74 / 134
FIVE MINUTES WITH
Lisa Terry
SanMar Communications Manager
72
|
DECEMBER 2016
|
THINK
Back To School
Suppliers spend every day getting up
close and personal with promotional
products, so when it comes to generating
ideas for how to use those products, this
segment of the industry can be a gold
mine for ideas. SanMar has mined its own
knowledge to create SanMar U, an online
sales ‘school’ to help distributor clients
make the most of the supplier’s apparel
offerings, and Communications Manager
Lisa Terry has been at the forefront of
getting SanMar U up and running.
PPB
What conversations or events
led to the development of SanMar U?
Who are your target audiences?
Terry
SanMar has been wanting to create
an educational website for customers
for a few years. The idea stemmed from
conversations with customers and their
need for shareable, easy-to-access
information about apparel, trends, product
education and decoration. SanMar
U is meant not only to help educate
those new to apparel but also to give
decorators and salespeople in the industry
the expert knowledge and inspiration
they need to best help their clients.
PPB
How did you begin promoting
SanMar U to your audiences and team,
and what has been the response so far?
Terry
We quietly launched SanMar U
this past spring through mailings and
emails to our customers. We have also
worked with our internal training team
to educate our own sales team about
how the site can help them and their
customers. So far, the response has
been great. People appreciate the variety
of content and the ease of sharing the
blog, videos, trend reports, webcasts and
case studies. They also appreciate that
we are developing content for both new
and seasoned people in our industry.
PPB
Have you made any adjustments or
modifications to the program, or are you
planning any changes, based on feedback?
Terry
SanMar U is definitely evolving.
We take the feedback we receive to heart
and are working to develop more content
as quickly as we can. Currently, we’re
working on expanding the information in
our Decoration section—look for more
videos, logo placement charts and more
for that. We’re also looking at the possibility
of creating courses for those who need to
train new staff. There’s a lot we want to do!
PPB
What resources (people or
otherwise) have you relied upon to
develop the content for SanMar U?
Terry
We rely a lot on the experts we
have here at SanMar. From our trend
experts and product designers to our
internal training and decorator relations
teams. It is definitely a team effort to
create content for the site. We are also
working with partners like Stahls’ ID to
help us cover their areas of expertise.
PPB
Are you aware of any other resources
in the industry like SanMar U?
Terry
To my knowledge, SanMar U is
unique in the industry. There are some
really good sites out there that speak to
certain decoration techniques and some
great publications that cover specific
aspects of the industry, but nothing
quite like SanMar U: a one-stop-shop
for apparel-related information.
PPB
If another supplier is interested in
following your lead to create education
resources for its clients, what best practices
or do’s and don’ts could you recommend?
Terry
The best thing you can do is talk
with your customers and ask them what
they want and start with that. You may
think that you know what your customers
need, but you may be surprised what you
find when you start talking with them—I
know that I was. The worst thing you
could do is hurry to create a resource
just to have one. Take the time necessary
to create something that both you and
your customers can be proud of.