Manufacturer reps often play a vital role in expanding market reach and ensuring customer satisfaction. This week's guest reveals why effective reps are the lifeblood of design firms and how they are instrumental in preventing building products from being value-engineered. In this episode of the Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast, hosts Zach Williams and Beth PopNikolov sit down with Mary Cook, President of Mary Cook Associates, a prominent commercial interior design firm based in Chicago, to talk about the importance of manufacturer rep relationships and how the right rep can play a vital role in increasing specifications. Throughout the episode, Mary shares her valuable insights and experiences, shedding light on the crucial role manufacturer reps play in safeguarding design intent, ensuring quality execution and staying within budget — with the collective goal of avoiding the value-engineering of products.