PPB November 2018

Creating memorable customer experiences, not just selling products or services, is a strategic marketing focus that’s been gaining ground within business-to-business and consumer companies for several years, and its popularity continues to rise. When a product or service is marketed through hands-on experiences that engage customers in a positive way it creates an emotional attachment for the brand. It’s also a powerful competitive advantage for the company. Standout examples in the promotional products industry are the education and networking events created by Toronto, Ontario-based business services software provider commonsku. PPB talked with the company’s chief platform officer about its one-day educational event, skucon, and its multi-day conference, skucamp. PPB skucon and skucamp are unique ‘unconference’ industry events. How are they similar, how do they differ and what is your strategy for each? Graham: skucon is our one-day conference held prior to the PPAI Expo that brings the commonsku community together for a day of inspiration, education and connections. Our singular focus is to ignite entrepreneurial thinking within the promotional products industry. skucon is an offline version of the vibrant online commonsku community, built for inspiring new ideas, in-person collaboration and connecting. In comparison, skucamp is a three- day conference that focuses on business planning for the year ahead. It takes place in the fall at a unique location each year. We have hosted skucamp in Palm Springs and New Orleans. A common theme that dominates all our events is creativity and entrepreneurship. PPB Who is your audience for these events and how is it different from other live industry events? Graham Our audience for skucon is any member of the commonsku community who wants to learn and grow. The skucamp audience is the business owner, management professional or anyone on the upswing of their career who is looking to think more strategically about their business or sales portfolio. When people describe skucon or skucamp in the context of other industry events, the common themes that usually come up are that our events attract a very entrepreneurial and creative demographic. FIVE MINUTES WITH Mark Graham commonsku In September, the second annual skucamp brought more than 130 business owners and salespeople together for two days in New Orleans. The energy and inspiration that transpired was electric, Graham says. quality. With the need for an increase in speed by decorators, the process needs to be stable, well-thought-out and tested. “Price is a race to the bottom. We are in business to make money but if you offer quality you’ll be a stronger company,” he says. “Anyone can print things for a nickel cheaper than you but if you have quality, no one can beat that. However you decide to instill quality in your process, do it.” Decorators shouldn’t sacrifice price for quality. Price is important to customers but what they really want is something that is worth their money. Quality will differentiate your shop from others that lack that kind of quality. You want to earn a reputation for having quality prints, quality inks, quality shirts and stellar customer service. If you aren’t selling online, start: E-commerce is vital for a decorated apparel shop to grow with the times. Millennials, especially, go straight to the internet when they are looking for decorated apparel. They want easy, fast and simple solutions to everyday needs. Your business can really grow with e-commerce and it’s something you should be ready for. “We’re in a transition period right now. We have venture capitalists coming into this industry and backing big companies. We have Amazon and others getting into the business with a lot of funding. We're on the verge of being disrupted and this industry is quickly moving to selling primarily online. That’s where all the money is going to be and if your shop doesn’t have a really good website, isn’t responsive and you can’t sell on a digital device, you’re in trouble.” | NOVEMBER 2018 | 71 THINK