WearGuard - B-to-B with a Consumer Twist (2007 words)

By Alicia Orr Suman

Whether in its catalog design or ordering procedures, uniform supplier WearGuard strives to mirror the shopping experiences customers have off the job.

WearGuard has been in the business of marketing rugged work clothes since the 1950s, when founder Gene Salem started selling personalized work shirts and pants out of a converted milk truck. For Salem and his customers — gas station owners — it was more than a business-to-business (b-to-b) relationship: It was about people selling to people.

The company has grown and changed during the years, but one thing has remained constant: Whether the customer is the procurement manager at a Fortune 500 company or a sole proprietor, WearGuard recognizes the human side of the business relationship. As such, many of the company's creative elements mirror the proven techniques used by consumer catalogers such as Lands' End.

"Even in the largest of corporations, there's still a person who makes the decision to buy your product," says Joan Abrams, director of marketing for WearGuard, now a division of Aramark. When people go to work each day, "they don't check their 'consumerness' at the door," she notes.

As Abrams sees it, b-to-b marketing is a misnomer: It's still a consumer who makes the buying decision. And that human element is what WearGuard tries to capture in its catalog creative.

Business Consumers

WearGuard has 110,000 active customers, and they extend from small- and mid-sized businesses to large corporations. Among the many markets it serves are construction, maintenance, utilities, delivery/transportation and food service. The company mails up to 17 times a year to its best customers.

Abrams says customers buy WearGuard apparel for two reasons:

Identification — namely, logos embroidered or screen-printed onto clothing to represent their brands; and

Protection — a need for rugged, durable apparel on the job or outerwear to protect workers from the elements.

Prospect catalog circulation varies from year to year based on business objectives, says Abrams. But before it can create or mail even one catalog, WearGuard must identify and target the right individual from within its widely varied prospecting pool. For example, at a smaller company, it may be the owner or office manager, while at a larger business it can be an operations manager. Corporations even may have a separate purchasing or procurement department.

Service professions, such as auto dealerships, present an even bigger challenge as they're comprised of sales, service and garage employees who all have different uniform requirements. (WearGuard has found face-to-face selling is more effective than catalog sales when dealing with some of its clients from very large companies.)

Another challenging facet of WearGuard's prospecting equation is the nature of the products it sells. This is not office furniture or heavy equipment. For the most part, it's clothing that people have to wear every day. And each corporate or business buyer generally is buying for a number of other employees.

Lois Boyle, president of catalog consultancy J. Schmid & Associates, says that although WearGuard sells to businesses, "They realize the goal of the buyer is to provide a quality product that's not only durable but comfortable to the end user (typically an employee).

"The buyer's customer is the end user," Boyle continues. "And so the buyer must think like an end user. Thus, a consumer approach should work very well for WearGuard." And apparently, it does.

Consumer-style Creative

Since WearGuard speaks of its business customers as "consumers," its approach is to create consumer-style catalogs for its b-to-b market.

As Abrams explains: "We don't use dry, spec-oriented 'just-the-facts' product descriptions. We write benefit-oriented copy. We focus on the features and benefits, and try to convey what our product will do for them." Following is an example:

Here's the right shirt when you get dirty one minute and meet customers the next.

This marketing strategy — humanizing business catalog copy — is something catalog creative guru Herschell Gordon Lewis endorses and embraces.

Abrams says WearGuard makes a point to call out not just the features of the product, but also why it's better than anything else on the market.

Our exclusive WearTuffTM knits are engineered for work ... from fabric to fit.

All catalog creative at WearGuard is done in-house. "It gives us more control," Abrams notes.

Cheryl Hammond, creative director, leads a staff of 20, including three copywriters, six art directors/designers, four production designers, two Web designers, three print production managers, one print buyer and one image librarian.

The creative team works closely with the marketing department to achieve the targeted consumer-style approach it desires. "Our creative approach, whether for print or online, begins with strategy and data," says Hammond. "Data-driven creative ensures that we stay on target, reach our customers more effectively and ultimately drive response."

Most creative projects at WearGuard start with what it calls "turnover meetings" during which the marketing team provides pertinent information (e.g., project type, target information, business objectives) to the creative team via a creative brief. The meeting also gives the creative team for that particular project the opportunity to probe and query the brief and brainstorm ideas.

"After turnover, a creative team consisting of an art director, copywriter and production designer work together to begin the process of executing a comprehensive layout proof," Hammond explains. The genesis of ideas during this process is influenced by many areas, including data and objectives contained in the brief, and similar projects that generated great response.

Once the layout is approved, the art director orders the photography work. WearGuard hires professional photographers to work with its in-house creative team.

When the photography is completed, layout and copy are refined to ensure proper messaging, and the project is turned over to the production design team. A final layout is produced and routed back to the project team (or internal client, as they call it) for approval. Production designers then generate an electronic file that's sent to the catalog's printer, R.R. Donnelley and Sons.

Design Show and Tell

For WearGuard, there are two goals of this comprehensive creative process:

1. to position the company and its brand as an authority in its marketplace; and

2. to produce a catalog that is, in Abrams' words, "very shoppable," that is, easy to use and accessible.

With the aim of emphasizing WearGuard's quality and brand, Hammond says, "We've studied catalogers who do a good job of positioning themselves as experts/authorities in their respective product fields." She cites The Travel Smith as a catalog that does a sound job of providing its customers with product information. "We've also studied catalogs that do a great job of positioning product on the page. And our creative catalog team and marketing analyze what our competitors are doing."

Through this creative strategy, consultant Lois Boyle thinks WearGuard has very carefully differentiated itself among its competitors by not only selling a quality product but by carefully and strategically selling those differences in its creative elements. "They not only say they're the 'technical' experts but they tell and show the story. The creative presentation focuses on the product attributes that will motivate the end-user, presenting them with meaningful benefits."

Good photography is key to illustrating those product benefits. "We go to great lengths to show the products in real working conditions, thus underscoring our authority position in the marketplace," Abrams says.

For example, she notes, some catalog product photographs are shown in extreme conditions — particularly the outerwear. "This relays to the reader that if WearGuard outerwear will keep them warm and dry in the extreme conditions we show, then they know it will work for them [under less severe conditions]."

WearGuard uses other consumer-oriented creative tools to make the catalog shoppable. "We extensively use call-outs to highlight the technical features of the garments," Abrams explains. "And customer testimonials add a lot of credibility to what we're saying. This brings another voice other than our own to the catalog."

Indeed, customer testimonials are peppered throughout the book, and occasionally a customer is featured in a catalog photo. Some testimonials come in on their own, while others are solicited by the company's sales reps when they know a customer is especially pleased with a product.

Other Consumer-pleasers: Offers and Service

Even beyond its catalog copy and design, WearGuard takes a personal approach by, for example, making special offers that appeal to buyers' consumer sensitivities.

"The people who purchase from us do so primarily for business use; yet they're human beings with motivations that all human beings share," says Abrams. "So we look for offers that will achieve particular objectives, such as stimulate trials among new users, encourage cross-selling or increase average order size among current buyers."

Offers with a high perceived value and that reward the customer work especially well, she notes. For example, one of WearGuard's most successful offers is a free jacket, a $70 value, with a minimum purchase. "So buyers know they're getting something for themselves," Abrams explains. Such offers work well because, she says, more business customers today have spending allowances (say, up to $200) and control over when and how they spend it. "So the offers can get them to spend more now," she explains.

WearGuard frequently tests new offers, but of course, not all are successful. "Our business customers are not as responsive to free shipping as consumers would be," Abrams admits.

But b-to-b customers are responsive to good service, and simplifying the purchasing process is another goal of WearGuard's creative team.

Says Boyle: "WearGuard does a wonderful job of helping the customer through what could be a confusing decision-process. With so many options — personalization, delivery options, extended sizing — they're able to create a clean presentation that helps the customer narrow the decision and place the order."

In the company's customer service department, account managers act as consultants, not merely order-takers. "They do more than help customers choose products," Abrams says, noting there often are more complex customer service issues in a b-to-b sales environment than in a consumer catalog. For example, customers may need help with billing and shipping, or customization of their ordered products.

In addition, Abrams says WearGuard is trying to be as accessible as possible to its customers. "More and more, we think it's important to be accessible during the day and the evening. We take phone calls until 11 p.m. Obviously our Web site is available 24 hours. We find that businesspeople are running their businesses during the day, but they'll often do their administrative work, such as ordering uniforms, in the evening."

The percentage of WearGuard's Web business still is in the single digits, probably because with the complex ordering process that some larger clients may have to go through, it's easier for them to speak with an account manager via telephone.

Keeping it Fresh

To formulate innovative strategies in a b-to-b environment, WearGuard looks for inspiration from the best in the catalog industry, no matter what the product category.

"We don't look to copy what others are doing but to aspire to have some of the same impact and readability as other successful catalogs," says Hammond.

Adds Abrams: "We tweak every season. For instance, often season by season we emphasize different items. We also want to call out our value-oriented pricing. These are human beings making purchasing decisions," she continues, "so we can appeal to their sense of value."

Catalog layout and product positioning are refreshed annually, with brainstorming playing an important role. Brainstorming, for the most part, is executed internally, but WearGuard also brings in outside consultants to review its catalog-design approach.

"This also has enabled us to look outward and provide fresh thinking in our approach to reaching customers," Hammond notes.

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About WearGuard

Headquarters: Norwell, MA

Parent company: Aramark

Products: uniforms,work shoes, hats, bags and accessories

SKUs: about 50,000

Annual catalog drops: up to 17

Creative, fulfillment and call center: in-house

Printer: R.R. Donnelley and Sons

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WearGuard at a Glance

12-month housefile: 110,000

List manager: Mark Joyce at Merit Direct, (203) 541-2300