If you build it, they will come.

That wasn’t the case initially for Parsippany, NJ-based Stackable Sensations (asi/332999). In March of 2020, the company finished tripling the size of its office, building five unique, interactive showrooms for client meetings and presentations. It was a tremendous investment that quickly became an albatross when the state shut down a few days later due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“When the emails slowed down and the phones stopping ringing, I asked if the phone was broken,” says Shari Verrone, president of Stackable Sensations. An 18-year veteran of the promotional products industry, Verrone literally went back to the drawing board, as she and her team brainstormed a contingency plan. Rummaging through inventory, she took home bins and bins of promo items and assembled work-from-home care packages for clients.

“They were scared and we wanted to brighten their day,” Verrone says. “Our clients really appreciated it and asked if we could make care packages for their clients and colleagues. That was like a $6,800 investment that brought in $69,000 worth of business.”

Stackable Sensations also pivoted to personal protective equipment (PPE) early on, becoming a preferred vendor for large corporations. For the first 14 weeks of the pandemic, Verrone worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, learning the ins and outs of this unknown product category. The dedication paid off, as the company achieved millions of dollars in PPE sales and finished 2020 up 55% over 2019.

While PPE was a blessing for the company, Verrone still had five new showrooms collecting dust. There’s a boutique with a couch, mirror and racks of seasonal apparel; a room dedicated to tech products, new-hire kits and incentive programs; a breakroom with a ping-pong table, yoga mats, plenty of alcohol and games; an office with a desk to sit at and desktop accessories; and a kitchen stocked with snacks, utensils, drinkware and eco-friendly products.

Once government restrictions loosened and some employees returned to the office, the team finally unveiled the showrooms to clients, albeit virtually. Clients would receive custom boxes full of goodies at their doorstep prior to the meetings, and then take digital tours throughout the office. Stackable used software like Prezi and Loom, providing more colorful, sophisticated and animated presentations than the typical Zoom call.

This year, now that mass vaccinations have allowed for in-person gatherings, Verrone has welcomed vendors, clients, family and friends to experience the showrooms and rejoice at overcoming the biggest challenge in the company’s history.

“I always try to stay three steps ahead,” Verrone says. “You need to think about what additional services you can add on to your existing business. After all, as we’ve learned, you never know when you might need to pivot.”