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Going For Gold
2 0 1 5 P P A I AWA R D S
INNOVATE
42 •
PPB
• MARCH 2015
PPAI Technology
Awards
THESE WINNERS BROKE NEW ground in an
increasingly competitive digital marketplace with their inno-
vative and effective use of blogs, websites, apps and social
media and video content.
BLOGS
GOLD
ePromos Promotional Products
SILVER
SnugZ USA
BRONZE
AIA/Corporate Specialties LLC
BRONZE
AIA/Corporate Specialties LLC
HOW DO THEY
DO IT?
THERE’S NO HIGHER HONOR than being voted a
Supplier Star by distributor customers—except when a com-
pany wins the award year after year. A number of PPAI sup-
pliers have been awarded PPAI’s Supplier Star multiple times
in recent years.
PPB
talked to three of these winners to find
out how they provide the kind of service that consistently
deserves top recognition.
PPB
: HOW DO YOU EARN THIS PRAISE FROM YOUR
CUSTOMERS?
Supplier Star Winner, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
BRETT HERSH, PRESIDENT, ADMINTS & ZAGABOR:
“Our customers are 100 percent our priority. We are in the
‘yes’ business. Every day we try and exceed our customers’
expectations. Most of the time we simply do what we say we
are going to do, and that makes us look great. We are sur-
prised about this but it goes to show us that many suppliers
must not do what they say—therefore doing very basic
things makes us look good.”
Supplier Star Winner, 2012, 2014, 2015
KIM COLLINS, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, CROWN
PRODUCTS:
“Our customers know us as the ‘whatever it
takes’ company. It is the culture we have created at Crown
that has given validity to our tagline. Simply put, it is what
we do every day to make every experience a pleasant one
for our customer. Our determination and sense of urgency to
get the job done for them is what sets us apart from our
competition.”
Supplier Star Winner, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
JEREMY LOTT, VP SALES, MARKETING AND PUR-
CHASING, SANMAR:
“At the heart of what differentiates
SanMar is a set of core values that we refer to as our SanMar
Family Values. They include: be nice, passionately serve the
customer, make a difference, deliver quality, invest in each
other and do the right thing. For any company, the culture
and values are what truly separates them from others. We
find this to be especially true for a family business where that
sense of family is at the core of what we do every day.”
PPB
: WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE IT?
HERSH:
“It is built into our culture to take great care of our
customers and we try to thank them and let them know we
appreciate them every chance we get. Our team sends positive
emails from our customers to each other and it becomes conta-
gious. Competitors will come and go but no one can compete
with how we make our customers feel.”
COLLINS:
“Going beyond our customers’ expectations by
delivering stellar service, quality products, design and value.
Every Crown customer is the most important customer.”
LOTT:
“We focus on hiring people who share our values,
and train them really well to deliver quality and make a differ-
ence in all of their customer interactions. We find that by hiring
nice people who truly value serving the customer, we can
deliver the best customer service.”