Insights

Our 2022 "Women in Print and Promo" list highlights women of varying professional backgrounds — from sales representatives to CEOs. Their passion for empowering others, including the next generation of women, is just one of many things that unite them. We asked each of them to tell us about their experiences, what they’ve learned and where they find inspiration. Read on for their introspective takes...

This time last year, the print and promo industry seemed poised for an explosion of M&A activity as the business fallout from the pandemic became clearer. Did it happen? Plus, things to consider if you’re buying or selling...

Most virus restrictions have been lifted and business has returned, but the print and promo industry continues to grapple with the ongoing ripple effects of the pandemic: inflation, materials shortages, staffing challenges and more. We break down five big issues to watch for the rest of 2022...

Product prices are up across the board for 2022, in some cases greatly so. How can distributors protect their margins while keeping customers from moving on to the lowest bidder?...

If acquiring and retaining top talent is more critical than ever, it’s also more difficult. Employees now have most of the leverage, and the print and promo industry faced an uphill battle in attracting talent even before the pandemic. Industry companies need to step up their game if they want to keep valuable employees and bring in new ones…

The supply chain is making life hell for promo distributors and suppliers, leading to mounting frustration that’s costing time, money and jobs. As burnout sets in, it’s only adding to the supply chain mess. What can the industry do to stop it? And what happens if it doesn’t?...

The 2021 Top Suppliers List is a ranking of the print and promo industry’s biggest supplier companies by 2020 sales volume. This resource also includes the full results of the 2021 Supplier Excellence Awards, our 15th annual celebration of the industry’s best supplier companies…

Customer trust is one of the most important factors in a brand’s long-term success — and exceptional service is the way to earn it. If we think about it, we are all in customer service, simply doing our best to make clients feel heard, understood and supported. But, customer service representatives (CSRs) in the traditional sense typically are at the front line fielding the brunt of criticisms. Add to the mix a world-historical pandemic resulting in raw material shortages and port congestion, and suddenly “smiling with your voice” just got a lot harder.

Welcome to our first Top Distributors Resource under the Print+Promo Marketing brand! What a year it’s been. Last summer, as we strategized the messaging of our soon-to-be combined print resource, none of us could predict how the pandemic would affect the print and promo industry. To be fair, the only thing anyone could confirm was that “uncertainty is the only certainty."...

The gifting-as-a-service business model sounds squarely aimed at disrupting the traditional promotional products industry. But is it? The answer is complicated—and it might hold some surprising lessons for industry companies...