Business Monitor Support from your suppliers
What makes you choose one supplier over another? It might be product quality. Price is sure to play a part in the decision. It could be choice of colours, fabrics or sizes. Ability to deliver to your deadline comes into the equation. Your client may have specified the brand he wants.
Marketing expert Paul Clapham reports. W
ith the exception of that last possibility, each of those deal makers or deal breakers will require a tough decision, because printwear suppliers are very competitive. On all of the parameters listed there will be little to choose between any two. So does it just come down to subjective preference: I like the rep or, more professional, Iʼve always used them and theyʼve always been spot on.
There is one important absentee on that list: customer support. Does one supplier or another actually help you to win business? In many trade sectors this is a crucial element in deciding who gets the order: you support me, so I support you.
Missed opportunities
Some decorators doubtless take the view that their suppliersʼ job is to get the product, price, delivery and back-up perfect leaving the responsibility for finding new business firmly with the decorator. Well itʼs a reasonable point of view but I think it misses a number of opportunities.
The key factor here is that the decorator and his suppliers are in the same boat. A supplier who helps his decorator clients to win more business doesnʼt do it out of altruism; he does it to grow his own business. Take a look in magazines aimed at other trade sectors and this will be readily apparent. A favourite concept I have seen used by several companies in the Grocer (read by the grocery retail trade, carrying advertising by food and drink brands in particular) is ʻpartnership for profitʼ. Indeed, I have used it myself. I believe adopting that approach would be beneficial to the printwear industry. The idea ʻweʼre in this togetherʼ may have been harmed by politicians but itʼs still valid in business.
So who is doing what?
Some suppliers take the view that they would rather not tell me the detail of their supplier support programme. They see it as publicising matters that are between them and their trade clients, we-ell OK, but it seems like passing up a fine opportunity to sell an important part of their service to the whole trade to me. If someone would like to grab this
| 30 | October 2017
market and give it a firm shake they could do worse than follow what happens in other industries. When I say ʻotherʼ I mean just about every other in my experience.
Practical support One of the reasons why suppliers donʼt
offer support is that their customers donʼt ask for it. If itʼs available and nobody takes advantage – and believe me that happens in many, many cases – you can totally understand why companies would stop offering it or at the least lose enthusiasm. If a rep who is offering what he thinks is a brilliant free service and gets consistently rebuffed you can see instantly why he would tell his sales director that nobody wants it, they donʼt deserve our efforts, why are we bothering. Teri-Louise Deegan at Prestige Leisure tells of a very practical customer support service. Prestige has a sourcing service to complete any orders with products where they donʼt specialise. (How adult, incidentally, to recognise that you arenʼt expert at everything). Deliveries are consolidated to save time and customers are charged just once. Prestige also offers use of its website structure which gives lots of services for clients to use. Teri-Louise says: “Customers are savvy; they know what works. We learn from them all the time.”
When customers are new to printwear,
Pencarrie sends its Welcome Pack which includes all the key benefits of trading with the company, which includes a number of ʻhow toʼ cards. Good idea! Those early weeks can be lonely. The company runs an Academy, its training and demonstration centre for hands on experience of the latest decoration techniques. PenCarrie works with brands including Amaya, TheMagicTouch and Xpres. In addition the team provides a variety of marketing support.
What to demand
Those include white label websites that you can use as the basis for your own. Then there are ʻready to goʼ branded materials such as brochures and flyers. Branded point of sale material for you to use in your own premises is not to be ignored. Anything big and bloody that has the wow factor is worth its space. Finally, what should you be demanding? Itʼs actually a bit embarrassing.
It requires you to say “Iʼm not good at (rubbish at)” a particular skill. A good supplier will jump at that opportunity. For decorators this is often the written word. The rep who comes in with a proposal of how to email a business sector, complete with written email is ahead of the game. The same goes for letters (subtly different to email). Be ready to recommend the best website designers you know – and say why theyʼre good.
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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