It's 2011, which means the 16 billion dollar promotional products industry is gearing up for the erratic and blustery tradeshow season. The newest, latest and greatest products take centerstage but what I'm really hoping for this year is a stronger showing on the services and technology front. I generally spend a considerable amount of time ambling my way from booth to booth searching for any significant advances in tech made over the previous year (I'll post an update post-show on what I find) but here's what I'm hoping to discover this year:
- Apps - If suppliers and technology providers work toward app development, we could finally see the beginning of the end of paper catalogs. Face to face selling could be enriched with tools like the iPad as it can be used to demonstrate far more ideas and products than you can generally carry into a meeting with a client.
- Video - Service providers like VideoFarm are making serious headway in the world of video. Video makes sense. Promotional products are three dimensional and apparel items in particular lend themselves well to video. I recently went shopping for some cold weather running apparel and really appreciated the way Brooks used video to describe a simple garment. Video done like this is ideal when your clients are purchasing (in many cases) thousands of dollars worth of apparel. Video will drive sample costs down (for both suppliers and distributors) and has far reaching social marketing possibilities.
- Less Silos - Word has it that ASI is on the brink of announcing some major changes to some of their flagship products and services, in effect, eliminating silos and reducing separation that exists between platforms. These advances made by the industry giant in recent years have enabled salespeople to become more efficient and I expect ASI to continue their improvements. I see a time ahead where services will become easily integrated with one another in order to gain efficiencies.
- Real-Time Data - I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of inventory information on most supplier websites particularly given the fact that inventory levels have become such an issue this past year. Some of the best in the business provide real-time inventory data on their website. This not only eliminates one more phone call but it is fast becoming a key differentiator. One ideal solution (though I'm not sure how feasible this is) is for the major search products (ESP, Sage) to incorporate real-tme inventory sharing; if they don't list actual numbers, perhaps even a "green light" applied to each product, updated daily, that denotes sufficient levels of inventory (much easier said than done, no doubt).
- Social Selling - PostHelpers is a great start to making social selling a reality (I know, I know: it's an egregious offense to use "social" and "selling" in the same sentence but for brevity's sake, bear with me). I'm curious how many more services and solutions are integrating the world of social with their platforms, including vendor websites and easy linkability within networks. I can't quite get my head around what I'm suggesting here except to say that social has always been about communication and I expect to see more suppliers and service providers making social more adaptable to their services.
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Link Selling - I wonder if someone has or is currently in the process of creating a frame that overlays contact information or sharing options, much like the LinkedIn template (click on small image at right) or Diggbar. These weren't received well by the general public for reasons that may not matter to our industry and clientele (search, for example); the average distributor shares so many links to vendor products with their clients, it would be nice if there was some kind of overlay for contact information and sharability (maybe a simple templated/frame program exists out there and I haven't realized it yet, if you've seen it, please give me a shout). It's not an ideal innovation and certainly not new but link selling is one of the easiest ways to share information with clients.
When distributors select strategic vendor partners the vetting process involves people, product, service, pricing, sometimes distance (for shipping) and production times; technology is becoming a crucial factor as well. Suppliers who provide tools (video, for example) and provide as much information as possible via the web will become market leaders. If distributors don't select a vendor partner overtly because of the vendor's technology the market's demand will shape their preference. (Speed is the crux of the matter: faster answers, immediate information). ProTowels is one outstanding vendor who is doing tech well and SanMar has been a leader in real-time inventory data, I expect more suppliers to follow in their stead.
At a recent high profile industry event, I sat by someone who opined, "technology isn't a real issue for our industry, probably doesn't even belong in the top 25 issues". I was stunned. Technology represents big opportunities for both supplier and distributor: differentiation, stronger alliances, faster selling solutions and more. It is not merely an issue, it is the issue.
If you are attending the PPAI Expo and you want to:
- get more info on social, I'll be on Mark Graham's panel "Enhancing Supplier-Distributor Relations Using Social Media"
- dig into LinkedIn, I'll be doing ten minute one-on-one sessions demonstrating best practices and answering your questions, details for Monday's session are here, Tuesday's session, here
- experience social, there is a TweetUp being held Tuesday night, some of the brightest and most knowledgeable people in the industry whom I respect will be there
- tap into other promo personalities and their thoughts on the future of our industry, visit the PromoLabs booth for an interesting exhibit
- run (that's right, run - just in case you don't quite fill your walking quota on the show floor), me and a few friends are having a small 5k on Wednesday morning, we'll be running down the strip so if you are a glutton for punishment, email me to join us!
Safe travels fellow promo peeps, see you in the land of faux luxury and garish opulence.
