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A Boost In Sales
By: Audrey Sellers, Associate Editor
Issue: March 2010



Above: Counter mats offered a convenient way for Buckaroos to showcase its line of tools.



A manufacturer of industrial insulation products found a solution to sluggish sales: customized counter mats.

For 20 years, Buckaroos, a manufacturer of industrial insulation products, relied on peg boards to display its tools at distribution locations. The peg boards worked, but there were flaws: They took up premium wall space and they were expensive to maintain. Buckaroos contacted Joyce Carroll, a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based promotional consultant for Geiger (UPIC: geiger), for ideas on how to improve this marketing method.

Carroll thought of the perfect product for the job: peel-and-stick counter mats from Las Vegas, Nevada-based supplier DIGISPEC (UPIC: DIGISPEC). “The strategy was to cut costs for tool customers without cutting the exposure of tools offered by Buckaroos,” Carroll says.

The mats, which were mailed to the top 200 insulation tool customers in the U.S., allowed images of Buckaroos’s products to be visible to buyers when they made purchases. This was something the peg boards couldn’t do.

Two days after the counter mats mailed, Buckaroos followed up with its revamped tool catalog, providing exposure to the catalog and a free display for customers. “In the past, the display kit was requested by 30 customers,” says Carroll. “Using the mat marketing allowed them to reach 175 customers with their product information.”

Buckaroos’ competition took note of the new tactic and quickly followed suit, sending out their own counter mats and catalogs. “Buckaroos sees itself as a leader in this industry and this is proof,” says Carroll.

The counter mats had another, unforeseen perk: They helped increase sales of tools that had not sold well in the past. “The mats served their purpose of eliminating the need for Buckaroos tool clients to purchase a $400 peg board display of tools,” Carroll says. “Buckaroos again offered a service to their tool clients, saving them money in this down economy, bringing exposure to their products and increasing sales due to the new exposure.”

Pat Stephens of Buckaroos says the counter mats will be a mainstay in the manufacturer’s future promotions. “The counter mat has definitely been one of the most successful promotions we have offered.”