Grassroots marketing – something distributors always need, as many lament millennials' lack of understanding about the industry – is just one reason they should consider bringing students on board as interns.
Internships provide real-world experience for students and much-needed exposure for the industry, but they also provide an effective marketing channel on college campuses for distributors, says Beverly Propst, senior vice president, human resources, Graybar, St. Louis, MO, in College Connection, Part 2: Deepening the Relationship.
“The best recruiters are the students themselves because they will tell their friends and classmates about their experience in an internships program,” she says. “Internships aren’t one-sided. Students also are forming impressions of the distributor that will live on for a long time. They will be your recruiters and continue that trend for future classes.”
Distributors might look to establish internships in hopes of establishing a crop of qualified recruits or bringing fresh perspectives to company projects, but well-run programs also create brand ambassadors who "go back to their universities and become champions" of the company, says Nicole Enright, vice president of corporate human resources, Avnet Inc., Phoenix, AZ.
Interns often "evangelize" the merits of the distributor to other students, Enright says, building the company's brand by sharing their experiences with classmates as well as on social media.
College program directors also see this phenomena. Scott Jochum of the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s industrial distribution program says “students that come back from an internship are talking nonstop about that distributor. It’s free advertising that’s going on.”
Read more about the benefits of establishing an internship program in College Connection, Part 2: Deepening the Relationship.
