Barry Roberts is a good friend and a fellow speaker. Several years ago he stated the following in one of his keynote addresses: “Knowledge without action is useless.” I live by those words.
I recently had the pleasure of attending a presentation given by PPAI's Tim Brown at a MiPPA Conference in Michigan. He discussed the very serious topic of product safety and how it relates to and affects our industry. PPAI is so serious about this matter it has mandated that suppliers who wish to advertise with them or exhibit at any of its shows, someone from the company must go through its four-hour product safety course. But, is that enough?
Last year I also attended the PPAI Product Safety Summit in Washington, D.C. and heard many speakers from across the country speak on various topics like child safety regulations, lithium batteries, electronics, state regulations, and more. It was quite an eye opener. And the regulations and restrictions can change from year to year. Are you in the loop?
As acting director of marketing for iPROMOTEu, I, along with my colleagues, realize that having and applying that knowledge does the following:
• Helps you protect your client’s brand.
• Helps protect your brand.
• Elevates your professionalism.
• Creates a significant point of differentiation between you and your competitors.
Like other companies, we have taken significant steps to get the word out and create educational platforms to understand all of the issues and ramifications.
Case in point: A friend of mine was approached by his top client, and when I say top, I mean huge who had requested he acquire some power banks my friend deemed unsafe because the supplier in question hadn’t had proper testing done on them, so he initially refused to order the product. From the client’s perspective, it was a matter of cost; from his perspective it was a matter of brand protection. Eventually my friend agreed to package the product with the other items they were kitting.
When the power banks arrived, they were placed in his warehouse and a few hours later they caught fire. The building was evacuated, the problem resolved, the damage was minimal and no one was hurt. Imagine if those products had landed on the client’s desk and that had happened – what a mess. Lesson learned. My friend now refuses to take inferior product in and repackage it.
There are some amazing suppliers in our industry, many of which are doing the right thing by acting on what they have learned. One supplier actually lists all of its testing documentation listed on its website. You needn’t guess or beg for the information; it’s right there, keeping you informed and helping you maintain the highest level of professionalism. There are others, too!
In addition to electronics, there can be concerns with apparel, particularly when it comes to youth garments. Federal law that states every youth garment must have a “printed” tracking label on the garment. It can be incorporated in the design or printed somewhere else of the product, but it must be there. Too many of my friends will contact me saying, “my screen printer says you don’t need this” or “my printer doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”
However, lack of knowledge doesn’t give one a hall pass not to do what is required. Some decorators take the matter very seriously. One marketing company told me her go-to printer has a complete separate area strictly for printing youth apparel – nothing else. Additionally, this decorator provides complete testing documentation of all inks, solvents and chemicals used in his operation to those who request it. Moving forward it’s becoming more and more of an issue.
I strongly urge you to take the time to educate yourself on this information. A great start would be navigate PPAI’s website at http://www.ppai.org/inside-ppai/corporate-responsibility/product-responsibility/product-safety-aware/. View the educational offerings and become Product Safety Aware. Take that knowledge, put it into action, doing so will elevate your brand, help protect your clients brand and create a significant point of differentiation for you among your competition.
Until next month, continued good selling!
For more than 30 years, Cliff has been speaking, training and consulting internationally to associations and national business groups on more effective ways to market themselves, their products and services, as well as motivating their personnel. Recognized by PPAI for his creativity, he has won the prestigious PPAI Pyramid award 25 times, and the Printing Industry's PSDA’s Peak Award for creativity five times in three years. He has also received PPAI's Ambassador Speaker of the Year Award six consecutive years and was the inaugural recipient of PPAI's Distinguished Service Award. Named one of top six industry speakers and trainers, he also was recognized by PPAI in the book, "PPAI at 100," as having a significant influence in education. He has also been recognized by Counselor Magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the Promotional Products Industry. You can engage with Cliff at http://www.myengagepage2.com/cliffquicksell.