Swanson Russell

As I wrote previously, the Internet and digital technology continue creating new opportunities to personalize marketing communications in truly meaningful ways. From social media to rich media, the ability to reach out and engage individuals has never been greater. But, those exciting new capabilities have to be analyzed and applied in context with distribution, a group that has historically viewed with a degree of mistrust or skepticism most communication that comes directly from a manufacturer to their customers.

Regardless of what your distributors think, however, you need to communicate directly with those end users. It’s always been a challenge and remains very difficult to ensure that you’ll be top of mind when local distributor reps are making their calls or recommendations. Competition for their share of mind is fierce. The number of products in the turf and horticultural markets continues to grow; high-learning curve, high-margin product lines such as those in the bio fill-in-the-blank category continue their rapid expansion; and the rise of post-patent chemical alternatives create pressure to sell not only proprietary brands, but also the new off-patent products.  Because you can’t always rely on your distributor to be the champion of your cause, you have to be.

"All politics are local"

As the late Speaker of the U.S. House, Tip O’Neill, was fond of saying, “all politics are local.” People respond first and foremost to what impacts them directly in their neighborhoods, their communities and their pocketbooks. The same can be true for marketing, particularly in relationship-driven segments which characterize the broader “green industry.” You need to take part in that local dialogue.

Experience has shown us that a good place to start is marketing via local/state chapters of national trade associations.  That can’t be all you do, of course. You still need national exposure for the broad, cost-efficient reach of brand awareness and product positioning.  And unless your pockets are very deep, you can’t afford to be engaged with every chapter in every market segment in which your products may have an application.  But, you can be very selective and target your efforts where they can have the greatest impact on sales. The SWOT analysis you’re probably already doing for sales regions will provide potential direction. Pick the locales based on whatever criteria makes the most sense, e.g., geographies with the greatest sales potential; where distributors need the most help; where you’re under the heaviest competitive attack; in support of the 20/80 rule; supporting the top distributors generating the majority of your business; and so on. That analysis has to layer in the opportunities afforded you by particular chapter as well. There are various degrees of organization, sophistication and ability to get you involved among these local chapters.  Some are bigger and more influential than others. Some have more ways to help you than others. Some are more willing than others. Most all are run by volunteers and generally welcome the support.

Why it’s a good idea

Generally speaking, this type of more localized involvement provides you with an opportunity to reach and touch end users directly (and capture their name and contact information—which sets the stage for the second in this 2-part series). Just as important, it’s an opportunity to reinforce your distributor relationships. You obviously need to keep distributors in the loop or make them part of the planning process. It’s a good idea to solicit their input as to how you might interact with the chapter(s) in their area. Chances are good that they already have some degree of involvement with them. At the very least, you need to ensure they know ahead of time of your plans, especially since most state chapters may well encompass multiple, competing distributors of your products. In those cases, your involvement is best positioned as floating the boat for all of them.

Specifically, localized marketing along this line fills some important roles in supplementing your national branding efforts:

• A sense of your company’s commitment to the customers’ community (e.g. local chapter or regional needs)
• Reaching the many decision makers (i.e., superintendent/growers) and influencers (i.e. mechanics/assistants/other) who may not regularly read national publications or attend national shows
• Reinforcement of national messaging at a relatively low cost
• Establishing a sense that you understand and relate to their specialized geographic needs
• Building a clear understanding that your products work effectively in their locale
• A higher likelihood that your messaging will be seen and remembered versus the possibility of being “lost” in the larger sea of national marketing
• The chance to make your messaging more relevant by referencing particular customers in their area (localized testimonials)
• The tangible value of direct support for the distributor(s) and local sales rep(s)
• The intangible value of highlighting your distributor(s) in marketing, therefore creating stronger bonds and garnering sales attention for your product lines

Supplementing national marketing programs with this more tightly targeted effort is an extra step that some larger companies already take on a regular basis, but there’s plenty of room for more.

Ways to get involved

While there are many benefits to your involvement, one of your objectives should be to collect information for your database. Your involvement needs to fit with what a chapter offers and/or with what it needs from you. As much as possible, however, it should afford you the opportunity to gather member names and contact information—whether that’s a natural part of your activity with the chapter, or simply as part of what you’re able to negotiate with them.  Some chapters are willing to make that information more readily available than others.

Typical opportunities offered by state chapters include:

• Meeting and hospitality sponsorships
  • Nearly all chapters have monthly meetings, often with an educational component, business meeting and social time. (Golf course superintendents usually play golf. Go figure.) Many also have their own hospitality suites at national association meetings. Lunch, golf and hospitality suite sponsorships are common. You typically get things like a hole signage in exchange for your support or the right to put a banner up, and typically, this is the type of thing your distributors will be doing. Having your logo on a sign at an event doesn’t offer a ton of direct value to you, unless again, you can parlay that into contact information.
• Education
  • As noted above, meetings usually involve an educational component. As long as presentations aren’t overly commercial, you can bring in national technical personnel or academics. You may offer to pay someone’s way to present valuable information particularly relevant to that chapter’s geography and climate in exchange for a list of everyone in attendance.
• Advertising
  • In newsletters, some as simple as four-page, black-and-white photocopies to glossy, four-color publications.
  • On websites, most rudimentary or clones of their national association sites, some very robust and professional.
  • These aren’t likely to be your most efficient cost-per-thousand buy, but again, a good way to show support. If your website ad takes the chapter member to a specific landing page just for them (a tactic that begins to get into the second part of this series) and gives them a good reason to leave their name, then the value increases exponentially.
• Scholarships/support for a local cause
  • Providing funds for member scholarships or supporting a cause near and dear to an individual chapter usually has the potential to generate a great deal of goodwill. They tend to touch personal lives and/or personal issues on a very local level. They’re a great way to make a more emotional connection. Because of that, however, I find them to be a little tougher to translate into the more crassly commercial means of collecting contact information.
• Surveys and “sweepstakes”
  • These can be connected to about any other kind of involvement you think fits––sponsorships, education, advertising, etc. The beauty is that they are engaging and are a natural way to gather information. Asking chapter members about their preferences, opinions and needs not only shows that you are interested in them, but the information you gather can be put to good use in crafting future messaging and programs. Offering a spiff or reward for participating not only increases response but can make it more fun. You can tie levels of participation to cash for the chapter or offer chances to win personal gifts or a group reward like outfitting an entire grounds crew with branded apparel. Things you can’t afford to do on a national level are a lot more practical at the state level.

Where to go local

Most all of the national associations have links to their local chapter affiliates if you want to explore any or all of them more fully. There are a lot. And as stated previously, they’re not all created equal when it comes to opportunities for your involvement. Here is a collection of those local chapter reference links for your consideration.

Golf Course Superintendents Association
Professional Grounds Management Society (PGRMS)
Professional Landcare Network (PLANET)
American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA)
International Society of Arborculture
Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA)
International Erosion Control Association (IECA)

NEXT UP: Part 2—personalized communication with the people you meet.