“Social media is not an extension of your brand, it is your brand,” said social media guru Corey Perlman in a keynote address at TRSA’s Fifth Annual Marketing & Sales Summit on Oct. 25-26 in Tampa, FL, according to a news release. Perlman’s presentation, dubbed Social Selling: How Digital Marketing Can Strengthen Your Business, focused on why marketers must make social media a priority, drew more than 50 marketing and sales staff from the linen, uniform and facility services leaders from across North America.
Perlman shared his eight social-selling principles, including why you must prioritize your platform, and why doing good things also is good for business. That afternoon he led a digital-marketing master class that had attendees evaluating their own social-media sites, based on the eight social-selling principles addressed during the morning session. “If you are looking for more engagement in your social media, talk about someone else, your teammates, your customers, your company partners,” Perlman advised in a key takeaway point.
The summit included two panel discussions. Jeff Wile, the owner of Infinite Laundry, Coral Springs, FL, led the first session, titled, Developing a Marketing Strategy with Proven ROI. Jeff Peterson, sales manager, Spin Linen Management, Omaha, NE, also showcased a direct-mail gift box that Peterson and his team had sent to selected prospects. The campaign’s ROI far surpassed their goal of a 5:1 ratio of year-over-year revenue.
Mark Lewis, director of business development at Dempsey Uniform & Linen, Jessup, PA, also led a presentation on ideas for improving ROI by rolling out new products for a company’s portfolio. Lewis outlined the steps required to effectively research and present new products.
A second panel, facilitated by Ben Fox, director of sales and marketing, Alsco Uniforms, Salt Lake City, focused on aligning sales and marketing with service and operations. A mix of operators and suppliers, from marketing, sales and operations, shared ideas on how their companies can do more to align priorities among these groups. Ryan Matthews, Alsco Uniforms, the new chair of the TRSA’s Marketing & Sales Committee and a senior national sales manager at Alsco, reminded attendees that, “When working on the alignment of your company players, don’t leave out the customers’ point of view.”
Rounding out the conference was a “best of the best” competition, in which 19 attendees submitted one of their successful marketing promotions, campaigns, videos or sales hits. Attendees were shown the submissions with a short quote explaining the idea and visual of the success and they voted for their top choice. Zach Ostendorf, a videographer from CITY Laundering, Oelwein, IA, was the big winner with his “day in the life of route sales rep” video. Ostendorf went home with bragging rights, plus a $250 Amazon gift card.
Next year’s TRSA Marketing & Sales Summit will be held in Memphis, TN, in October 2023.
