PPB May 2020

Take this time to improve your infrastructure, workflows and workspace. Work on your future email and Google ad campaigns. Work on your website, draw up specific sales actions you’ll be taking once this thing runs its course. Sales are in dormant mode right now, with no real activity as we hunker down and ride this out. My opinion is that you should be using this time to detail specific action plans to come roaring out of the gate when things start to spin back up again. SCOTT CAPPEL, MAS President Sorrento Mesa Promo San Diego, California PPAI 609965, D1 Planning Ahead For Disruption With supplier businesses affected by economic slow- down and business closures, remaining forward-focused seems to be the way through. Q A SUPPLIER ASKS: I’d like to share some thoughts from a supplier’s viewpoint. Thankfully, we are open, but we have that troubling fear every day—will we be open tomorrow? We are obviously taking precautions and those who can work remotely at this point are, as I truly want to minimize any loss of productivity. We have adopted a sort of rush policy to try to get orders out the same or next day, if possible, because of this fear. While that seems good, it does stress our workflow and sometimes stresses us. I’m curious to hear from others on both sides of the table, not about your official practices, but what’s going on in your head and what things you have changed daily because of this. Note: This question and responses were current as of March 19. They reflect the situation at that time. I bring home checkbooks and stamps, so if I need to stay home, I’ll still be able to pay bills. It sounds silly, but that’s what I mean. GAVRIEL SOLTAN Owner Magnets in Print Lakewood, New Jersey PPAI 587500, S1 Things are a little quieter here at Suntex, as well. We have all our employees, production and office staff working at our facility. We also wonder whether it will be this way tomorrow. We are taking things day by day, but we also understand that we may have to make some decisions. We are currently promoting USA-made items and decoration methods—something we produce in-house to keep from going overseas. GWEN KELLY Sales and marketing administrator Suntex Industries Winston-Salem, North Carolina PPAI 113094, S5 Things are quiet here. A few quotes and small orders but with the uncertainty of when this will end or when restrictions will be lifted, I think everyone is hesitant. I do have forward-thinking clients that are preparing for June and July, but most are just concerned with what this means for their businesses and how to keep revenue coming in. It is giving me the opportunity to work on marketing my business, which has sometimes taken a backseat. It is allowing me some time to take care of personal obligations without looming deadlines and event dates. I also had an excellent January and February, which is rare for me. DAWN LOIACONO NAKASH Chief operating and administrative officer Daybreak Marketing Services, LLC Raleigh, North Carolina I’m trying to take as many precautions as I can while planning for the future. I’m also trying to keep as close to a normal day as possible. Keep control over those things that you can and those you can’t, let go. WALTER KURT, MAS President Three K Consultants, Inc. Houston, Texas PPAI 260216, D2 Same fears and we’re doing the exact same thing in regards to processing orders as soon as possible and clearing the deck quickly. The uncertainty is tough, but my head is in the worst-case scenario and planning on a contingency to still continue production as much as possible even during a shutdown. I’m building out secondary production sites frommultiple residences to use in a pinch, if needed. While a good chunk of business is dead right now, we have seen an increase in certain sectors and we’re trying to stay available for them. JOSH ROBBINS Co-owner Vault Promotions Henderson, Tennessee PPAI 547406, S3 Danielle Renda is associate editor of PPB. | MAY 2020 | 13 INNOVATE