I
just returned from a promotional products’ tradeshow
and there was an almost never-ending array of product
options. The challenge for a newcomer entering the industry
or someone not as seasoned, is to know who to buy from?
Selecting the wrong supplier partner to do business with
can attribute to a loss to your bottom line just s quickly
as selling at the wrong margins. Countless suppliers were
seen up and down the aisles with a trend toward being
a one-stop shop supplier covering the ‘majority’
of product categories. The most diversified group of suppliers
offers ‘Hard Goods’. Hard
goods are a term frequently used in the industry to describe
any non-apparel item.
So
What’s Hot?
Harder
question to answer than what you may think. What’s
hot is really what’s hot to an individual client.
What one client thinks is ‘hot’ may not be
true to another. The key is understanding the demographic
of your client’s typical audience, what they have
purchased in the past, and when and why they use and buy
promotional products. Once you have this information,
suppliers are more than willing to assist you to find
matches within their product offering. Truthfully, suppliers
would love the opportunity to show you just how creative
they are, just ask. So the next time you find yourself
wanting to ask, ‘What hot’, remember to ask
yourself, if you know what your client(s) truly need?
What
are the Product Trends?
PPAI,
Promotional Products Association International out of
Texas, recently released updated data on the buying trends
of the end-user. The top (5) product categories are:
1.
Apparel
2. Writing Instruments
3. Desk/Office/Business Accessories
4. Calendars
5. Glassware/Ceramics
Of
the top categories, apparel steals the show at over 29%
of all categories. For those marketers who haven’t
already embraced apparel and the various brands and decoration
trends, there is no time like the present.
If
we were to evaluate the trends of how promotional products
were primarily used, the winner seems to be business or
thank you gifts. We can never thank our customers enough.
Other popular usages include, events, tradeshow activities,
employee morale and recognition, and to create brand awareness
amongst current and prospective customers.
How
to get in the game
Lets
talk about product sourcing first. The majority of suppliers
within the promotional products industry are very loyal
to the distributor. They offer a wealth of knowledge and
a vast array of product, but just to you, and not directly
to your customer. These suppliers primarily rely on relationships
with overseas manufacturing partners for their blank product
and then imprint in-house. This is great news for the
distributor. Due to the supplier’s inventory commitments
per product, you are able to buy in much smaller quantities
and as you need it. Each supplier has their own product
catalog and marketing materials they create. What you
need to know is not to expect any one supplier’s
catalog format to match another. Unfortunately there is
no ‘standard’ format they follow. Also, each
supplier normally lists their’ General Information’
towards the back of their catalog. The General Information
page should be very important to you. Why? Because if
you aren’t very familiar with what a supplier offers
or charges for items such as those listed below, you could
lose your profit quickly.
-
Art touchup and creation
- Absolute minimum quantities
- Rush availability
- Pantone color matches
- Overrun and under run policy
- Special packaging options
- Shipping options (ie: split and drop shipments)
Although
most suppliers are pretty good about noting the additional
charges in these sections, I would always strongly suggest
that you contact a supplier to discuss them to be sure
nothing has changed. Here is one example. you place an
order for 10,000 plastic tradeshow bags for your client,
and on your purchase order you state 10,000 as the quantity.
Now, the order has shipped, but not with 10,000 bags,
but 11,000 bags because of the factory’s overrun
policy. Do you have to pay for these extra bags? Yes!
The factory would refer you back to their general information
or policy section at the same time they billed you for
the entire quantity shipped.
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So
how do you avoid issues?
First
thought as with any product purchase is, that things will
happen, regardless of how well you cross the i’s and
dot the ts, and it may be you that made the mistake. The
key are strong supplier relationships so that when an issue
does occur, you’ll have a friend to assist you regardless
of who’s at fault. Also remember, a supplier’s
memory is as good as yours. If you did not treat the supplier
fairly the last time a mistake occurred when it was supplier
error, the next time you need the assistance because of
an internal error, they may not be so apt to assist.
Also,
remember this tried and true rule of thumb. ALWAYS contact
a supplier and establish a rapport with a ‘specific
person’ to whom you can forward your purchase order
to and follow-up with. ALWAYS write down the customer service
or order contact for the supplier you have been dealing
with and make a note about each correspondence. ALWAYS provide
changes to an order in writing.
What
about sample availability?
There
are two commonly asked for sample types within the promotional
products industry, (1) Random and (2) Speculative or Spec.
Most
suppliers are more than willing to provide ‘random’
samples (samples printed with a random customer imprint
on them) to you at no cost for the item, if the item is
under $5.00. Suppliers WILL ask for your shipping number.
It is also becoming commonplace at tradeshows for suppliers
to record your request for a sample and forward it to you
after the show, using your shipper number, unless you have
an immediate need and the supplier has extra samples of
a product available.
Speculative
or spec samples are a bit different. This form of a sample
requires that you provide the supplier the exact artwork
required for the proposed order. Upon completion, a custom
sample having this exact imprint will be sent to you or
to your client, on your behalf. Spec samples are pricier
and more labor intensive for the supplier. In some cases
your local supplier or factory representative may provide
you with a coupon for a free spec. sample, but in most cases
you will pay for the product, decoration costs and shipping.
A breakdown of the costs may look like this:
Product
Cost $10.00
Art
Clean-up cost $30.00
Set-up Charge per color
($35.00 net. Two set-ups
if two color imprint required) $75.00
Running
charge
(if actual imprint on product
is not included) $ 1.00
Freight
cost $ 8.00
$124.00 Expense before sale is made
WOW,
that is quite a bit of money to spend before I know if the
client wants to place the order for this particular item!
Exactly.
I
would strongly encourage you to determine the your client’s
level of seriousness and also check with the factory to
determine if they have ‘rebateable’ samples.
Rebateable samples allow you to have the costs except for
the freight, credited to the actual order you place for
that exact product. Should you charge your clients for ‘spec.
Samples’? I would always say yes. You could offer
to rebate the product costs to your client, as well.
Shop
for products wisely, never assume you know everything about
a supplier’s policies, control sample costs, and don’t
forget, just about anything you can imagine can be imprinted
and offered to your clients as a promotional product. Have
fun!
Tamara is the CEO of Promotional Products Center. An 18-year
veteran of the promotional products industry she served
on both the distributor and supplier sides and has earned
a designation as a Master Ad Specialist. She and her organization
actively work to support distributors in and out of the
promotional products industry. Tamara may be reached at:
tamarab@promoproductscenter.com
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