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Promotional
Programs |
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A/V
2000 Program |
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United Stationers’ research shows that there is a
significant opportunity for office products dealers to be successful in the fast-growing
$35 billion audiovisual & business presentation marketplace. Growth in this industry
has been fueled by expanding communications and presentations needs in business and
industry, education, government, health science, religious organizations, and community
agencies.
Featuring a Broad Mix of Industry-Recognized Products
A/V 2000 features a selection of 1800 products most in-demand by this buying segment
– video projection equipment, overhead projectors, screens, boards, binding systems,
meeting room furniture and equipment, supplies and accessories, etc. The 120+ page,
full-color catalog is graphically spectacular – featuring an upscale layout design,
sharp photography, and complete product descriptions.
New – List Priced or Matrix Priced Versions Available
For 2001, the A/V 2000 Catalog will now offer a choice of either list pricing, or
"street" consumer pricing with no list prices. In the street-priced version,
pricing is "matrixed" so that key items are competitively-priced, while others
help enhance dealers’ overall margin mix.
Marketing Support
Along with your A/V 2000 Catalogs, a FREE Dealer Start-up Kit is available, including
training and support materials to help you make the most of this category.
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Action
2000 |
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Action 2000, a 72+ page, 1,800+ item promotional
catalog, tells your customers that you’re competitively-priced on a broad assortment
of items. Moreover, many of these items (new and unique products, cleaning supplies, etc.)
are not available from competitors, thus reinforcing your image as a single source
supplier. For 2001, Action 2000 will continue to offer a blend of high-visibility
commodities, computer supplies, furniture, business electronics, and facilities management
supplies.
Alphabetical Organization
The 2001 Action 2000 will be organized alphabetically, just like the General Line
Catalog. This makes it easier for your customers to find the items they need by looking
for the same product headings as in the big book.
New Products Section
Action 2001’s special New Products Section will continue to feature new and
unique items that provide high margin opportunities as well as the opportunity to promote
items not available from your competitors. This section is located in the front of the
catalog, for maximum visibility.
Consumer Rebates
Consumer rebate coupons – bound into the center of the catalog as tear-out cards
-- are a great way to give your customers added value without any fulfillment
responsibilities, since they’re returned directly to the manufacturers.
Premium Insert
The optional premium inserts available for Price Buster can also be used for Action
2000.
Competitive and Super Competitive Versions
The popular Competitive vs. Super Competitive pricing options will again be available
on Action 2001 and the Action 8-page flyer; however please note that beginning in 2002,
the supercompetitive version will be discontinued:
- Competitive price version: All items will be priced with an overall margin mix of
approximately 25%.
- Super Competitive price version. High visibility items will be benchmarked against
"street pricing" in secondary markets, providing margins on those items in the 5
to 20% range, and an overall margin mix of approximately 20%.
Action 2001 promotional purchases will continue to earn VCD/DBP and Advertising
Allowance.
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Action Flyer |
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An 8-page flyer is perfect for saturating your marketplace
at a lower cost than a larger catalog. And, since the Action Flyer features a selection of
200 to 300 of key products from Action 2000 & Price Buster, it makes a perfect
follow-up piece. Mail Action 2000 or Price Buster at the beginning of the quarter, and the
Action Flyer in the second and third months to keep your name fresh in the minds of
customers and prospects.
The graphics of Action Flyer have been completely re-designed for 2001, with one
approach coordinating with Action 2000, the other with Price Buster. Both will have
exactly the same product mix, but a different look, and slightly different pricing.
Competitive and Supercompetitive Versions
Version A of the Action Flyer, corresponding with Action 2000, will offer either
Competitive or Supercompetitive pricing options. Version B will offer only Price Buster
pricing.
- Competitive price version: All items will be priced with an overall margin mix of
approximately 25%.
- Supercompetitive price version. High visibility items will be benchmarked against
superstores, providing margins on those items in the 5 to 20% range, and an overall margin
mix of approximately 15 to 20%.
Version A and Version B will have exactly the same merchandise, but the layouts will be
changed so that pages don’t appear in the same order. Promotional merchandise
purchases will either earn VCD/DBP and Advertising Allowance, or be net/net depending on
whether you are using the Action 2000 or Price Buster approach.
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Sales
on Hold |
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Sales On Hold Audio Promotion
Take advantage of your captive audience when telephone customers are on hold. Use
professionally-produced Sales On Hold tapes which feature products from
United’s quarterly promotions. One tape covers products featured in Action
2001/Action Flyer; the other covers products featured on the Furniture Flyer. Also
available is the special recording equipment you need to play these endless loop tapes.
Digital Recording Machine
Unlike standard endless-loop tape machines, the Sales On Hold Digital Recording
Machine has no moving parts. This state-of-the-art technology will be used by more and
more businesses in the years to come as they look for more professional ways to
communicate with their customers.
Custom Tapes with Your Distinct Message!
Also available are custom tapes with your message on special promotions, services,
etc. For more information, call the Sales On Hold company at 1-800-227-8944.
Take a moment to
listen to a short sample of a Sales on Hold message. Listening to
the sample recording requires either Windows™ Media Player or Apple™
QuickTime. If you do not have a current version of either program, visit either of
the two sites below to download the software for free.
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C1000 |
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Currently, computer products make up 50% of all products
sold in the office environment. Projections are that by 2003, this figure will reach 70%.
In order to do well in this critical category, you must reach the right buyers, offer
them a broad selection, competitive pricing and great service. That’s exactly what
United Stationers and Azerty offer you -- research and training on the dynamics of the
computer products marketplace, the broadest selection of computer-related items available
in the industry today, competitively-priced sourcing options, and the opportunity to
deliver computer products next-day to any key market.
Now United and Azerty have joined forces to provide ONE great computer products catalog
and ONE great promotional catalog – the new C1000.
Everything Consumers Need – at Great Pricing
C1000 is a 48+ page promotional catalog featuring approximately 1,000 of the most
popular business electronics and computer supplies and accessories. To help you attack the
marketplace in the most effective manner, the catalog will offer two different pricing
strategies:
- Supercompetitive – pricing which agrees with supercompetitive pricing on other
United selling pieces.
- Supercompetitive Plus – pricing more aggressive than supercompetitive, to attack
the most competitive markets.
Pricing on key items will be benchmarked against the most competitive pricing found in
the marketplace, resulting in low single-digit margins some cases. (Note: if fewer
distribution services are required, some margin enhancement may be realized by purchasing
products from Azerty versus USSCo – all products in C1000 are available from either
company.) No list prices will be printed in the catalog, affording the opportunity to
matrix price the book for strong overall margins.
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Computer
Supplies Newsflyer |
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News and Information about Leading Products and Product Categories
United Stationers introduced the "newsflyer" concept with the introduction of HP
Today; a newsletter and flyer that has educated consumers on Hewlett Packard products.
Because of the overwhelming success of this concept, United is now expanding it to include
the entire computer supplies and accessories category. Even more exciting, is it’s
FREE when inserted into your C1000 Catalogs.
This 8-page quarterly newsflyer will feature educational articles from leading vendors,
giving customers news and information which will help them run their offices smarter --
product news, technology trends, frequently asked questions, recycling, tips and tricks,
special promotional offers, etc.
Throughout the year articles will be contributed from Canon, Curtis, Epson, Falcon,
Fellowes, Fuji, Hewlett Packard, Imation, Kensington, Lexmark, Maxell, Nukote, Read Right,
Sony, SL Waber, TDK, Verbatim and other leading manufacturers, promoting key computer
supply categories:
- Data storage media
- Ink and toner supplies
- Power protection
- Computer Security
- Cleaning and maintenance supplies
- Workstation ergonomics
Additional copies of the Computer Supplies Newsflyer (beyond those inserted free with
your C1000 catalogs) are available, dealer imprinted, for a nominal charge of .05ea. (tax
and freight additional).
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F1000 |
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Successfully selling furniture in the commodity or small
project arena -- involving simple purchase decisions -- requires promoting three key
advantages: "The Right Product, at the Right Price, with Fast Delivery". That is
exactly what United’s F1000 furniture program provides – an attractive
promotional catalog featuring approximately 1,000 products, sale priced, available for
next day delivery through United’s nationwide distribution network.
Printed in January and July, the F1000 Catalog features a selection of office suites in
both wood and metal, panel systems, bookcases, seating, files, tables, and related
products. Pricing to the consumer is aggressive on key items, and competitive on other
items. No list prices are printed in the catalog, so that pricing can be
"matrixed", providing stronger dealer margins on lower demand items and a strong
overall mix. Although there is no special dealer "price plan" associated with
this promotion, competitive dealer net pricing is available from United Stationers on a
wide range of furniture items.
Four cover choices are available for F1000 – two which promote "Next Day
Delivery", and two which promote "Fast Delivery."
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Facility
Saver Flyer |
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The Facility Saver Flyer is a perfect way to generate sales
from new buying influences within your existing accounts – facility managers,
maintenance managers, security directors, cafeteria/food service managers, mailroom
supervisors, human resources managers, meeting planners, etc. It is also a great way to
generate sales of less commonly ordered, higher margin items, to improve your overall
margin mix.
For 2001 Facility Saver is being re-designed with a much more aggressive promotional
look. In addition, several key items on the front cover, such as toilet tissue, paper
towels, or coffee, will be priced very aggressively to the market to get the buyer’s
attention. While these items may be priced at close to your cost, the balance of the items
in the flyer will provide a strong overall margin mix.
The flyer will continue to feature products from seven of the icon categories that are
promoted in the Facility Supplies Catalog. However, the four biggest selling categories
will be stressed on the front page of the flyer, with key products very
aggressively-priced:
- Cleaning & Sanitary Supplies (featured on cover one quarter)
- Facility & Maintenance Supplies (featured on cover one quarter)
- Breakroom Supplies (featured on cover one quarter)
- Workplace Necessities (featured on cover one quarter)
- Safety & Security Supplies
- Warehouse & Packaging Supplies
- Groundskeeping & Outdoor Maintenance
The flyer features discounted pricing for consumers and net/net promotional pricing for
you, providing margins in the 25 to 30% range.
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Furniture
Flyer |
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The Furniture Flyer is the perfect promotional tool for capturing furniture sales --
either as a stand-alone piece, or in tandem with the F1000 Furniture Catalog. This 16-page
flyer features a smaller selection of products which are also contained in F1000 -- desks,
credenzas, chairs, files, bookcases, cabinets, computer workstations, etc.
The flyer has two different priced versions:
- Competitive price version: All items are priced with an overall margin mix of
approximately 30% to help offset the freight costs associated with selling furniture
items.
- Super Competitive price version: High visibility items are benchmarked against the most
competitive markets, providing margins on those items in the 15 to 25% range, and an
overall margin mix of approximately 20 to 25%.
Furniture Flyer promotional purchases are priced net/net.
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Mailing
& Fax Blast Programs |
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According to industry
experts, if your salespeople are your primary means of reaching customers and prospects
– you’re wasting money. It’s easy to see that with the cost of a
salesperson’s salary, benefits, and transportation, every sales call is costing your
business as much as several hundred dollars. The salesperson should be the last step in
the sales process, after you have used less expensive methods to reach customers &
prospects to "prepare them" for the sale (see chart on this page.) United’s
Mailing Program can help you create exposure and generate leads for your salespeople and
telemarketing staff to follow-up, making them much more efficient. The program has been
created in partnership with InfoUSA (formerly American Business Information), a leading
supplier of mailing and telemarketing databases, and World Color, one of the largest
printers in the world.
Fax Blast to Your Customers at Low Cost
Now you can fax blast to your customers & prospects at low cost, without having to
tie-up your office fax machine. United has partnered with ABS Fax Technologies, Inc. to
bring you professional fax capabilities. For more information on this new service contact
ABS at 1-800-753-9994. Fax Blast lists are available from InfoUSA.
Free Training CD Available
Ask your Account Manager for a copy of a new United Stationers CD-ROM, "Where Did
All the Customers Go". This multimedia training tool covers these topics:
- Are you fighting to get and keep customers?
- How do you create a marketing plan?
- What is database marketing? How does it fit into your marketing plan?
- Who is InfoUSA? What database services do they offer through United Stationers?
- Common questions about mailing and telemarketing
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Market
Development Flyers |
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Market Development is a complete turnkey approach to
gaining new customers, selling more products to existing customers, and retaining those
customers. Market Development Flyers coordinate with other aspects of the program –
catalogs, image brochures, pricing strategies, etc. – to advance your marketing
goals. In addition, pricing on these flyers will sync up with Price Buster or Action Flyer
Version B wherever like items are involved.
8-page Pre-Priced Universal Flyer
This flyer features 200 of the top-selling Universal sku’s, and is priced to
coordinate with the Elite Attack pricing strategy.
4-page Custom-Priced Universal Flyer
The 4-page Universal "Custom Price" Flyer (available only to Market Development Gold & Elite dealers) gives you the
ability to set your own consumer pricing for all items. When you sign up for this program,
we’ll give you a Custom Pricing diskette each quarter which makes it easy for you to
price all the items in the flyer.
4-page Pre-Priced Elite Flyer
This flyer has the same products as the custom-priced flyer, but with a different
design. It is pre-priced to sync with the Market
Development Elite program.
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PageXpress |
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These competitive times
often call for a customized approach to product selection and pricing for each of your
individual customers. PageXpress
helps you create custom catalogs and flyers using United’s entire catalog database of
25,000 items -- including actual catalog photographs and text. All you need to do is to
submit your list of contract or promotional items and prices, and PageXpress will automatically
assemble the items into pages, sorted in exactly the same product category order as the
General Line Catalog. You can submit the list via the PageXpress web site -- or through the
mail. The whole process takes only a few weeks -- and at a cost that’s far less than
doing your own custom piece! Fax Blast Mastheads
In response to the increasing use of fax blasting as a fast, economical way to reach
customers, PageXpress now offers mastheads designed specifically for this purpose.
PageXpress gives you these publishing features & options:
- Any size printed piece from 2 pages to over 100. (Or we’ll deliver a pdf file, and
you can print your own piece!)
- Full-color or black & white.
- Three
different full-page Contract Catalog covers, each with your company name and
the name of your customer. (Or, you can provide your own custom cover.)
- Nine
different "Promotional" mastheads to use as a sale flyer, statement
stuffer, etc.
- Your company name, phone number, and fax number appears on every page.
- Copy contains the product category label heads just as they are in the General Line
Catalog.
- Index available as an option on 48-page or larger catalogs.
- Add your own insert page with additional information about your business.
- Replace our stock number with your own or your customer’s stock number.
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Price
Buster |
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Price Buster is a promotional catalog designed to reach the
small office buyer with these features:
- Broad selection of products – 1800 – with reference to 25,000 total available
- Aggressive pricing on commodity items – consumer pricing is patterned after
United’s Market Development Elite Attack pricing model on approximately 400 of the
items that are in common with Market Development. This model helps you sell key commodity
items at street pricing – sometimes close to your cost – but make up additional
margin on new and unique items, which are priced with a combination of competitive and
supercompetitive pricing. (It is also strongly recommended that you employ United’s
General Line Catalog Consumer Matrix.)
- Three key items on the front cover with four different consumer pricing levels
available, so that you can experiment with "loss leaders" and other competitive
strategies in your marketplace.
- Premium item for consumer – optional insert page inside front cover promotes a
popular food item as a free incentive for building order size.
- Mailing program – the price for Price Buster includes the cost of a mailing label,
mailing service, and postage!
Dealer Net Pricing
A special "net/net" price plan is available for Price Buster merchandise. Please
be aware that, in order to aggressively attack the 5-50 office market, some key items may
be consumer priced at very low dealer margins. However, the entire basket of 1800 items is
matrix priced for stronger overall margins. In addition, the dealer using Price Buster
should also carefully consider using United’s General Line Matrix Pricing for a
strong overall margin mix on 25,000 items.
Consumer Rebates
Consumer rebate coupons – bound into the center of the catalog as tear-out cards
-- are a great way to give your customers added value without any fulfillment
responsibilities, since they’re returned directly to the manufacturers.
Premium Program
What better way to motivate consumers to build their order size than by offering a
premium with their $100 order? The optional Price Buster Premium insert, available to
appear inside the front cover of your catalogs, offers a different food item each quarter;
all are items available in our General Line Catalog:
1st Quarter – New -- Dilbert Candy – assorted flavors
2nd Quarter – Famous Amos Cookies
3rd Quarter – Starlight Mints
4th Quarter – Famous Amos Cookies
So that consumers don’t split their orders to
get additional premiums, the insert will say, "FREE with your first order of $100 or
more from this catalog."
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Quick
Slick |
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Quick-Slick is a low-cost, line art flyer, formatted in Microsoft
Word, that can be customized quickly and easily for mailing and faxing to your customers.
Quick-Slicks can be downloaded FREE from the Resellers Classified
Zone.
Different Categories Available
Quick-Slick artwork is available in these major categories; download as many as you
like:
Office Supplies
Office Furniture
Computer Products
Facilities Management Products
Signature Images
Back-to-School
Dated Goods
Valued Added/Office Solutions
New! Flyers to Promote Non-Commodity Items
To help promote non-commodity products to your customers and promote your role as a
single source supplier, additional Quick-Slicks will be available late fall, 2000, to
promote such product categories as breakroom, safety, mailroom, etc.
New! "Quick News" Consumer Newsletter
Positioning your business as a source for much more than great pricing is extremely
important. The new "Quick News", a quarterly consumer newsletter featuring
office news, solutions, product tips, etc., will be available late fall, 2000, to help you
do this. It’s formatted in Microsoft Word, so you can easily download the file from
the Classified Zone and customize it in any way you want.
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