BMC Youtube Show: Experts Explain Growing Need for Master Fulfillment Firms
This Brand Media Coalition on “Fulfillment Essentials” covers what every businessperson should know but most don’t know about using brands for business gifting, events, incentives, recognitions, promotions and amenities, and how promotional professionals can help. The big question—why is it that so few business management at all levels know anything about the corporate market for brands. Click here for the show.
Four experts in the corporate marketplace provide insights for anyone in management tasked with utilizing brands in any type of organization gifting or event; incentive, recognition, or loyalty program; or amenity program.
• Expertise in providing carefully curated gifting, event or reward programs offering access to leading brands drop-shipped or distributed in bulk to an event or location.
• Enhanced technologies to maximize the program experience and impact.
• A commitment to customizing and personalizing the reward experience.
• The ability to help navigate current supply chain challenges for many products.
• Access to competitive pricing enhanced with expertise that saves additional money over time.
• A commitment to working through promotional professionals, incentive, recognition, and other engagement.
The vast majority of brands purchased for business gifting, incentives, recognition, and loyalty are purchased through retail services simply because they are unaware of the benefits, according to the panelists: Mary Anne Comotto, Owner, Schaffer Partners Inc., a leading master fulfillment company in Cleveland; Adrienne Forrest, Vice President Corporate Sales, Citizen Watch America; Cary Goldman, Sales Director, Enterprise B2B, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, INC., and Scott Kooken, Owner, Links Unlimited, Inc.
Other key conclusions:
• The vast majority of businesspeople still don’t know that there’s an entire industry dedicated to helping them maximize the impact of their business gifting, incentive, recognition, loyalty, amenities, and employee benefits programs.
• Management often outsources sourcing for brands through interns or others who would have no reason to know about the corporate marketplace because it’s not taught in schools.
• Promotional professionals are in a unique position to profit by helping educate management at all levels on the benefits of working through the corporate channel.
• For most companies, the best place to start for any kind of quantity purchase for business objectives is with master fulfillment companies featured on the home page of BrandMediaCoalition.com or the BtoB departments of the leading brands, generally found by clicking on Corporate Gifts on the web site’s header or footer—if the organization has a dedicated BtoB department.
Mary Anne Comotto, Owner, Schaffer Partners Inc
Adrienne Forrest, Vice President Corporate Sales, Citizen Watch America
Cary Goldman, Sales Director, Enterprise B2B, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, INC.
Scott Kooken, Owner, Links Unlimited, Inc.
Education, Certifications, and Information to Activate
Brand Media and Enterprise Engagement
A complete learning, certification, and information program and a course syllabus for educators.
Resources: The Brand Media Coalition, the only guide to the story-telling power of brands and where to source them for business, event, promotional gifting, and rewards and recognition. Enterprise Engagement Solution Provider Directory. The only directory of engagement solution providers covering all types of agencies and tactics as well as insights on how to select them.
Communities: The Enterprise Engagement Alliance and Advocate and the Brand Media Coalition free resource centers offering access to the latest research, news, and case studies; discounts, promotions, referrals, and commissions, when appropriate to third-party solution providers from participating coalition solution provider members.
Training and Certification
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Education: Certified Engagement Practitioner; Advanced Engaged Practitioner, and Certified Engagement Solution Provider learning and certification programs on how to implement Stakeholder Capitalism principles at the tactical level.
International Center for Enterprise Engagement: The only training and certification program for ISO 30414 human capital reporting and ISO 10018 quality people management certification.
The EEA offers a complimentary course syllabus for educators.
In Print:
This is the definitive implementation guide to Stakeholder Capitalism, written specifically to provide CEOs and their leadership teams a concise overview of the framework, economics, and implementation process of a CEO-led strategic and systematic approach to achieving success through people. (123 pages, $15.99)
The first and most comprehensive book on Enterprise Engagement and the new ISO 9001 and ISO 10018 quality people management standards. Includes 36 chapters detailing how to better integrate and align engagement efforts across the enterprise. (312 pages, $36.)
Online:
10-minute short course: click here for a 10-minute introduction to Enterprise Engagement and ISO standards from the Coggno.com learning platform.
Services:
• The Engagement Agency at EngagementAgency.net, offering: complete support services for employers, solution providers, and technology firms seeking to profit from formal engagement practices for themselves or their clients, including Brand and Capability audits for solution providers to make sure their products and services are up to date.
• C-Suite Advisory Service—Education of boards, investors, and C-suite executives on the economics, framework, and implementation processes of Enterprise Engagement.
• Speakers Bureau—Select the right speaker on any aspect of engagement for your next event.
• Mergers and Acquisitions. The Engagement Agency’s Mergers and Acquisition group is aware of multiple companies seeking to purchase firms in the engagement field. Contact Michael Mazer in confidence if your company is potentially for sale at 303-320-3777.
Enterprise Engagement Benchmark Tools: The Enterprise Engagement Alliance offers three tools to help organizations profit from Engagement. Click here to access the tools.
• ROI of Engagement Calculator. Use this tool to determine the potential return-on-investment of an engagement strategy.
• EE Benchmark Indicator. Confidentially benchmark your organization’s Enterprise Engagement practices against organizations and best practices.
• Compare Your Company’s Level of Engagement. Quickly compare your organization’s level of engagement to those of others based on the same criteria as the EEA’s Engaged Company Stock Index.
• Gauge Your Personal Level of Engagement. This survey, donated by Horsepower, enables individuals to gauge their own personal levels of engagement.
For more information, contact Bruce Bolger at Bolger@TheEEA.org, 914-591-7600, ext. 230.
