How Akran Marketing Wins Opportunities with commonsku’s Intuitive Client-Facing Experience

Mikas Agarwal is the Chief Digital Officer at Akran Marketing. Akran was founded in 1997 by Raman Agarwal and Mikas has been involved in the family business from his earliest memories. 

Today, Mikas is utilizing AI for virtually every area of their business (you can hear him talk about it at skucon!) and his tech-forward ambition is carving new paths for Akran. Mikas was also recognized in 2024 as one of PPAI’s Rising Stars.  

Mikas joined us for a webinar to talk about how Akran uses commonsku’s end-client tools to win business and reduce friction for both clients and his team. Prior to commonsku, managing orders could take up 50%-75% of his day. Worse, the tools he was using weren’t intuitive or elegant for the client. 

Enjoy our chat with Mikas or jump to the highlights below!

How Presentations Boost Sales for Akran’s Reactive and Proactive Sales Teams

Akran Marketing prides itself on being customer-centric, constantly seeking ways to improve the customer journey and streamline work for their team.

Mikas and his team employ both “reactive” and “proactive” sales teams to address customer needs. The reactive team excels in handling inquiries swiftly, dealing primarily with repeat orders and straightforward requests; the proactive team focuses on securing more complex, creative opportunities, particularly with corporate and for-profit entities.

In today's digital age, Akran recognizes the importance of leveraging technology to simplify all client interactions. Instead of traditional methods like sending PDFs, which can be cumbersome and prone to errors (such as oversized email attachments or printing mishaps), the company opts to use commonsku’s dynamic presentations with links, these links direct clients to online presentations that are easily updateable in real-time, ensuring that clients always have access to the latest information. This approach not only demonstrates Akran’s tech-savviness and forward-thinking nature but also significantly enhances the ease of communication with clients.

The shift from static PDFs to dynamic, easily accessible online presentations is a massive game-changer for Akran, offering a more efficient and effective way to engage with clients and likely representing the future of client presentations in the industry.

How Client Portals Eliminate Back-and-Forth, Saving Akran Time and Aggravation

commonsku’s Client Portals are an end-client’s one-stop console for past, current, and future orders. Mikas said "Having a centralized portal is essential to any business nowadays. It just eliminates all that back and forth."

Client portals have revolutionized Akran’s reorder process by replacing traditional methods like phone calls and the barrage of endless email exchanges. Clients can now effortlessly place reorders through a client portal, avoiding the need to initiate cumbersome email or phone conversations. This transition to a centralized portal system streamlines the entire process, significantly reducing the typical back-and-forth communication and making reordering a more efficient and less frustrating experience for both clients and sales teams.

How Akran Uses Shops to Boost Sales Through Market Segmentation

“Whenever we send an e-blast or any marketing initiative at all, there’s always a commonsku Marketing Shop attached,” said Mikas. Mikas shared how the dynamic world of marketing segmentation is crucial, yet often overlooked in our industry, but shops allow him and his team to pinpoint buyers and buyer needs specific to each market. Here’s a breakdown of how different types of shops are utilized to enhance Akran’s marketing strategies:

Marketing Shop: The marketing shop is primarily used as an internal tool for e-blasts and other marketing initiatives. The key here is the integration of a call to action. E-blasts are designed to be image-heavy and concise, directing recipients to the marketing shop where they can find detailed information, view more images, see pricing, request quotes, and even upload their artwork. This functionality is invaluable for distributors.

Pop-Up Shop: Mikas said that for them, pop-up shops are tailored for smaller entities, particularly in the education sector like schools and university clubs, pop-up shops are a strategic choice. They require minimal setup time—often just 30 minutes—making them efficient for handling smaller, less complex orders. These shops aggregate orders over a set period, and then consolidate into a single sales order, simplifying the process and saving time.

Company Shop: Recommended for larger businesses with significant needs and higher headcounts, company shops handle multiple sales orders, allowing for staggered fulfillment based on project requirements. They offer greater flexibility and include options for managing inventory, which is crucial given current supply uncertainties.

For any distributor looking to stay ahead, understanding and utilizing each shop type is essential. 

Shops represent the most dynamic opportunity and the future of the industry, and a savvy distributor knows how to use them to create a strong competitive advantage. 

Mikas’s final advice for selecting the right tech and the right partner?

"Whenever you're looking for a technology partner, don't look at just [a tech platform] at face value, you’ve got think of them as a partner."

Join Mikas and over 800+ distributors to learn how you can win more opportunities with a sophisticated yet simple and intuitive end-client experience! Book a demo!