3 minute read
Coffee break
Pigment Productions’ sales and marketing director Steve Baker, on the importance of independent retailers
Steve, can you share why indies remain the foundation of your business?
Pigment was born with an aim to serve independent retailers with affordable, high-quality greeting cards and so much of what we deliver is done with ‘local’ and ‘community’ in mind. It has been a challenging time for our independent retailers – lockdowns; the growth of online sales; the rise in the cost of living; and supply chain issues – but they continue to show their strength and resilience and find new ways to thrive. We share those same values.
Consumers still want a hands-on shopping experience with excellent customer service and that is always found when shopping local. All our cards are made locally, which means we have full control of the whole process, and we can design, develop, and deliver to our customers pretty quickly! We know that these are important factors as we are always listening to our independent retailer’s feedback. We get the best advice on our business approach and products from our customers, which we then share with the whole Pigment team to ensure that we are always getting better and producing cards that we know shoppers will love. We believe that the entrepreneurial spirit of our customers will win through and make the high street a pleasure to visit and spend time in. What do your independent customers look for from you as a publisher?
sell! That, alongside fantastic customer service and a constant stream of newness in design. Our customers are essential to our innovation and understanding of what makes our cards sell (or not) when competing against all the other amazing publishers we have in the UK right now. Having this valuable feedback alongside our sales analysis, gives us the very best ‘testing’ system to make sure we continue to adapt and keep producing great cards.
We have found having an employed sales team is key to all of this as they are our brand ambassadors and give us that great connection with our customers. No one can bring new concepts to the market as authentically as the creative, surprising independent. They are quick to spot a hit with their shoppers. They are essential to innovation in greetings. Most of the best brands begin in an independent shop.
Why did you go down the employed rep route rather than the agent route?
Agents are fantastic, especially when you are a start-up publisher, or you are looking to open new territories. However, we have found that, because our business is built around our studio and the fast pace at which trends and ranges change, a singularly focused and employed sales team enables us to always present new ranges and concepts while also learning what is working, or possibly more importantly sometimes, what’s not. Six months of selling across the whole country gives us the most accurate read on which designs shoppers prefer. It’s foolproof and is superior to any other ‘testing’ system that we have tried. As already mentioned, our customers really appreciate great customer service. This has been a challenge through the pandemic for everyone and so we have been really delighted to see the fantastic reception one of our new Reps, Jubel Ahmed, has had in our home county of Yorkshire and the North. Are there any recent examples that demonstrate this way of product testing?
Last year we released Life in Pencil … a perfect fit for us and a lot of our independent customers. It had already been well road-tested by the artist, Shaun Vickers, at country shows and craft fairs so we were confident there was a gap and an audience. We knew we had a hit quite quickly based on our indies’ sell-through and the reps’ and retailer feedback. This gave us the confidence to quickly increase the breadth of themes, especially designs with more male relevance. What other support do you offer customers?
Our Humour Spinner has probably been one of our most successful platforms for selling cards with our independent customers. Pretty much any retail space can be successful with our spinner as it covers every humour sending scenario. Customer feedback has always been that having laughter in their stores is the best thing ever! However, in recent times we seem to be selling more and more of our wooden ‘Trend Spinners’ (Trend with a smile) which also raises a chuckle or two. Other than the spinners, we also offer a ‘rack planning’ service where we plan all the racks including all the publishers that the customer wants to work with. Increasingly, this is a much-appreciated service for a lot of customers who are working with less staff. We know their time is so important!
