Tech Rep
Finding the right balance
A member of the New Balance Tech Rep team, Luke Cunningham’s enthusiasm is evident as he explains the diversity of his job
T
he role of the Tech Rep at New Balance involves great variety. Tasks can range from attending trade shows, to in-store training on biomechanics and technical information on the trainers, to representing New Balance at national events such as the London Marathon. The opportunity to travel all over UK & Ireland is a great perk of the job, and keeps morale in the team extremely high. However, probably the most enjoyable aspect of working at New Balance is being part of the team. New Balance Tech Reps work within the UK & Ireland sales and marketing team, which is a small but hard working unit. At the moment, the Tech Reps are James Thexton, Jon Hosty and I, operating under the brilliant guidance of the Matthews sisters, Sam and Claire. It’s a great environment to work within and this shows in our performance.
True Love
The global advertising message from New Balance at the moment is ‘Love Running More’, alongside the ‘Total Fit’ campaign, which shows runners that the New Balance shoe last is the perfect match for your foot, as well as promoting the extensive choice of widths and half sizes we offer. This shows how dedicated the company is to ensuring the best and total fit for each runner. Through the work of our Tech Reps, we aim to show consumers that they can ‘love running more’ with New Balance.
A major product focus for the upcoming summer is True Balance, as well as our NBx range of top-end shoes including the 1064, 1226, 760 & 851. True Balance is a new feature of the New Balance Wellness campaign. This campaign helps to show New Balance’s dedication to the general health and fitness of everyone. True Balance is a unique design that will increase muscle activation in the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and calves, therefore increasing the overall toning affect of the lower body.
Brand heritage
Every time we go into a store, we have set
goals that need to be achieved and these goals vary. For example, during an in-store training session, we aim to make sure that all staff are taught the history and brand ethics of New
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Clear benefits: Point of sale material for the New Balance 1064
“
The most challenging
part of the job is chasing after the retailers when they invite us out for a run!
Balance. Heritage is very important to us as a brand, and the more people who can pass that information on, the better. Another goal is to make sure the staff are comfortable in selling the trainers they stock and that they are able to answer questions from customers on the benefits and technologies of each shoe. All retailers that are part of the NBx Dealer
”
On the road: Luke Cunningham at the Bath Half Marathon
Scheme have been provided with mats, technical posters, mugs, pens, technical t-shirts, trainers for staff to wear and other general POS to show that their store is either an Elite or Specialist
New Balance dealer. Retailers are also supplied with training manuals that explain New Balance as a company, the technologies, overviews of each shoe, as well as biomechanical knowledge, including simple static tests that can be used in store to determine if the customer requires a neutral or supportive shoe. These tests are particularly useful for stores that do not offer gait analysis and we get great feedback on how useful they are in training staff – they are simple but effective. When I am working at an in-store promotional
day, the sales of New Balance shoes are monitored to determine how successful the day is. Through tracking this and collating feedback from both Tech Reps and retailers, it has been noticed that, as a whole, the more time we dedicate to each of our accounts, the more New Balance product is sold in store. Feedback is very important to our team and it makes sure we are always delivering the service that retailers require, as well as being great brand ambassadors for New Balance. This is why we are considered a very important role in the business, and going forward, why we are looking to increase the size of our team. The most challenging part of the job is
chasing after the retailers when they invite us out for a run! Although running is a natural interest and hobby of mine, it’s definitely not a natural talent. I would love to run some more half marathons but I’m usually seen working at them instead.
S
www.newbalance.co.uk
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