I am a true devotee of Pink Floyd, and their album, The Wall. Below is an illustration of The Wall representing the foundation of our industry. Hopefully you can use the bricks in the wall as a defense to keep your customers and prospects from buying off the internet. (Note: the blank bricks will be filled in next month with completion of the wall.)
In my classrooms at regional and national shows, I have asked hundreds of distributors, “Why should clients buy from you rather than off the internet?” Better than 70 percent cited, “Because of our creativity.” Everyone claims to be creative. If you have some Golden Pyramids, that will help, and putting the emblem on your card helps, too.
But that simply is not enough.
The cornerstones for your client-agency relationship – what make you different – should be set at the very first meeting. If that is too late, you should still deliver it to your current clients to help ward off disloyalty. The 15 bricks differentiate you from commodity sellers as well as other distributors and help you establish the need and value for both you and your company.
These need to be delineated and articulated because they are not that apparent to buyers. They should also be periodically reinforced in presentations, emails, literature, etc. They are the foundation stones for your future relationship. Here we will look at eight of the 15; I will deliver the remainder in my next column.
I’ll have to give you this… it seems to be the number-one reason your industry peers cite that a customer should buy from them and not on the internet, despite the fact that a buyer may not need creativity in purchasing C-handle coffee mugs with a one-color imprint. “Mrs. Johnson,” says you, “our promotional agency is much like an advertising agency. However, unlike ad agencies, we give you all our award winning creativity at no cost. There are some clients who ask us to put them on retainer.”
You probably know how expensive ad agencies are. We can only do the creative work free in exchange for our clients using us to implement the program we create and to provide the products and services for them. We often spend the same amount of time and energy on products our clients don’t buy. The loyalty we get from getting all their orders goes a long way in keeping our relationship strong and helps us amortize our time over many different projects.
“Mr. Murphy, there are times it is as simple as a product and times it requires more steps, what we like to call a program. For example, a coffee mug may be the delivery vehicle into which we add a package of decaf coffee and tea to encourage a healthy choice in a wellness program. We might add in the mug as an invitation to a lunch speaker. This is where we turn a product into a program. We know how to get it done and have the creativity to engage your people.”
“Once we create and you have signed off on the 'program,' our team takes on a management role. From sourcing to securing, we manage every detail. It’s not delivering a box to your office, it can mean assembly, packaging, drop shipping and more. We really micro manage our programs for our clients because we know our clients don’t have the time and resources to do it themselves.”
“Ms. Turner, if I asked you about a PMS color in your logo you may or may not have a lot of knowledge. However, it’s good to work with a company who knows how to get your graphic requirements met on metal, plastic, paper, etc. Our clients have a sense of security in knowing we’re a watchdog insuring compliance to their corporate graphic standards and we know vectors, outlines, curves, resolution and so much more. Our art and design teams let our clients tend to other business while we work with the graphics needed by factories and suppliers. As each project develops, we simply access different files we accumulate for whatever logo or design is needed at the time.”
“Mr. Martin, by now you have probably read about or accessed sites from offshore where you can find unbelievable pricing. I don’t know if there is a bigger minefield in all the business world than international sourcing on the internet. I could tell you horror stories. Our global sourcing reaches around the world and we do not deal with unknown entities. We know who are the best, how to get them to produce the best, how to get it here with no surprises. A surprise like the company who imported pencils only to find out before they landed here, the quota for pencils had been reached and they were liable for a huge tariff before they cleared customs. If needed, we shop the world for the best in pricing, quality, regulatory compliance, service and delivery. It comes with our experience and our global reach.”
“Very much like global sourcing, our domestic supply chain opens to you. Over 4,000 of the finest companies distribute exclusively through agencies such as ours. While you can see them on the internet, you can’t fill a shopping cart. We know these companies and we know who the 5-star companies are. We are known for our association with the finest producers of electronics, business attire, etc. We never trust your needs to unknown sources. There’s always a temptation in life to save 5 percent or so, but we are comfortable in delivering great pricing to you, but never ever at the risk of placing an order with the wrong supplier.”
“Our people do sleep, but not on the job. We ride herd on our suppliers to get timely proofs, production schedules, shipping schedules, tracking numbers and whatever is needed to insure delivery dates, special events, etc.”
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If you note my writing style, I’m not trying to put words in your mouth, but rather your brain so that you can turn them into your own words for a fluid delivery when you meet your next prospect.
There are eight more bricks for your wall. Catch them in my next column. The sum of all 15 presents “true value” for a prospect to forge a sustained relationship. It is unfortunate, but still a reality check that the value of a traditional distributor is not readily apparent to younger buyers in the market who have grown up on internet shopping. There’s only so much you can do on Web MD until you need to call a doctor. You are the doctor.
Joel D. Schaffer, MAS, is CEO and Founder of Soundline, LLC, the pioneering supplier to the promotional products industry of audio products. Joel has 48 years of promotional product industry experience and proudly heralds "I was a distributor." He has been on the advisory panel of the business and marketing department of St. John’s University in New York and is frequent speaker at Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is an industry Advocate and has appeared before the American Bankers Association, American Marketing Association, National Premium Sales Executives, American Booksellers Association and several other major groups. He has been a management consultant to organizations such as The College Board and helped many suppliers enter this industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPB and Counselor Magazines. He has facilitated over 200 classes sharing his industry knowledge nationwide. He is known for his cutting humor and enthusiasm in presenting provocative and motivating programs. He is the only person to have received both the Marvin Spike Industry Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) and PPAI’s Distinguished Service Award (2011). He is a past director of PPAI and has chaired several PPAI committees and task forces. He is a past Chair of the SAAGNY Foundation, Past President of SAAGNY and a SAAGNY Hall of Fame member. He was cited by ASI as one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.