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Tuesday
November 3, 2009

End-User Buying Habits Study

Filed under: News About ASI, Research

ASI recently completed an exclusive study about end-buyer expectations for promotional products compared to other forms of advertising, the types of programs that use promotional products and the products they’re using for those programs. Of course since everything is about “the economy, stupid” we asked about how marketing spending and promotional product spending has changed this year as well.

It’s amazing what you can find out by just asking, and we found out some great stuff, like:

  • Distributors can increase their sales by educating customers on the value of promotional products.  Always educating end-buyers about the positive return on investment (ROI) promotional products have can result in some real ROI for the distributor, too. Nearly one-half (48%) of respondents said that promotional products are expected to deliver positive ROI. The good news is that the higher the expectations, the more end buyers are willing to spend. Those who have the highest expectations for promotional products ROI will spend nearly nine times more on them than those who believe promotional products are simply “nice to have but…”
  • And when it comes to delivering the best ROI, nearly two-thirds (64%) of end-buyer respondents told us that promotional products were second only to the internet as the most effective advertising medium.
  • But it isn’t all about the bottom line, as creativity is the number one trait end-buyers look for in distributors.  So in addition to coming to the table with new product ideas for an event, consider teaming an ad specialty promotion with the internet to deliver a real one-two punch. That’s creative, and it’ll have the ROI end-buyers are demanding.

Studies like this, and all the others we’ve done this year and have planned going forward, make it a fascinating time to be part of this industry. But we’re always looking for new ideas to explore that will provide information to our members, so if you have anything you’d like to know more about, just ask, because “It’s amazing what you can find out by asking…”

— Larry

Larry Basinait is ASI‘s executive director of research services.

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Tuesday
November 3, 2009

2009 Power 50 Announced

Filed under: Community, Members, News About ASI

It’s almost too easy to use superlatives when describing a company’s top players.  After all, they reached the apex because they’re the best at what they do.  The men and women on this year’s Counselor Power 50 list – announced last night at the ASI Power Summit – truly deserve every accolade.  Each one is an industry ace.

This year, in recognition of the biggest industry news story of the year – BIC’s acquisition of Norwood – the No. 1 spot honors both Nicolas Paillot, general manager of BIC Group (asi/40480), and Paul Lage, president of Norwood Promotional Products.

The other top-ranked executives in the 2009 Counselor Power 50 ranking include:

  • Marty Lott, president of SanMar (asi/84863)
  • Greg Muzzillo and Vera Muzzillo, co-CEOs of Proforma (asi/300094)
  • Marc Simon, CEO of Halo/Lee Wayne (asi/356000)
  • Gene Geiger and Jo-an Lantz, CEO and executive vice president, respectively, of Geiger (asi/202900)

I’m also happy to say that there are 14 newcomers, including Derek Block, CEO of Touchstone (asi/345631); Maribeth Sandford, CEO of Bag Makers (asi/37940); and Anthony Corsano, CEO of Anvil (asi/36350).  

What I like best is the democracy of the voting system.  While the exact ranking is determined by Counselor editorial experts, they rely heavily on the survey sent to all of you, asking which names go on or off and which names move up or down. They also carefully consider each nominees’ achievements and the state of their business.

For the complete Counselor Power 50 ranking, visit asicentral.com/power50.  To view photos from the 2009 ASI Power Summit, click here. 

What did you think of this year’s list? Post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Tuesday
November 3, 2009

Power Summit Video About Economy

Filed under: Community, Education, Industry Initiatives, Members, Research

Everyone gathered at the 2009 Power Summit in California has seen, heard and learned a lot already at numerous sessions, speeches and networking opportunities.

Click here for a video outlining these key insights from our sessions:

  • Exclusive session with economics expert Roger Farmer. This last year was really about a lack of confidence, which means companies lacked any real decision-making about purchases. Going forward, inflation is possible, which would affect prices of raw goods from China.  But, as jobs start to recover, wages will go higher. He predicts it’ll take about five years for unemployment to drop back down from 10% to about 5-6%.
  • What’s working and what’s not.  Executives in this session said communication was most important right now, with clients and employees alike. Have a baseline plan that outlines how to get more revenue and how to cut costs appropriately.  And just because the economy is down doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recognize and reward your staff. 
  • U.S.-made products versus importing. Know where your products come from.  If clients ask you where the product was made, you need to know, and you need to know if it’s safe. Interestingly, price is not the sole factor in a purchase.  Safety and the manufacturing source are very important.

Click here for the video. 

What are your thoughts? Post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Monday
November 2, 2009

Help shape the future – join a new ASI advisory board

Filed under: Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI

The secret to serving customers well is relatively simple:  Listen, and then take action on what you’ve heard.  Every day, ASI listens to members’ needs via emails, phone calls and conversations. 

Over the past few years we’ve also enjoyed great feedback through our editorial and ASI Show advisory boards, which help us make tough decisions while providing significant insights from multiple perspectives. 

Now, ASI is going one step further and establishing four new advisory boards where we will share information, discuss pressing industry issues and receive guidance from each other.  The four boards are:

  • ASI Advisory Board
  • Technology and Operations Advisory Board
  • Marketing, Public Relations and Industry Research Advisory Board
  • Safety and Legislative Advisory Board

I’m thrilled to be involved in these boards and work directly with each board chairperson.  Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, will chair the ASI Advisory Board and the other three boards will be chaired by one of the ASI members serving on each board. 

Board member positions are not honorary.  We expect everyone to be involved and prepared for each meeting, and board members will have the opportunity – through our discussions and meetings – to shape the industry and in some cases ASI’s role in the marketplace.

I’ve had the pleasure of serving on several boards, including for-profit, non-profit and advisory.  Each experience has been personally and professionally rewarding, allowing me to gain new experience while benefiting the organizations by sharing my knowledge and insights.  I’ve developed lifelong relationships that have increased revenue in my own organization. 

The more energy I’ve put into a board, the more everyone benefits.  So the cliché rings true: You get what you give.  No matter who you are, no matter what size your company is and no matter how long you’ve been in the industry, I encourage you to consider serving. 

To nominate yourself or someone you know, complete the online form by clicking here, or send me an email at dale.denham@asicentral.com.

The nominating committee will select the final ballot from the nominations and present it to ASI members for an online vote in December.  Final board members will be announced in January.

Details about each of the boards are available in the press release here.

— Dale

Dale Denham is senior vice president of ASI.

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Monday
November 2, 2009

2009 Power Summit Happening Now

Filed under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI

The ASI Power Summit 2009 at La Costa Resort and Spa near San Diego is underway.

In the last 24 hours, we’ve enjoyed a speed networking event, a keynote speech by Hollywood marketing wiz Gordon Paddison and an interview with economics expert Roger Farmer, which yielded some fascinating answers.

Check out the photos we’ve posted so far by clicking here.  Much more news is coming through our editorial channels soon, so stay tuned!

If you’re here with us in California, I’d love to know what you think so far, so post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Thursday
October 29, 2009

Calling All Rock Star Sales Reps for a Contest

Filed under: Guest Blog, News About ASI

I love you:  Salespeople who didn’t view the bad economy the past year as a hopeless situation, but rather, looked at it as an opportunity to really stand out and get it done.  In a year that could have resulted in the death of any salesman (or woman), you rallied.

I come to my love of great salespeople from being the editor of Advantages magazine for many years and having written about them, read about them and gained the utmost respect for them.  And if you’ve read my columns in Advantages, you also know, I’ve been married to Steve, a sales executive, for 22 years.  (I was a child bride…no comments, Tim Andrews.)   I’m no stranger to your agonies of defeat, having heard about the “end of the month,” “making quota” and how sales “is not a 9 to 5 job, Kath,” time and time again.

On the flipside, I’m happy for your thrills of victory.  Through years of relationship-building, establishing trust and loyalty among his clients, and simply checking his BlackBerry daily, Steve wrapped up three sales while we were on vacation in Key West last week.  And, despite the economy, this is turning out to be one of his best years ever. Yes, I am a proud wife.  But I’m also proud of you…the dedicated and determined sales professionals in our industry who have hung in there and made it happen.

Sales pros are so important to a company’s bottom line that our sister publication, Counselor magazine, even named the distributor sales rep its Person of the Year. And at Advantages magazine, we also want to recognize outstanding sales performance. So we’re looking for entries for our first-ever Salesperson of the Year contest.  Think about it:  In the past year, did you come up with something really creative that led to a huge sale?  Did you have the largest sales volume in your company?  Did you go way over 100% of your quota, despite the challenging times?  Have you gone above and beyond for a client?  Are you the one and only ad specialty sales rep your client would ever work with?

If you think you or one of your colleagues could be a contender, send me an e-mail pronto to:  khuston@asicentral.com.  Let me know what makes you so spectacular in 100 words or less.  Write about the measures of your success and give us one of your sales secrets.  If you would like to include a client testimonial, do that too.  If you’re the winner, you’ll be in the spotlight because, let’s face it, you are a superstar in your own right.  Not only will you be profiled in our January issue, but you will also be the subject of a podcast interview.

In addition, a $500 Amex card and prizes to help you further succeed will be all yours. And of course, you will have bragging rights for the year…and maybe a crown.  I’ll think about that one.

– Kathy Huston is the editor of Advantages magazine at ASI.

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Friday
October 23, 2009

ProfitMaker Speeds Your Monthly Close

Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI

In today’s fast-paced marketplace, anything that speeds and simplifies business is a huge plus, which is why I’m excited about the new automated features in ProfitMaker that make running a business as easy as one, two, three.

ProfitMaker, the premier order management and accounting system, now allows distributors to schedule month-end reports to run automatically.  Users can choose to start the processing immediately or at a specific day and time, and reports will be stored in a corresponding and easily-accessible directory.   

The new enhancements also include:

  • Payments using credit cards: distributors and suppliers can order a payment to a credit card company, while simultaneously removing the open invoice for the related vendor being paid by the credit card. No paper involved.
  • Automated email alerts: distributors and suppliers can setup email alerts for key events in ProfitMaker to provide information to decision-makers when they need it. Examples include alerts for order follow-up, past-due invoices from customers and reorder notices.
  • Vendor document folders: documents, graphics files and scanned correspondence for each vendor (or item) can be stored in one document folder and accessed anytime within the order entry graphics tab.

According to David Wirth, president and chief operations officer of ASI Computer Systems, ProfitMaker gives distributors, suppliers and decorators more time for selling since it cuts time spent on order management and office tasks.

For more details, please read the press release here.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with ProfitMaker, so post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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