commonsku Shops Talk with IMM (Intentional Merch & Marketing)

It’s a David and Goliath story: Small-but-progressive distributor wins six-figure program away from one of the biggest uniform companies in the world. I wanted to hear all about it, so I called Laurel Ferrell to get the scoop. Laurel and her business partner, Shawn McCarthy, own IMM (Intentional Merch & Marketing) and are based out of Mt. Pleasant, SC. 

Hi, Laurel - I heard you added a big new client and, in part, this had to do with commonsku’s shops, can you tell me about the project? 

We’re so excited, we just landed this customer and they are going to be in the range of $100,000 to $200,000 in revenue, they have already done a decent chunk of it. The client has around 600 employees and they give an annual uniform allowance of $200 per employee.

And you set-up a Pop-Up Shop?

Yes, I set up a Pop-Up Shop, we'll have it open for a window of time for fall and then open it again in spring. 

Did you consider any other platform for this?

We were considering something like Shopify, because we were concerned about the spending limit, we needed people to stay within their $200 allowance. I didn't really want to be on a different platform because, on commonsku, we can take shop orders and easily consolidate them into a sales order … I mean ... not only does it save tons of time, but it saves potential mistakes due to re-keying the order into another system. We would have had to re-key orders with any other platform. Then the commonsku team configured it to not allow employees to spend over their limit and that was it, it was super helpful. 

How else did you win the project?

The competitor is a huge uniform company but their technology is dated, not responsive. The client also had a few other big competitors come in and pitch, and they each had canned presentations. We went in and created a customized presentation with their branding to help them imagine what their program would look like. They liked the fact that we went to those lengths to give them personal attention.

How does your customer feel about the shop now?

Our initial client was a part of the pilot program for their uniform store so he truly appreciates how much more advanced our functionality is with our shop, and they appreciate that we treat them like an important customer. 

I'm just so thrilled for you, I know what that feeling is like to win a big project and see your hard work pay off! I know you’ve said you’ve been on commonsku for two or three years, what has been most helpful to you?

Oh my gosh, I love so much about commonsku that I can’t even get into it all. Everything's all there, and it’s simple to use. For example, I love that you can easily see your margin on everything. I know that we probably aren't using every aspect of it, but it has just been tremendous for us. The business can be so hard, it’s complicated, and we needed something to help us simplify it while finding the right technology to help us grow. 

Love to hear that. Speaking of complexity, when I was a distributor, we had to have folks who were knowledgeable in technology to set up our shops, we had a full-time e-commerce director so, I especially love how amazing it is that anyone can go in and set up a shop and win a big program. Congrats to you and Shawn! 

Thank you! 

With shops, it’s really not about “leveling the playing field anymore” it’s about advancing ahead of the competition faster, with easier, lighter tools, keeping you responsive and out in front. Congratulations to Sean and Laurel, we’re thrilled to have played a part in helping you grow! 

commonsku has three amazingly simple types of shops to fit your needs, a Marketing Shop, Pop Up Shop, and a Company Shop, for more information, check out our shop options here.