Does everything have to a Rush?

I’ve been speaking with several fellow business owners lately and we all seem to be experiencing the same thing. We are working too hard!

Granted as business owners we expect to work longer hours than our employees but lately, it seems to have gotten worse.

Is Rush Service Best for Our Clients?

 So, I’ve been wondering, is it our fault? Are we not managing our clients correctly? I blame some of the extra work on our manufacturer partners. Why? Because they introduced same day rush service years ago.

And now clients rely on it. Clients don’t want to sit down and plan for their programs. They assume they will be able to get “something” for their event even if they wait to the last minute.

I had lunch today with a client and we discussed this in length. I explained that while we are able to help them out in those last-minute programs, but they shouldn’t make them the norm. I explained some of the pitfalls with rush service.

Is the Limited Choice the Right Choice?

 First, the choices are limited for rush production. Not everything is available and if it is will there be stock in the color you need or want?

Secondly, production is rush and typically at no additional cost, but what about the freight? We looked at one recent rush project and the freight cost more than the product! For my client, she realized that It was reducing her overall marketing budget.

And finally, what about making decisions based on what is the best product for the event instead of what is available?

Is Budget being Wasted on Rush?

 As we discussed the rush option further, she realized that she and her team really were wasting their tight budget on items that were not as effective as others might be. As well as wasting a large percentage of her budget on freight.

So, we have scheduled a meeting to meet with her team and discuss their needs for the remainder of the year. We will take on the responsibility of reminding the client when they need to order to receive their products on time and on budget!

I can’t begin to explain how appreciative she was for us taking the lead to keep them more on track. Granted there will still be program needs that will come up at the last minute but at least it won’t be every single project.

Planning is Key to Avoiding Rush.

 Obviously, this will help us as well. We all have those crazy days where we can’t get our planned work done because we are spending our time putting out fires for clients. Checking inventory, getting them the quick quote and then off to finalize the purchase order and artwork for rush production. It’s disruptive to us all.

It is also a long-term disaster in the waiting. We have been working with a client for about 2 weeks on several different retractable banners they need for an upcoming event. When we started, we had plenty of time. Unfortunately, they have changed their creative at least 7 times in as many days. We informed them today they need to “pull the trigger” and order or risk having to ship them overnight. And guess what? Yes, we got new artwork tonight.

It’s a challenge when a client is making decisions by committee. Everyone has an opinion. But if they don’t get on the same page their banners will double in cost because they will have to ship them overnight. So tomorrow with their 8th proof we will also tell them if they don’t order by 3pm the next day, their order will have to ship overnight at a substantial expense. You see, they aren’t doing just one banner; they are doing 18!

Acts of God are Out of Our Control.

 The other issue with rush is you never know what might happen that is out of your control. The weather right now has been very volatile all over the country. When that happens there are typically airport delays. And that can delay a shipment by hours or a day. If you are asking for something to ship overnight for priority delivery and an “act of God” occurs in a weather delay, there is nothing to be done.

We’ve had that happen. A client waited until the very last minute. Their event started at noon. The products got caught in a weather delay and weren’t delivered until 4pm. They were lucky they received them at all.

They were angry at first. But it was out of our control. There wasn’t anything we could have done. Other than to say no to the order. Ultimately, they thanked us for all that we had done to try and get to them on time. It took some time, but they finally admitted that their procrastination had really cost them.

Rush Leaves No Time to Fix Errors.

 The other issue is that our manufacturer partners can also make a mistake. Imprint the wrong color or wrong logo or even the wrong product or they may arrive broken or malfunctioning. What is your recourse when you have no time to make it right?

In those situations, it’s difficult to tell a client that if they had “planned ahead” we would have the time to replace the items. Of course, it should be done right the first time, but mistakes do happen. And when you have zero margin for error, there is little you can do.

So instead of telling clients how quickly we can get something done, we concentrate on helping them plan their programs ahead of time. And I don’t mind being pleasantly persistent in reminding them of their deadlines. Because we want our client to get the best ROI possible and that is typically best achieved with the right product, not one that is available with rush production.

Danette Gossett is the founder of Gossett Marketing, co-founder of Promotions Rescource LLC and co-author of the best-selling book “Transform” with Brian Tracy. Danette utilizes her more than 30 years of advertising agency and corporate marketing experience to develop effective promotional campaigns and products for her clients. Visit GossettMktg.com or SalesPromo.org and follow us on twitter @MarketngTidbits.