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Data Update
By: Tama Swan, Associate Editor
Issue: 2009dec

Keeping your UPIC profile stats up-to-the-minute can increase business opportunities.

In the race to keep your company’s Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts current and in line with your company’s marketing objectives, you may be overlooking your UPIC (Universal Promotional Identification Code) profile. Maintaining an up-to-date profile will make it easier for others in the industry to find you and, ultimately, to do business with you.

Upic.org is a free database developed by PPAI in 1999 that allows industry practitioners to search industry companies by product category or specialty, making it imperative to update your profile after introducing or eliminating new products, services or employees.

Suppliers have more than 1,000 product categories to choose from when customizing their profile page, says Connie Brazil, project manager for UPIC, so building a profile that accurately reflects your company’s offerings is easy. It’s also important that suppliers maintain their roster of employees on UPIC, adds Brazil. It could mean the difference between booking a sale and not.

Distributors are unlimited in the specialties they list on their UPIC pages, Brazil says, because there is no preset list of terms from which to choose. “It’s totally free form,” she says. “They write in their specialties, whether it’s sublimation, embroidery, etc.”

Both suppliers and distributors are free to write their own business descriptions. Companies take different approaches to this section, choosing either to write a narrative about the company or to list product key words. Brazil says using product and service key words is a must for searchability, whether or not you include a company description.

Brazil says users’ UPIC acumen has dramatically improved through the years; however, she hopes more industry companies will try and make the most of their UPIC profiles. “UPIC is the biggest industry database out there,” she says, “so you must make sure your company profile reflects what you do in the industry.”

For more information on optimizing your UPIC profile, or contact Connie Brazil at 888-426-7724 ext. 3218.

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