Corporate Gift Pros

There wasn’t much on tv last night.  I realize I should have been watching the democratic convention, but I have to admit I was in the mood for mindless entertainment.  Well good mindless entertainment is pretty slim pickins this time of year before the fall season starts and Tuesday night was no exception.

So with little to choose from, I ended up watching Million Dollar Listing.  Now I must confess this is not the first time I have watched this show, I have pretty much been watching all season.  Granted this isn’t emmy award winning television but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

If you have been reading my blog you have to kind of wonder where I am going with this.  Is Julie just feeling like ranting about the lack of good tv?  I normally gear most of my blogging to giving you marketing ideas.  Well this blog is really heading in that direction… just bear with me for one more minute. 

So I am watching these realtors selling multi-million dollar homes and I couldn’t help but notice that 2 of the 3 realtors gave a thank you gift to the client when they handed the keys over.  One gave a flowering plant, another give a large gift basket and of course the third did nothing really except for roll out the red carpet (literally) for client.  Granted, these 3 cheeseball realtors, sorry but if you have watched the show you know that I am not understating here, are making serious money and they seem to have the networking thing down pat.  What they are completely dropping the ball on, is the thank you gift.  A plant and a gift basket, oh let’s not forget the red carpet.  These guys have missed a perfect opportunity to give a gift that is useful, lasting and markets them.  They should have found a nice gift that they could imprint their logo on - something that the recipient will see over and over.  So when they need a realtor again, or a friend needs a recommendation the realtor’s name will be front and center. 

Do you thank your most valued customers?  If not you are missing an important opportunity to build relationships and get referrals.  At minimum you should be sending a thank you card.  If you can you should also be sending a gift.  That gift should not only be something that the recipient will use and appreciate, but that gift should continue to market you with your imprint on the gift.  You will be surprise at how much showing a bit of appreciation pays off. 

Of course, you know by now that I offer imprinted promotional items and gifts even thank you cards.  Feel free to call me for ideas or visit my website at www.cgpros.com.  We have everything you could need except possibly the red carpet :).

Gifting, Marketing Ideas Gifting, Holiday Gifts, marketing, Thank you gifts

It’s late August and it doesn’t really seem like fall is just around the corner.  But the kids are back to school and labor day is just a week away.  Where or where did the summer go?  No worries, fall is a great time to promote yourself especially if you do alot of business in the 4th quarter.  Now is the time to really ramp things up.

So you need some inspiration do you?  Let’s think about fall activities:  well the first one, I mentioned above - the kids are back to school, so let schools supplies inspire you for your next promotion.  Pens, staplers, totes, backpacks and notepads are always a winner.  Just about everyone can use these items at home or in the office.

What about kicking off the football season with a great promotion.  If you want to keep your name out locally you could have us create a magnet with the local football schedule on it.  Or a magnet with all the local school phone numbers on it. You could even get a couple of complementary, non competing businesses to join in with you on these and then give them to the schools to hand out to the student body.

You could remind customers that the clocks fall back this time of year by sending them a desk clock, or something with a unique twist like a calculator clock or a picture frame with a clock.

With so many specator sports going on in the fall what about binoculars, stadium seats or bag chairs.  Your logo will not only get seen when your customer uses the promotional item, but others will see your logo when your customer uses the item.  Now that is high performance promotional products.

For more ideas on making your customers fall for you, check out our website at www.corporategiftpros.com

Marketing Ideas football promotions, promotional products

Friday I did a blog on slogans and had a quiz - here are the answers to the quiz.

1.  “Leave the driving to us.”  Greyhound

2.  “We’ll leave the light on for you.”  Motel 6

3.  “The Family Company”  Johnson & Johnson

4.  “It’s All Inside”   JC Penney

5.  “Your in good hands.”    Allstate

6.  “What’s in your wallet?”   Capital One

7.  “The World’s Online Marketplace.”   Ebay

8.  “Right Store, Right Price”   Kroger

9.  “Life More Interesting”   Pier One Imports

10.  “You can do it, we can help”   Home Depot

Did you get them all right?  What slogan does your company use?  Is it memorable or forgettable?  Does it make your customers think of you the next time they need what you have?  Does it stick in their brain?  Don’t forget - slogans can help you brand.  If you did not read Fridays post - go back and check it out - it may have just what you need to start putting your company on the map.

Marketing Ideas branding, marketing, slogans

I was watching TV last night and I saw a Verizon commercial.  I got to thinking about their slogan:  “Can You Hear Me Now?  Good.”  I realized people say that all time when they are on their cell phones - even if they are not Verizon customers.  What a great slogan they have.  It totally relates to the cell phone industry and almost all cell phone users as we are constantly trying to get a good connection.  Verizon has taken the problem we all have with our cell phone service and turned it into a slogan that really sells their company.

The right slogan can take a brand from ho hum to memorable.  With some creativity you can have the world associating a slogan with your company name.  It takes some creativity to get a slogan to stick in the people’s minds.  You want familiarity to breed sales, not contempt.  By contempt I mean have you ever been so annoyed by a slogan that you really did not want to purchase from that particular company?  I kind of felt that way back in the day with the whole annoying Energizer bunny commercials.  I would go out of my way to not buy Energizer batteries.  Fortunately for them even annoying slogans can work because they really stick in customers minds.  And as you can see I remembered that the bunny went with Energizer and he kept going and going and going.  Was it Madonna that said something like any press is good press?  (Just for the record - I am over the Energizer annoying bunny thing and I do purchase their batteries here and there.)

In my mind, slogans should be fresh to be effective.  Being cleaver works, rhyming works, humor done properly can work, even a good jingle can lock a company brand in our brains.  In trying to come up with a great slogan, think about what the company represents, not necessarily what product they sell.  Slogans should say a lot with few words - short and sweet.  According to Adslogans Unlimited Database - the 10 most frequently used words in slogans were:  you, your, we, world, best, more, good, better, new and taste.  

If you are a marketing person, listen to the client - how do they do business, how do they interact with customers, how do they want to be perceived.  You will really have to brainstorm - record all ideas that come to mind, even if not all are great - after a while you may have a 100 ideas and soon you will find that just the right idea will emerge.

Here is a quick quiz of slogans - Can you figure out what company went with each slogan?

1.  “Leave the driving to us.”

2.  “We’ll leave the light on for you.”

3.  “The Family Company”

4.  “It’s All Inside”

5.  “Your in good hands.”

6.  “What’s in your wallet?”

7.  “The World’s Online Marketplace.”

8.  “Right Store, Right Price”

9.  “Life More Interesting”

10.  “You can do it, we can help”

Feel free to respond back to me with the answers.  Most of these are pretty easy - but don’t cheat.  I may be giving prizes out.  I’ll post the answers Monday.

Marketing Ideas

Sports Bottles

In my last blog post I talked about different green options.  In this article I want to talk about water bottles and their green or not so green impact on the environment. 

The growth in bottled-water consumption in the United States has really grown.  Did you know that more than 50 billion plastic bottles are thrown away each year?  Here is an interesting fact that I think most people don’t realize about bottled water. Last August, The New York Times reported that it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the bottles for the bottled water Americans use each year.  That is enough to fuel 100,000 cars. In addition, the Times noted, only about 23 percent of those bottles are recycled.

We all think about recycling the bottles, some of us actually do recycle them, but I thought it was so interesting to find out that those bottles are made from oil.  I think most people, as I was, are unaware of that.  So beyond recycling what can we do to lower our impact?

One of the best ideas that I have come across in the promotional products industry is simple.  Instead of buying bottled water why not buy reusable sports bottles. They can be used over and over and over again at home or at the office - just about anywhere.  Supply some for your employees with your logo on them.  Or supply them to customers. 

Ok, I know some of you are probably saying…If I refill my sports bottle how am I going to get pure water?  Well bottled water and it’s purity are a whole different article in itself.  You might do some research to find out just how pure bottled water is. Put a filter on your tap, it probably will give you even purer water than what you are buying.

There are so many choices of sports bottles.  The most popular right now are polycarbonate because there is no plasticy taste.  On top of that some of our factories now offers a new material that is 100 percent free of bisphenol-A (BPA)—Eastman Tritan copolyester.  They are the first factory in promotional industry to offer this.    So make an easy change from bottled water to filling your sports bottle and save tons of fuel and reduce your impact on the earth.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to publish this for your customers on your website we just ask that you give us credit for the article by giving a link to www.corporategiftpros.com at the end of the article or you may link directly to this blog from your website.

Marketing Ideas eco-friendly, sports bottle, water bottle

Recycled Journal

Green products that is….Going green is the trend these days so you shouldn’t overlook “green” promotional products.  Not only is it a trend but it also says something about your company.  It tells customers and potential customers that you care about them and the environment.  This generates good will.

There are a number of ways to go green. For starters - hand out useful products - that way they won’t end up in your local landfill.

Other options to consider are items made from recycled or partially recycled materials.  There are lots of options, such as pens, notebooks, keychains and much more.

Biodegradable products such as products made from corn plastic are popular options.  There are a large number of products made from corn plastic such as mugs, letter openers and ice scrapers.

Organic is a great way to go.  Many apparel items can be made of organic fibers.

Eco-friendly items such as grocery totes and other reusable bags are quite the rage right now.  Don’t forget those grocery totes can also come from organic materials as well.  Another eco-friendly ideas is solar powered items such as calculators. You might want to consider hand- crank flashlights that don’t require batteries.

No matter what you choose, choosing a great promotional item that has less of a impact on our environment is a great way to go.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to publish this for your customers on your website we just ask that you give us credit for the article by giving a link to www.corporategiftpros.com at the end of the article or you may link directly to this blog from your website.

Marketing Ideas corn plastic, eco-friendly products, environmentally friendly, green products, organic, recycled

Customer referrals are a very effective way to grow your business.  Studies show that people trust a recommendation from someone they know.  There are easy ways to get customer referrals.

First off - just ask.  I know that was a no brainer, but most people don’t ask their customers for referrals.  Here’s an easy way.  Send your satisfied customers a thank you note, thanking them for their business.  Mention in the note that you would appreciate them remembering your company the next time they are in contact with someone who may be interested in your services.  You may want to include a small promotional gift as well.  One study showed that customers were 34% more likely to provide leads when they were given a promotional products.

When customers provide a lead or referral, show your appreciation with a gift.  You can always send them a generic gift, but why not give them a useful item with your logo on it.  They will get use out of the item and see your company name over and over which will be incentive for them to refer you again.

Lets not forget the best way to get referral.  There is no replacement for good service.  Doing good work for your customer and being pleasant to work with in the process goes a long way for getting referrals.  Always put your customer first and remember that every single customer has value.  Follow through - do what you say your going to do - handle problems that arise professionally -care about your customer and they will be singing your praises and boosting your business.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to publish this for your customers on your website we just ask that you give us credit for the article by giving a link to www.corporategiftpros.com at the end of the article or you may link directly to this blog from your website.

Marketing Ideas marketing, promotional products, referrals

I started thinking today - Do people know what branding means and why is it important?

Let me ask you a question:  When you have a runny nose - what do you use to wipe it?  Do you ask someone - “hey do you have a kleenex?”  If the word kleenex has ever come out of your mouth - you just got the meaning of a brand.  The product is facial tissue.  How many times do you ask for a tissue or a facial tissue?  I know I always say kleenex - but it is not a kleenex it is a tissue and there are many makers of tissue - Puffs - generic brand tissues and of course, Kleenex.  Do you ask for a Puffs?  “Hey would you mind passing me a ”insert your favorite store” generic tissue please?”  I don’t think I have ever asked for any of those brands.  In fact, if I recall, even on my kids school supplies list - they requested multiple boxes of Kleenex.  Did the school specifically want Kleenex brand or did they just need a good stock of tissue?  Kleenex, the company,  did such a bang up job of branding that we are all asking for Kleenex when we just want a tissue any tissue - honestly I don’t really care what brand it is - I just want to blow my nose.  But that item, a facial tissue is synonimus with Kleenex or visa versa.

Can you think of any other company that made their brand the one you think of when you are referring to a product?  Ipod has done it.  People think there are Ipods and then there are mp3 players, but an Ipod is just a brand of mp3 player.  I hear people all the time referring to Ipods when they mean mp3 player.  Do you ever ask for a cotton swab or do you refer to it as a Q-tip?  Another one that has done a pretty good job is Post it Notes - really it is 3M brand and their version of the sticky note is Post-It.  I think many people call all sticky notes Post-It Notes - that is great branding by 3M.  Do you ever ask for cola or do you ask for a Coke?

Not every company gets the type of branding that we talked about above, but every company wants you to think of them when you need a product or service that they offer.  When you think about athletic shoes - Nike wants to be your first thought.  When you think about a cola - Coke and Pepsi are going head to head vying for their brand to be on top.  That is really the goal of any company - to be foremost in the minds of customers and potential customers so that when they need what the company offers - the customer will purchase their product or service. 

So now you get it - Branding - it quite possibly is the holy grail of marketing for any company with any competetion.  It is keeping your name on the tip of every tongue, sitting in front of customer eyes and in customers thoughts.  So when they need what you have they will think of you.  I will have many more blog posts directed at helping you keep in front of the competition.  Stay tuned.

Marketing Ideas

The Pen, probably one of the most used and most misunderstood promotional products out there. 

Let’s start by talking about pen styles.  There are so many different choices of pens - stick pens, click pens, twist pens.  Then you take the pens and have variations such as pens with grips, skinny pens, chubby pen, gel pens, ballpoint pens, executive pens.  The list goes on and on and on. 

So what pen do you choose to represent your company and at what price point?  Here lies in the all important question. Do I go inexpensive or expensive? 

Let me tell you the joy of an inexpensive pen and it’s value to promoting your company.  This bit of information that I am about to reveal is so great, your going be calling me today to order pens.  The joy (the marketing value) of an inexpensive pen is that people don’t keep them.  I know, right now you are scatching your head - wondering why you would purchase something your recipient is not going to keep.  Are you ready for the “value”?  The recipient will use the pen, they will set it down or borrow it out and someone else will pick it up and use it, maybe leave with it, and use it somewhere new and then possibly someone else will pick it up and the cycle starts again.  Are you getting it?  Someone who has never heard of you before - someone you have never met is most likely going to use your pen and see your company name and possibly think about using your company.  What bang for very little buck!

Now don’t think for a second that a nice maybe slightly pricey pen has no value.  It sure does - but it’s purpose is completely different.  A nice pen - a well liked pen stays with the recipient.  They will cut off the arm of the person who tries to walk out with their prized pen.  They will remember you every single time they use their favorite pen.  They hopefully will tell their friends about you as well.

So there you have it - pens - their value - their purpose. 

If you enjoyed this article and wish to publish this for your customers on your website we just ask that you give us credit for the article by giving a link to www.corporategiftpros.com at the end of the article or you may link directly to this blog from your website.

Marketing Ideas

When you are brainstorming promotional ideas it is important to make sure that the items you give to potential or current clients are useful.  I always want my customers to give items that will get them bang for their buck. 

Some useful questions to ask yoursef when deciding on a promotion:  Does this relate to my customers business?  Or does this relate to my business?  Is my customer actually going to use this product?  Is this catchy enough for my customers to keep?  Does this relate to an event? 

Here’s a good example:  Let’s say you are thinking of giving your customers a mouse pad.  You are thinking - everyone uses a mouse pad - good idea, right? Maybe, is my answer to that question.  What is it about your mouse pad that will make your customer replace their current mouse pad.  Is your nicer than the one they have?  Maybe you should consider a mouse pad with a wrist rest.  Is it more useful than their current mouse pad?  Possibly you should choose one that has a calculator. 

Remember that all you have to do is take a regular item and chose a version of it that is the next big thing (A new innovation of that product)…that way your company’s name stays front and center.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to publish this for your customers on your website we just ask that you give us credit for the article by giving a link to www.corporategiftpros.com at the end of the article or you may link directly to this blog from your website.

Marketing Ideas