What our sales teams think about the SwitchGreen Box
A few months after launching the SwitchGreen Box, we gathered feedback from our Antalis sales teams all around Europe.
A few months after launching the SwitchGreen Box, we gathered feedback from our Antalis sales teams all around Europe.
It is in our DNA to promote more responsible alternatives in visual communication. The SwitchGreen Box is our best asset to make change as easy as possible, one client at a time.
What is the SwitchGreen Box?
It is a box with a selection of the best alternatives to PVC for your key applications: panels, tarpaulins and textiles, adhesives, and rigid synthetics. It’s a great tool to test alternatives and show them to your end customers.
When it comes to choosing a product, what matters most is price, quality, and… sustainability. This last one is now a critical criterion in consumers’ purchasing decisions.
It reflects a growing awareness of the environmental and social impact among customers. This trend underscores the urgency for businesses to adopt eco-friendly practices and materials within their supply chains.
Eco-responsible alternatives: why it is difficult to promote them
Companies are not equal towards sustainability practices. Some are mature and receptive to eco-responsible alternatives to materials. Other ones are not. It depends on many factors such as the country, the industry or the company size.
Antalis Poland sales team reports that “small companies are mainly price-oriented”. The Czech sales team adds: “green alternatives to classic materials are always more expensive.” However, bigger customers are more likely to be receptive to the SwitchGreen Box, especially when they work with global companies.
On the other hand, Antalis Iberia sales team states that “clients see that it is in their interest to use sustainable alternatives”. In France, the Provence Region Sales Manager sees a “huge demand from customers for events involving M1 products”. M1 certified products are non-flammable.
Even though companies show a growing interest in the topic of sustainability, we can improve things to make the alternative evident. Obstacles stand in the way, like the lack of blank large format samples for testing.
Another one is the absence of a list of potential recyclers. And all of the alternatives are not equally performant. Self-adhesive foils have a short shelf life and board materials are not always suitable for exterior use.
The SwitchGreen Box makes it easier to present alternatives
“With this box, you deliver a more professional interview, and the customer is open to spending more time with you.” This sentence from the Antalis Iberia sales team sums up the main benefit of the SwitchGreen Box: simplifying presentations and making them more compelling.
The Czech Republic's Sales Manager declares it changed the way they work: “I build meetings primarily around the SwitchGreen Box”, before adding: “It is all in one place, no need to pick and mix samples from different swatches before the appointment.”
Antalis Poland confirms this observation, reporting that “presentation is easy, done in a structured way and helps open many interesting discussions”.
The SwitchGreen Box is a small tool with a positive impact. Indeed, customers experience a range of alternative products within a few seconds. It makes things more concrete from the outset, and customers are more receptive to the speech. The Polish sales team testifies that “customers are surprised how wide the offer is”.
Antalis France adds: “With a single tool, we can meet a variety of requirements”, and: “The SwitchGreen Box includes almost all the products available”.
What customers think about the SwitchGreen Box
According to Antalis Iberia, “Customers are delighted to have this sample book and to be able to choose products”. The support of the SwitchGreen Box contributes to informing, educating, and pushing customers to start the transition.
Antalis Czech Republic's sales team gives more varied feedback, from enthusiastic to less keen. They notice that some customers want to keep the sample book. Other ones ask for materials straight away. Others say it is nice to know, but they are not interested in the box. We must keep in mind that so far, price is still the main decision factor for many.
But overall, the SwitchGreen Box arouses customers’ interest in alternative materials. “As they handle the samples, our customers project themselves onto past and future files”, says the Visual Communication Sales Manager of the Eastern France Region.
It also “helps to dispel two big misconceptions: that recycled media are of inferior quality, and that pricing is a deterrent.”
The SwitchGreen Box speaks beyond sales teams
Some customers have even asked for a SwitchGreen Box for a big customer of theirs. They leverage it to convince their end customers to switch to eco-responsible alternatives. In Poland, some customers want Antalis to train their sales team on presentations based on the SwitchGreen Box.
But it doesn’t only concern sales. For some clients, sustainability interests the owner, production managers, purchasing managers, and manufacturers. This shows that sustainability concerns involve more and more departments in companies.
Thanks to the SwitchGreen Box, Antalis sales teams across Europe have started getting more questions about carbon footprint, FSC products (Forest Stewardship Council), and how to promote sustainable alternatives.
Conclusion: let’s switch to more sustainable alternatives
Feedback about the SwitchGreen Box is very positive overall, and it encourages us to continue along this path. Do you have any questions about choosing the best alternative to your current signage materials? Our sales team is at your disposal for any questions and requests.
