Talking About Talk

At this year's IMRA conference, getting the word out about incentives was a recurring theme. It could be because this was my first time at the conference that translating the message of incentives for the uninitiated stood out for me. But even so, it seemed to be on the minds of many. During Sunday's "Orientation to the Industry", IMRA's outgoing President, Gary Slavonic said simply "If the CEO doesn't know why I'm there, I'm out of there." That notion got a response from the audience, some of who were new to their positions and were learning to define their role, sometimes in contrast to retail suppliers or other areas of merchandise sales.

A similar note was sounded by Rick Blabolil, president of Marketing Innovators International during the "State of the Industry" roundtable. Talking about reaching out to new customers, he urged suppliers and reps to speak in the clients' terms, not the industry's. Attendees might know what you mean in talking about "SKUs" or can tell the difference between a "jobber" and a "distributor" (I'm still unclear on the distinction), but using such jargon might just alienate industry outsiders.

So industry members must distinguish ourselves as different from other types of merchandise suppliers, but in terms that are not too different.

And all the talk about talk is being put into action. IMRA's incoming President, Joe Gabler announced on the conference's final day that an Education Committee and a Technology and Publications Committee had been created to spread the word about the use and benefits of incentive merchandise both within the industry and to all those outsiders still unsure what incentives are all about.

Comments

[Paul Hebert]

Maybe I missed your point but the fact that you say... "or other areas of merchandise sales" communicates that you think "incentive" companies are merchandise suppliers. I think that's the disconnect. We're not.

I think the issue is the opposit of what you recommend. We MUST differentiate ourselves from merchandise suppliers in terms that are VERY DIFFERENT. Our issue as an industry is that we continue to cling to an outmoded view of our value.

Jobber/Distributor aren't exclusively incentive industry terms but terms used in many industries to identify large product distributors from smaller distributers. I came across it in the auto aftermarket first.

[Paul Hebert]

I really wish I could go back and fix my typo's - sorry folks - I was in a hurry.