The promo industry has asked for years if distributors should expand beyond promotional products. If ever there was a time to consider this question, it has arrived. Never have organizations had a greater need for our industry’s unique capabilities: helping clients search through multiple ideas and solution providers in categories who can meet their ever-changing needs.

Tom Kronberger is the director of vendor relations for Fully Promoted (asi/384000) and executive advisor to the Brand Media Coalition (brandmediacoalition.com).

The time has come for distributors to diversify to help clients deal with an issue made even more urgent in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis – how to fully engage and build meaningful relationships with all critical stakeholders. This includes essential employees, customers, distribution partners, supply chain partners, volunteers and communities. Distributors can serve vital needs in two ways: through the use of brands and gift cards in the booming surprise/delight gifting, incentive and amenities business; and engagement services.

Promotional products have and will always play an important part in the communications mix because of their unique three-dimensional messaging capabilities. The opportunity for enterprising distributors is to use their access to human resources, marketing, sales and fundraising management to broaden the range of solutions offered to clients – from brands used for business, event and promotional gifting as well as rewards and recognition, to an entire range of engagement solutions.

Organizations have a greater need than ever before to engage their key stakeholders. To help them, we need to recognize that today’s customer (in HR, sales, marketing, fundraising, politics, etc.) needs more than promo products. Some distributors are focused on using brand-name gifts to engage key customers, employees or distribution partners now working at home.  Once there was a time when the most successful promotional distributors had almost daily access to the marketing and human resources departments of many of the world’s largest companies. They were seen as people who could find solutions to address the ever-changing needs of clients. That world changed in the 2000s, but the best distributors have always asked good questions to find new ways to help customers. Today’s short-staffed business buyers need our help more than ever.

Over the years, a small but significant percentage of distributors stepped out of promotional products into safety, recognition and incentive programs; signage and digital marketing; and customized apparel. More recently, some have begun selling brands for business, event and promotional gifting. Names like The North Face, Yeti, Patagonia and Bulova have proven that buyers will pay more to tell their stories through brands.

The COVID-19 crisis has made CEOs realize the true value of essential employees, customers, distribution partners and, in some cases, volunteers and communities. Without them, they don’t have a business. The crisis will also shine a light on the fact that most current incentive and loyalty programs have little or no return-on-investment analysis.

As a result, there will be a growing need for a more efficient and measurable use of solutions, and many companies simply don’t have the time and expertise to sift through the dizzying array of offerings to find the right ones. They will benefit from the help of experts who understand all the key tactics of engagement.

During this time, business models are changing rapidly and budgets are being reset. More employees and customers are working at home. Pressure is building on CEOs to demonstrate their commitment to people. There will be a growing need to find a more strategic and systematic way to engage people. Distributors who can inform their clients of new and proven strategies and provide practical measurable solutions can be of invaluable service.

The two most obvious opportunities for distributors in this new world are in:

1. Brand Media: This opportunity – the selective and creative use of brands for business, event and promotional gifting and corporate amenities – makes sense for all distributors because it uses the same type of expertise and business model they’re familiar with. There’s an industry of brands, gift cards and master fulfillment companies ready to help us profit from the use of high-end brands. By becoming “brand specialists,” we help our clients elevate their own brands.

2. Enterprise Engagement: This space often includes the same decision-makers distributors deal with but involves broader topics related to engagement through process design, communications, learning, assessment and feedback. It’s a daunting range of tools, but enterprising distributors can do for engagement what they did for promotional products: help end-users identify the right tactics and solution providers for their needs. By becoming “enterprise engagement” advisers, we can provide an entirely new range of solutions for our clients.