SnapDragon Associates

Strategic Promotional Marketing Can Help Increase Sales
Written by Mike Petrocelli, owner of Petrocelli Marketing Group
In the vast realm of marketing there is one focus area that has the greatest impact on the street, and goes hand in hand with “word of mouth” advertising. It is guerilla marketing at its finest and the R.O.I. is tough to beat! Your current customers are your greatest asset, and it is time to brand them, and their surroundings! Get them talking about you. If you give them a way to open a discussion about your products and services, you will have empowered them to use word of mouth advertising in your favor. The most powerful way to launch a successful word of mouth campaign is through promotional branding. The investment is well worth it. Promotional products are the only forms of advertising that allow you to give back to your customer while benefitting your company as you brand the promotional vehicle you give out! They create goodwill and are very useful to the recipient and therefore giving a reason to initiate a conversation about your company and the goodwill they received!
Popular Strategic Promotional Marketing Focus Areas:
Let’s take a look at how to take advantage of them in the best way. To be successful at it you need to look at these items in a different light. In this fiercely competitive environment you need to keep your brand “top of mind” and you do this by putting your logo and information in front of your prospects and customers on many levels. Think about how many different branding opportunities there are to stay in front of them. Some high profile areas are:
1) At their desk and in their office -binders, pads of paper, calendars, drinkware, mousepads.
2) On them (as apparel)– outer wear, hats, gloves, shirts, performance wear, sunglasses.
3) In their vehicles – sunglass holders, anti slip pads, drinkware, pads of paper.
4) Signs – danger flags, co-op branded magnetic signs and yard signs.
5) At home – barbeque sets, jar openers, cutting boards, coolers and thermoses
6) Safety – shirts, safety glasses, hats,
7) Recreation – Beachballs, Koozies, fishing lures, stress relievers, games of all types, etc.
8) Direct Mail Inserts - Significantly increase your direct mail openings and create “lumpy mail” that WILL get opened.
Determine your budget and Volume:
There are several factors to keep in mind as you devise the best approach to your promotional campaign. The first is to determine the focus of your campaign. You can choose a promotional route, which uses less expensive items, or one of many incentive approaches involving sales volume in particular categories that you dictate.
The promotional level involves a multi-tiered approach that uses items like pencils and rulers and smaller useful items to create goodwill on a promotional level. Identify key factors like your colors, or styles like contemporary, traditional, or eco friendly to identify with your theme. The key is not to skimp on quality. Just like the tools your best customers use to get the job done right, don’t give out subpar branded items. It’s better to buy less and get fewer numbers so you can give out a better product. The items will be kept longer, and impress your logo upon the recipient longer with a better quality item. Allow your sales force to give you feedback on what they see on the streets as well. Chances are your competition is using some form of promotional level branding as handouts, so it’s best not to come in after them with the “same” item and look silly giving out a similar item. It helps a salesperson break the ice to be able to offer something with your logo on it as they show up on a job site. There’s something about giving even the smallest item away that breaks the ice in a prospecting opportunity.
Another level is for those that spend large amounts with you. These are your bread and butter customers that you want to know that they are appreciated. These are the ones you want talking about you where ever they go. Your customers will wear a nice jacket with your logo on it all over town, which will be seen by other countless prospects and customers. When others see a respected builder in the area wearing your logo, many times just the presence of a branded item like this speaks for itself and does the talking for you. If you feel funny randomly giving out these things, offer a product incentive for customers to buy a higher end item through you instead of your competition, and give out a nicer, branded gift. Even ask your supplier to kick in funds for the special promotion you are trying to initiate. You’ll be amazed at how some of the suppliers will partner with you to move product during these times.
Effective Promotional Product Concentration:
Where do you want your brand to initiate conversation? Some of the top areas are 1. Apparel (on the person via screenprinted or embroidered items), 2. Drinkware – our coffee loving society provides a walking billboard as your logo is carried around on a plethora of styles including tumblers, ceramics, and hydration bottles. You’re providing for a need in the field by giving very useful items for everyday use. 3. Writing instruments – Pencils are used more than pens in our industry in the field. Pens are inexpensive and mini billboards that provide multiple impressions of your logo daily. Pick a great pen that becomes their favorite. Choose the right style to convey your message. 4. Bags – buy a certain amount of reusable bags that customer will take to the grocery store and advertise for you. There are several polypropylene bags that provide large imprint areas for you to brand. Once again, you can ask some of your suppliers if they will co-op the advertising space and share the cost with you. It helps all parties involved to publicize your logos to the local public. 5. Hats – Both ball cap styles and winter skull caps are very popular and right in the forefront as people travel daily. The categories are endless and there is an answer for virtually any theme you want to brand for. Consult a professional who can help you sift through the astronomical number of choices to save yourself valuable time.
Don’t skimp on low quality items:
Even if the item is a lower cost item, quality always trumps quantity…The quality of the items you brand is important. It is better to cut back the number of pieces in order to spend more on high quality than it is to go with cheaper products. There is a term called “impressions” in the advertising world which is calculated as the number of times in a given day that your branded item is seen by your focal group. If you side on quality then the recipients will use your branded item more frequently and therefore giving you much greater exposure to the world. Create an incentive for your customers to “earn” higher ticket items. You want your best customers to have more reason to use items with your brand on them. How many times have you seen contractors come in your office, store, or yard with a competitor’s shirt on? It’s a bit embarrassing and is literally the only way a competitor could ever advertise in your place of business! If you give out the “best shirt” in the region then you can rest assured they will choose yours over theirs.

Stories from the front lines:
Years ago, I was a distributor rep for a wholesale hardwood floor supplier , I saw firsthand the battle for promotional real estate both in the yards as well as between wholesale suppliers. It was a very real battle that played itself out in some comical yet strategic ways. “The battle of the calendar wars” was a very real scenario that played out every year around November of every one of my 11 years in the industry! Whoever could get their calendar out and up on the buyers wall first, won the battle, and I remember one year being behind my competition for an entire day as we raced to area yards to be the first! Also the “paper pad war” was another battle to gain “top of desk” real estate. I can’t tell you how many stacks of paper pads I dropped on buyers desks to stay “top of mind”. As crazy as it were, many buyers referred to the pads assuring me that I was the call they made because my info was in front of them day in and day out. Those pads were worth every penny! Finally the “Holiday food fights” were the grand finale of each year as the end of year gifts were chosen to thank those who were loyal buyers through the year. It was tough to beat the pile of assorted chocolates we gave out every year to those deserving buyers! I can still remember sharing some of those delicacies with my friends (various buyers) who shared in my livelihood in this great industry. I believed so much in these products that I now spend my day seeking the next great idea to help you brand your logo to the greatest industry in the world!
There are over 650,000 products available for branding and more being added each day. Please call our office to discuss the best option for your promotional needs. Mike Petrocelli, owner of Petrocelli Marketing Group can be reached at 800-264-4294 or at mp@petrocellimkt.com for a free consultation.

Veterans Day

President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919 by saying, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with lots of pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations." Below are some quotes to help us reflect on Veteran’s Day as we honor the men and women who sacrificed so much for our freedom.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F Kennedy
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." - Elmer Davis
"When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?" -George Canning
"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." -G.K. Chesterton
"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." - Cynthia Ozick
As a way to say thank you to our veterans, SnapDragon Associates will extend our guarantee period for a full year to any client who hires a veteran in the month of November. We thank our veterans and their families as we are reminded that freedom is not free.

Lauren Powers Joins SnapDragon Team

Welcome Lauren Powers!



Lauren Powers comes to SnapDragon after more than 9 years of IT recruiting for national corporations as well as regional companies. Known for her high energy and drive she is someone whom clients rely on to deliver excellent results in a quick turnaround time. Lauren prides herself on having a high level of integrity and empathy towards those she works with. She specializes in start-up to Fortune 500 companies with a focus in manufacturing, supply chain, web, mobile and emerging technology companies. Functional areas of expertise include: Executive level, Software Engineers/Architects, Product/Project Management, Infrastructure. Lauren is a gourmet cook who loves to prepare meals for large get-togethers of family and friends. Lauren received her Bachelor Degree in Business Management from Northeastern University and is currently working on her MBA at Southern New Hampshire University.

PRESS RELEASE: John Brill joins SnapDragon Associates, LLC
[June 24, 2011]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bedford, NH SnapDragon Associates, LLC is proud to announce and welcomes John Brill to its team as an Executive Recruiter.
John is a true veteran of the Lumber and Building Materials business having spent over 23 years at the Northeastern Lumber Association (NRLA) and another 10 in the successful placement of executives in the industry throughout the country. After a successful career as a human resource executive for such corporations as Westinghouse, Bausch and Lomb and the University of Rochester, John joined the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association starting out as a training director and moving up to business manager of the Lumber Co-operator, director of benefit plans and then finally served as President from 1985 to 2001. During Brill’s tenure s President the Association moved its headquarters from Rochester, N.Y. to Albany, N.Y. Shortly after retiring from the NRLA, Mr. Brill joined Lee Resources in their Lumbersearch Division as an Executive Recruiter focusing on retail and wholesale management and sales employees. Mr. Brill lives in Western N.Y. near Rochester with his wife Lynda.
“We are pleased to have John on board and a part of our team. John’s contacts in the industry are excellent and he is considered a true professional by his colleagues.” said Mark Barnard, Co-Founder of SnapDragon. “When we first met with John, we both immediately saw a benefit of combining our efforts in the building materials industry. It’s a win-win for both parties and John will help us continue our history of being the industry’s première recruiting and consulting firm.”
John Brill can be reached at 603-621-9037 Ext 6 or 585-905-1380
E-mail: john@snapdragonassociates.com

Words you choose…

Last week, I was having coffee with a client who had interviewed a potential salesperson for a newly created role within the organization. The client is the type of person you warm up to quickly and feel comfortable to speak with. He purposely tries to get the candidate comfortable to gain an idea of how they handle themselves in typical sales situations. During the interview the potential salesperson referred to the client’s current distributor as a “bunch of a-holes” and immediately dismissed himself as someone the client would have represent the company. We need to remember that during an interview, our words we use are as important as wearing a tie, being prepared and on time. At no time should we refer to a hiring manager’s customers in a derogatory term as it ultimately is slapping the face of the company you are trying to go to work for. The distributor may indeed be less than desirable but don’t get so comfortable in your own skin to point out blemishes in others during an interview. Your opinions should be kept in context to what is being asked and clear of negative commentary about a customer, former employer or anyone for that matter. In a market with few jobs and few opportunities, the interviewing candidate must market him/herself as being the best as companies are looking for the best and most talented staff.

Welcome Kammey Grierson!

As anyone in the Building Materials/Construction Industry will tell you, 2009 and 2010 have been tough years. It became obvious to the Founders of SnapDragon that the best use of our talents were in business development and hands on consulting with our clients.

Like so many of our clients, we found certain members of our team were convinced that the business climate was poor and saw no need to market our services to new, current or past clients. When we did our year end reviews, we discovered shortfalls in all communications (phone, e-mail and face to face). Our question: How on earth can you sell when you don’t try to reach out to your customers? Surprisingly we were told “no one is hiring” and it was easier to just e-mail them rather than call. Speaking with many of our clients, they too have experienced a lack of effort from their sales forces.

We completely disagreed with this notion and took it upon ourselves to restructure our firm, remove all lack luster performers and are now adding to the team by hiring people with positive outlooks and the necessary competitive drive to reach our goals. In less than 2 months the firm’s billing has been nothing less than phenomenal and at the current pace we are on track to more than quadruple our sales in 2011.

As an industry, we cannot allow our sales people to drag us down and it is a mistake for managers to allow mediocre results. The time is now to challenge our teams and ourselves and take charge of our businesses and push for results. There is some exceptional talent available and we can advise all companies take advantage of this for the future growth of our industry.

With that said, SnapDragon Associates announces the hiring of Kammey Grierson in the role of Business Manager. In this newly created role, Ms. Grierson will oversee the day to day operations of the firm including Team Development and Management, Database, Marketing, Finance and HR.

Kammey represents the basis from where we will begin this new era of growth in concert with the improving economy. She comes to us with more than 10 years of successful staffing, consulting and business management experience. She is driven to succeed and client centric in her work. Kammey attended Johnson and Wales University as a Business Development and Marketing major and lives in Manchester, NH.

2010 presented our industry with many challenges and it is hoped that the worst is behind us. One market segment which has really come on strong over the last 2 quarters of the year and is forecast to continue its rebound is the small builder/remodeling contractor. While the Large builders continue to remain stagnant, the small builder/remodeler market is picking up steam and growing. With mortgage rates still low, despite recent gains, there are a lot of people refinancing their homes and doing the fix ups they had previously put off. This market is potentially the LBM industry’s best option for the new year and many companies both Retail and One Step are strengthening their sales staff to capture as much of the market as possible.

The movement for building stronger teams is still going strong and we are coaching job seekers every day to market their strengths and accomplishments in their presentations. In a market where some of the industry’s top talent is available, the most aggressive companies are taking advantage of things and hiring top guns for future growth.

We are seeing a lot of movement in the wholesale ranks which should make for an interesting spring. Here in New England the wholesale landscape is changing much like major league baseball teams with top players changing teams and uniforms to play the same sales game in the same playing field. We are recommending to our clients to bring a notebook to the NRLA show to keep track of who is with who now.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Successful New Year!

The SnapDragon Team of Recruiters!

2010 presented our industry with many challenges and it is hoped that the worst is behind us. One market segment which has really come on strong over the last 2 quarters of the year and is forecast to continue its rebound is the small builder/remodeling contractor. While the Large builders continue to remain stagnant, the small builder/remodeler market is picking up steam and growing. With mortgage rates still low, despite recent gains, there are a lot of people refinancing their homes and doing the fix ups they had previously put off. This market is potentially the LBM industry’s best option for the new year and many companies both Retail and One Step are strengthening their sales staff to capture as much of the market as possible.

The movement for building stronger teams is still going strong and we are coaching job seekers every day to market their strengths and accomplishments in their presentations. In a market where some of the industry’s top talent is available, the most aggressive companies are taking advantage of things and hiring top guns for future growth.

We are seeing a lot of movement in the wholesale ranks which should make for an interesting spring. Here in New England the wholesale landscape is changing much like major league baseball teams with top players changing teams and uniforms to play the same sales game in the same playing field. We are recommending to our clients to bring a notebook to the NRLA show to keep track of who is with who now.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Successful New Year!

The SnapDragon Team of Recruiters!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends, clients and candidates. Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Holiday with your Family and Friends!

The team at SnapDragon Associates!