Five Minutes With Jeff Anderson, MAS, COO of Focus Branding Group
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When it comes to personalized service, how can distributors break through the wall of technology that seems to keep them at arms’ length from prospective and current clients? Jeff Anderson, MAS, chief operating officer at Focus Branding Group (UPIC: FOCUSBG) in Portland, Oregon, doesn’t shy away from connecting with clients on a digital level—in fact, he sends out regular email promotions that provide clients with ideas for incorporating products into campaigns. But he still believes a personal touch provides the best outcome, and he shared his thoughts with PPB about keeping tech-happy clients engaged.
PPB Modern methods of communicating—email, social media and text—now seem fully integrated into many of our business relationships. What examples of this do you see on a daily basis?
Anderson I’m seeing more of my young buyers choosing to communicate with short emails, texts and even Facebook messages. It has been far more common in the past few years to have a new buyer tell me what they want, instead of asking for advice or ideas. I will get text messages from clients both inside and outside normal business hours; texting is something that Millennial buyers are very comfortable with.
PPB How does it affect your ability to do good work for your clients; or, how do you work to prevent lost opportunities for clients who gravitate toward “one-click” promotional buying experiences?
Anderson It makes me nervous when I have a client who will go to our website, pick an item and email me an order. I’m never unhappy to receive an order, but I think it is my responsibility as a business partner to consult with the client to make sure that what they are ordering will best fit their need.
We will always follow up and make the attempt to consult with the buyer, to make sure that what they want to order is the right tool for the right job.
For example, I have a client who sent me a text message for pens that he needed for a conference; I called him and discussed the order and his event. I asked him what else he had planned and he was happy to tell me that he was going to order 200 books from Amazon for client gifts. I explained that we could provide him with those books with his logo on the cover and a full-color page insert with whatever information he would like—and it would cost him less money.
He ordered the custom books and called me after his event to thank me for calling him to learn more about his needs; and, he has since reordered the custom books three times. Having a happy client and growing our business is win-win situation.
PPB What do you feel clients miss out on by avoiding person-to-person engagement (phone calls, in-person visits)?
Anderson Being able to have face-to-face meetings with clients allows us to better understand each other; it allows me to better understand the business, organization or event; and it allows the client to see how I can best help them with their needs. There have been many times that I been discussing a project with a client and I find that there is something else that I can help them with. This saves them time and frustration, while at the same time the personal communication strengthens my relationship with the client.
PPB Are there any benefits to communicating with clients via technology?
Anderson Emails help to keep a record of the conversation and make it easy to send art and proofs.
The ability to send mock-ups or presentations via email is invaluable, and it also allows us to show options and ideas. I don’t ever want to return to “the good old days” before email, but I hope that we don’t progress to the point that verbal interaction becomes a thing of the past.
PPB How can our industry preserve the importance of consultative selling without alienating tech-happy buyers?
Anderson We will need to find the balance. As consultants we need to prove ourselves and demonstrate our value for the client. The Millennial buyer is not going to abandon the habit of communicating in 140 characters or fewer, so we need to be able to communicate in the manner in which they are comfortable.
As an industry we need to promote our consultative side. Buyers can go online and buy mugs and t-shirts, but if they experience the benefits of working with a professional they will see that spending a little time discussing their goals will pay big benefits, both in the short term and in finding the right fit for future needs.
