Some of the industry’s highest-ranking marketing/sales executives provided initial direction at a recent TRSA event for developing industrywide messages aimed at converting non-programmers to linen, uniform and facility services. These execs’ commentary on capturing prospects who haven’t previously been industry customers set the pace for upcoming deliberations by a TRSA task force whose charge includes guiding development of research and messaging to pique the interest of such prospects.

The panel discussion at December’s TRSA Marketing and Sales Summit in Las Vegas explained numerous challenges that the industry faces in seeking to convert non-programmers. Examples include:

• Forecasting the return ...