Once you have selected the right Promo Consultant, you need to commit to working with them as you would any full-time team member. This is a partnership; while they are your supplier, they are also a confidante and valuable member of your innovation strategies.
Be careful that you might get the ideas you deserve. This might seem forthright, but I am amazed at how many clients are adamant they know what is a great idea or not. Remember the promotion consultant does this for a living – they attend international trade shows and seminars, receive daily blasts from around the globe on the latest products, are up-to-date on not only the latest ideas but also have years of experience in what has worked for multitudes of companies in a vast array of industries. The best ideas are normally a cross-pollination from both parties.
Be careful of putting too many layers between the Marketing Manager (or decision maker) and the promo products consultant – this leads to loss of time, quick-fix recommendations, and often misguided product recommendations. Communication should be from expert to expert. It’s fine to have an intermediary (assistant, marketing coordinator, etc) for the day-to-day stuff; just make sure there is regular communication between the decision-maker and the promo consultant.
Be careful of “squeezing” in a meeting with your promo consultant. One of the issues we often face from our side is that we are the last cab off the rank. When pushed for quick results (ideas), the ideation phase is stifled for the sake of immediacy. Great ideas often require trigger points created in person-to-person meeting.
Get the promo consultant in early – they should be part of the recipe not just the icing on the cake
“Require a quick answer, you’ll get a generic result” Matthew Bywater
Time on scoping is the most important time spent to get a great creative and innovative idea. Two questions I get all the time are: What is the best Promotional Product idea? What is the latest Promotional Product idea? In this situation, we can only give a quick idea or the latest product of the production line. “An answer without diagnosis is malpractice.”
Don’t Assume They Know All You Know
Rather than a quick brief to initiate an idea, think long-term education. The more you include your Promo Consultant, the greater ideas they can create. Think of it like drip feeding.
Tell them everything about your company, your industry, and your competitors. Include them in your e-marketing, mailouts, and new creative work for new or old products. Invite him to your product launches, and industry events. The more you put in, the more you will get out. You want the Promo Consultant to have an intimate knowledge of your products and industry.
Show or tell them about the previous promotional products that have and have not worked. This not only saves time going over old ground, but often there is some little gem in there that misfired due to execution, design, or a dozen other plausible reasons.
They do not need to be experts in your area (that is your job), but after a short period of time, they should have a good understanding of your industry which helps immensely when thinking of unique promotional products.
