Marketing and Sales

Strategic and thoughtful campaigns can provide big pay-offs Marketing products and services within the forms industry is not something distributors take lightly. Rather, it is a major business component that serves as a distributor's lifeline to success. It is, in fact, a form of communication—allowing distributors to not only present ideas and solutions to current and potential clients, but also to build and maintain relationships. With that said, no price is too high when it comes to strategic marketing campaigns. Spending upwards of $3 million on creative sales, business development, marketing support, advertising, direct mail, public relations and the occasional community event, Cleveland-based

Close working relationships between distributors and manufacturers can improve sales for both. Selling solutions involves more than just finding the right form in a catalog. These days, it often requires teamwork, with the distributor involving experts in software, production equipment and technology—all from a manufacturing partner. But it doesn't have to stop there. Today, manufacturers also provide printed marketing collateral, product education, plant tours and joint sales calls to boost marketing efforts. For instance, Highland Computer Forms, Hillsboro, Ohio, offers sample packs and welcomes distributors and their customers on plant tours. "It provides an additional level of comfort if they see

Knowledge, flexibility and a measure of skill will produce results in the manufacturing market By Maggie DeWitt Faisal Ahmad, president of Dallas-based USFI believes you have two choices in life, to be either or-dinary or extraordinary—and the skill involved in servicing the manufacturing market necessitates distributors be members of the latter group. Designing manufacturing solutions is a research project involving extensive fact-finding missions and experiments with materials and samples before discovering the correct application, said Ahmad. He added that regardless of whether it's a form, tag or label, "the distributor must go in as a consultant, and walk out as a supplier." And

With the right approach, restaurants and hotels can be cornucopias of opportunity By Misty Byers Distributors in search of a piece of a rapidly-growing and profitable pie could do a lot worse than the hospitality market. According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants will reap nearly $342 billion in commercial sales this year—an increase of more than $37 billion since 1990. Add to this the $93.1 billion generated by the lodging industry, as reported by the American Hotel & Motel Association, and the opportunities for distributors of printed products seem virtually limitless. But it's not always the gravy train some may expect. Industry

When marketing business forms, working smarter—not harder— is a valuable philosophy By Sharon R. Cole Marketing products need not be a one-man show for distributors trying to propel sales. Manufacturers offer techniques that make the marketing game a win-win situation for everyone involved and, according to Bob McAleavey, general manager, Specialized Printed Forms, Caledonia, N.Y., most manufacturers prefer to help distributors. "It's a two-way street in this business. If a distributor is trying to increase sales on a product that we're manufacturing, then sign me up!" said McAleavey. Conducting joint sales calls, working the trade show circuit and printing direct mail campaigns are a few ways Specialized Printed Forms

Distributors find ample opportunity in the transportation industry By Jamie Heckelman When Greg Marks, a senior account manager with Phoenix-based Intraform, approached the forms department of one of the country's largest publicly-traded transportation companies a year and a half ago, he encountered flat-out rejection. "They said they would never give their forms and label business to a distributor," Marks recalled, explaining that the company, Swift Transportation, had been purchasing all of its forms and labels from a major direct. "We said, ‘Yes you will.' And today, we have a great relationship." In fact, Marks firmly believes that the transportation industry offers great opportunities for forms distributors. "If I

Schools can be a loyal and lucrative niche for distributors By Janet R. Gross Unlike other customers of distributors, schools and universities generally donÍt go out of business and mergers are a rarity. Because of the turmoil in other industries, continuing and lifelong education is practically a necessity„making education a growthmarket for the savvy distributor. ñItÍs a good vertical market,î noted Kris Bilyeu, CFC, vice president of sales at Tabco Business Forms in Terre Haute, Ind. The $6 million distributorship deals with dozens of individual schools and at least eight universities and community colleges, providing everything from stock paper, letterhead, report cards and transcripts to promotional items,

Your customers talk candidly about products, services and expectations By Barbara Bucci Your customers are a lot like you. They need to make a living. They have deadlines to meet. No matter what service or product they buy, they need and expect to be heard by their service providers. End-users discussed their concerns and the products and services they receive through distributors. Their observations can be applied to three categories: knowledge, service and business behavior. Know Your Stuff We all know how quickly technology is changing and how quickly clients are changing to adapt to it. The Business Forms Management Association (BFMA) offers