Why Choose MI?
Why Choose MI?
Knowing how to support and importantly – grow - brick & mortar businesses is both an art and an expertise. With companies promoting their way as the best way – how does a brand make the right decision for their field support needs?
Here we talk to Dina Cianchetti & Terry Lawrence, Founder & COO/CFO, on why brands choose Missing Ingredient.
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Let’s discuss a few of the decision-making elements that continue to bring new brands to MI and maintain lasting relationships with current brand partners.
First, long-term relationships in a referral-based business.
Dina: We’re celebrating 20 years – we pride ourselves on our long-term relationships. We’re partnering year after year in the growth of today’s hottest new brands and evolving the long-term success of some of the most iconic brands in the industry.
Terry: Ours is a referral-based business, so our reputation is everything, and it’s driven by performance. Our retailers are recommending us, as well as our brand partners because of the results we deliver.
Next, the fast, seamless brand integration you offer and MI's ability to remain nimble as the brand grows.
Terry: We’ve made it a strategy to make things instantly easier for our brand partners. We integrate fully, or act as a hybrid field team for the brands we represent. Essentially, we grow and evolve with the brand where and when the brand needs the fuel to grow.
“We work tirelessly to alleviate the stress of offline brand growth, which is a huge factor in why brands choose MI, and stay with us year after year.”
Alleviating field management stress, a common factor for seeking field sales team support.
Dina: It’s where we thrive as a brand’s field sales partner. We alleviate the pain points associated with finding, developing, managing and directing a national field sales team. With hundreds of Brand Ambassadors across the US, we make a constant, conscious effort to remain close and connected – we are an extension of the brand in market.
Terry: Communication is key. Our brand partners know the MI team by face, and by name. We bring our teams together to learn and evolve – it’s not just a conversation with us and our Regionals, it's also with the person who made your brand #1 in their locations, or with the person sharing real-time feedback from the sales floor– we listen, action and grow together through consistent communication.
TESS excellence, a key point of difference between MI and others in this space
Terry: Brick & Mortar can be difficult and is everchanging, and as such can become a huge factor in terms of resource management.
“Our ability to support a brand’s growth meaningfully and measurably is an enormous benefit and decision-making factor for choosing MI.”
Terry: We strive to know the retailers as well as they know themselves in stores. As we are often partnering closely with retailer corporate teams, the initiatives they are rolling out we know and have access to – so it’s natural that we become the best partners to help execute and support their vision and protocols.
Dina: TESS is the reason for MI. Our ability to Train, Event and provide superior Sales Support is why we’re in business. When you walk into a store, regardless of the day or brand, we’re creating memorable experiences. Whether it’s conducting a fun event, providing a consultation that connects you with exactly what you want (and more!), or training associates and building their skills – it’s all a day in the life for our team.
Delivering consistent, measurable results.
Terry: It’s interesting because there is a huge focus on digital, online channels. For many of our brands, it’s winning with their own website, and then driving growth via third party websites – all of which require immense support. Stores have equal demands but brands rarely have the bandwidth to support them. Stores are ever evolving – new protocols, new people, newness overall that is constantly influencing how, and why, people are shopping.
Dina: We’re in stores 7 days a week, so we have an innate know-how when it comes to what it takes to make it. We work with brands on door counts, coverage cycles, support materials, gratis, samples, TOA’s, visuals – we help to take the guesswork out of in-store support which minimizes spend and maximizes selling and ROI.
Terry: Honestly, without consistent, measurable results, nothing else would matter. We’re in this for the legacy of supporting the brands you choose to use every day, follow on social media and count as a must-have part of your self-care care routine. To be a part of that decision-making process, being a catalyst to build lasting connections between the client and brand that keep engagement high and sales on repeat - it's a driver for us. We’re very proud of the work we do, experiences we create and results we deliver.
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