Promotional Products: The Most Outsourced Roles

I’m sure many of us have received giveaways from companies we work with, in one form or another. A giveaway typically refers to promotional items or branded merchandise, often customized with a company’s logo. These promo items are frequently distributed when a company welcomes new staff, celebrates an anniversary, or offers promotional items to consumers. However, we often overlook the process behind the production of these items. In reality, there’s a complex and often overlooked industry at work here, known as the promotional products industry.

The promotional products industry is made up of companies that design, customize, and distribute promo or branded merchandise to businesses and, in some cases, directly to consumers. These are usually large enterprises with hundreds of employees working in different departments with distinct line of skills or expertise. Every department and individual plays a critical role in their respective companies being able to fulfill all orders given to them.

Main Point of Outsourcing to BPOs

Many of these promotional products companies have outsourced certain aspects of their operations in order to save on staffing costs and streamline processes, from managing suppliers and production to handling logistics. While a majority of businesses outsource customer service, promotional product companies can outsource a wide range of positions to supplement all of their departments.

Full-service BPOs also allow for full control of your team. They will handle all administrative aspects of the remote staff while you get to focus on the actual work, leaving you more time for important tasks.

Finance

As in any industry, the finance department is a critical part of everyday business. While most companies won’t replace their in-office staff, they will supplement their already existing finance department with remote staff.

Most common finance remote staff roles:

• Accountants/CPAs – advising on financial matters, handing tax documents, and creating financial reports
• Accounts Payable – manage the company’s expenses
• Accounts Receivable – manages the company’s incoming cash flow
• Bookkeepers – manages both incoming and outgoing
• Sales and Use Tax Specialists – navigates the ever-changing sales and use tax regulations and allows best practices to be followed

Artists

Having on-hand artists is critical when dealing with numerous orders from other businesses or direct customers. Shorter turnaround times will allow you to take on more orders and grow your business as fast as clients come.

Most common art/design-related remote staff roles:

• Artworkers – in charge of touching up and editing images that come from other artists
• Layout Artists – determines the framing, angle, and presentation of displays
• 3d Generalists – responsible for all aspects of 3D art
• 3d Artist – specializes in 3D models for realistic product mockups
• Embroidery Designer/Engineers – creating and developing design ideas and concepts for embroideries

Call Center Staff

General call center staff are the most commonly outsourced positions of any business and for good reason. The ability to quickly and effectively answer customer inquiries and concerns through an outsourced answering service leads to a better customer experience and eventually, growing customer loyalty. All of this can lead to free advertising, new customers, and new sales.

Most common general call center staff roles:

• Data Entry – responsible for the general entry of data
• Customer Service Representatives – handles general customer/client inquiries, either by phone, email, or chat interface
• Technical Support Specialists – assists and resolves the technical questions from customers/clients
• Claims Adjuster –  in charge of evaluating insurance claims to determine the extent of liability and settling claims

Developers

The ability to quickly repair, and modify web or software applications is crucial with the growing reliance on technology in order to reach and draw in customers. Creating a successful website that users enjoy interacting with, will lead to more conversions and is a benefit to the company.

In addition, it is more cost-effective to have customized software built in-house. You can have it built exactly to your specifications as you have direct communication with the developer(s).

Most common developer staff and tech roles:

• Back End Developers – responsible for the creation, security, and constant maintenance of the server-side of websites
• Front End Developers – responsible for the visual elements that users interact with on webpages
• Software Developers – in charge of researching, designing, implementing, and managing tech software
• Web Designers – responsible for planning, creating, and coding web pages

Logistics

Your logistics department is responsible for your inventory and its timely and organized distribution. Being understaffed in this department means late shipments, leading to unhappy customers and the possible loss of business.

• Inventory Specialist – responsible for the flow of supply; tracking inventory
• Order Verifier – handles customer orders
• Purchasing Administrator – in charge of cost negotiations, as well as, vendor management and sourcing materials from suppliers

Sales

No matter what industry you’re in, you need a successful sales team to keep the business growing. Whether it’s specialists from lead generation companies who can give your sales team qualified leads to follow up on or supplement your sales team by adding remote sales experts, you’ll have qualified staff join that will help your business grow in a more efficient manner. 

• Lead Generation Specialists – in charge of qualifying leads for the main sales team; generating leads through cold calling
• Inside Sales Representatives – also called remote sales, they have the responsibilities of selling products or services to other businesses or directly to customers
• Sales Assistants – responsible for taking inbound and outbound calls, updating the CRM, collaborating with other departments on customers’ behalf

The Wrap Up

Having the proper professionals in place will allow different departments to streamline their processes. For promotional products businesses, this means its more than just producing items with custom logos, taking on more orders and completing them quickly, all while saving on employee costs. With full-service BPOs such as Clark Staff, you can quickly hire all the staff you need, even those hard-to-find positions such as Embroidery Designers and Sales and Use Tax Specialists.