Samples are an essential component of the sales strategy for building material companies and distributors. They are also a costly investment. For some of our independent clients, their sample displays, sample display boards, and individual sample items make up the largest slice of their marketing budget’s pie chart.
Nevertheless, our research and experience have confirmed that material samples offer a better, more consistent return on your investment than any other form of marketing. Let’s discuss why that’s so, and how you can maximize your ROI with your annual sample budget.
In a marketing landscape that is primarily virtual, it can seem counterintuitive to invest heavily in the tactile medium of samples. However, as any savvy manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of building materials will attest, high-quality samples are indispensable.
Whether your sales pitch takes place in a boardroom, on a job site, in a client’s home, on the retail floor, or at a trade show, you will certainly lose out on conversions if you cannot show and share your product displays.
Despite the advances that continue to be made in virtual modeling, you must have beautifully designed and crafted sample displays to be considered against your competitors.
Your business doubtless tracks and measures its activities; from emails and phone calls to profit and liabilities, detailed data and the resulting analyses are invaluable.
However, we have learned that a significant percentage of our clients are not tracking the use, distribution, and conversion rates of their samples in this same way.
Before your business undertakes any effort to improve its ROI on samples, we encourage you to implement diligent tracking as outlined above.
Where your samples go, to whom they are given and shown, and the sales that result should all factor into your assessment of your ROI.
At least annually, ask an outside company or individual to audit the entire sample experience with your business.
Prepare a straightforward questionnaire that asks how easy it was to request or order samples, whether or not useful information was gathered by your agent or website, the length of shipping time, the appearance of packaging and samples upon arrival, communication at all stages, and whether or not they received follow-up questions regarding further ordering needs.
Once obtained, this information will help you identify ways you can optimize your sample services for all of your clients. Compare your progress from year to year, and you’ll be able to see how your ROI conforms to the trajectory of your scores.
At Exalt Samples, we believe that your samples will always be a direct representation of the quality of your products. That’s why our samples, sample displays, and sample binders are crafted here in our own American facilities. We ensure the quality of every product ourselves before we ship them directly to you.
Your sample marketing investment should be working hard to bring you a robust ROI every year. To learn more about our products, please contact us today.
With an emphasis in the building products industry, Exalt Samples provides hands-on marketing solutions to a wide range of customers here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and around the US.
