“From an online perspective, we’re kind of breaking the mold.”

PPAI’s director of business development, Lindsey Davis, who manages PPW Expo, isn’t afraid to boast about what the virtual event, returning March 28, can accomplish in the industry.

“There is no online buyer event like this where distributors get leads and suppliers get leads,” Davis says. “And what we do with education built into [the event], that’s completely unique to us.”

Indeed, the educational sessions at PPW Expo have garnered plenty of positive feedback from distributors. But it may well be the buyer data that has distributors clamoring to make the virtual event a can’t-miss industry staple.

How PPW Expo Provides Buyer Data To Distributors

The aim of PPW Expo is to inspire hosted buyers and help them understand the value, power and creative potential of promotional products. As is usually the case in this industry, that is accomplished through the products themselves.

All of that is great, but every distributor knows the importance of the follow-up, and PPW Expo provides distributors with the data needed for informed follow-ups.

  • PPW Expo tracks the products that every hosted buyer views.
  • Additionally, little ‘Instagram-style’ hearts allow buyers to ‘like’ a product. Each buyer can manage what products they have liked, removing a mistaken ‘like’ or curating their own list.
  • After the event, distributors will get a report with everything their hosted buyers viewed and liked.
  • This gives distributors potential warm leads and hot leads to follow up on.

“The distributor gets a list for each invited buyer where it will say Buyer X viewed these 10 products, and it’ll say next to each one if they liked it as well,” Davis explains. “Then they can follow up with the supplier and say, ‘My buyer really liked this tumbler, I’d love to do a quote or a spec sample or a non-branded sample.’”

Suppliers Also Get Data Without Disrupting Promo’s Order Of Operations

PPW Expo is meant to provide valuable information for all attending parties, something PPAI can provide in a clean report, as opposed to the rushed notes often taken at in-person trade shows.

“The flip side [of the distributor data reports] is that the suppliers also get this information, but they don’t get the buyers’ names,” Davis says. “So, the supplier has to reach out to the distributor to do the follow-up.”

  • This dynamic allows suppliers to initiate or suggest a follow up without circumventing the distributor.
  • It also provides suppliers with helpful information about which of their products were triggering interest or positive feedback.

Don’t Forget To Register

The spring PPW Expo will be held March 28 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Central Time.

The event is an innovative online opportunity for promotional products professionals and their hosted buyers to explore the world or promotional products together.

Click here to register for the upcoming PPW Expo.