Archive for category Business Tips
Brand And Deliver
Posted by Gallant in Business Tips, Promotional Ideas on June 18, 2010
Brand and Deliver –
Laurie Tucker of FedEx on what it takes to build one of the world’s most recognizable brands—and why she’s a fan of promotional products.
Behind one of the world’s most recognizable and powerful brands is an equally mesmerizing marketing dynamo and chief brand champion who has dedicated her career to honing and upholding the FedEx promise.
When Laurie A. Tucker joined FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee, as a financial analyst in 1978, she was fresh out of college and the company was in its fifth year and growing quickly—it had just been listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol FDX.
During the past 31 years, Tucker has worked her way up through the organization, first in finance, then tackling sales, technology, marketing, customer service, operations and supply chain management. In her current position as senior vice president of FedEx Corporate Marketing, she develops the strategy for sponsorship marketing programs and is responsible for innovation and development, retail product and promotion, business alliances, customer experience management, brand management and advertising.
Not surprisingly, her successes in these various roles have earned her many honors—she’s a four-time winner of the prestigious FedEx Five Star award, the first recipient of the FedEx Services Diversity Champion Award, recognized as a “Woman of Achievement” by the Women’s Project of New York, and was named one of PINK magazine’s 2009 Top Women in Business and one of BtoB magazine’s Best Marketers for 2009.
PPB met with Tucker recently to find out how she and her team have built such a powerful brand and what we can all learn from her experience.
PPB: In this day and age, “brand” is a bit of a buzz word. How do you define brand as it relates to FedEx?
Tucker: One of the key challenges in brand management is that a brand must have a certain element of constancy while still being relevant.
From a customer perspective, a brand is thought of in terms of what they see—our visual brand, what they hear from us—how we speak to customers, and certainly how we express ourselves in the behavior of our employees. We’re very fortunate to have one of the most recognized brands in the world, so our team members have a lot of pride, to the point of even being protective of our brand image. We have a brand promise that must be delivered consistently since FedEx stands for peace of mind.
At FedEx, the brand is really the sum of our values, a compass that even in the absence of specific direction or policy we know the right thing to do. Our people are able to engage and identify with our brand emotionally.
Our brand is the strategic backbone for everything we do as a company. We have a personal branding class and a question I’ll ask as a warm-up to the audience is: If I say the word FedEx, what one word immediately comes into your mind? What I hear shouted back at me is the word “reliable.” That is our core attribute—being reliable, as well as committed, connected and innovative, to name a few. We live these brand attributes out every day.
PPB: What do you think are the keys to creating a sustainable brand?
Tucker: Consistency. The brand promise must match what we say and do. Customers are really smart, and they figure out quickly whether you are advertising or whether you’re living a promise.
Likewise, we have developed a brand personality. When you think about FedEx, a smile should come to your face because of your attachment to a company you trust, that understands the pressure you’re under every day and as a result, is there to deliver. When we advertise, our approach is often fun, showing business situations that are humorous, but that illustrate the challenges and complexities of doing business. Our current tag line, “We Understand,” seeks to connect our brand promise with the needs of our customers.
PPB: What role does social media play in the overall FedEx brand strategy?
Tucker: Social media, obviously, is a new channel and it’s another channel. While still relatively new, marketers must participate in social media just as we play in traditional media or direct communication. We’re looking at the types of social media our customers are using. We’re also experimenting with dialogue directly with our customers, whether engaging our customers through fedex.com or our call centers. And then we must determine where our messages are most relevant.
For example, we have a FedEx Office blog that we call “Out Of Office,” which allows users to share their experiences using FedEx Office. We’ve also produced a humorous, yet descriptive, You Tube series that illustrates FedEx services, and with up to 10 minutes per video, we were able to make it interesting, fun and viral.
We recognize there’s tremendous power in social media and have begun some exciting programs in these new channels.
PPB: What do you think are the most important considerations when rolling out a new brand?
Tucker: Fundamentally, what is your commitment to your core values for this new company or new product? What does the company stand for and how do you convey those core values? A brand is really the window to the soul of the company. The one word or two words or icon that represents that brand can say so much. It must hold up over time. I think when you start a new brand, you have to set realistic expectations so the promise can be kept from day one.
Our brand is over 35 years old, and we’ve had a long time to establish that trust and relationship. But it’s interesting—when we’ve acquired new companies and made the decision to brand them, it’s always top of mind for us that our brand means something to our customers—that the FedEx commitment to reliability will be expressed in this new company or product.
PPB: Given the incredible advances in technology over the past 20 years, how does FedEx incorporate emerging technologies into the marketing process?
Tucker: If you think about how technologies have allowed us to market in different ways, marketing is much more granular, specific and targeted. Companies that are smart—and FedEx is considered to be one of the smart companies—are listening to customers and taking note of how they prefer to be contacted and their emerging needs. Technologies are allowing us to direct our message in the channels our customers prefer.
Technology has become an enabler, allowing us to meet customers’ demands and giving us a more informed relationship with an individual customer.
Fedex.com is the big front door to FedEx, and when you step into fedex.com, you don’t just step into shipping, you step into this very rich, informational environment—an environment that allows you to interact with FedEx to receive proactive information. And if you were to click on FedEx Office, you’d find a business associate who can help you with your specific business needs.
For example, we targeted some specific industries that we know are big users of FedEx Office. Through our experiences with those particular industries, we know what those customers use most often and the kinds of tools they need. We’ve built templates and a toolkit on the FedEx Office web site that our customers can use to create their own posters, brochures, letters, business cards, etc., then upload them, print them online, and get their printed materials back very quickly. We’re taking advantage of the internet in new and exciting ways.
PPB: How are you hearing back from your customers?
Tucker: A lot of the work we’ve done to interact with our customers enables them to respond to us about their preferences. We simply ask them, “What are your preferred channels of communication? Would you rather receive a text or an e-mail? Are you primarily a domestic shipper, international or both? Will you use our freight services? Would you like to have more information on FedEx Office?”
As customers fill out their profiles, we send them communication that is specific to what they requested. We also determine whether that customer is opening those messages, whether they’re interacting and transacting with us as a result. As we begin to measure, we learn more about the effectiveness of the communication.
PPB: How does FedEx view the use of promotional products?
Tucker: Any company that’s proud of its brand and has a very prominent brand is going to take advantage of branding promotional items. FedEx is certainly no exception. We’ve been using promotional products for 35 years, and we’re very aware of how much our customers enjoy and appreciate getting various useful or attractive promotional items from FedEx.
We feature everything from our FedEx No. 11 race car to more practical items, perhaps a jump drive or travel items. And we have, of course, our company store. Our biggest problem isn’t what to put in the store—it’s what not to put in the store. Customers seem to really love to wear our logo or have our logo somewhere visible in their offices, which we view as a reminder of that brand promise.
PPB: What role do promotional products play in the FedEx branding efforts?
Tucker: Our company store is not just for the external audience, but very much for the internal as well as our team members take great pride in our FedEx brand. We love wearing our logo and we love having hats, pens or some item on our desk. FedEx team members are huge users of our promotional products. We’re not just relying on our packaging and aircraft as reminders of the brand—we take advantage of using promotional products as reminders of our sports sponsorships, event launches, etc.
Organizations and departments take advantage of promotional products to recognize team members’ initiatives. These recognition items that carry a logo are motivational and a morale booster.
PPB: What’s a recent example of how promotional products were used to reinforce the FedEx brand?
Tucker: We have a wonderful program in our marketing organization that we call “People First.” One of our People First work streams is around sustainability. These work streams are team member-led, so the employees wanted to create one around sustainability. They set out to help our organizations and departments cut down on waste and find ways to express our commitment to the environment. One of their recommendations was to remove Styrofoam cups from our break rooms.
They proposed to create a FedEx People First reusable cup to emphasize the idea of “I’m committed to keeping our environment green.” Everyone was issued a cup, which became so popular and interesting that our branding group thought we should begin offering “green” stainless steel water bottles and coffee mugs in our company store. The cup was an eco-friendly way for us to show our team members and customers that we’re seriously committed to sustainability while building brand awareness. Who would have thought that such a small promotional item would have become a source of pride that supports our company culture and values?
PPB: What is your biggest challenge when selecting, purchasing or using promotional products?
Tucker: The biggest challenge is how much money we have to spend. If money were no object, the biggest challenge would be making sure we have promotional products that are going to meet the objectives of that particular program. If the objective is to introduce new products, what’s the tie in? How does it support the message and is it something that’s sustainable? There’s nothing worse than getting a promotional product and you look at it and think, “Why did they bother?” I don’t ever want that reaction to a FedEx promotional product.
Our promotional products come out of our marketing area—most often out of our brand group. We have brand guidelines that all the marketers around the world use to ensure consistency of standards wherever we are.
We use several different business associates who help us create and brand these items. For instance, a current campaign is running on fedex.com. You’ll see a banner there that says “Think FedEx First.” We designed specific merchandise to support it—items that are useful and will remind customers of FedEx when they use them. An agency was used to help us develop those products, and we have a distributor who helps us consolidate our merchandise.
PPB: Do you have a favorite product in your personal possession—perhaps on your desk or in your purse—and if so, will you tell me about it?
Tucker: We have the FedEx Envelope notebook sold in the company store and provided to our salespeople to give to customers. Now I see them everywhere!
In the case of the higher-end promotional product, I’ve seen clever uses of products like an Apple iPod or Apple iTouch, on which you can actually pre-record your own message.
PPB: Any other favorite promotional product that’s not a FedEx product?
Tucker: One of my favorites was given out by a magazine that we’ve supported over the years that has now become an online publication called PINK. Because it’s a women’s magazine that’s very smart and clever, they gave out a little computer case—not terribly expensive—but a really functional laptop case.
PPB: What tips do you have for our readers on creating a brand that really connects to their customers?
Tucker: First, understand who you serve. Who are your targeted customers? Start to build your business by targeting your specific customers and seek to fulfill their needs—what do they value? Build your core values to match those of your target customers.
Before you do much promoting, you should ensure that you are delivering on the promise, whether that is low price, high quality, reliability or access, and do it consistently. It’s that level of consistency that builds up loyalty and respect among customers, leading to revenue growth.
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Creating Lasting Impressions | www.GallantGifts.com
Posted by Gallant in Business Tips on October 5, 2009
Excellence – Truer Words Were Never Spoken
The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.
An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.
As you grow, your associates will change.
Some of your friends will not want you to go on.
They will want you to stay where they are.
Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl.
Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream.
Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you.
Consider this:
Never receive counsel from unproductive people.
Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how.
Not everyone has a right to speak into your life.
You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.
Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere.
With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.
Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.
Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.
If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.
“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.”
The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad.
Note: Be not mistaken.
This is applicable to family as well as friends.
Yes…do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they will always be your family no matter what.
Just know that they are human first and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and will fit somewhere in the criteria above.
“In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us.
In Adversity We Know Our Friends.”
“Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them.”
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”…………………..Colin Powell
Promotional Products – Recession Proof?
Posted by Dan in Business Tips, Promotional Ideas on September 30, 2009
That headline caught my eye on a recent issue of Folio, a magazine for publication professionals. While the related article focused on how publishers are cutting costs and mining for new business, that edgy header spoke to me of a profound opportunity our industry should not ignore. It reminded me that, in these dark times, our industry has perhaps its biggest chance to leap-frog ahead of other media and fill the bill for marketers who want to reach, impress, engage and create a memorable brand experience for their customers and potential customers. As bleak as times are, there may have never been a better time for promotional products.
Despite the doom and gloom, I recently talked with a guy who is not about to let these dark days rain on his parade. His name is Jacob Scoby and he sells for full-service distributor Custom Specialties, Inc. in Lenexa, Kansas. Last year Scoby hit nearly $600,000 in sales. But wait—he’s only 25 and just completed his first full year in sales. Scoby started at the firm fresh out of college with a degree in kinesiology from Kansas State University. When he didn’t get into med school, he joined his brother, Luke Scoby, at CSI in July 2007. He thought he’d give it a shot. Now he’s hooked on the business.
With no experience or formal training, he made those sales the hard way—by locking himself in a room with a list of prospects and making cold calls. “I failed miserably at first,” he says, “But I’m a competitive guy. I wanted to beat the top sales guy in the office.”
For Scoby, making a sales call is second nature—maybe because when he was about 10 years old, his dad would ask him to dial phone numbers and get people on the phone before his dad took the receiver.
Listening to Scoby talk, it’s easy to see why he’s so successful. “I’m not a traditional type of salesperson. If their business is on hold right now or they are doing business with their brother-in-law, I see where else I can help. I want them to think of me down the road. I want them to get to where they are trying to go whether it’s a sale for me or not. I want to be an overall resource.”
Scoby says the biggest mistake salespeople can make is sitting back and waiting for the orders to come in. And the second biggest mistake is to put all their eggs in one basket by having just one or two clients. He believes in diversifying along with being humble, not pushy, showing customers a warm personality and remembering that no matter how good you are, you can always do better.
“That’s where my competitive personality always kicks in,” he explains. “It’s hard for me to imagine being in a job that’s not totally dependent on how I perform. If I had the same paycheck coming in every two weeks, it would be hard for me to be motivated.”
Scoby readily admits he’s going to have to work harder this year to meet his goals. “Even if the economy was hunky dory, I’d say I’m going to work harder in 2009 than in 2008 because that’s just me,” he says, adding that he’s still optimistic about exceeding sales from 2008.
Scoby says 70 percent of his customers so far this year are new customers—won through all those phone calls and a liberal dose of super service. “I find my own customers. It’s not hard to find new people to call. I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and call a multi million-dollar company. The possibilities are endless. Everyone is a potential customer.”
His advice to all promotional products salespeople is simple: “Activity, activity, activity. You’ve got to keep enthusiasm up. Don’t get discouraged. It’s hard to not get down in the dumps when you don’t have a good day or week. Do it until you fail and then do it again. Don’t get stagnated in the fact that you don’t have customers coming in. The (salespeople) who are successful don’t see a limit—y
Communications 101 – Communicating with younger employees
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on September 16, 2009
Generation gaps in the workplace call for new approaches to communicating with younger employees.
The generation, born between 1978 and 2000 and considered the most tech savvy group in the workforce, isn’t getting high marks from employers. A www.jobfox.com poll found that only 20 percent of bosses characterize millennials as great performers, compared to 63 percent for baby boomers and 58 percent for members of Generation X.
However some, such as Jobfox CEO Rob McGovern, say the blame for millennials’ poor performance ratings doesn’t fall on the youngsters. McGovern says corporate leaders need an attitude adjustment when it comes to millennial professionals and that understanding their four key motivators will improve the relationship between the two groups. Those motivators are:
• Balance. Millennials don’t accept the nine-to-five work week like preceding generations. They want to set their own hours.
• Full force. This generation wants to begin contributing immediately. Companies should help them see how their work is important and how it affects the bottom line.
• Stability. Employees in this group seek long-term positions. As long as their goals are met and they can maintain a healthy work-life balance, they will remain loyal employees.
• Leading edge. Millennials know that staying current when it comes to technology is important and want to keep their skills up to date. Providing learning opportunities will encourage them to stay put and not look for better opportunities elsewhere.
Make Your Brand Successful!
Posted by Gallant in Business Tips, Promotional Ideas on September 11, 2009
Where will the next great Marketing gimmick come from? The Terrible Towel has without a doubt been in every stadium in the NFL. Where else has it been? Try the top of Mt. Everest, Iraq, presidential inaugurations and the Olympics. This simple Marketing tool has become an icon in the sports world. It was a simple idea taken to the next level. Where will the next idea come from? Will it be you?
Read the full article about the Terrible Towels here
Selling 101 – Advice for The Youth of our Industry
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on September 9, 2009
Hide your inexperience in sales by learning and avoiding these rookie mistakes.
Ah, to be young. You’re full of promise, energy and a complete and utter lack of experience. This last trait can be particularly damaging to young salespeople, as they spin their wheels working hard to book sales but get nowhere. If you’re a new salesperson, or you know someone who is, here are a few tips for making it look like you’ve been around for a while.
• Don’t offer too much information
In an effort to impress, rookies often list too many details and offer prospects a laundry list instead of a persuasive pitch.
• Show deference
Resist the temptation to march into a meeting proclaiming, “I can help you.” The people you’re selling to are executives and successful in their own right. You are a salesperson. Instead try saying, “A lot of our clients have the same problem. Let me show you how we’ve helped them.”
• Keep your eyes on the goal
Inexperienced salespeople often go on sales calls without a clear outcome in mind and are happy with a mildly sincere, “Thanks for your time, and I’ll be in touch.” If you don’t ask for what you want, you won’t get it. Have in mind that you want either a contract or at least another meeting.
Most Recognizable Slogans — Ever
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on August 25, 2009
Ever have trouble coming up with the best tag line for your clients’ products? Get some inspiration from some of the best classic slogans, compiled by Fast Company magazine from suggestions by users of Digg. Among those that took us down memory lane were:
Where’s the Beef?
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up
They’re G-r-r-r-eat!
Gimme a Break, Gimme a Break
Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux
The Best Part of Waking up is Folgers in Your Cup
This is your brain on drugs
Hooray Beer!
Get Noticed – Develop your own Personal Brand
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on August 25, 2009
Finding the style that works for you will give meaning to each encounter and create connections that build lasting relationships.
“Imagine what will happen if each of us decides to reach just a little bit higher, to try just a little bit harder, to care just a little bit more. That’s the power of one.” —Gil Atkinson, inventor
Kippie Helzel, MAS, vice president of sales for Erie, Pennsylvania-based supplier CPS\The Keystone Line (UPIC: keystone) and I were thrilled that so many attendees chose to participate in our education session at The PPAI Expo in Las Vegas last January.
For those who missed it, our program was titled “13 Ways to be Remembered,” and I’d like to recap it here because every day I am reminded that business is not business as usual. Unless we differentiate ourselves, continue to add value, build high trust in each relationship and seek out new sales opportunities, there may not be an office to go to tomorrow. But how do we get that phone to ring or e-mail program to chime? How do we become the go-to contact or resource even in a down economy?
During this session we offered our perspective on two topics: remarkable people are remembered and how each of us can find our own unique style to become remarkable and create the connections that build lasting relationships.
Although I’d love to discuss all 13 ways here in this article, space obviously is an issue. So I selected the following four topics to share with you:
Identifying Our Strengths
Today we need to transform our companies from solution-based to meaningful solution-based businesses. We can no longer simply be the promotional products company that has access to millions of different items. Relevance, value and emotion are important attributes that have to be assimilated into our service vocabulary.
For the past several years, Kippie and I have relied on the strengths we possess. Our company’s offerings are unique and, in many cases, our client base is different. We discovered that by combining our product knowledge, networking ability and spirit of adventure, sometimes magic transpired. By focusing on our individual strengths, we each were able to open new doors and find new opportunities.
What is your strength? Our product concept here at The Book Company demands story-telling. It’s not about varieties of colors or what’s new. It’s about creating stories and sharing messages that are inspired or supported by great books. I love telling stories. I love showing a book and saying “What if …” or probing with thoughtful questions to see how I can capture an idea and meld it with a book idea. Something that is truly remarkable is always remembered, and isn’t that the objective?
You have a unique talent. Discover where that lies. Sit down with your family, peers or team members and figure out what energizes and inspires you. Learning about the real you is one way to help you build your life and your business.
Developing A Personal Brand
So do you have a personal brand? How do you package yourself? How you appear to others impacts how they respond to you. Just think, would you buy from yourself? The first impression happens within a matter of moments. What you wear, how you sound on the phone, the words you use in your e-mail; all of these contribute to how recipients perceive you. How they perceive you may not be the reality of who you are, but it’s all they have to go on. Perception is 99 percent of what we need to deliver to our clients. It’s the picture they have in their minds of you and your company that you want to paint.
Kippie and I have a similar personal brand. We’re both genuinely friendly. We both really care about our colleagues and customers. We both like to smile and laugh as often as possible and put people at ease. Thank-you notes and birthday surprises have become trademarks for those close to us. People tend to remember my great big smile—those huge teeth covering most of my face. Great, I’m glad to be remembered for that. If we can make a connection with these simple ideas and open doors with a smile then wonderful. What’s even more remarkable is that it doesn’t cost anything.
Communicating Effectively
In addition to presenting ideas about finding our strengths and creating our personal brands, Kippie and I talked about the importance of effective communication.
Tim Russert, the late host of NBC’s Meet the Press, was direct in delivery when asking tough questions but yet always had a pleasant look on his face. What a loss he’s no longer with us. Isn’t it remarkable how a whole nation mourned his passing as if he were our friend, one of us, a member of our family? After the election, many only wished he were around to share his perspective. His greatest and most memorable moment came during the 2000 presidential election. On his dry-erase board were the words: Florida, Florida, Florida. He communicated in a way we all understood and remembered.
People who communicate well are informative, prepared and show strength and leadership. They are unafraid to speak the truth, and their words inspire or clarify. How we communicate verbally—whether in person or on the phone, through e-mail or letters, on YouTube or Facebook—all stands as a testament of how we want to be seen and what we want people to remember.
Embracing Our Passions
Patrick Henry Hughes was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder. His arms would not straighten, his legs would never allow him to walk, and he was born with no eyes. Yet, what happened over time is truly remarkable.
In his book, I Am Potential, Hughes and his father share their incredible life stories. At age nine, first experimenting with a piano, until today, as an accomplished musician and author, through unwavering optimism, humor and courage, he turned his disabilities into amazing abilities. “On the day I was born, you might say I arrived carrying a bag full of lemons,” Hughes says. “But life is what it is and you just have to keep going.”
Patrick’s passion for music set the stage for him to make great strides. He turned his back on living a life as someone whose glass is half full to someone whose glass is overflowing.
What are you passionate about? Find something that energizes you and gets you up at 4 am (besides work). Immerse yourself in a program or an organization that means something.
These are four of the ways Kippie and I believe we can all make a difference in our own personal lives and, inevitably, grow our businesses. The key is to find the way or ways that work for each of us. The beauty is that we are individuals, which is a treasure and something to be cherished every day.
This year, I hope you’ll make a genuine effort to show who you really are. Let your guard down and be real, be approachable, be humble and be a friend. Reach out to your industry friends and colleagues, such as Kippie and I have with each other, and ask us for ideas and suggestions.
Promotional Incentives Help Bring In More Clients
Posted by Gallant in Business Tips, Promotional Ideas on July 1, 2009
Unique & humorous promotions not only catch potential client’s eyes, but can lead to more business. The above ad shows exactly that by offering free “butt station” promotional items to those who sign up for their monthly newsletter.
These promotions can range from cheap free items to more expensive items that people can enter into a drawing or sweepstakes for. Check out Gallant’s directory of promotional items at gallantgifts.com/promotional-products.html
Where do Promotional Products fit in a Marketer’s Mind
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on June 8, 2009
Where Promotional Products Fit In A New Product Launch
Promotional Products Mind
Marketers know that innovation is what drives continuing profits. So, when they introduce a new brand, product or service to the market, what are the main attributes they look for in the media they choose? Targetability and memorability—characteristics of promotional products—are the principal media requirements discovered in a recent study, Launching Brand Innovations To Market, conducted exclusively for PPAI.
Relentless competition and market pressure continually drive businesses to reduce the time, effort and costs involved in bringing products and services to market. A 2005 survey of C-level BusinessWeek readers concluded that product development “is now one of their highest business goals, and that enhancing their ability to collaborate internally and with partners is a priority.” Importantly, corporate leaders proved “eager to learn more about how to optimize their new product development processes, so they can achieve their revenue goals.”
Implications For Promotional Products
Media sellers—including the companies in the promotional products industry—are interested in how marketers go about the process of mounting a new brand/product/service launch and why they make the choices they do. Consequently, PPAI’s Marketing, Research and Information Committee asked us to conduct a mail survey of marketing executives in various industries to determine how they budget and select media for their new product roll-outs and what the implications are for promotional products sellers. Further details are included in the sidebar “More About Our Methodology.”
Getting a better handle on current business conditions was a key reason for the survey. Another factor: There seems to be very little published about marketing executives’ thinking as it relates to making promotional choices in launching new brands, products and services. Our inquiry covers several audiences involved in a new product launch, including salespeople and employees addressed by internal promotion.
Frequency Of Roll-Outs
Good news! Marketers tend to freshen up their lines frequently. More than half (56.5 percent) of respondents report they launch something—a new brand, product or service—at least once a year.
In follow-up phone interviews, we asked several executives how the current state of the economy might affect their organization’s plans. Are they cutting back? Larry Hedeman, vice president, sales and marketing for World Magnetics in Traverse City, Michigan, says his company recently launched two new products and is preparing to launch another one.
“My take is that it’s a good time to do that. You need to offer something that hasn’t been offered in the past. Even though the economic times are hard, we’re going to push forward and launch new things,” he says.
His firm manufactures ultra-sensitive pressure and vacuum switches. His biggest concern, other than whether or not his firm’s launch is successful, is other companies’ products. “Our product is primarily designed into someone else’s. I guess when a new product might be used, my concern is that the other manufacturers are going to shelve their projects or put them on hold because of the economic situation … A lot of people have said they’re going to launch their new products, [but now] they’ve decided to postpone them.”
Jennifer Foshee, marketing director for Guardian Credit Union in Montgomery, Alabama, reports, “Loan demand is down, so that would tell us we need to find new loan products that would help bring a [credit union] member in for loans. We are looking at member education initiatives. That may not be a new product, but it would definitely be a new service. Educating our members more—their credit, the basic budgeting, balancing their checkbooks [is a priority]. We see 2009 as more of an educational year.” Her biggest concern is ensuring ROI.
Kimberly Dermit, marketing manager for Allied High Tech Products Inc. in Rancho Dominguez, California, caters to firms in microelectronics, materials science and manufacturing. “We’re actually in the midst of a new product roll-out right now,” she says. “So, [the recession] did not stop us because our fear was if you don’t keep in front of the consumer—in front of the businesses that we service—when the money does come back they’re going to forget about us. So, we are coming out with a new product; we’re putting tons of money into it. … [Buyers] may not be able to buy it right now, but they’ll see it and want it and they’ll put it on their wish list. And when the money does come back, they’ll come to us.”
She adds, “Our biggest concern is that we’ll be able to sell enough units to justify the amount of money put into the product. That we can trust our salespeople and the companies we know are asking for this product, that it is something that is viable and will sell more than, say, 10 units.”
Media Choices And The Reasons For Making Them
As pressure to become more cost effective is only likely to increase, there are opportunities for those providing promotional products to make a case for this unique medium at all budget levels. Mass media no longer have the lock on budgets for new product introductions. In a hand-raising count by the Association of National Advertisers, 33 percent of a 1,200-person sample signaled they expect to keep their 2009 ad spending constant but would be doing some reallocating in the marketing mix.
As Mark Lawrence, owner of California Scientific Inc. in West Sacramento, California, indicates, “I used to do it the old way—send announcements to magazines, buy print ads, get into business reply card decks. It was a huge waste of money and time. Print media is dead.” Lawrence’s firm is engaged in neural network-based artificial intelligence, and as a sideline he also sells specialized equipment for motorcycles.
As more businesses reexamine their practices and make changes in their marketing mix, the promotional products industry would naturally like to have much of the rearranging done in its favor. This need not be an unrealistic expectation. So while the survey findings here may be surprising, they can prove lucrative for innovative packagers of promotional products solutions. Based on what our respondents told us, we found that:
• Telemarketing is the medium least used in roll-outs, with the exception of high-tech firms.
• Trade association products are the media option most often cited by respondents to introduce new products to pertinent audiences. Among companies large and small, seven out of 10 included trade media (e.g., trade shows, direct mail and industry periodicals) in their roll-out budget. A correlate of this is the finding that respondents’ most-often-cited use of promotional products is to support roll-outs at trade shows.
• The heaviest use of promotion, which includes promotional products, is found among the Other Manufacturing and Services segment. The 59.1 percent usage by companies in that cohort puts promotion in close proximity with trade, mass media and abreast of interactive (internet). Advancing to a higher promotional products usage ratio seems doable, provided that all opportunities are explored (see Table 1).
Table 1: Roll-Out Media Used
|
High-Tech
|
Biotechnology/Healthcare
|
Other Mfg & Services
|
All Companies n = 195 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mass Media |
17.6%
|
58.9%
|
65.9%
|
51.3%
|
| Trade |
92.2%
|
67.9%
|
60.2%
|
70.8%
|
| Interactive |
66.7%
|
48.2%
|
59.1%
|
57.9%
|
| Promotion |
13.7%
|
33.9%
|
59.1%
|
40.0%
|
| Telemarketing |
17.6%
|
14.3%
|
10.2%
|
13.3%
|
*Since respondents were asked to check all media choices that apply, the sum of percentages is more than 100 percent.
Our follow-up interviews also asked marketing executives if they are considering incorporating media that are different from what they are currently using. Hedeman of World Magnetics told us his firm’s sales involve B2B. “We always seek out new ways to market our products. I’m constantly looking for various [individual] mediums to use, whether it be print or to have a presence on the web or e-mail marketing. We’re certainly open to other avenues.”
Dermit reports Allied High Tech Products “actually increased our marketing budget for print advertising. We’re doing more print advertising than we’ve ever done.” On the other hand, Foshee indicates Guardian Credit Union doesn’t have any plans to change ad media.
Perhaps the greatest threat as well as opportunity for promotional products manufacturers and distributors involves that conglomerate called “interactive.” In terms of sales, this medium is poised to soon overtake everybody (maybe not direct mail just yet). Note that Table 1 shows Interactive was the second-most-mentioned medium for introducing new products (57.9 percent). Those in the promotional products industry are well-advised to maximize the ways that promotional products can be integrated into the online world.
The medium does have an Achilles heel, however. Glut. An e-mail specialist in Media Post says: “Our industry is currently facing one of the most significant threats to its health and existence. What has me concerned is self-inflicted by those of us within the e-mail space: the rampant over-mailing of promotional messages.”
Most Important Media Considerations
To ascertain how marketers prioritize campaign elements in new product launches, we asked them to state the two most important attributes they considered in making their media choices. The seven choices were:
• Reach
• Economy (e.g., cost per impression)
• Impact
• Targetability (to reach specific audiences)
• Ability to create good will for company
• Ability to sustain long-term exposure and impression
• Other
As it turns out, reach wasn’t a prime consideration for those in the survey sample, but targetability, a characteristic often associated with promotional products, is by far respondents’ most important attribute. It was mentioned by 69.2 percent and was the dominant attribute by company size and across the three industry classifications, most notably in the high-tech category. In other words, marketers need to target their messages to the audience that’s most likely to buy. And when the audience is known, promotional merchandise has a slew of advantages—if properly positioned. Once they learn the makeup of customer audiences, promotional products salespeople—the experienced ones anyway—usually have a gut feel for what the end buyer needs. They instinctively know to show Catalog A, not Catalog B. Nevertheless, their aims for targeting can always be enhanced with a thorough understanding of targeting metrics.
Two options associated with memorability—impact and long-term exposure—were also among the choices listed. If new products fail to achieve memorability, they seldom live long enough to become old products. Among the memorability attributes, impact was the most mentioned when respondents made media choices, followed by long-term exposure and then impression, which is tied with economy. Impact and long-term exposure, critical in a new product/service launch, are also qualities commonly associated with promotional products.
Surprisingly, creating good will, another attribute of promotional products, did not rate as an important consideration in planning a new product launch according to survey respondents (see Table 2).
Table 2: Most Important Media Attributes
| Small Companies < $25 Million | Large Companies $25 Million Or More | All Companies n = 195 | |
| Reach | 24.2% | 26.0% | 25.1% |
| Economy | 31.6% | 26.0% | 28.7% |
| Impact | 29.5% | 40.0% | 34.9% |
| Targetability | 70.5% | 68.0% | 69.2% |
| Good Will | 7.4% | 6.0% | 6.7% |
| Long-Term Exposure, Impressions | 31.6% | 26.0% | 28.7% |
| Other | 2.1% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
Use Of Promotional Products
The findings demonstrate strong agreement that promotional products are widely used and effective. Seven out of 10 respondents say their companies incorporate promotional products in their roll-out programs. The application most frequently cited for promotional items are for tradeshows and for roll-out announcements and as motivators for employees and salespeople. Among industries, the highest incidence of usage is seen in the Other Manufacturing & Services category (see Table 3). Worth noting is that the services sector contains a large number of banks and financial institutions—one of the top customer segments for distributors.
Table 3: Use By Industry
| Percent (n = 136) | |
| High-Tech | 24.3% |
| Biotechnology/Healthcare | 27.9% |
| Other Manufacturing & Services | 47.8% |
Advertising And Promotion Budgeting/Spending
Only three out of 10 respondents reported ad/promotion budgets of $500,000 or higher (see Table 5).
Table 4: Percent Roll-Out Spend vs. Total Ad Budget
| High-Tech | Biotechnology/Healthcare | Other Manufacturing & Services | All Companies n = 2 | |
| Less Than 5% | 23.4% | 28.8% | 31.3% | 28.6% |
| 5 – 10% | 27.7% | 28.8% | 31.3% | 29.7% |
| More Than 10% | 48.9% | 42.3% | 37.3% | 41.8% |
• Most companies (72.3 percent) allocate more than five percent of their total ad/promotion budget to new product roll-outs. The largest segment (more than 41 percent) of that subset allocates more than 10 percent to product launches. There is virtually no difference between small and large companies.
• The strongest expense concentration on new product launches is found among high-tech companies. Almost half of that industry group designates more than 10 percent of their ad/promotion budget to roll-out campaigns (see Table 4).
Table 5: Ad/Promotion Budget
| Percent (n = 197) | |
| Less Than $100,000 | 36.0% |
| $100,000 – $499,999 | 34.0% |
| $500,000 and up | 29.9% |
Price Points For Promotional Products
What are the typical price-point ranges for respondents’ companies that buy promotional products for roll-out purposes? Respondents purchasing promotional products tend to prefer inexpensive goods. This is true for both imprinted items and for premiums and incentives.
• For imprinted gifts, low-end items are the preference for an overwhelming majority (73.4 percent) of buyers.
• Price points for premiums and incentives show a fairly even distribution over three price ranges. Slightly more than half (53.7 percent) of respondents report a preference for items costing less than $10 (see Tables 6 and 7).
Table 6: Price Points For Free Imprinted Gifts
| Percent (n = 143) | |
| Less Than $5 | 73.4% |
| $5 – $10 | 18.2% |
| $11 – $25 | 7.0% |
| More Than $25 | 1.4% |
Despite the emphasis on lower-end items, roll-outs can be profitable business for distributors if the volume is sufficient and margins aren’t sacrificed.
Table 7: Price Points For Premiums & Incentives
| Percent (n = 93) | |
| Less Than $5 | 24.7% |
| $5 – $10 | 29.0% |
| $11 – $25 | 23.7% |
| More Than $25 | 22.6% |
Effectiveness Of Promotional Products
Promotional products are viewed as being “very effective” or at least “somewhat effective” by an overwhelming majority (70.3 percent) of purchasers. This figure is consistent with other research conducted for PPAI. Respondents who were not the least bit impressed with their experiences with promotional products constitute only a small subset (5.4 percent), again a typical finding for these studies.
Importance Of Trade Audiences
To introduce new brands, products or services, companies reporting in this survey focused most heavily on trade audiences. Besides industry periodicals and direct mail mentioned previously as trade media examples, exposure is widely provided through tradeshows (71.4 percent). Roll-out announcements and motivators to employees and salespeople (49.0 percent) were the other applications most frequently indicated by respondents (see Table 8).
Table 8: Promotional Products Uses
| Percent (n = 136) | |
| Trade shows | 71.4% |
| Roll-out announcements and motivators to salespeople and employees | 49.0% |
| Sports and community events | 28.6% |
| In-store free gifts and incentives | 25.2% |
| Dealer/retailer incentives | 23.8% |
| Other | 17.0% |
* Since respondents were asked to check all uses that apply, the sum of percentages exceeds 100 percent.
In our phone follow-ups with marketing professionals, we also asked about how they incorporate imprinted merchandise (i.e., promotional products) in their roll-outs. Allied High Tech Products’ Dermit says her company finds them useful. She mentioned typical items being calendars and coffee mugs. Hedeman at World Magnetics also commonly uses a variety of promotional products, but not so much with roll-outs. He adds his company has been “pretty much satisfied” with items and services received from vendors. Foshee says Guardian Credit Union’s promotional products’ vendor is “basically user-friendly.” Her distributor visits frequently, plus she gets catalogs, e-mails and websites from which to order.
Tracking Results
About two-thirds of respondents say their companies track results obtained from the media they use for roll-out campaigns. Online click-throughs and webinar registrations are the methods most frequently cited, followed by leads gained from tradeshows and events, and coupon/promotional code responses. Other comments about tracking results focused on the following methods:
• Comparing new/lost customers from year to year, comparing type of product being purchased
• Requests for data sheets or white papers from targeted customers
• ROI reports from media companies
• Sales force and customer polls, feedback
• Surveys; perception tracking
Market Testing And Promotional Products Business Potential
The survey also included questions about market testing with the purpose to explore whatever business potential there might be for distributors. Somewhat surprisingly, slightly fewer than half (46.2 percent) of those respondents say their companies undertake actual market testing before committing to a new brand/product/service roll-out. Failure to test the waters through extensive consumer research may seem contrary to prudent marketing practice. However, many line extensions require little or no R & D and the accompanying expenses. Often what is passed off as new is simply a slightly altered version of what someone else has been doing successfully; hence, little risk for a new product.
Considering the large number of respondents to this study who say they don’t market test (although they may invest in inquiries such as customer satisfaction studies), is there an opportunity for distributors to enlarge their receipts from customer research?
Answering the market test question, one respondent stated: “No—but would like to.” For distributors to convert marketers with that mindset, they would have to be convincing. The selling point, of course, is information—securing an edifying picture that every marketer should want. At a time of declining response rates, marketers are fairly desperate for something to juice up participation, using rewards and incentives such as $100 cash, discounts or coupons. Are promotional products a better, less expensive, more efficient choice? Also keep in mind that of the majority of companies that do conduct market testing, about half give incentives or reward participants—an opportunity those in promotional products can build upon.
From Concept To Launch
How long is the typical gestation period (planning, agency consultation, media buying, prepping dealers, retailers, sales force and employees) before launching a new brand/product/service? For the largest group of respondents (40.4 percent), the span from new product concept to launch is three to six months. This is a critical window that media sellers and service vendors have to pursue for a place at the table and a bigger slice of the pie (see Table 9).
Table 9: Roll-Out Preparation Time
| High-Tech | Biotechnology/Health care | Other Manufacturing & Services | All Companies n = 185 | |
| Less Than 3 Months | 38.0% | 13.5% | 16.9% | 21.6% |
| 3 – 6 Months | 30.0% | 44.2% | 44.6% | 40.4% |
| More Than 6 Months | 20.0% | 23.1% | 25.3% | 23.2% |
| Varies-Nothing Typical | 12.0% | 19.2% | 13.3% | 14.6% |
A Final Word
As previously noted, the marketing method most respondents chose for their new product and service launches were the trade association offerings. Primarily a business-to-business venue, this includes tradeshows, industry periodicals and direct mail. A correlate of this is the finding that respondents’ most-often-cited use of promotional products is to support roll-outs at tradeshows.
Those marketing executives surveyed generally reported they opted for inexpensive promotional products. Despite the emphasis on lower-end items, roll-outs can be profitable business for distributors if the volume is sufficient and margins aren’t sacrificed.
Brand equity is the sum of all components comprising the reputation value of an organization and what it sells. An element of brand equity is brand expression—an organization’s properties, products, presentations and promotion. Promotional products are indigenous to brand expression. It seems curious that as stewards of brand equity, marketers so often choose options with widely acknowledged tendencies to commoditize the brand—options such as deals, discounts and coupons.
Despite a tough economy, or perhaps because of it, there remain excellent opportunities for promotional products distributors to expand their media market share. But meeting customer needs requires more than simple legwork. Moving beyond the notion of a specific product to providing solutions to marketing problems requires insight and commitment to clearly educate potential buyers of the benefits of promotional products.
More About Methodology
Translating the potential into the practical required that we contact decision-makers directly in order to get information useful to PPB readers. Data were collected by a mail survey of marketing executives in several selected industries, supplemented by personal interviews. These industries included:
• High-Tech (computers, software, electronics, telecommunications, etc.)—26.5 percent
• Biotechnology & Healthcare (biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical, hospitals, medical appliance manufacturing, etc.)—28.6 percent
• Other Manufacturing & Services—44.9 percent
About seven out of 10 respondents held job titles in marketing ranging from executive vice president to administrator. Other survey participants came from communications and public relations, brand management or company ownership. The survey was conducted for PPAI during October and November 2008, supplemented with follow-up interviews in February 2009. The mailing drew 200 usable responses, “usable” meaning the respondents’ organizations actually created new brands, products and services and introduced them to the marketplace as either stand-alones or line extensions. In terms of revenues, the Large Company group (sales of more than $25 million) totaled 48.6 percent of those answering the questionnaire, while the Small Company group (sales less than $25 million in sales) comprised 51.4 percent of respondents.
For more information and help finding promotional products that fit your marketing goals, visit GallantGifts.com