King Marketing is a sales and service agency that represents manufacturing companies nationwide, in the home improvement industry. Its head office is in Richmond BC, with subsidiary offices in Calgary, Winnipeg and Mississauga, employing a staff of over 80 in various capacities. It was originally founded in 1972 by Terry King, hence the name and is now owned by three shareholders—Peter Hall in Calgary, Roger Plante in Winnipeg and Paul Crawford in Richmond. Together, they have over 70 years of combined tenure. King Marketing’s mission statement is:
“Our Strength is our people. We Service what we sell. And we Love this business,”
followed by its vision, which reads “…we will strive to become the leading sales and service agency in the Home Improvement Retail Sector in Canada…[to] provide a safe and yet challenging environment for our employees to learn and prosper.” Asith most industries today, it’s all about over-servicing the customer, developing long-term relationships, staying true to core values and empowering the team. All three partners believe in a family-oriented, open door corporate culture. Generally when I ask a BSIA member to give me their pitch, I receive a 30 second standard spiel. It’s my job to request elaboration and to extrapolate answers. However, when conversing with Paul Crawford, President and Partner of King Marketing, I was astounded by the level of detail in his responses and his commitment to the business. Paul’s work ethic is accredited to an ensemble of training and experience, which reflects in King Marketing’s vision.
Paul arrived from England 22 years ago. With Shelley his new wife from Regina, $500 to his name and a second hand Hyundai Pony that his in-laws gave them, Paul began his journey. “I was encouraged to live the dream and to prosper with my entrepreneurial beliefs. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities that have come my way and constantly extol Canada’s virtues to my European friends. I am an eternal optimist and have never met a successful pessimist. To me, the glass is always half full, “ says Crawford. Paul also acknowledges his wife Shelley who has constantly supported his efforts (and many weeks away from home in Toronto) as King Marketing has grown rapidly over the last 10 years.
Paul is an enthusiastic, vigorous reader who reads literary works ranging from fiction to ‘business strategy self-help books’. He has also been a member of TEC (The Executive Committee) since 2001, which is an organization designed to unite like-minded business savvy individuals.
| It enables networking opportunities, cements lifelong friendships, encourages mentorship and encourages an insemination of ideas. Put it all together and you have passion combined with solid business sense and a winning, charismatic personality - all defining traits of exemplary leadership.
It would only follow then that King Marketing offers monthly awards to the representatives, bonus structures for managers and employee giveback days, such as bowling night, casino night, golf and lakeside or beachside barbeques.
King Marketing also adopts a student every year and hosts regular clean-up days where employees take samples and returned goods collected over a period of time, donating them to charity, school raffles and fundraisers.
The last clean up provided the Vancouver Habitat for Humanity Re-Store with some valuable materials for use in their housing projects. King Marketing must be doing something right, as 28 full time representatives were hired nationwide in 2007 alone. “Today more than ever in a world of ever increasing infrastructure costs, the manufacturer’s agency ‘route’ to market is proving to be economically attractive for manufacturers.
We provide the manufacturer with more feet on the ground, greater face time with the customer base, quicker execution of programs and a fixed percentage cost of sale. Combined with the fact that King Marketing has one of the more experienced rep forces on the ground, the attractiveness of our agency model allowed King to grow its revenue significantly in 2007 and it continues to grow today, “ says Crawford.
King Marketing’s sales team represents a number of brand name manufacturers, such as Roxul Insulation, Norton Abrasives, Delta Faucet Retail, Schlage Locks, Mirolin, Degil Safety Products, Royal International, Chamberlain Garage Door Openers and Flotec Pumps but is also conducive to working with smaller companies that are new to the industry.
King managers and representatives are always looking for new products and in particular in todays market ones that embrace environmentally sustainable initiatives.
King Marketing is constantly challenging itself to think outside the box, whether it is developing a comprehensive online reporting system allowing clients to view 24 / 7 work performed on their behalf or in pioneering a new product entry to the marketplace. King’s staff is not limited to a tight corporate agenda because King’s corporate culture encourages passion and an entrepreneurial spirit that rewards innovation.
King Marketing will be representing Roxul Inc, Delta Faucets, Schlage Locks and Omega Electronic Accessories at the Westcoast Building & Hardware Show |