Does the thought of finding the right holiday gifts for you customers scare you? With a bit of imagination and some help from yours truly (no that’s not me in the picture) it doesn’t have to be a nightmare.
Being that today is Halloween, I thought I would take the fright out of holiday gifting by spotlighting a few products that are great for the holidays. Ok it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t start off with food gifts on Halloween, but these won’t leave your recipients with a big belly ache. Did you know that 
food gifts are the #1 best selling holiday gift? One of the reasons they are great is because people can share them with coworkers or family. One of my favorite items is a combo of sweet and salty: maybe some english toffee and cashews in a wood box with your imprint branded on the box.
Beyond food gifts there are so many great gift ideas, one favorite of some of my customes are USB drives. You can now even get those in custom shapes. I love gifts that people will use all the time, like bag chairs, you know the ones that people take to soccer games - not a bad way to advertise too. Fleece blanket are fantastic this time of year, embroidered with your logo. Stainless travel mugs are always a hit. Lets not forget one of the most popular tech items…digital picture frames.
The key is to not get so caught up in decision making process that you don’t make a decision at all. The holidays are the time to really let your customers know that you value them. Choose a gift that you can be proud to give out that will leave a lasting impression. We can make your gift giving more like a day at the beach than a creepy night at the graveyard. Give us a call. We’ll make your job easy and make you look like a million bucks.
Gifting, Product Spotlight
food gifts, Halloween, holiday gifting
This will be just a quicky, but I did feel a need to address this topic. The country is heading if not already in a recession. Companies that have been long fixtures are gone. House are being foreclosed upon. People are losing jobs. The stock market…well let’s not talk about that (I try not to even look at it right now). Seems like a perfect time to tighten up the purse strings and not send those holiday gifts right?
Well in a cash crisis what appears to be the right decision is anything but. If your business is still up and running, the most important thing to do (other than counting your blessings) is to make sure that you hold on to customers and employees. When times are tough you have to pull out all stops. I’ve mentioned in earlier posts that it is much easier to get business from current customers and much less expensive than trying to get new customers. Make sure you are thanking those customers with even a small gift of appreciation. It will go a long way to making sure that they want to continue to do business with you next year.
As for employees, they are the backbone of your organization. It is so important to pat your employees on the back when they do a good job. Did you know that many people are motivated by just being recognized for their efforts? Did you know a pat on the back doesn’t cost a dime? There are lots of free ways to give employees recognition. It is also great to consider gifts if you have the budget. You will find that the payoff is happy employees who love their job, which helps your business and profits grow.
Gifting, Marketing Ideas
cash crisis, employee incentive, employee recognition, Holiday Gifts, recession
calendars
You have decided that you really do need to hand out promotional items to market yourself. Right away - I have to say you have made a good choice. Promotional products (products with your logo or info on them) is one of the least expensive, best advertising choices you can make. Let’s say you choose to send your customers a calendar this year for the upcoming 2009. Regardless of what kind of calendar you send, wall calendar, desk calendar, computer calendar - you have chosen a product that you pay for once, but you get 24/7 advertising. How great is that?!
So what do you choose for your continuous advertising? Well that depends on what your marketing efforts are. Are you in a tradeshow? Are you leaving a promotional item behind at sales calls? Are you sending a thank you gift to your valued customers? Are you doing a mailing? That’s right, your choice of promotional item will depend on how you are marketing. It will also depend on who you are marketing to. Another factor will be how you want to represent your company.
The who you are marketing to: Possibly you are marketing to a particular niche. Lets say for example, your customer is someone who is always at the computer - then computer related promotional items are the perfect choice. What if your customer or potential customer is in a specific industry - then you could choose an item that relates to that industry. What about if you customer doesn’t fit into any particular category - then it is time to consider items that relate to your industry or the event.
Marketing for your industry: How do you want your company to be viewed. Do you portray your company as very serious and professional? Do you prefer customers to associate your company with fun? Are there specific products that directly relate to your company. For example, a car saleperson may want to give people who buy a car from them a keychain. Or a new housing developement that happens to be on a golf course may want to give out golf tees to everyone who previews their model houses.
Whatever idea you choose you want to make sure that you are choosing a useful item. The more the recipient will use the item the more times they see your info.
If you need great ideas check out our website at www.cgpros.com or give us a call - we will help guide you to the right choice.
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