Every sanitary supply distributor knows the importance of reputation. Ask any CEO or company president what characteristics are vital for a good business reputation, and you’re likely to hear the same qualities often repeated: honest, timely, fair and resourceful, just to name a few.

But how does a distributor get the word out that his or her company possesses those characteristics? In the sanitary supply industry, simple word-of-mouth is the biggest contributor to reputation, says Peter Deverey, president and owner of Tartan Supply Co., Inc., in Brookfield, Wis.

“It’s friendships with people and strong business relationships that bring people in, not advertising — at least at the distributor level,” he says. “I can put up a $10,000-per-month billboard, but no matter how many people see it, they’ll only do business with me if they know that I’ll come through and they can trust me.”

Some business partnerships occur because a customer looks in the Yellow Pages to find a jan/san distributor. Quite a few others come about because a customer personally hears about the good reputation a distributor has.

In the case of Tartan Supply, Deverey has made a number of connections through his company’s support of the Milwaukee Kickers, a non-profit organization that helps area children enjoy competitive soccer at a very low cost.

“Everyone in our family is a soccer fan, so it’s just natural that I want my business to help out the Milwaukee Kickers and encourage local kids to play soccer,” says Deverey.

Tartan Supply has also contributed financially to the soccer program at nearby Concordia College. Although Deverey never expected his company to gain anything from its involvement in supporting soccer organizations, he’s been able to make valuable contacts for his company and build up a strong reputation for community involvement.

Author Dr. Richard Steckel is president and founder of AddVenture Network in Denver. He has written extensively about partnerships between private businesses and charities.

In one of his books, Making Money While Making a Difference: How to Profit with a Non-Profit Partner, Steckel writes that business owners shouldn’t feel guilty about helping their company’s reputation while working for a good cause.

For example, a dry cleaner might offer to act as a drop-off point for clothing donations. It cleans them before passing them onto a charity. Steckel predicts that this kind of partnership between charities and the private sector will surge in the next few years for small- and medium-sized businesses.

“Good business and being a good person can go hand-in-hand,” he says. But, he cautions business executives who have a hunger for profits and lack true passion for their particular charity: “Do it because you believe in it, or you’ll be seen as a fraud.”

Every year, many regional sanitary supply associations take part in Operation Clean Sweep, in which distributors pitch in to clean and repair facilities that are run by particular charities.

Jeanne Stahurski, executive administrative assistant for NYCO Products, a jan/san distributor near Chicago, also serves as president of the Greater Chicago Sanitary Supply Association (GCSSA). She has helped coordinate many charitable events for the GCSSA, including its own Operation Clean Sweep. Stahurski doesn’t think that business strategy has any real part in why executives volunteer in these events.

“Everyone pulls together, whether they’re competitors or not, and I know there is some networking that goes on, but in the end they are all there because of that good feeling you get from being able to help people,” she says.

Any recognition that comes from donating cleaning supplies and equipment for Operation Clean Sweep is minimal, she adds. “The buildings we clean exist to serve homeless people, so you’re not talking about executives volunteering so that they can impress influential people. But those homeless people definitely appreciate it, and that’s a reward in itself.”

Regardless of their intentions, distributors do make a name for themselves when they work with a charity or not-for-profit organization. They might be taken aback by the idea, but sometimes the work that’s not done for recognition is exactly what people (including customers) recognize.

“I want my customers to think of us as a partner who is willing to work hard for their best interests, and I suppose how you contribute to a charity says something about your character,” says Deverey.

Because many of Industrial Cleaning Supply’s customers are in the education sector, that’s also where many of the company’s charitable contributions go, says M.J. Healy, president of the Waterford, Mich.-based distributor.

“We pick and choose various charity events each year — golf tournaments, silent auctions, etc. — but we also want to be where our customers are, so we participate in a lot of the charitable events run by the school districts in our area,” he says.

Like Stahurski, Healy serves as the president of his company’s regional association, the Greater Michigan Sanitary Supply Association (GMSSA). “We contribute to scholarships that our school districts run and we also help raise money for the GMSSA scholarship that’s awarded to a student each year.”

In the end, every organization that a distributor participates in outside the realm of official business can influence how people view the entire company — both positively and negatively.

“Our company has always been involved in various charitable events, and our president has held high positions within the association, so I know that people remember those things about our company,” says Stahurski.




POSTED ON: 9/1/2003