As I write this, it's December 6, 2015. Those of us in the promotional products world (and you regular civilians, too, for that matter) know that this is crunch time for holiday ordering. We on the supplier side also know that now is the time for preparing our product lines for the following year… getting ready for the shows, having samples in place, printing the catalog, updating the website, etc.
On top of this, we deal with inquiries from customers. Don't get me wrong – for those, we are thankful. There's never a wrong time for those, and yet, come December 1, there never seems to be a right time!
This year, I find myself in an unusual position (thankful for physical therapy, but I'm once again getting off topic): I'm a supplier who is now working with other suppliers to supplement my own product offering.
A brief sidebar here… in the 18 or so years that I've been writing for Identity Marketing (I still believe I'm on a tryout basis), I have intentionally stayed away from mentioning my own product line, for fear of violating some sort of ethical conundrum or just coming off as trying to grab a free advertisement for my company. Yeah, I'm ignoring that today, somewhat, but only to illustrate my current state. Let's say I'm giving myself a holiday gift.
For the past several months I've been working with other vendors… shopping for items in their lines that might work well once adding the Keyfetch return system. Key chains, luggage tags, computer bags, etc. I worked trade shows and read catalogs like in the bad old days when I was a distributor. The problem with this is that I've got 25-plus years of additional baseball statistics, birthdays and anniversaries, song lyrics, and PIN numbers crowding the limited amount of space in my brain.
Way back when, I prided myself on having an incredible sense of product lines and knowledge. Now, there are times when I can't remember net pricing on my own merchandise.
Back in those days, I had a steel-trap mind. "Anal retentive" doesn't begin to describe my attention to detail. Now, I spend more time dealing with ADD, and will no doubt spend the next 20 minutes trying to decide if "anal retentive" should be hyphenated.
Ultimately, this column will serve as an apology to the vendors with whom I have chosen to work. As to whether or not they choose to accept it, well… you can't say I didn't try.
I like organization. The Trophy Wife can attest to the fact that I generally know where things are once I've put them there. The less we talk about her systems, the better.
I like organization (and redundancy). As a rule, I can find something within moments of beginning my search. However, since undertaking the revamping of a product line, I've also been handling sales, marketing, promotion, janitorial, and many other tasks of a small business. I've also had to marry off a kid (I threw that in for those of you who forgot to send gifts)…there's been a lot going on.
As a result of this, my usual way of doing things has been blown up. LIFO (Last In First Out) has never been my chosen method, and yet it seems to have become a way of life.
I'll get started working on the product line, only to get a phone call from some pesky customer, actually wanting to inquire about our product(s) or services. How dare they want to order from us when I'm working on imprint size for my own Keyfetch-branded passport cases from DLX?
I will name names (or at least one): Harvey Mackler must have gone over pricing with me three or four times. In writing. I would like to think that he recognizes the potential of Gempire's metal keytags utilizing Keyfetch's registered return system. Either that, or he recognizes someone who's in over his head. Still, these are going to be great items!
It just bothers me that I have become one of those people I criticize (who me?) for their lack of organizational skills. I'm not proud of this. But I'm gonna be damn proud of that new product line!
Mike Schenker, MAS, is a promotional industry veteran and member of the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York (SAAGNY) Hall of Fame. He can be reached at mike@mikeschenker.com.