The subject of product safety is a bit like being newly single and figuring out how to date again – it’s a difficult and complicated topic, and it can be messy and awkward. Most clients don’t want to know how the watch works, they just want to know what time it is. They sure as heck don’t want to think about customers getting injured, or perhaps even dying, as a result of using their products, and they definitely don’t want to consider, much less talk about, product recalls. See? Difficult, complicated, messy, and awkward. So, why bring up product safety when you don’t need to? It’s so much easier just to leave that thorny topic alone.
But, based on a new initiative from the Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), you may soon find that your clients and prospective clients care more about safety than you do. Founded in 2008 by 14 promotional products suppliers, QCA is the only non-profit focused specifically on helping suppliers in the promotional products industry deliver safe products. How did QCA come about? The “Founding 14” realized that the industry was pretty much the wild west when it came to product safety – there were simply no standards specific to promotional products. As a result, the organization spent the first eight years trying to educate the industry as to why it was important for suppliers to go through the rigorous process of earning their accreditation. (Disclosure: I was executive director of QCA for more than four of those years.)
Now, under the new direction of Tim Brown, executive director of operations, QCA is taking its message right to the end-user clients instead. “Like any industry, the customers typically drive change. Our goal for the next few years is to create end-buyer awareness by sharing how companies can protect themselves and the integrity of their brands through the use of promotional products. During the early years of QCA, a massive amount of time, resources, and energy was spent creating awareness within the industry and seeking to gain acceptance. For some suppliers, QCA’s message about promotional product safety resonated, they understood the importance of product safety for both the brands that were their customers and the end-users, and they also understood the competitive advantage that QCA certification provided their companies. They stepped up, invested in the process, and at the end, they they had a differentiator and a market advantage.”
Speaking from experience, suppliers faced a challenge in recognizing the return on that investment – not only the expense, but the time dedication it required from their staff. Says Brown, “The primary barrier was awareness. Most distributors were not comfortable addressing the topic of compliance with end-buyers. And, except for rare instances, end-buyers had no idea what QCA was, what it was about, or the value of its application to their brand.”
QCA is a supplier organization, but has the cooperation of the group of distributors in its Distributor Advocacy Council. “While there are non-accredited suppliers in the industry that are doing a very good job with their compliance programs, what end-buyers are beginning to realize is that requesting or requiring the use of accredited suppliers actually simplifies their jobs, while at the same time increasing the level of brand protection. We have provided the DAC with new marketing materials that their sales reps can use to communicate the message. These materials are designed to help to communicate, in concise manner, the concern and the solution and, most importantly, the collateral opens the door for the conversation. Through our messaging and training the DAC’s end-buyers are able to see the value of QCA Accreditation and how it provides enhanced protection for their brands.”
Out with the old, in with the new. There is a good chance that moving forward your clients may soon show new interest in product safety. “By going directly to end-buyers with a grass roots, personal approach, we have found them extremely receptive,” says Brown. “We are seeing an increase in the interest from them and an eagerness to learn more about how they can protect their brands. We are engaging with other organizations and non-profits with similar missions to see where we can deliver shared messages to increase awareness. Contrary to popular belief, the end-buyers are appreciative and these conversations are not scaring them away from the medium. Instead of continuing to try and convince the industry, from within, that responsible sourcing is in the best interest of everyone, we are going to let the end-buyers drive it down from the outside. After all, they are the ones with the most at stake.”
Speaking of “in with the new,” the CPSC has kicked off a cool new program (can you say “cool” and “CPSC” in the same sentence?) called the “Consumer Protection Safety All-Stars.” It’s a program designed for kids in grades 3-7 for them to learn how products are determined to be hazardous, if a product has been recalled, and how to use what they have learned to teach their family about consumer product safety. Nothing like starting them young when it comes to product safety.
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for more than 35 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He recently retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. As a recovering end-user client, he can’t help but continue to consult Fortune 500 consumer brands on promo product safety when asked. You can also find him working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.