Most people would be flattered to receive a call from a friend about a new job opportunity. For Clay Hughey, a former Dallas-based promotional products distributor, the call came from God—and it changed his life.

Hughey’s transition from distributor to full-time missionary in the African country of Zambia came through a divine chain of events that began with filling orders of t-shirts and caps for client Family Legacy Missions International, an Irving, Texas-based nonprofit organization that rescues Zambian orphans from poverty, starvation and disease, and transforms their lives through the Word of God.

The relationship began in 2003 when the wife of one of Hughey’s best friends went to Zambia on a mission trip with Family Legacy and asked him to provide 750 t-shirts for distribution there. The next year, the woman and another of Hughey’s friends took the same trip and Hughey helped pay part of their expenses. In 2005, mostly curious to see 1,500 orphans wearing the t-shirts he had provided, Hughey made the trip himself. For one week that summer, he was one of several hundred Americans who counseled Zambian orphans in Family Legacy’s Camp Life. “I had 22 16- to 18-year-old boys,” he remembers. “It was a bit chaotic but awesome. God really worked on my heart.”

For the next few years he was unable to make the trip again because he and wife, Erin, were having children and his distributor business, Footprint Marketing, was starting to grow quickly. But he never forgot his experience in Zambia.

In 2008, he had lunch with a good friend who had recently returned from a trip to Camp Life. The friend, too, had worked with a teenage boys’ group at camp and he brought Hughey the news that one of the boys in his group was the same 16-year-old boy Hughey had counseled in 2005. The teen confided that he had stopped having sex after talking with Hughey (a huge step toward hope for a country overrun with AIDS and HIV). “The odds of Jason having that child were one in 100,000!” exclaims Hughey. “Outside of my wife and children, I consider that moment the greatest gift God has ever given me.”

In late 2007, he was forced to close Footprint Marketing and went to work on a commission-only basis for a large distributor company. Sales were good, but he was barely getting by.

That year he pitched a fundraising idea to Family Legacy. Greer A. Kendall, president and CEO, was interested but said he needed a marketing person to manage the program. The job interested Hughey, but the catch was Family Legacy employees are not paid a salary; they raise all their own financial support from donors.

“I just kept praying about it,” Hughey recalls. “God said, ‘This is what I’ve prepared you for. This is why I’ve done what I’ve done.’ At the end of 2008, I resigned my sales position and became director of marketing and strategic partnerships at Family Legacy.”

He worked in the Irving, Texas, office for two years, traveling to Zambia each summer to participate in the programs firsthand. In 2010, Kendall asked Hughey if he’d consider moving to Zambia to head up the operations in the country. Hughey and his wife, Erin, decided to make the move, and the family, which includes four children under age 10, had 68 days to prepare to move to the southern African country. They also had to raise $30,000 to cover costs. “We sent out letters and emails,” says Hughey matter-of-factly.

In December 2010, the Hugheys moved 8,800 miles across the globe to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, where there are restaurants and stores close by, and many activities for the children. His office is also in Lusaka, a city of three million people. “I don’t think I could live in the bush; I love to go for the weekend though,” he says.

In Zambia, Hughey was the first full-time American working for Family Legacy. He was recently promoted to country director with responsibility for 325 Zambian employees and seven full-time American employees (two more are coming soon), plus all the in-country operations including procurement of structures that are renovated for schools.

“It’s totally where God wants us to be. It’s totally what I was built to do,” he says with a big grin. “It is the perfect mix of my passions. I’ve never worked so hard and I’ve never been so frustrated. It’s a third-world country—nothing is easy. But I’ve never loved anything so much.”

Like any job, it’s not perfect. “If I have a bad day, I go into the children’s village and dozens of kids run up to me and say, ‘Uncle Clay!’ And then I’m good.”

He says the work is fast-paced and different every day—“and that’s what I loved about the promotional products industry—no two orders were the same. And you were always under the gun moving around like crazy. Owning a business in the promotional products industry groomed me for what I’m doing over there—just on a much bigger scale.”

Family Legacy was founded in 2000 by Kendall, who traveled back to the country of his birth and was shocked to learn of its extreme poverty, high rate of HIV/AIDS and that it’s home to more than a million orphaned children. In fact, 46 percent of Zambia’s 13 million population is comprised of children ages 14 or younger.

The organization runs three programs to benefit the children of Zambia: 1) Camp Life, a week-long camp where children come to get healing and hope. Hundreds of American volunteers are  instrumental to the project as they lead small groups of children through the activities; 2) Father’s Heart Sponsorship Program, in which individuals and families sponsor children’s ongoing needs including food, discipleship and education; 3) Tree of Life Children’s Village, a 130-acre orphan community where children from the most severe backgrounds of poverty, abuse and neglect live. The organization now has 17 private schools in 17 different slum compounds around Lusaka. “We believe in being in one place, doing it deeply and changing lives,” says Hughey.

“Most of the kids have never left the slums,” he explains. “These kids have never been told they are loved, they have never been treated well. They’ve been told their whole life that they are useless, hopeless and cursed, and that’s what they believe. It’s amazing what God can do to give hope to a child who has never had it.”

Kendall is quick to share his admiration of Hughey’s abilities. “Clay can juggle 12 balls simultaneously without dropping one. He’s perfectly suited to this. Imagine the complexity of managing a business in a third-world country. Your typical seminary person couldn’t do what Clay does because it takes a business mind to figure out transportation logistics, people and technology. He commands respect and does what he says he’s going to do.”

Holly Scurry, vice president of ministry development, is quick to agree. “Clay is remarkable. He’s such a humble person and liked by so many. He’s the whole package. The Zambians love and respect him. He loves the challenge and has brought so much order, consistency and development to the team over there. I can’t believe the things we’ve been able to accomplish since he’s been there.”

Since Hughey began working in Zambia, progress has skyrocketed. In 2009 the first home to house orphans was built; now there are 26 homes. The organization originally sponsored 1,500 kids, now more than 6,000 are sponsored and a new Legacy Center has opened to accommodate 1,000 children per week for seven consecutive weeks each summer. In June and July this year, the organization will welcome approximately 730 Americans who have raised their own funds to travel to Zambia to volunteer for a week.

How long will Hughey remain in Zambia? “I will be over there until God tells me to come home,” he says, “or until we don’t have enough [financial] support. We won’t ever run out of kids to help.”

Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB.

I’m sure you’ve heard the story about the small boy who picked up beached starfish and threw them back into the ocean. When chided that there were miles of beach and hundreds of starfish, and that he couldn’t possibly make a difference, the boy tossed another starfish into the surf and smiled. “I made a difference for that one.”

In February I had the privilege of touring the offices of Family Legacy Missions International just a few miles north of PPAI headquarters in Irving, and visiting with Clay Hughey, a former promotional products distributor turned full-time missionary based in Africa. Clay was back in the states for a few days on personal business and took the time to bring me up-to-date on his work and life since he, his wife and four children relocated to Lusaka, Zambia, in December 2010.

I also had the pleasure of meeting with Greer Kendall, president and CEO of Family Legacy, and Holly Scurry, vice president of ministry development, who are two of the most engaging and memorable people I’ve ever met. In their presence, I sensed a peace and contentment that stayed with me long after I left their offices.

Like the boy saving the starfish, Family Legacy is dedicated to one goal: Transforming Zambia one child at a time. In talking with Clay, Greer and Holly I was shocked to learn that the Southern African country is home to more than a million orphans—the unfortunate consequence of AIDS/HIV. Clay told me you rarely see anyone between 30 and 50 years old there—an entire generation has been virtually obliterated. He also said death is very common there—you’ll pass four or five funerals a day due to lack of sanitary conditions, poor medical care, tuberculosis, malaria—you name it.

What Family Legacy aims to do is not only rescue these desperate children but stop the cycle that threatens their futures in the first place by giving them food, shelter, education, love and hope through the Word of God.

Clay’s connection with Family Legacy began as a distributor/client relationship. Greer thought it was remarkable that promotional products brought them together because companies use promotional products to promote their brands, and the t-shirts, caps and bracelets the organization gives to each child helps brand their identities, too. He says the children wear the shirts as badges of acceptance as if to say, “I’m not a no one, I’m a someone.” The products help the children feel value and worth. “What the Citibanks of the world are using to promote themselves gives the orphans an identity, too,” he told me with a smile.

Greer, a successful entrepreneur in the investment and tax business, founded the organization in 2000 after traveling to Zambia where he was born. He learned the country was being crushed because of AIDS/HIV and the orphan situation, and felt called to do something—anything—to help. He started small with eight Americans who ran a camp for 250 orphans the first year. As the years went on, those numbers doubled, then tripled. Last year 670 Americans went to Zambia to volunteer for the week-long Camp Life and this summer 730 have signed up to make the trip during June and July.

Greer explained the growth to me simply. “Fundamentally, what the human soul wants is to make a difference. Success only lasts for so long. It feels good at first but what happens with success is you have to have a factor of two or five because if you do next year what you did this year, you won’t look successful. Success wanes in its impact because it’s not how we’re wired. We’re wired to be significant. The journey of life is to move from successful to significant. If success is all you strive for, you’ll be empty at the end.”

Tina Berres Filipski

It’s always about the kids.

This is what Sonya Beam, MAS+, found when she created a campaign for married couples at her church. Kids were dragging their parents to the table to get the free gifts, says Beam, owner of Johns Creek, Georgia-based distributor The P.O.P. Shop, a Division of Geiger (UPIC: ThePO797).

The church wanted to attract married churchgoers to the date-night ideas it was presenting as part of its MarriedLife Ministry. Several times per year, the ministry encourages couples to connect and build on their relationships by engaging in pre-planned dates. The church calls these dates Great Date Experiences. This particular time, the church was presenting two summer-themed date nights: Perfect Summer Day and Hot Summer Night.

With Beam’s help, the church created Frisbees fitted with paper inserts imprinted with ways to participate in the summer-themed dates. The Frisbees were handed out after church.

“The color and playfulness of the Frisbees attracted kids and made the promotion more successful,” Beam says. Appealing to kids wasn’t her original intent, she adds, but it was a pleasant surprise. Initially, Frisbees were chosen because of their tie-in with summer, their “keepability,” and the way their large surface area provides ample room for text.

This promotion is text heavy because content for the Great Date Experience includes lists of activities and questions to prompt togetherness. Links to online playlists of music for the dates were also listed on the fliers. Since there were two dates in the summer installment, the Frisbees were outfitted with circular inserts printed on both sides and die cut with finger notches so the fliers could be easily pulled out.

The church is one of the largest in the nation, Beam says, so the number of targeted married couples was 4,000 across five different church campuses. Churchgoers unable to personally receive Frisbees could download the fliers online. In the end, all Frisbees were given out, and the online PDFs were downloaded more than 2,000 times by users in 58 different countries.

“Choosing a playful product that appealed to children made it more successful than we really anticipated,” Beam says. “Since we had that happen, we’ve started, when appropriate for the date, to keep that in mind.”

Campaign Spotlight

Client Megachurch

Distributor The P.O.P. Shop, a Division of Geiger

Goals Create connections through fun and intimate conversation

Duration August 2011

Suppliers Evans Manufacturing, Inc., Envision Line

Results All 4,000 Frisbees were distributed, and more than 2,000 downloaded PDFs of the inserts. The award also won a gold PPAI Pyramid Award.

As members of the supply chain, distributors and suppliers are responsible for putting only safe and compliant products in the market. Distributors must protect their customer’s brand as if it were their own. Suppliers must ensure compliance with all regulations and oversee all factories. Both parties must work as partners to ensure only safe products are introduced to the market: therefore, communication is vital with the distribution chain. Learn the questions each side needs to ask of their client.

Distributors: What To Ask Your End Buyer

Get a handle on who will receive, who will or may use the products, and where geographically the products will be given out.

• Product Recipients. To whom will these products be given? Will children be recipients?

• Where Distributed. Where will the products be distributed? Some states maintain product safety standards and require testing that is in addition to federal statutes.

• Imprint. What kind of logo do you intend to use? General-use items that are imprinted with logos appealing to children could be considered children’s products because of that design.

Distributors: What To Tell Your Supplier

Children As Recipients. Based on conversations with your end buyer, tell your supplier if the products will be given to children at a given event or might be given to children based on their being kept and used over time.

Thinking Beyond The Regulations. The product might be a “general use” (non-children’s) item, but if you know from your conversation with the end buyer that the product is being distributed to children, let your supplier know. General-use items distributed to children do not necessarily need to comply with CPSIA regulations, but that type of conversational transparency is important for the supplier, distributor and salesperson.

Distributors: What To Ask Your Supplier

• Children’s Products. Does the supplier consider the item to be a children’s product? Why or why not?

• Applicable Regulations What regulations apply?

• Compliance With Regulations

• Does the product comply with all applicable regulatory requirements?
• How has compliance been determined?
• Request a copy of all related test reports.
• Request a copy of the General Conformity Certificate (GCC) or Children’s Product Certificate (CPC).
• Were all products made at the same factory?
• Were all products made from the same lot of materials?
• Will the modifications (e.g., imprint inks) you plan to make to the product affect the product’s compliance?

• Tracking Labels. If it’s a children’s product, will there be a tracking label? What does the tracking label information mean?

Suppliers: What To Be Prepared To Provide

Because suppliers have the most in-depth knowledge of the product, they should be prepared to provide all product safety information to the distributor including:

• Answers to the above questions

• Copies of GCCs or CPCs and test reports

• Explanation of tracking label existence or exclusion

Purchase Order Best Practice

Create fields on all purchase orders that require answers to the following questions:

• Is this a children’s product?

• Will children be recipients of this product?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, it is important to note clearly on the purchase orders: This product is intended for distribution to children. It must comply with all applicable federal and state regulations.

When Is A Distributor Also A Manufacturer?

Importing. Under federal law, an importer is considered to be a manufacturer; therefore, a distributor who sources direct is a manufacturer. In such a case, the distributor takes on all the testing and labeling responsibilities required of a supplier.

Apparel Decorating. A distributor who uses a contract decorator (i.e., for imprinting apparel) would also be considered a manufacturer. In this case, the distributor would have the same obligations as the supplier in the eyes of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Final Note

There are distinct regulatory differences between children’s products (i.e., intended primarily for use by children 12 years of age and younger) and toys/child-care articles. Generally speaking, the testing requirements for toys/child-care articles are more significant.

This information is being furnished by PPAI for education and informational purposes only. The Association makes no warranties or representations about specific dates, coverage or application. Consult with appropriate legal counsel about the specific application of the law to your business and products.

Anne Lardner-Stone is director of public affairs for PPAI.

“Sorry,” your doctor says, “You’ve got a virus and you need to let it run its course.”

In PPB’s March 2011 issue, I authored an article titled “Viral Marketing: Highly Contagious” that detailed my first viral marketing case study experiment conducted at The PPAI Expo 2011. The article was an in-depth look at how a promotional product coupled with viral marketing produced tremendous results and measurable ROI that could be replicated over and over again.

Since that time many distributors have presented the product I used, the viral marketing tabber bracelet from Reflectix, to their clients as a way to generate booth traffic and decrease the cost of client acquisition.

Just like the doctor tells you “the virus needs to run its course,” viral marketing was and still remains the ultimate marketing strategy to produce measurable results.

The 2013 Viral Explosion

This year’s viral marketing program used a new product, the ReflectixTab-Tag, which was different from the previous viral marketing tabber bracelet because once the viral marketing had run its course, the participants were left with reflective luggage tags (rather than bracelets that needed to be cut off and thrown away) to keep and use immediately for their return trips home.

I wondered, would incorporating a product that could be useful after the campaign influence the viral marketing ability?

The answer is a resounding “yes.” Here are Fey booth results for The Expo 2013 compared to The Expo 2012:

• Scan rates up 35 percent
• Project quote rates up 22 percent
• Random sample requests up 45 percent
• Catalog requests up 27 percent
• New clients generated up 21 percent

In the promotional products industry, the goal of every marketing director is to have an impact on the thinking and behavior within the distributor network channel. More important, being able to prove this impact with measurable success has been elusive until now.

At the writing of this article, the flu season was well upon the majority of the U.S. with nearly all states reporting record outbreak numbers. Now as much as we may fear or hate viruses, these self-propagating entities have important lessons for promotional products marketers to learn: Viral marketing, when done correctly, beats all other marketing tools in any arsenal time after time.

Finally interested in having others catch your virus? Here are the six rules to follow.

Rule 1: Stealth is the essence of market entry.

Obtaining a comfortable spot within the mind of your target is the toughest part of the challenge. Within this industry, the “normal” method of accomplishing this is to turn up the volume or inundate inboxes with email offers. Viruses are smarter: They find ways to get into the host under the guise of another, unrelated activity. On the surface you might define that as deceptive; I call it effective.

Remember, you need to get others to spread your message without them even knowing it.

Rule 2: What’s up-front is free; payment comes later.

Viruses are unusually patient little buggers. Some exist and thrive within their host for months or years prior to making an appearance. An example of this is a computer/digital virus, which digs deep into your hard drive and waits for its trigger date to become active such as a famous painter’s birthday (Michelangelo virus).

Learn a viral lesson from Intuit’s popular Quicken software. The spread of the virus started from a single marketing message: Order the product and pay nothing. If you aren’t productive within eight minutes of opening the box, tear up the invoice.

Of course, most users were not only balancing their checkbooks within eight minutes but also discovering that they couldn’t live without this software.

The result was a 70 percent global market share in personal financial-management software with minimal expenses for traditional marketing or selling, plus an instant base of clients to drive pricier sales of ancillary products such as checks and upgrades.

Smart. Very smart.

Rule 3: Let the behaviors of the target carry the message.

Viruses do not spread by chance. The reason the flu virus was running rampant in the U.S. was simply because the virus relies upon the high-frequency behaviors of hosts (social interaction) to carry them into new territories and new hosts.

The lesson for marketers within this industry is this: Fashion your messages so that the target markets will transmit them as part of their core interests and routine behaviors.

Rule 4: Look like a host, not a virus.

Because they are able to masquerade as something they are not, viruses are able to avoid rejection. They enter human cells and mimic genetic material, or they enter software systems and mimic existing code.

Nike has perfected this tactic with its “Just Do It” campaign.

The modus operandi for large-company marketing departments is to use megabucks to hire the world’s most sought-after celebrity athletes, buy television time at $40,000 a second during the Super Bowl and saturate the retail channel with product promotions and giveaways. But none of that worked as well as Nike’s ubiquitous tagline, “Just Do It.”

The phrase is now an entry in American culture. Everyone from cynical marketers in ad agencies to prison guards in B-movies uses the phrase. Every time they do, they’re endorsing Nike products.

Rule 5: Exploit the strength of weak ties.

Sociologists have long noted that individuals with many casual social connections have a larger influence on communities than do individuals with fewer strong connections. Viruses thrive on weak ties.

That’s exactly why a computer virus spreads effortlessly throughout the internet, because the entire World Wide Web is an infinite collection of weak ties within countless virtual communities.

In business, such tactics are the instinctive practice of companies engaging in multilevel marketing—marketers such as Tupperware, Amway and Mary Kay cosmetics, for instance. In each of these businesses, the strategy is to find a collection of individuals who excel at developing a large number of weak ties—and use those ties to sell products and services.

What’s social becomes indistinguishable from what’s commercial.

Rule 6: Reach the tipping point.

Viruses do not become epidemics until they reach the tipping point. In other words, the virus must expand through the host population until it reaches a certain threshold of visibility and scale. Think of it this way: A virus doubles each year. In year one, it’s only one percent of the host and scarcely detectable. In year two, it’s still minute, only two percent. But in year five, it’s 16 percent—and suddenly it’s an epidemic and must continue running its course to completion.

Industry marketers must understand that they’re playing the same game because the impact of exploiting weak ties does not come overnight. It’s the same reason why Microsoft’s operating system took more than a decade to finally pay off, and it’s the same reason CNN was viewed as a joke by the mainstream press until everyone from Saddam Hussein to Bill Clinton was getting real-time news from the 24-hour network.

And it’s why an idea such as viral marketing within the promotional products profession, which may look like an unpleasant and unlikely metaphor at first, will eventually win acceptance. In a crowded marketplace with suppliers coming and going, viral marketing will become essential to the success and longevity of businesses.

When it comes to getting a message out with little time, minimal budgets and maximum effect, nothing on Earth beats a virus.

Spread the word.

Ron Williams

You’d love to say yes to get the client in the door, but you cringe and hesitate … you don’t have a showroom.

But should you?

The answer’s not as simple as many people might lead you to believe, and while the benefits of having a showroom can be obvious (some distributors attribute 60 percent of their income to their showrooms), so can the downsides (some only attribute four percent of their income to them, while others spend small fortunes to just establish a showroom in the first place).

How can you decide whether opening a showroom is best for your business? Why not step into the role of your customer and do some window-shopping of your own?

Get a feel for the potential benefits, hassles, expenses and general considerations of opening a showroom from some of the industry’s most successful showrooms.

Customers Sell Themselves

The clearest benefit of having a showroom is the ability for clients to browse what you offer. “When you travel to see a customer, you’re limited to what you bring with you. When they come to you, you can create a dialogue that has ideas going back and forth, and they’re doing more of the hard work themselves,” says Jordy Gamson, president and CEO of Atlanta, Georgia-based distributor The Icebox–Cool Stuff, LLC (UPIC: TheIc516).

Putting products on display does two things for customers: First, it allows them to simply browse and let their own imaginations take over; and second, it gives them an opportunity to engage physically with products. The promotional products industry is filled with untold numbers of SKUs, so putting some in the hands of your customers can help them understand subtle things, such as what exactly 30-weight cotton feels like or how smoothly high-end pens write, and decide what’s really best for them.

And it’s a happy coincidence that this often leads to customers buying something with a higher margin. Jay Jacobus, vice president of Lubbock, Texas-based Scarborough Specialties, Inc. (UPIC: scarspec), says 70 to 75 percent of customers who come into the showroom order something different than what they initially planned. “They come in thinking of one thing, and then their brain starts turning and they get some different ideas,” he says.

Bert Williams. MAS, CEO of Tucson, Arizona-based distributor Williams & Associates (UPIC: wawa), often purposefully lets customers browse on their own for a few minutes. “I bring them in and walk past all our products, then I’ll delay for coffee,” he says, leaving them alone in the showroom. When he returns, he often finds customers have picked up a new, intriguing product that they hadn’t previously known about.

Certain items are simply better suited for in-person selling. Customers often judge the quality of products by their construction and weight, or have trouble visualizing the actual size of things until they’re in their hands. If much of your business includes these types of items, a showroom might be worth considering.

Ruth Warrick of Waco, Texas-based distributor Harvey-Daco (UPIC: harvdaco) emphasizes how awards often look as if they’re made out of metal when they’re really not. “The crystal and awards line is the most important one to see in person. The illustrations in the catalog are beautiful, but when you actually see and feel it, you appreciate the product itself.”

Jacobus says seeing products firsthand is also particularly true for apparel when customers have questions about fit, fabric or colors. “A lot of people like to see caps. It’s hard to tell online what a cap’s going to look like. If [customers] can come in and see them, it makes a big impact on them.”

Letting customers handle the products often leads to them choosing higher-margin, better-quality goods. This means better profits for you, but it also leads to clients who are happier with their purchases, meaning better prospects for repeat business.

Walk-ins Welcome?     

If letting customers browse is a key benefit, another marketing aspect is something retail stores have known almost since retail started—putting your wares on display entices people to stop and look. For distributors, this can also be a huge downside.

Many distributors rely on large corporate clients and programs rather than smaller, one-off orders. Having curious passers-by stop into your showroom can disrupt your day with the prospect of only a minimal sale.

Annette Honquest at Lisle, Illinois-based distributor B. Gunther & Co., Inc. (UPIC: BGUN0001), who maintains a charming storefront showroom, says: “One of the drawbacks to having a showroom is that on occasion you get Aunt Betty walking in to look for an anniversary gift for Uncle Joe. While we try to accommodate her, she is not our usual corporate client.”

For Gamson, the open, retail feel of The Icebox’s showroom invites passers-by to stop in, which can majorly inconvenience a company that most often uses its showroom to host scheduled presentations for corporate clients.

“We have to be careful,” says Gamson. “A walk-in is similar to a phone call as a potential interruption. That can sabotage the rest of the day, depending on how you need to respond to it. The beauty of a phone call is that you can let it go to voicemail and deal with it when it works for your schedule. Walk-ins don’t work the same way. We’ve had people who’ve vacuumed time out of our salespeople’s lives and we never got any ROI.”

Gamson admits, though, that the openness and availability of their showroom can also lead to unexpected sales. “Sometimes it’s a huge time vacuum, but you never know. We’ve had people show up out of nowhere and order $50,000 to $75,000 worth of stuff.”

While many showrooms take advantage of their public presence, others are closed off to walk-ins. Showrooms like the one at Williams & Associates aren’t open for passers-by to see and are used almost exclusively for scheduled meetings. Having a tucked-away showroom limits your exposure, but it also limits your time spent with end users who aren’t your ideal customers.

A Time Saver Or Sink Pit?

The valuable time you and your sales force spend with unexpected browsers is just one aspect of how many hours might disappear into your showroom. Another consideration, beyond the initial effort to set up and establish your showroom, is its maintenance.

“Keep it bright, keep it clean and keep it up to date,” recommends Warrick, office manager at Harvey-Daco. “We work many hours to make sure the samples we have on display are marked and labeled, and [the showroom] is kept bright and clean.”

Making sure your showroom is spotless and organized with properly labeled products can eat up resources—time, money or both. Some companies, such as The Icebox–Cool Stuff and distributor Summit Group’s showroom and office in Itasca, Illinois, have an employee dedicated to maintenance of the showroom.

If organizing thousands of products, updating them frequently, rotating stock of discontinued items and keeping the showroom clean seem like a lot of work, consider the gains. Olivia Scott, owner of Cary, North Carolina-based distributor Promotional Partners (UPIC: OSCOTT), keeps her showroom tidy for easy and quick access to items she needs at a moment’s notice. Additionally, rather than spending the time to gather items for a trek to a customer, she saves time by not leaving her office. “I encourage meetings with brand-new clients here. Not only does it free up time in my day, but it starts the conversation about the different possibilities and reinforces the variety.”

Gamson agrees that having a showroom can expedite the sales process. Time spent ordering and mailing samples of apparel and waiting for shipping times all delay a sales decision—and “that’s mitigated by customers being able to reach out and touch the garments.” In addition, lost time and travel expenses go hand in hand with visiting a client rather than scheduling a showroom visit. “When a customer leaves our showroom, our salesperson can go right back to their desk and do due diligence, as opposed to driving 30 minutes through traffic.”

Samples—Fast And Convenient For Everyone

Using a showroom effectively takes time and effort, but having thousands of samples a quick jaunt down the hall can be a huge benefit.

Promotional Partners’ showroom isn’t just useful to impress Scott’s clients—she uses it to brainstorm. In an industry so often correlated with creativity and finding solutions to a customer’s marketing challenges, having your own room of products can help inspire you to pitch new ideas for your customers’ programs.

Cheryl Santella, merchandising supervisor at the Summit Group’s Itasca location, uses the showroom to interview potential new hires. “We bring [interviewees] into the showroom and do the interviews in there to show them what we do.” The visuals help to explain the industry quickly and easily to potential employees unfamiliar with the company and promotional products. And for both new hires and existing employees, the showroom is an invaluable classroom: “We use it to educate our own employees. We also bring in our supplier reps when they want to show us their own line,” she says.

Even if your client doesn’t come to your showroom, having a showroom can still be a time saver. Many sales reps who are going on client calls can pull samples immediately to take with them, rather than ordering and waiting at least a day for them to arrive.

The Big Concern: Cost

How much will setting up a showroom cost? The answer, like everything else, is it depends. The size, location and uses of a showroom will determine how much cash you need. Some distributors have huge showrooms, such as Williams & Associates with 3,800 square feet of displays. “And it needs to be said: It is expensive,” warns Bert Williams, who has office showrooms in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, and Maui, Hawaii.

But a house-sized showroom isn’t necessary to be successful. For instance, Promotional Partners has two showrooms, each smaller than 300 square feet. And Santella of the Summit Group, whose showroom is 760 square feet, says there’s no downside for them in the cost. “It’s part of the building, so we’re already paying rent on it.”

Even Gamson, whose own showroom filled with custom-made displays is 3,000 square feet, says you don’t have to spend a fortune. To help you get started, he recommends finding suppliers who offer free displays and samples. “You could start small. The key is you want customers coming to you. If you don’t have them coming to you, then you may want to crawl-walk-run,” says Gamson.

Location, Location, Location

Where should your showroom be? On a busy street with lots of exposure to traffic? In a downtown location where your clients could get to you easily during the business day? Do you have a current office space that could easily be converted, or would you need to move?

Location is one aspect that can mean the difference between a room filled with clients examining products and a room that’s so quiet it’s only good for meditation.

Most successful showrooms are set up in metropolitan areas that make it easy for clients to visit. Look at where your particular types of customers congregate to indicate some potential locations for your showroom.

Find Your Own Style

It’s not just where you are, but who you are, that matters. One of the things that attracts many people to becoming promotional products distributors is the flexibility of location and selling style. You can work almost exclusively online or via the phone with customers across the globe without ever leaving your home.

Even if you’re located downtown, your selling style may or may not lend itself to a showroom. If you prefer to work on the move, or if you have clients who are scattered geographically, setting up a showroom might not be worth the effort.

“Some distributors like to sell on price,” says Williams, “or are ‘item sellers’ who do perfectly well by focusing their efforts on the price-conscious customers or basic order-fulfillment. But there’s another segment where a showroom’s absolutely necessary.” He says his selling style focuses on creative solutions and quality interaction, rather than mass quantity. “I don’t want to sell pens and pencils.” For Williams, his showroom has become a centerpiece of his business’s sales philosophy.

It’s worth a thoughtful examination of your own selling style. Are you more of a go-out-and-visit type salesperson? Do you prefer to work through your website and email instead of face-to-face? Think through how you like to sell before you decide to invest in a showroom.

If You Do Open Your Doors

If you decide that a showroom will add something to your business, here are a few suggestions that have worked well for other distributors:

1. Displays, Lighting And Cleanliness. Think about your selling style and the main types of products you sell, and organize your displays to reflect them. Gamson says the company purposefully wanted a retail feel in its showroom and had all the tables and racks custom-made. Others take advantage of supplier-offered displays to save costs.
   

The types of flooring, lighting and seating you select should also depend on your business, primary products and location. Promotional Partners, housed in an old hotel, likes to take advantage of the design of the building with an eclectic blend of unique decorations and displays that Scott often finds at estate and yard sales. Other companies use natural light from large windows to brighten their showrooms, while Scarborough Specialties installed track lighting to help make their products shine.

What most distributors with showrooms agree on, though, is to use what you have to its fullest potential and purposefully choose your display methods. Don’t just let it happen, which often leads to sloppy displays—take time to plan things out.

“Many times I have been in other distributors’ showrooms and found merchandise sitting on old copy paper boxes, sitting on the floors, leaning against the walls and so on. For all intents and purposes, a showroom should be thought of as a store. No one likes shopping a dirty or disorganized store,” says B. Gunther’s Honquest, who makes a special effort to wash the windows, inside and out, twice a month.

2. Choose Which Suppliers To Display. Most suppliers love to have their products on display—they know it can only help them sell more to your clients. Many suppliers are happy to provide free samples and displays, or even come for presentations to your staff or to clients.

But be careful what you choose to display, especially when first starting, warns Gamson. “Limit the items in the beginning to the suppliers you want to have a relationship with. Just because it’s a cool item doesn’t make the supplier a great supplier.”

Many industry veterans also recommend choosing quality over quantity. Showrooms can host tens of thousands of products, or just a carefully chosen 350 items, like at Summit Group. The main idea is to choose the types of items your business specializes in and choose the best of those to help impress and up sell your visitors.

A Means To An End

When you take away all the recommendations, do’s and don’ts, and specific experiences, you’re left with one thing: sales. As a distributor, your main goal is to catch those sales and earn a profit.

Showrooms have proven to be invaluable tools for many distributors whose selling styles revolve around them, boosting sales and productivity in both volume and margins through upselling. Other distributors are doing just fine by keeping their costs low and focusing on visits, calls and other sales techniques.

When you’re trying to decide whether to open your own showroom, keep in mind a basic piece of advice from Gamson: “It’s a tool for selling. So if it works, and it gives you a return, then it’s a good investment.”

After seven years of in-house marketing and advertising for a promotional products supplier, Nathanael Green is now a freelance writer and marketing consultant. Connect with him on Twitter @NathanaelGreen.

>>Your Distributorship Needs A Showroom If …

If you answer “yes” to a majority of these questions, consider adding a showroom.

• Does your company’s selling style focus on creative solutions and quality interaction with clients rather than price-focused, mass quantity-type orders?
• Do you sell a lot of apparel or awards and recognition products that need to be seen and touched in person to be fully appreciated?
• Do you have many local clients who would find value in browsing your showroom?
• How beneficial would it be to have a variety of products at your fingertips when it’s time to pull samples to take to client meetings?
• Do you have existing space within or adjacent to your office space that could be repurposed for a showroom?
• Are you willing to invest in the maintenance and product-stocking that comes with a showroom?
• Would you be okay if passers-by stopped in to the showroom to look around?B. Gunther & Company, Inc. has been manufacturing and distributing all types of awards and recognition programs, promotional products and interior signage in the Chicagoland area for 27 years. Clients can come in and feel the weight of items—an experience they can’t get from viewing a catalog or webpage.The main showroom at Harvey-Daco’s Dallas-area facility displays a wide variety of products from Cutter and Buck apparel to recognition products. Separate areas are dedicated to cap and bag displays, and hunting and sports-related products among others.

Nathanael Green

Open any publication—from PPB to Fortune and Fast Company—and each will be filled with subject matter experts either being quoted within feature stories or writing their own bylined columns. How were these sources selected? Luck? No way. Most likely, these experts landed the interview by pitching their relevance to an upcoming article, or they suggested a story idea that was newsworthy and relevant to the publications’ readership. Either way, they received the placements—and the implied third-party endorsement that comes with being featured in the media.

How do you become the go-to expert for your favorite publications? Don’t assume you have to be a big corporation to get noticed by the media. In this case, size doesn’t matter. What does matter, however, is that you have applicable knowledge to the upcoming story and a trustworthy reputation to back it up.

So how does one get noticed by the media? Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to first understand why earned media should be an integral part of your marketing plan.

The Benefits Of Earned Media

Being published in the media is certainly an ego boost, but is it an effective marketing tool? You bet. Unlike any other marketing and advertising activities, earned media offers a number of unique benefits:

First, there is an implied third-party endorsement when you are published in the media. It’s what others say about you, so there is a trust factor with earned media that doesn’t come from traditional advertising—trust that boosts your overall image and reputation.

Second, earned media builds links to your website’s press page and becomes content to post on social networks. It provides the necessary social proof that you are expert enough to be considered a trusted source.

Earned media is also a great conversation starter with clients or prospects, and it can easily make a cold call feel warm. You wouldn’t contact customers to ask if they saw your new tradeshow products ad. But you could call those who do annual events and talk about an article you wrote on the seven must-haves for every tradeshow promotion.

Finally, earned media can lead to guest blogging and/or speaking opportunities, increasing your impact and influence even more. Once you begin establishing your credentials through media placements, it becomes much easier to sell yourself as the expert that your targeted media outlets can count on to deliver the content they need to educate their audiences.

Six Ways To Get Publicity

It’s easy to see why pursuing earned media is a beneficial and worthwhile marketing tactic. But where do you start? What do magazines want and need? There are a number of ways to participate in most publications:

1.      News Releases

One of the primary functions of any media outlet is to convey news, and the simplest way to communicate with the media about your company’s news is through a news release that provides all the pertinent who, what, when, where, why and how details.

What constitutes news? Typically, news is based around new hires and promotions, awards and recognition, company updates, mergers and acquisitions, events and charitable activities.

2.      Product Submissions

Within the promotional products marketplace, much of the editorial content is naturally based around products. As such, editors need unique items with interesting, high resolution images and creative descriptions.

3.      Case Histories

The power of promotional products comes not from the product itself but from the application of the product in a marketing campaign—and this can make compelling editorial. When submitting case histories, explain the background to give context and include all pertinent details. Additionally, if ROI can be demonstrated, you’re more likely to have the basis for a great story that will capture an editor’s attention.

4.      Earned Media Articles

Having a bylined article in a publication your audience reads is one of the most engaging ways to demonstrate your expertise. Take this article, for example. I’m writing about subjects I know (publicity and editorial content) in a way that is educational for you (the reader). This tactic can also work for you. Think about what you know (sales, marketing, technology, etc.), and determine how your skills align with a publication’s mission and audience needs. I bet there are numerous story possibilities.

5.      Giving Feedback

An easy way to get press mentions is through feedback. Most publications have letters to the editor where you can share your thoughts on an article or invite discussion on an industry issue. Depending on the publication, there may also be additional ways to contribute. In PPB, the monthly column “Question” features commentary from readers about handling a common or not-so-common situation. Submit your answer (make sure comments are professional and objective), and you just might get some ink.

6.      Query Responses

If you are interested in getting press mentions outside the promotional products media, there are services that connect sources like you with reporters, editors and writers who need your expertise. Sign up for Help A Reporter Out (HARO) http://www.helpareporter.com or ProfNethttp://www.prnewswire.com/profnet to be advised of the editorial opportunities happening right now.

Work Effectively With The Media

To be a strong, reliable source, follow these tips:

• Always do your homework to understand the publication you’re pitching. Read multiple issues of the publication cover to cover. Review the media kit. Visit the website, blog and social sites. This research will help you tailor your content so that it is relevant for that specific publication’s audience.

• Take an audience-centric approach; don’t sound like an ad or be self-serving. Rather than thinking about what you want to write, put yourself in the readers’ shoes and determine what they need to read. Once you identify their needs, you can write to meet them.

• Provide great content that’s unlike previously published material. If you’re just like the writers currently in print, why should you be considered? Offer a new idea or a fresh perspective so editors will take notice.

• Finally, respond quickly. Editors are always on deadline. Responding first is no guarantee of publication, but it goes a long way in proving you are reliable.

Final Thoughts

There’s no such thing as free press. Earned media is truly earned in time and effort.

But getting mentioned in the media—from industry magazines to large newsstand publications to popular blogs—is worth the investment and should be an integral part of your comprehensive marketing plans.

-Lisa Horn

As an industry where the customer actively seeks out your business, hospitality may seem like low-hanging fruit for promotional consultants. Hospitality businesses are more than just restaurants and hotels—you can look to airlines, destination management companies, convention and visitors bureaus, and meeting planners for potential clients.

The opportunity—and the challenge—to build business within the hospitality industry lies in developing campaigns with lasting impact and measurable ROI that will ensure repeat business for clients and for you.

Fran Brasseux, executive vice president for the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), says her organization’s overarching goal is to look for new ways to engage new customers while keeping loyalty with established ones. She advises promotional consultants to do as much background research on a potential hospitality client as possible, including connecting through events and industry-specific associations.

“Relationships still rule when it comes to doing business, and the only way to build them for the long term is still face to face,” says Brasseux. “It has become increasingly difficult to get in front of customers today with the many electronic communication tools [available]. Anyone wanting to do business with a specific industry is going to have to get up from their Mac, iPad or mobile device and go where the customers are—tradeshows, educational events, social networking programs—and learn their customers’ business needs, and match their products and promotional pitch to those needs.”

Sara-ann Kasner, director of Just For You Concierge Services and CEO/Founder of the National Concierge Association, says end-user clients tend to rely on websites, brochures and newsletters for information about concierge services. As a result, “The biggest challenge [for new concierge companies] is getting started in the business with little money.”

Additionally, she says, concierge service providers often fail to promote themselves to the right market. “Too many times I see concierge services that are all over the map, instead of focusing on a specific market.”

Where promotional consultants can be beneficial to concierge clients is by helping them develop programs that include educational products for end users—and it helps if the promotional consultants understand the concierge business too. Where budgets are not an issue, the only restriction is tied into the concierge client’s ability to get its message out to potential end users.

“If you are planning on consulting to prospective concierge clients, understand that we revere the title,” says Kasner. “It belongs to those who facilitate any service as long as it’s legal, ethical and appropriate for us to fulfill—not plumbers and credit card companies (but they too understand the value of even saying the word ‘concierge’)—the public knows it stands for people in the know.”

Concierge services can benefit from items that reflect their one-stop-shop capabilities, and the internet is particularly valuable in expressing this value, Kasner says. “Award-winning websites with lots of cool features would be much soughtafter.”

Julia Kanouse, vice president of strategic marketing at the National Restaurant Association, says finding loyal, repeat customers is key for operators in her industry, so establishing a loyalty system that works well for both the customer—relevant rewards, ease of use—and the business—cost effective, not driven by discounts—is a top priority for many restaurateurs. “In addition, navigating a world in which your brand is defined by user reviews and social chatter is a major challenge for many operators,” Kanouse says.

Kanouse says promotional items that extend or expand the brand experience are popular. “Although basic items like coasters or napkins are always needed, a niche item that can help cement that restaurant brand in the customer’s mind and, possibly, extend the brand outside the four walls of the restaurant is definitely a bigger win.

“For example, last fall Buffalo Wild Wings ran a promotion that encouraged fantasy football leagues to do their draft at a Buffalo Wild Wings location. Customers who took advantage received branded items like a draft board,” she says.

HSMAI Sales Advisory Board Member Ed Skapinok says his company is always looking for innovative and unique products rather than the typical items that get lost in the crowd. The vice president of sales and marketing for Hostmark Hospitality Group says: “We like items that have staying power, and we try to anticipate what is going to be considered cool and catchy by the clients receiving the item. Lately that has meant products designed for smartphones and other contemporary digital devices.”

Bob Gilbert, president and CEO for HSMAI, advises promotional consultants to regard unit-level hotel leadership, and corporate and regional offices of brands and hotel management companies, as the probable point of sales for promotional products in the hotel industry.

“The biggest restriction (on campaign spending) is going to be price, since hotels and hotel companies have strict budgets for discretionary items like promotional products,” Gilbert says.

Kanouse says budget is usually the largest restriction for restaurants as well, which makes it a challenge to execute fully on a campaign. “Most restaurants run on very tight margins, so providing a strong ROI on anything not considered essential is important in gaining trust.”

Adds Gilbert, “Working with prospective clients to protect a budget line item for future needs is key. Beyond that, the restriction, or hurdle, will be finding an appropriate gift for the diverse array of clients that they work with. What is something that everyone will like? This of course will vary immensely based on the specific objective of the promotional object and whether it is going to 10 top-performing accounts or 10,000 prospective accounts.”

>>Hospitality Means More

The hospitality industry is more than just lodging and dining establishments. Consider pursuing clients in the convention and visitors bureau, destination management, concierge, valet, health spa and luxury transportation fields. Check out these organizations for resources and contacts.

>>American Hotel & Lodging Association
www.ahla.com

Destination Marketing Association International
www.destinationmarketing.org

The Global Business Travel Association
www.gbta.org

Hospitality Net
www.hospitalitynet.org

Hotel Association of Canada
www.hotelassociation.ca

International Spa Association
www.experienceispa.com

Meeting Professionals International
www.mpiweb.org

National Valet Parking Association
www.nvpaonline.com

Professional Convention Management Association
www.pcma.org

World Travel & Tourism Council
www.wttc.org

>>Hospitality By The Numbers

Relaxation is more lucrative…

$13.4 Billion U.S. spa revenues reported for 2011

156 million Number of U.S. spa visits reported in 2011

More people are checking in…

61.7 percent Occupancy of U.S. hotels in late February 2013, up 1.3 percent from the same time in 2012.

$66.30 The revenue per available room, up 4.6 percent

$107.40 The average daily U.S. hotel rate, up 3.4 percent

$21.6 billion Pretax income generated by the lodging industry in 2011, up 20 percent from 2010.

Destination marketing draws visitors…

74 percent Percentage of destination marketing organizations that are non-profits.

$2.8 million The average budget for a destination marketing organization, such as a convention & visitors bureau.

$704 billion The economic impact of DMOs on travel and tourism

(Sources: International Spa Association, American Hotel & Lodging Association, STR Global, Destination Marketing Association International)

>>HSMAI Sales Advisory Board Member Brian Burton, CRME, who is senior director, sales & revenue strategy for Marcus Hotels & Resorts, shares recent promotional ideas that were well received and produced commendable results.

• Flower pots with seeds “They sent these to their clients and entered them into a flower growing contest. Winners received a small gift for tallest flower, most beautiful, etc. It gave them something to talk about each time they called.  They also pitted the customers against each other as they e-mailed photos of the plants as they grew. It reminded the customer of them as it grew, was a fun spring season idea and it gave the hotel an opportunity to ‘grow their business’ with key clients.”

• Ice Cream Scoops “This seems pretty silly, but this one really connected with people. We sent it with a summer ice cream recipe and got a ton of positive feedback. People don’t go ordering themselves ice cream scoops, but once you have one, it’s fun to use and reminds you of the hotel forever.”

• Spice Rub “We took the spice rub from one of our steakhouses and packaged it for people to use in their homes. Again, people worked with it in their kitchens, it became part of family conversations and kept the hotel/restaurant top of mind for a year.”

• Smartphone Wipes “These had a small adhesive that stuck to the back of a customer’s smartphone; the front side was a cloth for cleaning the surface of the phone. It was really handy and people thought it was a really cool idea. The logo on it reminded them where they got it and they talked about it with colleagues who saw them using it.”
• Go To Market With These Hospitable Options
  

  Customizable sandals give wearers a comfy, casual reminder of the soothing spa day or relaxing hotel visit they enjoyed. Heritage Sportswear, Inc. UPIC: HERI0002 www.heritagesportswear.com 

   

   

   

   

   

  Women want uniform options that reflect their style while remaining functional. The multi-textured design of the semi-fitted Breeze vest is even more appealing in matte-finished polyknit accented with wind- and water-resistant Softex polyester. Colors are black, white, blush pink and blue mist.Charles River Apparel UPIC: CRA www.charlesriverapparel.com

   

  
  

   

   

  Send guests home with a sweet reminder of outstanding service. The calling card comes with several choices of tasty treats and makes a perfect leave-behind or giveaway. Chocolate Inn-Taylor &Grant UPIC: CHOCINN www.chocolateinn.com

   

   

   

  Recipients will love to snuggle up in a Seville Collectionwaffle weave robe. The spa-weight robe is a subtle, simple luxury that keeps your clients’ brands close to their customers all year round. Pro Towels UPIC: PROTOWEL www.protowels.com
  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Multi-tasking hospitality employees will never let go of the Javalina® stylus. Both fun and functional, the stylus tip on this handy tool is specially designed for increased conductivity. Choose from five metallic colors with silver trim.Hub Pen Company UPIC: HUBPEN www.hubpen.com

   

   

  Keep the sun and rain off valued guests with a wood market umbrella. The seven-foot or nine-foot arc-shaped umbrella features durable fiberglass ribs and comes in a variety of shades that work well in virtually any hotel, spa or restaurant setting.  Peerless Umbrella UPIC: peerless www.peerlessumbrella.com

   

   

   

  Don’t let stress get the best of a client’s staff. Give them some relief with a Bellhop Bert stress reliever.  ALPI International UPIC: ALPI0002 www.alpi.net

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Inspire great ideas among great employees with the Jazz Collection of journals. The collection’s four unique lines are named for popular genres within jazz music tradition: Cool Jazz, with a leather-like hardcover and gusset back pocket; Smooth Jazz, modern with a soft, flexible cover; Fusion Jazz, with a soft, flexible cover and wire-obinding; and Swing Jazz, with a leather-like hardcover and wire-o binding. The Book Company UPIC: BOOKCO www.thebookco.com

   

   

  Pair the Turkish Coastal Beach Towels with complementary-styledCoastal Bags, which feature a round gusset for extra roominess and a magnetic closure for security. Try towels in coastal sky, coastal nectarine, coastal mint julep, coastal pink, and coastal lilac, and choose bags in coastal sky, coastal nectarine or coastal mint julep.  Towel Specialties UPIC: TOWLSPEC

  - Jenn McCall