Recently BPMA surveyed a group of marketeers in regards to the promotional sourcing sector and the results were very interesting. 30 different merchandising companies were contacted. These marketeers said there was no difference in response or how enquiries are handled across small-medium enterprises and public limited companies. Enquiries and service levels seemed similar across all responses and no one offered face-to-face meeting!
4 points that stood out to us here throughout the report were:
– 0 % made reference to compliance
– 32 % said there was a ‘lack of creativity’
– 58 % said it was hard to find something different
– 72% were unhappy with the quality of merchandise supplied or it did not match their requirements
Innovation, sustainability and compliance are three values that are of paramount importance to us here at The Sourcing Team. We believe that all products should be compliant, which means conforming to the requirements of the law to enable us to protect you from any misuse or harm from the items provided. Another issue was that marketeers didn’t really know what compliance meant, as 8 out of 10 when questioned mentioned that they ‘need to ensure products and suppliers are compliant’, but could not elaborate.
Here at The Sourcing Team, we believe creativity and innovation is key. Fundamentally we specialise in bespoke products/campaigns making sure that any item you order fits your company ethos and personality. If you give us the means to do so, we will come up with the most creative cost-effective way to promote your company or set up a promotional campaign.
In regards to finding something different, our approach comes from a sustainability standpoint helping to separate us from the competition. In providing you with an alternative that will have a more considered approach with better impact and respect for the world we live in. Here at The Sourcing Team these values are shown and delivered on a daily basis.
Other figures given:
– 64% of enquiries on email were not responded to
– 56% received formal quotation others were just email prices
– 32% did not provide total cost
– 38% did not mention delivery charge
– 53% did not specify delivery time
– 55% were not asked how they were using the product
– 39% were offered better alternative
– 78% were not contacted after quote was sent
Again, customer service is vital to the success of our business, aiming to be as transparent, and authentic with the customer as possible. We aim to offer an experience customer by exceeding their expectations. A good experience encourages our customers to come back again and again or even to share their great experience with colleagues by referrals.
Customer feedback, good, bad or indifferent is a vital piece and we welcome it – we have a Customer Service Manager – Debbie Millis who spends time chatting to clients about how they found the experience and working with our team. Our goal is to constantly review and improve the customer experience.
Scroll down to see our previous post on customer satisfaction.
