Memphis, Tenn., was the location for TRSA’s 6th Annual Marketing, Sales & Service Summit, the most well-attended Marketing Summit to date. Adding service to the mix for the first time reinforced the importance of a team approach to customer satisfaction and retention in the linen, uniform and facility services industry.
In his keynote address, Ben Kniffen, the CEO of Linked Selling, expanded on the success formula of hitting the right person with the right message with the right delivery through tools and practices that he calls, “The Ultimate Client Acquisition Playbook.” Kniffen returned for one of the breakout sessions that focused on marketing and how to combine the best mix of LinkedIn, SEO, paid ads and other channels to create unbeatable omnichannel marketing campaigns.
A two-part breakout session titled, “The Service Side of Sales and the Sales Side of Service,” with Steve Royals and Ray Shabandarian, both from Performance Matters, discussed creating a balance between sales and service and how to apply service skills to sales and apply sales skills to service. A hands-on group exercise had attendees break into small groups to create, review and present a new account installation check list.
Ed Kwasnick, director of business development, ARCO/Murray, defines a trusted adviser as someone whose judgment and perspective rate highly in multiple capacities. Kwasnick delivered a general session expanding on the three keys to creative value-based customer relationships: expertise, transparency and solutions.
During the breakout session for video marketing, Ashley Carroll, Prudential Overall Supply, and Emily Hauber, CITY Laundering, compared the processes of in-house vs. outsourced video production and walked through a 10-step checklist needed for success regardless of the platform you choose.
The final session ended with a panel discussion that featured some of the top marketing talent from several operators in the linen, uniform and facility services industry, sharing their stories of successes, as well as challenges and where they see the industry heading. Panelists included Kelsey Breeden, director of marketing, Wildman Uniform and Linen; Asit Goel, VP of marketing, UniFirst Corp.; Tracy Chamblee, VP of marketing, Nixon Medical; and Ben Fox, VP of sales & marketing, Alsco Inc.
One of the most requested sessions was Conversation Starters, where attendees can sit with other operators and suppliers in small groups and share views about specific topics in the industry.
The culminating event of the summit is the awarding of the “Best-of-the-Best” marketing idea, a fun contest between attendees who share one of their successful ideas throughout the day. Attendees all vote and Alsco Uniforms’ video highlighting their top sales performer in a spin-off of Indiana Jones was selected as the winner.
Next year the event will be at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta on Nov. 12, 2024.
