How Promotional Products Distributors Go To Market: - PPAI

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Cash flow can be a significant driver. The reason is that the franchiso+r handles a lot of the back-end chores and often will provide financing (covering order costs with suppliers). Orders can be placed directly through the franchiser’s operating system and the distributor gets regular help desk, IT, and accounting services for payables and receivables. A happy franchisee from the southwest indicates financing was critical in his decision to join one of the big franchisor organizations. “The bigger you get, the more demands you face. Larger orders are great, but if you are not in a franchise arrangement you typically have to front the cash.” One franchisor executive we interviewed also told us, “We take care of many basic services, including initial and follow-up training (much of it in person) at various locations. These include our annual convention, plus the <strong>PPAI</strong> Expo and regional meetings. We also offer webinars at least once-a-month. Franchisees also get marketing services and art department team help as well. At no additional cost, local distributors get help setting up local websites with provider discounts, an e-mail marketing tool and other prospecting assistance, print collateral (including self-promotion and trade show pieces), flyers, PowerPoints, and an annual catalog.” 9
IV. New-Customer Acquisition <strong>Market</strong>ing “On the Fly” vs. the Written Plan In this day and age, the written marketing plan is still not a fixture among promotional products distributors. Of all the respondents who answered the do-you-have question, more than three-quarters (76.5 percent) said no—don’t have a written plan (leaving just 23.5 percent who did). Those numbers are reported in Table 5, which shows a cross-tabulation of responses by companies that identified themselves by size in terms of sales. In our study of supplier marketing practices, we found that a little less than one-third of the large suppliers report operating from a written plan, much less so for the smaller firms. TABLE 5: WRITTEN MARKETING PLANS BY COMPANY SIZE Small Companies (Sales of a million or less) Percent (N) Large Companies (Sales of more than a million) Percent (N) All Companies Percent (N) Have Written Plan 19.7% (n = 40) 31.1% (n = 32) 23.5% (n = 72) No Written Plan 80.3% (n = 163) 68.9% (n = 71) 76.5% (n = 234) *All Companies include those that did not specify size by sales When plans are drawn up, they tend to have a shelf life of a year, but many companies say they revisit them periodically during that time. The preference for annual plans undoubtedly is prompted by the need to incorporate trade show attendance, budgets and other matters. Respondents who reported having plans were asked where customer acquisition and retention of existing customers fit into the plan. As was the case for suppliers, it appears acquisition and retention are more apt to be consolidated into a single plan, but there are exceptions. In fact, in some cases plans are centered on something other than prospecting and holding. Examples: a) national accounts vs. everything else; b) specific markets. 10
Page 1 and 2: How Promotional Products Distributo
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: • Sales training is a regular pro
Page 7 and 8: II. Methodology Executed in two pha
Page 9 and 10: III. How Do Distributors Position T
Page 11: TABLE 3: HOW DISTRIBUTORS DESCRIBE
Page 15 and 16: TABLE 6: COMPANY POLICIES EMBEDDED
Page 17 and 18: • We focus on existing clients in
Page 19 and 20: In reviewing the responses, two ide
Page 21 and 22: The statistics reported here also i
Page 23 and 24: 3) Distributor understanding of the
Page 25 and 26: Large Companies (Sales of more than
Page 27 and 28: TABLE 11: BUDGET FOR MOST EFFECTIVE
Page 29 and 30: V. Customer Retention Methods That
Page 31 and 32: • If they buy quantity X from us
Page 33 and 34: • We have a formal customer commu
Page 35 and 36: To most distributors that engage in
Page 37 and 38: prevalent in the promotional produc
Page 39 and 40: VI. Out in the Field: The Distribut
Page 41 and 42: TABLE 19: BEST TWO SALES TRAINING M
Page 43 and 44: VII. Analysis and Recommendations A
Page 45 and 46: As more tech-savvy young people ent
Page 47 and 48: you with Company X’s performance
Page 49 and 50: Price selling is endemic in virtual
Page 51 and 52: Who is the target Distributors are
Page 53 and 54: products distributorship is a cakew
Page 55 and 56: Cover letter and Questionnaire RICH
Page 57 and 58: 6. Of the methods you have indicate
Page 59 and 60: 16. Based on your company’s past
Page 61 and 62: Questions Asked in Phone Interviews

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