"Paper Products: Leave A Paper Trail"

By Charlotte Thomas
Advantages: 2004DECEMBER

Paper products permeate just about every industry, which means that small hair salons to corporate giants use paper products of some kind. If you want to get lyrical about it, paper products might look plain jane on the surface, but a simple flat piece of paper can become a beautiful swan after a little bit of tweaking and origami folding. The lesson? Distributors often overlook paper products, much to the detriment of sales opportunities.

Don't Leave Money On The Table

Don't look at this niche and think ho-hum paper. In reality, it's full of potential. "If distributors don't present paper products, they're leaving money on the table," says Severine Chriqui, marketing director for Minimedia International Inc. (asi/71475). She points out that if you want to talk price points and value-added, notepads are one of the most inexpensive ways of putting a logo on something that end users will keep around on their desks, in the car, on the kitchen counter or stuck up on the refrigerator. When was the last time you reached for your laptop when you needed to jot down something on the run?

Every company uses some kind of paper product like presentation folders, letterhead, Rolodex cards and envelopes, so why not promote the fact that you have the resources and become that "one source" for their promotional items and paper products, suggests Dave Spangenberg, director of sales and marketing, wholesale, at Carlson Craft Business Solutions (asi/43920). For instance, most companies already purchase holiday cards from someone, which means all distributors have a reason to call a prospective customer. Why let the local printer down the corner get the business when you can supply cards and a host of other paper items?

"If I was a distributor," says Phil Sharkey, director of sales and marketing at Sorg's Paper Place (asi/88200), which supplies paper cups, plates and napkins, "I'd find out what a company does. Do they have a sales force? Do they hold sales seminars? Do they have a lunch room or cafeteria?" With that kind of information in hand, Sharkey would visit the offices to drop off a stack of paper napkins or a sleeve with 50 paper cups imprinted with the company's logo. At the same time, he says, distributors could then approach the promotional product buyer with all the other possibilities in their catalogs. Have you wondered how to get into all those auto dealerships in town? Well, think about their waiting areas with the coffeemaker. Then think about the impact the end user would get from a stack of paper cups that cost pennies imprinted with the dealer's logo. A sample stack should send the message loud and clear, as it would to any business with a crowd of coffee drinkers.

Not Just The Usual Suspects

"There's a misconception that our paper products are only directly related to restaurants and bars," says Sharkey. "But it's less than 10% of what we print." For instance, banks are a huge user of paper napkins, which they'll have imprinted and use for community events, chamber of commerce shindigs, and local little league banquets. Sharkey rattles off a whole list of ideas that can take advantage of the low price points of paper napkins, cups and plates, like a lawyer's office celebrating a new partner or art gallery openings and awards dinners, which are another big area to mine for business.

As Sharkey points out, people eat and drink, whether it's a grand opening, a sales meeting or themed event. Lots of companies conduct lunch-and-learn sales training events so an end-user can feed 20 people and reinforce a message at the same time. No wonder Sharkey quips that the paper products they sell are "in your face." Sorg's has done this kind of promotion for many pharmaceutical companies, combining cups, plates, and napkin ensembles along with a sales kit in a master poly-bag, which gets distributed to the sales force. "We're also seeing a huge trend in hospitality kits," he says. They'll take plates and cutlery, placemats and table covers and mix and match items to suit a distributor's needs. "Having custom packaging like this opens the door to many different avenues for the end-user," he adds.

And to make the deal even sweeter, you've got repeat business handed to you on the plate. "Paper products are consumable, so people order them over and over," says Michael Benton, CEO of Duffie Graphics Inc. (asi/50910). Realtors are a huge market for their magnetic refrigerator pads. Car dealers also load up on these hand-outs, as do heating and air-conditioning companies. The fact that they can be mailed in a #7 envelope makes them especially attractive to small businesses, such as locally owned motels, resorts and condos that want to advertise their monthly or weekly rental deals. The notepads have a place where clients can attach their business cards. End users will have a name right in front of them when the furnace breaks down or they want to remember the name of that cozy motel they stayed at last year.

Obvious Add-Ons

Michele Pulaski, promotional products coordinator at Regency Thermographers (asi/81500), predicts success for distributors who are working with corporate event planners. Golf outings are an effective way to get in the door. After going through the golf balls and T-shirts, you can then pitch the idea of providing for all the paper needs for the event. "We've done some phenomenal, upscale golf programs," she says, recalling how one savvy distributor got more than just a hole-in-one by providing a golf outing program booklet that relayed the importance of the event to the participants. In addition, the distributor went on to provide all the other items surrounding the golf banquet dinner, down to the menus and place cards.

As far as other corporate events, such as fundraising galas or recognition ceremonies, Pulaski asks, "You're already talking with them, so why not ask, 'Who do you get your stationery from?'"

If you're still not sure how to go about rooting out the business in paper products, Chriqui says they have a free set of pamphlets for distributors that show how their products have been used in many different industries. Not only is it an idea generator, but there's a space on the back so that distributors can put on a stamp or sticker with their names and give them to end users.

But take note, paper products aren't just used to write on or eat or drink from. This niche includes paper bags and if you want to load up some sales, paper bags will do it. "We've come a long way from the brown, craft paper bag," says Blaine Wiltey, national sales director for the Noteworthy Company (asi/74360). This is a part of the paper products niche that can go just about anywhere. Think of all the small retail shops that want to look like upscale boutiques. They can, with a shiny-stock and high-impact foil imprinted bag to suit the size and scope of their merchandise. "This gives mom-and-pop stores the opportunity to make a lower investment," says Wiltey. They've also seen distributors make big inroads into the travel industry with colorful bags that welcome travelers onto cruise ships, as well as with political campaigns.

Aside from bags, coloring books and book covers are going gangbusters. Noteworthy has a series of covers and coloring books, many of which revolve around safety concerns like fire prevention. Distributors can cover the school and university market with this product line or target a specific market like healthcare with a coloring book, bag and book cover. Credit unions, fast food chains, fire and police departments are great markets to target with the safety messages in the coloring books and book covers, like saying no to drugs or promoting summer safety. They even have stock designs in Spanish and offer crayons too. "It's one of our fastest selling items," says Wiltey.

One unique way he's seen their bags used was for a healthcare firm which gave patients a bag to use for their clothing and personal items while they were evaluated. It's no surprise that custom is a big trend. Over the last five years, Noteworthy has seen customers go from wanting 80% stock graphics to 80% custom, even for orders that come in with a quick return.

Speaking of speed, Pulaski says that ordering online has caught on big time. For three to four years, Regency Thermographers has offered a service to distributors who, after signing up, could send their clients to browse at their leisure. Clients have found they like the ease of this service, in which they can get samples and see how their logo fits on any particular item.

So think about offering paper products either alone or as add-ons, noting low investment, ease of service and customization capabilities and orders should be in the bag.

Charlotte Thomas is a contributing writer for Advantages

Used with permission of The Advertising Specialty Institute copyright 2005