How to make the PSI Product Finder a real win-win tool

Find and be found when purchasing and supplying promotional products. The PSI Product Finder is a profitable sales tool exclusively for PSI members. The intelligent search engine for promotional products brings together those who are supplying and those who are searching for promotional items in Europe’s largest promotional products network.  

The principle of the PSI Product Finder is simple. All PSI supplier members can present their products to 3500 certified PSI distributors by means of the online platform. It is a free service of the PSI Network through which suppliers can reach potential customers. The only thing that promotional products suppliers have to do is enter their product data on their own responsibility and keep them up-to-date.

The PSI Product Finder is not the PSI Supplier Finder

The continuous updating of the product data distinguishes the PSI Product Finder from the PSI Supplier Finder, where promotional products suppliers indicate their product groups and certificates twice a year. The PSI Product Finder advertises products, which are maintained by promotional products suppliers all year long.

Enhanced detail page for products

Up to now, there was a difference regarding the product details: suppliers could fill out more data fields, but they were not displayed. This is now possible, which means that all data from suppliers regarding the product details are listed. In addition, every product detail page contains information on when the product entry was updated the last time. For promotional products distributors this means that when searching for promotional products they always see the most recent offers, sortable by relevance, alphabet or price. 

Image gallery in the Supplier Finder

Suppliers can create a list of products. This list is displayed in the PSI Supplier Finder as a highlight image gallery in the company profile. To do so, suppliers must check the box “Display the products in this list as an image gallery in your Supplier Finder profile” when creating the list.

Effective moving images

The features “Product videos in the PSI Product Finder” and “Product lists in the PSI Supplier Finder Company Profile“ are available to all PSI supplier members. The only requirement: suppliers must have their products posted online.

The videos are put online during data entry or data import. To do so, a YouTube link to the product video must be entered into the appropriate field. The product lists can be created in the backend of the PSI Product Finder. To do so, suppliers must check the box “Integrate this product list into your profile page in the PSI Supplier Finder?”.

A true win-win situation

PSI distributor members also benefit from the PSI Product Finder, because the sales tool enables them to search based on their needs. All listed products are subject to a strict data quality standard and offer comprehensive additional information on product refinement, the manufacturer’s recommended price, price scales and much more.

He/she who seeks correctly will find

Searching in the PSI Product Finder is uncomplicated. You can either select and click on a product category at the bottom of the homepage or enter a search term that matches the desired product. Both ways lead to the search results page. There you may view the identified products or further specify the results.

A simple filter navigation enables you to search according to predefined attributes such as colour, material, size, suppliers or certificates. In addition, distributors and consultants can display product details or send a request for an offer directly to the corresponding supplier. They may also do so from the product detail page, where the contact data of the supplier are also displayed. Last but not least, the products found can be saved in a product list.

A dynamic contact platform

The PSI Product Finder is a contact platform, which is not tied to any web shop. PSI distributors search for promotional products here and send their requests using the tool directly to the respective supplier, with whom they can communicate in real time directly in the PSI Product Finder. This is made possible by the messaging centre, which can be found in the backend in the online database – thus where users also maintain their product pages.

The handling is uncomplicated: if a distributor finds an interesting product, he or she can directly request and offer in the PSI Product Finder. The supplier is informed by email that the request has been received and can view and respond to it directly in the backend. This way, distributors can keep track of requests for offers and products. And suppliers can directly see who requested which product from them.

Various marking options and a filter function provide for more transparency. Furthermore, the messaging centre can be used to communicate with another PSI member even without a product request. And: several people from one company can be simultaneously active in the messaging centre. It is not restricted to individual access data.   

For incoming messages: a global list of recipients in your own account

If a PSI distributor sends a product request to a PSI supplier, he or she receives an email, which can be viewed and answered in the Product Finder messaging centre. Previously, these notifications were only sent to the saved, mostly general, company address.

Starting now, distributors and suppliers have the opportunity to add additional addressees for these notification emails to the global list of recipients. The only requirement is that the recipient has access data for the PSI Product Finder. This data can be created independently in the area MyPSI at www.psi-network.de.

This global list of recipients also applies to messages, which are sent via the system without a request for offer. This is possible for both PSI suppliers as well as PSI distributors.

For outgoing messages: cc list of recipients

There is also the new option to add additional recipients for notification emails in the messaging centre when starting or during the course of a conversion. Those who know their contact person at the company they want to address can add his or her email address. This way, the notification of a request in the messaging centre is not only sent to the general company address that has been stored. A specifically selected contact person will also be informed. He or she can see this with a valid login for the PSI Product Finder.

Multifunctional product lists

The product lists are extended watch lists, of which any number can be created in the backend, for example by theme or by customer. Distributors and consultants can create their own advertising pages (landing pages) from the product lists and send them as a link to their customers. From this page, the customers can in turn send their requests for offers directly to their distributor. By the way, the product lists can be created in German and English.

Detailed search results

The PSI Product Finder also puts forward improvements with regard to search results and is more transparent. You can now sort by alphabet, the name of the manufacturer or price, and recently by “age of the product entry” as well. The quality of the search results depends on the data entered by the suppliers.

Individual advice for beginners

By the way, PSI supplier members can receive advice on all matters concerning the PSI Product Finder. To do so, Martina Lipp, manager of PSI E-Business, offers personal online appointments. Regardless whether you wish for advice via Microsoft Teams or Zoom, it is important that the screen can be shared.

“We wish to meet our members exactly where they are“, explains Martina Lipp with regard to this PSI service offer. Suppliers who have not yet transmitted data to the PSI Product Finder receive a personal introduction to the system. “By doing so, I am able to respond well to the individual needs and questions of customers, for example how to fill out the online form or how data transport by table works“, which are two frequent obstacles for beginners according to Martina Lipp. Those who need support in updating data will of course also obtain this support.

Tips to increase sales potential

Suppliers wishing to optimise their data quality and thus the sales potential of their products as well as the benefits for distributors can set an appointment for a personal consultation. An email to importe-productfinder@reedexpo.de or a call to +49 211 90191-721 suffices.

The PSI Product Finder Team, which continuously works on improving the PSI Product Finder itself, its data quality and keeping it up-to-date, also provides support and advice. The commitment of the PSI supplier members is decisive here. After all, the tool can only be as good as suppliers enable it to be by regularly updating their data and entering additional information.