MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | OCTOBER 2004

Pam Feingold:
This entrepreneur takes customer service 'over the top'

By Jeanene Dunn

I was in need of items to hand out at the Middle School Design-Build competition earlier this year. I had contacted Pam Feingold of On Target Marketing to let her know I would need her help for an event. I knew if anyone could come up with something to hand out to middle school kids, Pam could. She came highly recommended from another of her clients — Anita Parran.

I followed her recommendation to order mood pencils. “Remember the mood rings from the ’70s?” she asked. Of course I did. I had my very own mood ring back then. My bosses liked the mood pencils idea and approved the order. The engineers in my office liked the pencils so much I had to hide them to keep from running out before the event! The pencils were a huge hit with the kids and I have Pam to thank. 

Feingold takes a unique approach to customer service. “We insist on over-the-top customer service,” she says. When she calls on your business, expect the unexpected. I had no idea who was calling my office and talking about “kissing up.” It was Pam, and I got a huge kick out of how she introduced herself to our company. It was different and it was definitely “over the top.”

She knows her products, assesses clients’ needs and creates a perfect match. This is the model she and her business partner, Maxine Brand, used to launch their latest business, ON TARGET Resource Network, L.L.C. Through the network, clients are matched to pre-qualified, pre-screened suppliers that have the expertise the client desires along with the understanding of the client’s business needs, expectations and budgets. The result is ON TARGET creating a new channel for doing business for clients who have too few people and too little time to find the kind of suppliers they need to reach their business goals. “We researched our idea and could not find a company that was doing what we want to do,” explains Feingold. She is taking what she has done successfully with her promotional products company, On Target Marketing, Inc., and employing that same strategy to the new business. Staff reductions and downsizing have left a void that she and Maxine are waiting to fill.

Before Feingold was a business owner, she was a photojournalist and educator. She launched her first promotional products company, PFA, Ltd in 1981, and has owned On Target Marketing since 1991. Feingold is a lifelong Kansas City resident. She is a graduate of Southwest High School, has a BA from the University of Texas in English, with minors in history and Middle Eastern Studies, and an MA in Secondary English Education from UMKC.

Her advice for would-be business owners? “Do lots of research. Read everything you can get your hands on. Be prepared to work a lot of long hours and be a risk taker. Be honest, objective and fair. Be comfortable with sleepless nights. Multi-tasking is a must.” She encourages women entrepreneurs to overcome the fear of failure and “be brave.”

Her final word of wisdom is to give back to the community. Feingold has been involved in volunteer work for a number of nonprofit agencies since she was 13. “All of these activities that I’ve just mentioned, well … that’s where most of your sleep will go.”

To find out how Pam can serve you through On Target Resource Network, L.L.C. or On Target Marketing, Inc., call her at 913-381-3388 or e-mail at pam@otm-inc.com.