Top 5 Promotional Gifts For The Winter

This article gives you the top 5 best selling promotional gifts for the winter season. It's not just promotional clothing that's used because there are plenty of alternatives.

1 Promotional Umbrellas
Wherever you go whether it's to a sporting occasion, a walk in the park or on the way to work if it's raining you will see lots of umbrellas. These great business gifts must be one of the most cost effective advertising mediums around. Where else would you have the opportunity to have such a large advertising area for so little investment? Umbrellas can cost as little a couple of pounds and yet can be seen by thousands of people. If you are lucky enough to have it seen on the TV your audience could run into millions.

2 Promotional Clothing
This is probably one of the most popular promotional products in the world. Your business gift clients will always be delighted to receive an embroidered fleece or a promotional jacket. Prices for both these items are very reasonable even for small quantities. Try to buy a smaller number of better quality products rather than lots of cheap and shoddy ones. Poorly made apparel almost certainly won't be worn more than once.

3 Promotional Headwear
There are lots of different styles of headwear that can be used for promotional gifts. Embroidered baseball caps have been reinvented with lots of new ideas. Manufacturers have started to add lots of fabrics and materials to the tops and peaks. These include rubber logos, distressed materials, metal etc. For golfers there are even baseball caps with ball markers incorporated into the peak. Other winter promotional headwear would include fleece hats, plastic rain hats, and Beanie hats.

4 Promotional hand warmers
It is surprising how many people are still not aware of these excellent business gifts. Metal hand warmers continue to be most popular. They are usually fuelled by Paraffin or another similar fuel that is held in a sealed container. A cotton wick that is in held in the fuel and up into the heat chamber is lit, and then chamber then stays warm for as long as the fuel lasts. These excellent promotional items can be branded on the hand warmer or the bag it is held in. The latest fluid based hand warmers are much simpler to operate. A simple metal clicker is pressed and this activates a fluid which gives off great heat and lasts for around an hour. The whole pack is then put back into boiling water which resets it for the next use.

5 Promotional Ice Scrapers & motoring accessories
Unless a driver is fortunate enough never to have to leave their car outside in the winter even for a short time they will need an ice scraper. These very cost effective promotional products come in all shapes and sizes. If your budget allows it then always try to incorporate a rubber cleaning strip into the ice scraper as this inexpensive addition really helps in cleaning a frozen windscreen. The choice of shapes, styles and colors is vast. If you are buying more than 1,000 pieces you can have a special shape made in your color of choice.

SOURCE: By Francis Murphy
http://www.ideamarketers.com/?Promotional_Merchandise&articleid=806699

Seven Steps to Building Your Brand

Follow these seven steps to branding—and business—success.

1. Discover what a brand is—and is not. A brand is not a logo. A brand is not a product. According to marketing expert and author, Al Ries, a brand is “a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect.” In other words, it’s gut feeling a prospect has about your product, service, or company. A brand is a promise: a promise of specific benefits and value; a promise that is meaningful and relevant to your users; and a promise that is different from your competition. Your brand resides within the minds—and hearts—of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions.

2. Review your industry’s marketplace. Take time to evaluate the space in which you operate. With your marketing department or senior management team (depending on the size of your company) jot down the opportunities you see on the horizon and the threats to your current business model and product or service offerings. Which opportunities and threats do you think are most promising or relevant to the future of your business?

3. Review your place within the industry. Now, with that same team of participants, assess your company with regard to how you currently do business and how you acquire and serve customers. Then review the products and services you currently offer. From this discussion, develop a list of strengths and a list of weaknesses that you think are the most promising or relevant to your future.

Steps two and three will be the basis for a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)—a snapshot of sorts—for you to use as a baseline for step four…

4. Discover your current brand. Determining where you are today—what your current brand looks like—is critical to developing your brand strategy. Your brand essence will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating your marketing strategies and materials. If you have corporate vision and mission statements, this is a good time to review them. Then, focus on your target audience when evaluating each of the following points.

• What does your company specialize in?
• Describe the products and services you currently offer and define the qualities of these products and services.
• Characterize the core values of these products and services. Are they aligned with the core values of your company?
• What types of people do your products and services attract?
• What does your target audience think about your current brand?


5. Define your desired brand. Once you know where you stand today, it’s time to figure out where you want to go. What do you want your business to become? Branding starts with goals; all successful brands are aspirational. They aspire to be something. To begin building your brand, you need to have clearly developed objectives for what you want your company to look like in the next year, five years, and ten years.

Powerful brands are grounded in authenticity and relevance. Your business success is directly proportional to how well you acknowledge what your customers really want and how diligently you apply your company’s strengths, values, passions, and vision.

6. Place the brand within a new realm. Brand realm is the “space” in which your brand exists. Brand realm, or “architecture” is not corporate structure. It’s a system—like a family tree—that helps your prospects and customers navigate easily within your company and make the right choices. Determining your brand realm is a systematic way of organizing the identity of the different products, messages, or elements of an organization so that people both inside and outside of the your company understand how its customers are being served.

Brand realm gives structure to—and communicates the relationships between—your company including its divisions, business units, joint ventures, as well as its products and services, all with the objective of adding value to the brand. How do you want your customers to see you?

7. Finally, deliver the branded experience. You have a choice. How consistently you present your new brand will either strengthen the company or weaken it, depending on how you “live the brand.” The brand experience is strengthened when it is instilled into all your products and services—and at every customer touch point—including packaging, logos, your tagline, your corporate culture, in employee training, etc. The brand experience is weakened when it is ignored, or worse, through inconsistent usage, mixed messages, uncaring attitudes, and impatience.

Every employee has the responsibility to be a steward for the new brand. Your customer’s notion of your brand is formed from his or her first experience or “imprint” with your company or with your products or services. Every customer interaction is a chance to enrich the brand.

With your new brand strategy in place, you can begin integrating it into all your marketing and communications—everything you do and are—and watch the effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing efforts soar.

Source: http://www.how-to-branding.com/Effective-Marketing.html

Celebrate Special Occasions with Staff (Holiday Happenings)

Celebrating special occasions in the office is a great way to motivate your staff, improve overall morale, create camaraderie and build a positive workplace culture. Done right, every holiday throughout the year is an opportunity to demonstrate to your employees that you value you them and their work. As you plan celebrations, consider planning them in such a way as to leverage them to improve your employee relations and create an overall culture of appreciation.

More, Not Less

As the traditional holiday season arrives, businesses will be looking at their budgets more closely than ever – and unfortunately, many will see this year as an opportunity to eliminate festivities. It’s important not to cut out holiday events, as they demonstrate a commitment towards incentives and overall motivation.

In fact, in addition to holiday festivities, why not fill the week with education, teambuilding, traditional awards and entertainment – all allowing for plenty of interaction among employees, sales reps and key representatives for your preferred vendors. In the past, events have included a teambuilding bowling ice-breaker and a scavenger hunt.

Not every holiday lends itself to games and teambuilding, but every holiday is an important opportunity to reach out to staff and build a team-oriented workplace culture with personality that reflects appreciation.

The following tips can help ensure you’re making the most out of your holiday season:

1. Don’t Cut the Party
This tip might seem a little obvious, but it’s the most important one. With a challenging economy, the first inclination might be to cut the holiday party. If the party is on the chopping block, just say no! Holiday events are a crucial part of your culture and can have a major effect on employee morale and job satisfaction. Killing the holiday party is often a knee-jerk reaction to the threat of tougher times, but canceling the festivities just makes hard times even harder. Whether your holiday budget is $5,000 or $500, keeping your employees motivated and positive about their future with the company is worth every penny. That money is an investment in your relationships with your employees. Whatever you do – don’t cut the party. It’s more important than managers and executives often realize.

2. Effort Trumps Expense
When planning a holiday party, it’s always nice to be able to spare no expense. If the party is for the winter holidays, of course it’s nice to have a glossy reception with cocktails, beautiful hors d’oeuvres and a giant ice sculpture. The reality is, with today’s economic climate, most companies don’t have big holiday-party budgets. Just remember, effort is much more important to employees than the amount of money spent. If the staff can tell you planned the party with feeling, appreciation and effort, it will be enjoyed by all. The cost or the venue for the party is less important than the attention to personal details that make your employees and their spouses feel genuinely welcome and appreciated. Your executives and owners should be personally involved and engaged throughout the development of the event. Their presence will be greatly noticed and appreciated. Make an effort to show your appreciation and employees won’t be disappointed, no matter how large or small your budget.

3. Employee + 1
Whenever you’re planning a holiday get-together, don’t forget about your team members’ spouses and significant others. By including your employees’ spouses in events, not only do your employees feel more part of the organization, but just as importantly, their spouses feel part of the team, which translates into even more support for your team at home. This helps your employees build positive relationships with one another and get to know their co-workers and their executives on a much more personal level. Including spouses also shows that family is an important part of your leadership philosophy, and it builds a family culture in your business. While some firms call themselves “family friendly,” including spouses earns that reputation. With today’s progressive approach to relationships, it’s important to welcome all significant others to the party, not just married couples. The best way to make sure everyone feels included would be to invite the employee’s spouse or a guest.

4. Traditions with a Twist
It’s important to honor traditions, but it’s also important to ensure that each celebration includes the element of surprise or novelty. Try to add one exciting new surprise to the annual party this year, whether it’s a change of scenery, a group activity or a fun theme. Changing things up helps to build interest and shows employees that you aren’t just going through the motions with the company’s holiday celebration. For example, we’re always looking for events that include interaction or networking, rather than simple cocktail-party chatter or traditional dinners. One year, our holiday party was at a local racetrack. During dinner, everyone had a chance to relax and enjoy the event in a private setting, even those who chose not to wager. At the same time, if there are important traditions that have carried from year to year, be sure to keep them around. Those traditions are part of your company’s culture, and they should be valued and celebrated.

5. Awards and Recognition
While holiday celebrations including spouses and significant others would appear to be the perfect place to present awards, resist the temptation to include recognition ceremonies in conjunction with traditional year-end holiday events. All too often, this temptation to get “two for the price of one” is pennywise and pound foolish. Reserve those recognitions for their own special venue, make it an event and yes, once again, include spouses. There is no better way to celebrate the success than with your friends and family.

6. Extended Holiday Time
While celebrations are wonderful, there are no substitutes for providing your employees with paid holidays to spend with their families. What you have to ask yourself is if you really feel that the Friday after Thanksgiving or the days before and after Christmas are really productive work days – or if it would actually be more valuable to your organization to allow employees to have a few additional days off to relax and enjoy the holidays with their families. Often, clients and vendors are on vacation or out of the office themselves, and those extra paid holidays can make a major difference to your employees’ family lives and overall well-being, making them even more productive for the following year. Consider, also, giving employees their birthday off to celebrate with their families. It’s an investment in their satisfaction and ultimately, in our bottom line.

People are your only asset; you should treat them like gold. Making the most of holiday celebrations is an essential part of the process.

SOURCE: By Suzette Albrecht
http://www.corporatelogo.com/articles/holiday-parties-staff-celebrate.html

Building Enthusiasm in Tough Times

The key to pulling everything together in tough times is unlimited enthusiasm. Enthusiasm inspires us to greater achievement and success. You can sell your ideas, your products, your services or yourself to others if you approach them enthusiastically.

The key to pulling everything together in tough times is to develop unlimited enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the element that inspires us to greater achievement and success. You can sell your ideas, your products, your services or yourself to others if you approach them enthusiastically. With enthusiasm you can move the mountains of doubt and negative thinking from your life for good.

Norman Vincent Peale said, "You can put new spirit, new creative skill into your job. Indeed, you can do better with everything. Enthusiastic, zest-packed living is yours if you want it. I have seen the tremendous things enthusiasm has done for so many. Believe me, it works!"

B. C. Forbes, of Forbes Magazine, said, "Enthusiasm is the all-essential human jet propeller. It is the driving force which elevates men to miracle workers. It begets boldness, courage, kindles confidence, and overcomes doubts. It creates endless energy, the source of all accomplishment."

Frank Betcher in his book, "How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling", talks about the time he was playing baseball and was moved from the major league to the minors because he played "deadpan" ball. On a hot summer day he decided he would play with enthusiasm and he did. He was noticed and within a short period of time was moved back to the majors with a large increase in pay. He found if you "act" enthusiastic you will become enthusiastic. It was a lesson he never forgot and it served him well through his careers in both baseball and selling.

Enthusiasm is the second most contagious thing in the world today. Do you know what the first most contagious thing in the world is today? It is "lack of enthusiasm"

Most people find it is very easy to be enthusiastic when everything is coming up roses. It is when you have one of those days, when you only open your mouth to change feet, it is difficult to remember you are an enthusiastic person.

Lack of enthusiasm on your part or those around you can affect how everything goes during the day. Have you ever been really enthusiastic in the morning, but when you got to the office someone was sick, another got a ticket coming to work, another just ached all over? How did your enthusiasm hold up? What do you do when you're surrounded by unenthusiastic people? You need a trigger that will break through the negativism and allow the enthusiasm inside to continue to flow out.

Bitch Cans
One thing you can do is use a "Bitch Can" at the coffee pot where you work. The "Bitch Can" works this way: You take a three pound coffee can and decorate it so it is bright and shiny. Then place it near the coffee pot in the morning. Anyone can say anything they want, as long as it is positive. If anyone says anything negative, it costs them a dollar. At the end of the first month you take everyone out to dinner on the money in the can. The second month you probably will only have enough money to buy donuts. After the third month, you most likely will no longer need the "Bitch Can". By the way, if anyone says two negative things its two dollars even if they say them in the same sentence. For example, "It is an ugly day outside and I don't feel good either".

Red Dots

The best trigger we have found is putting a red dot on your watch. The average person looks at their watch a minimum of 30 times per day. When you look at your watch the red dot will trigger your subconscious tape of enthusiasm and will break through the negative atmosphere.

We use a red dot on your watch because it will remind you: "I Am a Ball of Fire!!!"
A sure way of maintaining your enthusiasm is to associate with enthusiastic people. All of us need a support group of one sort or another. You should have a support group of enthusiastic people. Make a list of the enthusiastic people you know.

While you have these people in mind, think of the personality traits they exhibit. Make a list of ten of the traits enthusiastic people exhibit. How many of the top ten personality traits do you personally have? Remember if you act out the trait you will acquire the trait. Now list the five traits you will set your goals to acquire over the next 21 days. What are you willing to do to improve your enthusiasm and acquire the traits you listed?
If you use these tools you will become enthusiastic and you will build lasting enthusiasm that will carry you through the tough times and magnify the great times. Remember people want to purchase goods and services from enthusiastic people. I will leave you with a poem I have attached to my computer with a red dot.

You Are
As young as your faith; as old as your doubts.
As young as your self-confidence; as old as your fears.
As young as your hope; as old as your despair.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

SOURCE: http://biznik.com/articles/building-enthusiasm-in-tough-times
By John C. Erdman

How to Create 'Top of Mind' Awareness

What it is. Why it's important. How to create it.

Out of sight, out of mind. Sound familiar? In today's business world these six words are the kiss of death. It's so important that countless reams of material have been written on this precise subject over the past few years. It needn't ever happen to you. Not when you understand the importance of creating and maintaining "top of mind" awareness with your customers and best prospects.

Today's Buyer: No matter what your line of business, your customer has changed. Here's what we know about today's consumers.

They're skeptical. Dishonesty has become part of every industry. Consumers don't know how to find somebody they can trust.
They're cautious. They don't want to make a commitment until they see the whole picture. Gather all the facts. Think through their decision.
They're tired of selling and sales pressure. From phone sales to junk mail, consumers are fed up.
They're busy. So busy, in fact, that they often don't take time to solve a problem until it becomes a priority. Or until somebody offers them a quick and easy solution.
They're confused. Never before have consumers had so many choices. And when they think about solving a problem, they don't know what to do - where to look - or whom to believe.
Today's consumers go to great lengths to arm themselves with information. They think the more information they have about a product or service, the better the decision they'll make.

What is 'Top of Mind' Awareness? Not to bore you with statistics, but here's something you should factor into your marketing strategy. When consumers begin planning a major purchase, when would you guess they finally sign on the dotted line? Here's the numbers according to Chilton research:
15% - Bought within the first three months.
24% - Bought within four to six months.
34% - Bought within seven to twelve months.
27% - Bought more than twelve months later.
Could it be one of the reasons things don't always work out when you expect?

'Top of mind' awareness is owning the space that your product or service occupies between your prospects ears. That way, when they're ready to buy they think of you first. There's nothing worse than creating an appetite for what you have and then having your prospect go somewhere else to eat. It won't happen to you if you plan (and execute) properly.

How to Maintain 'Top of Mind' Awareness: Today's buyer uses an information oriented decision process. That's where they gather information, review alternatives, choose one alternative, evaluate the decision after the fact. Today's successful business professional uses this approach: "Get in at the beginning of the process, when the consumer is gathering facts relating to her/his problem or need . . .AND STAY THERE! The best way to do that, once you've identified your best prospects, is to stay in touch. Through the mail, phone and email…consistently. Your goal must be to create an awareness of who you are and what you offer. So, when your prospect finally decides to buy, s/he immediately thinks of you. But, "How do you keep from making a pest of yourself?" The answer is to be helpful. We all want - and need - information so we can make an informed decision. Decide that YOU will be the source of that information. Don't we all appreciate help? Especially when it's given without any strings attached? Why not do what the very successful do? Educate your prospect…in an unthreatening manner and environment. All the time, you're creating ownership of your product or service in your prospects mind.

Source: http://www.findmorebuyers.com/page.cfm/11

The Great Outdoors-November 2009 Newsletter

I(Rob) am wrapping up things here in the office, looking forward to a week's vacation next week up north. Looking outside presently, I see it is raining again. It sure has been a very WET month here in Michigan. A few installments ago, in this newsletter, we explored the virtue of umbrella advertising. Those of you that have distributed them surely received great exposure last month!

This month we thought we would take a look at the many opportunities that outdoor related promotions offer. Michigan is a state that has four clearly defined seasons, each one offers many opportunities to market to those people that love being out of doors. Generally speaking, outdoor promotions are non-business related and cater to health, protection, and hobbies.
Let's take a look at just a few appreciated items for health and safety. Lip balms are always welcome and useful items. They are low cost and go along way to building goodwill and brand recognition. Same holds true for sunscreens. Mini first aid kits for taking along on hikes and day outings (or even in the glove compartment of the car... just in case) are always a well received item.

Going into the colder months, a unique item is air activated hand warmers. These are produced by a West Michigan company, Grabber Performance Group, for which we are a distributer. We have used these hand warmers personally for many years at football games, ice fishing, etc., with excellent results (meaning we don't suffer in the least from the cold). This category is relatively new to the promotional advertising industry. What a great item to distribute in our state - the winter wonderland! When they are opened for use, the recipients will surely think of the gift giver with great thanks on a cold day when their hands remain warm! These could be tied to any theme or campaign using 'hot', 'warm' or something along those lines to help carry the campaign's message. Also, any winter outdoor event would be a perfect place to distribute these such as sledding parties, ice fishing derbies, holiday parades...

Camoflage items continue to be an ever popular category. We have helped a local furniture manufacturer with an ongoing employee suggestion program. The company's employees would choose from a wide array of gifts for suggestions that they had submitted and implemented successfully. Guess what? The camo hats and camo cooler bags were always among the highest repeat ordered items in the highly successful program. The recipients would either use the camo items for themselves or obtain them and pass along to friends and relatives. Lots of goodwill and brand exposure was created for the company along with the process and cost improvements they hoped for as a part of their plant-wide idea program.

Oh, the list goes on and on for the many useful items that can be used for outdoor related promotions. When your goal is to build goodwill and brand recognition with employees and consumers, think of useful outdoor promotions as part of your marketing mix. In the meantime, enjoy the last days of Fall and get your snow brushes and windshield ice scrapers ready. Did we mention that they are also great promotional ideas? :)

Cutting Costs Without Cutting Engagement

Employees work for more than money – they work to get training and career development, to make a valuable contribution and because they enjoy contributing to a common vision and making their place of work a better place to be.

Today, businesses everywhere are being asked to do more with less. In this environment, loyal, motivated employees and partners are critical to continued success and profitability. And companies know it: Hay Group’s recent Reward in a Downturn survey in just one of many showing that engagement is the top concern of employers right now.

“The discretionary effort of employees willing to ‘go the extra mile’ is even more critical for surviving the downturn and being positioned to grow once the environment is more favorable,” notes the report. “Similarly, organizations are concerned about retaining their high performers in order to get through the downturn and take full advantage of the upturn when it comes. However, employers can’t afford to pay more on reward.”

And that’s not the only place they’re cutting back. Here are the top five actions companies are taking to reduce costs:
Training & development cuts – 46%
Restructuring/Staff cuts – 42%
Less contract labor – 40%
Cutting bonuses – 38%
Salary freezes – 36%

As you might imagine, budgets for incentive and reward programs are also under scrutiny these days, but there are a lot of ways to foster and maintain engagement that don’t cost a penny. The report rightly notes that employees work for more than money – “they work to get training and career development, to make a valuable contribution and because they enjoy contributing to a common vision and making their place of work a better place to be. Leading organizations understand this and are focusing on improving non-financial aspects of reward.” And concentrating on the non-financial aspects now will put you in a better position to implement more traditional incentive programs once things improve.

Preserve and Build
Hay Group experts suggest several ways to preserve – and even build – employee engagement while still making targeted cuts in the abovementioned areas. Here are a few that those of us in the engagement business should be focused on and familiar with:

Do more with less. Look for creative ways to train at lower cost, including delivery through online, webinar and phone. Use internal mentoring, coaching and workshops to sustain a learning environment.

Involve and engage. Restructuring immediately conjures up fears among employees – not surprisingly, the biggest reported employee concern voiced in this study was job security. To ensure employees see restructuring as more than a cleverly constructed plan to cut jobs, they need to be involved from the start. And keep them involved – regular, timely communication is paramount to update on progress, reinforce the vision and maintain performance levels.

Handle with care. Contractors who are leaving should be handled with the same sensitivity and concern as regular employees. Treating anyone as “disposable” sends a very bad message to remaining employees about what might happen if their position also becomes expendable. And when things improve, you may well want your contractors back.

Review and revise. Rather than changing existing compensation plans – where employee expectations have already been set – focus on redesigning bonuses to better drive performance. If the potential to earn incentives is reduced, then employees need to be kept informed and understand the solid financial realities behind such a decision.

Consider other possibilities. Rather than cutting incentives entirely, consider how you might defer or phase the pay out of incentives. Are there tradeoffs to be made or non-cash alternatives to recognizing employee performance?

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Salary has a strong emotional connection, as well as an immediate practical relevance, for employees. And while most will agree that a salary freeze is preferable to job cuts, the potential impact on engagement is strong. Salary freezes also make employees acutely conscious of the overall health and direction of the business, and in the absence of information, rumor will run rampant. Senior executives and line managers need to update employees on developments regularly and promptly.

And Finally…
Aside from the specific suggestions outlined above:

Recognize success. Look for alternative means of recognizing success and talent when promotions aren’t possible. Always provide personal recognition for specific achievements and ensure this is part of the organization’s culture.

Understand what employees value. Engage your workforce in possible alternatives to the existing benefit package and determine what different employee groups value most. Consider whether the demographics of the workforce mean you need a more flexible benefits package to meet differing employee needs and still keep costs down.

At a time when organizations are trying to do more with less, it’s important to have a total reward strategy that recognizes success, helps retain high performers and is a positive force for employee engagement.

Don’t overlook the simple things. A personal “thank you and well done” for specific achievements goes a long way toward boosting employee morale.

Source: By Richard Kern http://www.engagementstrategiesmag.com/Cutting-Costs-Without-Cutting-Engagement.898.0.html