Manic Merchandise Blog - Virgin Eyes!
In January this year I started working with the promotions and merchandising company Manic Merchandise. It was fate in my mind; a clever idea by Ben to bring me on board. A great addition of services to my business ‘Surprise & Delight’. Win win for us both.
Bit of a back story - my business is called ‘Surprise & Delight’. It helps businesses stand out from the crowd, be different and be remembered. It does this in many ways: clever gifting, quirky products, personalised orders and the ability to help you and your business to shine. I honestly don’t recall how Manic got on my radar as a business. It must have been through their fun and innovative, real social media.
So over time they’d show up on my feed and I’d enjoy and engaged with their content. When my customers asked me for promo items, for example - do you do pens??? The answer was yes…. And I’d call Amy and tell her what I needed. I even started placing the products they showcased on their social media posts with my clients who I knew would love the items and benefit from them. It didn’t take long for the Manic team to have a quick look at my socials and realise we weren’t actually very different at all in our approach to helping customers. The item that really connected us though was branded fruit! The Manic Team had supplied engraved apples for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019.
Unbeknown to them and me, I too had discovered branded fruit. I engraved my first satsuma in January 2020!! Pomegranates, bananas, satsumas, melon, kiwi…. You name it, I tried it. It was exciting to personalise and brand something so quirky, different and fun. Fast forward to today - we are all part of the same team. As an account manager for Manic I can help my customers so much more than I could before. For Manic, I am an extra member of staff to help customers with queries, fulfil orders and place the perfect products with amazing businesses.
However - I came into the industry of promotional products and merchandise completely new! No experience other than being a customer! So I had a lot to learn and quickly. I remember my first proper day on the job, I arrived at the Romford HQ to a baptism of fire! Walking in the offices were 4 different suppliers and the full team of 4! Mugs, drink ware, books, boxes, pads, plastics, biodegradable plastic items…. So many products being showcased and described! Their unique differences, production processes…..
By mid afternoon my brain was fried, yet there was still a whole afternoon of learning to be had! The team are the icing on the cake for me. All lovely and I felt like I’d known them all for years…. Not a couple of hours! It didn’t actually take me that long to learn the systems and get on with the job. My favourite part for the first few weeks was browsing the supplier sites and seeing all of the fun and fabulous products out there. Things you as a customer wouldn’t really know was a thing or existed unless you’d actually seen the product. A great example of this a lanyard that instead of being made from cord is instead a charging cable. USB to iOS/Android or Type C!
The samples….. I am a big believer that when you see something for yourself you are then more emotionally attached to it. Especially if it peaks your interest and is different/fun. So one of the highlights of the job role so far has been seeing, using, testing some of these product samples. I am told that this excited feeling of sparkly samples will soon wear off! Which I am really hoping never happens to me! After all this is the joy that most of us feel when we are gifted freebies and giveaways. I now have my very own Manic Merchandise trolley case to house my lovely samples and it goes with me to meetings etc. It creates the same excitement that it did for me for my clients. I find that people see a particular product that they personally love and start to think how they can use it for their customers or a marketing campaign!
Another lesson I have learnt is to stay objective. Try not to let my personal preferences influence clients. Instead think about what they are wanting and why? Ben pointed out to me on the very first day this lesson. After being shown ten’s of different types of mugs, cups, drink ware items; I loved a bone china white smallish cup. It was an opportunity for Ben to teach his experience and wisdom. “It’s about what the customer is using the drink ware for? For example, these small china cups would be no good for builders!” I know that sounds obvious, and it is - but imagine ordering cheap standard mugs with a one colour print for your customers to use in your state of the art new office building. They just wouldn’t present the right high end vibe that the company actually is. So knowing the different types of drink ware, I can work with clients to find out the right product for them.
It’s been almost two months now and I’ve managed to convert orders into sales. I’ve helped businesses find the right promotional items. I feel confident making calls, answering queries and have made this role something that I love doing. Next step is exhibiting Manic Merchandise at events. This is where we get to showcase products, ideas and chat to many businesses and people in a few intensive hours! More on how that goes in my next blog!
Until then, thank you to Ben, Amy, Lorna and Ipek. The warmth, help and guidance you’ve all shown has been amazing. The next 2 months is packed with adventures, events, and even an awards ceremony with you all. I cannot wait!
