We’ve said it many times before in this blog forum: for a vendor/client relationship to be truly successful, it must be managed as a partnership where both parties are equally vested in the results. Unless everyone is committed to achieving a common goal, the relationship is nothing more than a business arrangement where one side pays an agreed-upon amount of money and the other side delivers a set of agreed-upon services, day in, day out.

In the marketing fulfillment vendor/customer dynamic, a critical part of this partnership is regular business reviews.  Whether conducted annually, quarterly, or somewhere in between, these reviews provide critical insight into whether goals are being met, if those goals need to be adjusted based on observed metrics, and what kinds of tweaks are required to make the necessary changes.

When conducting an outbound marketing or lead generation campaign, choosing between branded promotional products and printed collateral (such as brochures, direct mailers, or flyers) can be difficult.

Both are considered giveaways, and both consume a considerable amount of the marketing budget. While both can be effective, each has a specific role in the sales funnel and are treated very differently by those with purchasing authority. Ultimately, the decision on which to use comes down to how you want prospects to experience your brand—tangible utility vs. informational clarity.

Let’s explore the various pros and cons of print vs. promo and help clarify where one might be superior to the other.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous.

It’s understandable.  AI can perform in seconds a task that might take a person hours to complete.  AI is fast, impartial, and tireless.  It doesn’t require breaks, praise, or even a salary.  The appeal is intoxicating.

In response, companies around the world are moving quickly to incorporate AI into their operations—some might say too quickly.  In their haste to adopt the technology and increase revenues, these companies are losing sight of the human cost in terms of displacement and lost jobs.

The most common question we get from customers seeking branded promotional merchandise is whether we have access to the same well-known retail brands, products, and apparel as their other promotional distributors.

Anyone who has recently performed an online search for a specific service—say, “marketing fulfillment”—can’t help but notice that AI has fundamentally changed the experience.

Rather than just getting a list of names and links, users are being presented with a comprehensive analysis of the request, including a thoughtful evaluation of various qualified vendors that meet their unique requirements.

It’s quite a change from the old methods of finding information online.  The industry is rapidly moving away from simple search engines to more sophisticated answer engines, and it’s all thanks to artificial intelligence.