How Promotional Products Distributors Go To Market: - PPAI

portion of their budget they allocate to those methods. Not surprisingly, based on earlier
comments, the 1-2-3 rankings for small distributors and large firms were the same: referrals from
customers dominate, followed by networking, with cold calls in the mix but a distant third (see
Tables 8, 9, 10, and 11). No doubt about it. Referrals get the most budget and are the most
effective generator for bringing in newbies.
Viral marketing, getting someone else to tout your firm, is one approach to attracting
additional clients. “We operate in a state capitol,” says one major distributor. “Much of our
business is with state agencies and state trade associations. Word of mouth continues to be
important for us.”
TABLE 8: MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS TO ACQUIRE NEW CUSTOMERS
(SMALL COMPANIES – SALES OF $1.0 MILLION OR LESS)
Rank Methods Percent
1 Referrals from customers 86.38%
2 Networking 67.77%
3 Cold calls 33.25%
TABLE 9: MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS TO ACQUIRE NEW CUSTOMERS
(LARGE COMPANIES – SALES OF MORE THAN $1.0 MILLION)
Rank Method Percent
1 Referrals from customers 91.99%
2 Networking 57.67%
3 Cold calls 28.94%
TABLE 10: BUDGETS FOR MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS
(SMALL COMPANIES – SALES OF $1.0 MILLION OR LESS)
Budget
Allocation
Referrals
(n = 127)
Networking
(n = 91)
Cold Calls
(n = 39)
Less than 10% 33.9% 27.8% 46.2%
11 – 20% 17.3% 27.8% 25.6%
21 – 30% 10.2% 20.8% 20.5%
More than 30% 38.6% 23.6% 7.7%
23