalty.
"Every company uses some type of promotional office supply or desk accessory," says Digi-Tex's marketing representative Jeannie Kushman, who sells the majority of the firm's promotional products. "They go to trade shows and give out promotional items so their company names will be known," she says. "They give gifts to their customers at the end of the year, or they give gifts to their employees after a certain number of years of service."
Recently,
Dohm set his sights on a steel company as a potential buyer of promotional
office supplies and desk accessories. Digi-Tex already had been supplying
the company with traditional business forms, brochures, letterhead, envelopes,
business cards and plastic products. Dohm suggested the client use promotional
office supplies and desk accessories as Christmas gifts for its best customers.
Digi-Tex supplied the company with 50 mouse pads with built-in calculators,
imprinted with the steel company's name and logo in
1/
2
x 3-inch imprint areas. Because the imprint
areas were small, Digi-Tex also supplied the customer with
1/2
x 8-inch gold foil labels printed with
the names of the steel company's most popular products, its phone and fax
numbers, and its email and web site addresses. The labels were attached to
the mouse pads while still at the manufacturing facility. Digi-Tex also supplied
the steel company with 24 metal organizers for its top clients. The organizers,
which were engraved with the steel company's name and logo, featured calculators,
clocks, calendars, and pen and note holders.
While promotional office supplies and desk accessories help end users achieve recognition and build customer loyalty, they also help distributors get the attention of key decision-makers within end user firms. "Promotional products offer a wonderful opportunity to meet CEOs, presidents, vice presidents of sales and marketing managers, who you can't often get appointments with for commercial printing and other products," Dohm says. These individuals often want to be involved in selecting promotional products. "Once you get an opportunity to get in and show them this product line...before you know it, they're giving you a shot at other things," Dohm says.
--Kara S. Carpenter
Coasters, Desk Accessories, CD Holders,
Pet Supplies, Vinyl Pillows, Food and Drink Jars, Carafes, Fingertip Toothbrushes
Sure
Goods, Long Beach, Calif., offers recycled rubber, suede foam and stainless
steel coasters; stainless steel desk accessories; recycled rubber, suede foam
and translucent plastic mouse pads; suede foam CD holders; pet bowls, food
and litter scoops; suede foam and plastic desk mats; frosted vinyl pillows
with picture pockets, insulated food and drink jars; modern carafes; Dental
Dots
®
disposable fingertip toothbrushes with
pre-applied toothpaste; and more. For more information, call (800) 716-3304,
(562) 987-5444, or (562) 987-3397 (fax). Send email to suregoods@aol.com.
Food
Lanco
Corp., Hauppauge, N.Y., introduces candy mints in six new flavors, including
cinnamon, citrus, spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen and chocolate. The mints
are offered in custom-imprinted lozenge boxes, mini mint tins, pop-top tins,
credit card mint dispensers and mint drives (computer-shaped dispensers) in
a variety of colors. The company also offers other food gifts, golf items,
bath and body products, travel items, and more. For more information, call
(800) 938-4500, (631) 231-2300 or (631) 231-2731 (fax). Visit the company's
web site at www.lancopromo.com.
Patriotic Products, Mouse Pads,
Plastic Membership Cards and Calendar Cards,
Calendar/Sports Schedule Magnets, Domed Decals
Gill
Studios™ Inc., Shawnee Mission, Kan., introduces its expanded line of
19 patriotic products, including white vinyl removable flags, static-cling
inside window flags, flag magnets and flag roll labels. It also offers doubled-sided
yard signs and bumper stickers sporting patriotic phrases, such as "Proud
to be an American," "God Bless America" and "United We Stand." Most orders
are shipped within 72 hours. Gill Studios also introduces its "Strongest Link"
fourth-quarter specials. Through Dec. 31, the company offers discounts of
up to 44 percent on 4-color process mouse pads, plastic membership and calendar
cards, calendar/sports schedule magnets, and domed decals. For more information,
call (913) 888-4422 or (800) 392-4455 (fax). Visit the company's web site
at www.gill-line.com.
Plastic Advertising and Identification Items
Berlekamp
Plastics Inc., Fremont, Ohio, offers a variety of plastic injection-molded
advertising and identification items, including custom interior nameplates,
stock and custom badges, stock and custom plaques, coasters, 3D bag tags,
magnets, computer data plates, storage nameplates, kickstand pads, die cut
adhesive nameplates, thermcut vinyl decals, and license plates. For more information,
call (419) 334-4481 or (419) 334-9094 (fax). Visit the company's web site
at www.berlekamp.com. Send email
to info@berlekamp.com.
Portable Shades
Inventive
Ideas Inc., Kansas City, Mo., introduces its SportsShade
®
portable shade. Available in red, blue
or black with a silver, heat-reflective top, SportShade can be set up on vans
and SUVs for tailgating; used for camping; attached to fences for baseball,
softball, tennis and other sporting events; and more. Requiring no assembly,
it weighs less than 9 lbs. and can be set up or taken down in approximately
30 seconds. SportsShade comes with a customizable banner, which also serves
as a wrap-around carrying case. For more information, call (877) 202-0642
or (816) 734-7013 (fax). Visit the SportsShade web site at www.sportsshade.com.
Send email to info@sportsshade.com.
Prepaid Gift Certificates
Corporate
Sports Incentives Inc., Burlington, Mass., offers Universal Tickets, prepaid
gift certificates for golf lessons and games, skiing and snowboarding excursions,
and admissions to amusement parks and museums. Universal Tickets allow recipients
to choose the day, time and venue for their outings. Each ticket is enclosed
in a gift envelope, which includes a directory of participating facilities
across the country. CSI can customize tickets and envelopes with company logos
and provide assistance in developing award programs, sweepstakes and sales
contests. CSI also offers Movie Cash™, prepaid movie tickets accepted at more
than 30,000 movie theaters in the United States and Canada. For more information,
call (800) 627-7547, (781) 229-2589 or (781) 229-8886 (fax). Visit the company's
web site at www.universal
tickets.com. Send email to sales@universaltickets.com.
Promotional Product Tools
SAGE
®
-Quick Technologies Inc., Dallas,
offers a variety of tools to help promotional product distributors, including
SAGE WebExpress, SAGE WebExpress Pro, SAGE WebStore and SAGE Company Store.
SAGE WebExpress allows distributors to design and administer web sites. Users
select backgrounds, button colors, graphics and copy, then create their web
sites with the push of a button. WebExpress features six page templates, including
ones for home pages, product and service specials, company background details,
contact information, links to other sites, and user help. Distributors can
use their own domain names (www.abcpromos.com)
or a slash address (www.promoplace.com/abcpromos).
WebExpress is free with any SAGE research product, and sites are hosted at
no charge. SAGE WebExpress Pro adds marketing features and support for multiple
offices and salespeople to the WebExpress model. The SAGE WebStore e-commerce
module can be added to WebExpress, WebExpressPro or a distributor's existing
web site; it allows clients to place orders online. Distributors choose suppliers
and pricing structures for their WebStores. WebStore also allows customers
to request quotes and send distributors artwork electronically. SAGE Company
Store allows distributors to create individual company stores, customized
with clients' logos and pre-selected products, for each customer. DMIA members
receive 20-percent discounts on all SAGE products. For more information about
these and other SAGE products, call (214) 631-6000 or (214) 631-2323 (fax).
Visit the company's web site at www.sageworld.com.
Send email to info@qti.com.
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