Archive for May, 2009
A Symphony Of Spa Products
Posted by Dan in Promotional Ideas on May 26, 2009
If your clients want to play upon all the senses, orchestrate a zenned-out promotion using branded spa products.
The spa industry is an alluring one, growing an average of 20 percent annually, according to the International SPA Association. Last June, there were more than 18,000 spas in the United States, more than 32 million active spa-goers and more than 300,000 total employees. So what makes it a prime market for promotional products? Its sheer scope.
Anything from candles and towels to salt scrubs and relaxation CDs work in perfect harmony with day spas, fitness club spas, medical spas and hotel/resort spas. “I don’t think there are any industries that are out of reach of promotional products anymore, especially the spa category in this economy,” says Shawn Kanak, CAS, vice president of sales for Baltimore, Maryland-based supplier Towel Specialties (UPIC: TOWLSPEC). “People want to get away from stress and relax, and this is the perfect gift market to expose them to.”
This means forgoing the one-question-fits-all approach and uncovering the spa’s true goals that can include building its brand, attracting more customers, thanking top customers, initiating a referral program and so on.
There are products out there to fit any campaign, Siegel says. “Many spa products appeal to health, fitness and relaxation, which mean they have valuable day-to-day applications and are not cast aside,” he says.
“One of the biggest trends is piggybacking the health and fitness craze that is ever-growing,” says Kanak. “Corporate gifts now include spa treatments and getaways. Spa-type facilities are even being added to major corporation headquarters along with fitness centers as an employee benefit.”
Whether people are strolling to their neighborhood spas or jetting to far-flung destination spas on corporate incentive trips, one fact remains the same: Spa products work wonders to enhance the perceived value of the spa experience.
“If a spa customer had a positive experience, he or she will want a quality memento as a reminder. This can be received at the spa or a short time later in the mail,” Siegel says.
The key is using promotional products to make sure those happy and refreshed people return to your client’s spa—and not to one that’s closer to home, offers better specials or has cushier massage chairs. “There are a lot of spas out there competing for market share.
Customized Playing Cards pack a Big Promo Punch…
Posted by Gallant in Promotional Ideas on May 26, 2009
A visit to custom-card maker Apollo reveals that simple, classic playing cards pack a big promotional punch.
You know the annoying gag where someone asks, “Hey, you want to play 52?” and once the unsuspecting victim agrees he or she must collect 52 cards from where they landed, scattered on the floor? This is likely the only downside to owning a deck of playing cards, and it only happens (hopefully) once in a lifetime. Playing cards have been popular since the 9th century—used for playing games, establishing social rank, seeing the future and advertising brand messages, among other things—and show little sign of losing their appeal.
Fort Worth, Texas-based supplier Apollo Playing Card Co. Inc. (UPIC: APOLLO) harnesses cards’ popularity by making promotional playing cards for a variety of industries. “They’re like 52-page books without spines; you can put a lot of information on these little things,” says Brian Misiuda, vice president of the 23-year-old company founded by his father, Emil. “Every card can have a different picture or explain something.” But instead of handing me an ace of hearts for more information, Misiuda offered me a factory tour and a first-hand explanation of how cards are made.
The process begins by laser etching a metal plate of the logo or design for the cards’ backs. This is done in a dimly lit room because bright light will ruin the plate. Then the plate is transferred to a printing press and used to lithograph sheets of cards. One sheet, approximately two square feet in size, fits one deck of poker-sized cards. (Bridge-sized cards are slimmer by one quarter of an inch, presumably because bridge players hold more cards in their hands at one time.) Misiuda says 95 percent of the cards he makes are poker sized.
Apollo uses casino-quality playing card paper imported from Germany for all of its cards. Playing card paper is unique because it has a layer of carbon sandwiched between two pieces of paper to prevent prying eyes from seeing your royal flush before you want them to.
After they’re printed, the cards are varnished with liquid plastic to add durability and sheen. Once dry, the cards are fed into a “slitter,” where they’re cut apart and mechanically collated into decks. Misiuda says the ability to sort the cards with machines instead of by hand is unique to Apollo and saves a tremendous amount of time—it’s time-saving techniques like this that make it possible for Apollo to produce up to 10,000 decks per day.
Up to this point the cards have had squared-off edges, but then each deck is die-cut to produce a classic rounded edge. From here each deck is boxed, wrapped in cellophane or both according to the order and prepped for shipping. “People mix it up a little bit,” says Misiuda of the variety of packaging options.
Website + Control = Success
Posted by Gallant in Business Tips on May 21, 2009
BY DAN LEVIN
It was 1994 when a neighbor volunteered to create a Web site for our newly founded promotional products company. Back then, Prodigy was bigger than AOL, AltaVista was king of the search engines, and Google was just an idea forming in a couple of college kids’ minds.
Our neighbor managed our Web site for us for that first year, and we saw zero results. I remember thinking, “Is this whole Internet thing just a fad?” But lucky for us, we knew in our hearts that it wasn’t and that there was real potential to help expand our business. So, we decided at that moment to take control of our site. It proved to be one of our greatest business decisions. Looking back, I don’t know where we would be today had we not taken the leap of faith that helped separate us from our competitors and gain a lasting advantage in the marketplace.
We took control of our Web site in 1995 and now have a strong, vibrant Internet presence. We get to benefit from the beauty of an active Web site that works for us even when we’re not working. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year — it’s there for our clients. So, while I’m at home spending time with my family, our site is humming along, attracting new customers and providing valuable information and services to our existing clients. It elevates our company by making it more efficient and convenient. Our clients get to choose when they want to interface with us, whether they’re having their morning coffee at their laptops or wrapping up a long day of work at the office.
We’ve grown with the Web, and we’ve established the type of relationship with our clients we could never have imagined in 1994. Through our sites, blogs, forms, e-mails, social media links, online store, surveys and a host of other channels, we maintain a constant line of communication with our customers that helps direct our business and evolve our company into the responsive, flexible promotional agency that we are today.
Jeff Jarvis, author of the book “What Would Google Do,” suggests that smart businesses should go beyond the basic use of the Web to push a message. Quality online operations provide you with a means for listening to your clients and can even function as a vehicle for active collaboration. In the past, customers were mostly valued for their deep pockets, but now technology enables us to tap their potential as sources for information, guidance and insight through comment forms and surveys. Such value is incalculable.
It’s essential that your site offers at least some of the following features: a blog, social media links, surveys, forms, events and e-mail marketing. Together, these components help you not only reach clients but also involve them in your business’s future. Customers — if given the opportunity — will gladly contribute to your development and ultimate success. That’s why we’ve found having a Web site that we can control so vital to our business success.
Taking active control of your Web site means constantly updating all aspects of your site for relevancy and accuracy. Doing so is far more feasible than many people assume, and your familiarity with our industry’s terrain is too useful to waste. Don’t leave everything up to a random Web designer who knows little about your business and even less about its customers. No one is better equipped to meet your customers’ needs than you are, so your involvement in the execution of the digital platform must be a priority.
There are three common options for achieving ongoing control over an effective site, listed here from most to least complex.
Option 1: Develop an in-house Web design and programming department. Keep in mind that quality designers and programmers are very expensive to retain, and for a really strong Web presence, you’ll need a designer, a PHP and MYSQL programmer, and a search engine optimization (SEO) expert. This is the most difficult and expensive option, and it’s probably best left to large organizations.
Option 2: Outsource your Web design and programming to an external firm. A good one will cost quite a bit of money up-front, and all future modifications will be tied to its team. You can also have the firm create the site in a program such as Dreamweaver. Then you can purchase the program’s sister software; in the case of Dreamweaver, that would be “Contribute,” which costs roughly $150 and is designed to allow you to make minor updates and exercise some control over the site’s operation yourself. However, the learning curve is steep, and you will need to learn at least basic Web coding in HTML and FTP. This option is less expensive than the first, but it still involves significant ongoing costs in terms of programmer time and expertise.
Option 3: Use a content-management solution, such as Accrisoft. Such vendors charge a much lower initial design fee and provide the site’s basic “skin,” or the overall look and feel. From there, you take complete control of your site through a user-friendly content-management system and control panel. This option allows you to begin with a very inexpensive version and add as you grow, implementing modules along the way such as e-commerce, billing, employee intranet, podcasts, forums, photo albums, proposals and an array of other features. For many organizations, the low cost and high flexibility of this option makes it the most attractive.
Technology providers in the promotional products industry — including Essent Corp., SAGE/Quick Technologies, ASI, Distributor Central, Epromo and more — offer options for building and maintaining Web sites. These services vary from basic stock sites to ones you can update yourself without any knowledge of Web coding. Be sure to compare services and prices to find the best match for your business.
Whichever choice you make, the only way that you’ll realize the full potential of your Internet investment is by taking full control of your Web site and setting it up in a way that allows you to be in constant communication with your clients. As we move forward into this era of globalization and interconnectedness, the way we communicate with our clients will determine our success. Lace up your shoes and embrace the race, or you’re likely to be left behind.
Dan Levin is the president of Gallant Gifts, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2009. For more information, visit www.gallantgifts.com. Click here to learn about Gallant’s Simply Selling Program. And check out Accrisoft’s Web site here for a special offer for Corporate Logo readers.
Web Terms to Know
So, you’re ready to create a Web site for your distributorship. Now what? Which features are important for your site, and what is the purpose of all these tools? Below is a brief explanation of some of the many online tools you may want to use. Remember, whatever you decide, a good Web site will be constantly updated for accuracy and relevancy.
Blog — A blog is like an online journal, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other content, such as graphics or video.
E-Commerce — Allows customers to place orders online.
Employee Intranet — An intranet is a back-end community similar to what suppliers offer their distributors. Intranets include tools such as fliers, forms, training, communications, human resources information and more.
Forms — Forms allow a site’s owner to interact with its users. This may include contact forms, contests, newsletters and surveys.
Forums — Forums are online posting sites where people can have an interactive “discussion” through their posts. They may be used for service needs or for generating and discussing creative ideas.
Live Chat — This is the ability to have a live instant-message conversation with customers or prospects visiting your Web site.
Online Billing — This is the ability to e-mail clients invoices and receipts.
Online Events — Client events can be anything from specials and online presentations to podcasts or webinars.
Podcast — A podcast is an online radio or video broadcast.
Social Media or Social Networking Sites — Based on networking and socializing, these Web sites allow people to create profiles and post pictures or updates, such as Twitter, Facebook, FURL, Digg, Myspace, LinkedIn, etc.
Surveys — Online surveys are an easy way get feedback from customers and Web browsers (potential customers) who visit your site. They can be made to pop up automatically after one places an online order or clicks away from your site, or they can be links on your site.
Northern Georgia Vacation Rental Cabin On The Toccoa River
Posted by Dan in Life at Gallant on May 21, 2009
NEW Video of our North Georgia Vacation Rental Home
Women Owned Business Doing Well in Down-Turn
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on May 19, 2009
Women business owners are surviving and even improving the outlook for their companies despite the economic downturn, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Women Business Owners® (NAWBO).
The survey’s findings show more than half have no plans to reduce employment while nearly 25 percent are planning to increase their workforce. Also, 53 percent intend to expand into new markets. This positive outlook is shared by some women business owners in promotional products, who say their unique position can be an advantage when recruiting new clients.
Cassie Omohundro, MAS, is president of Midlothian, Virginia-based distributor SJM (UPIC: SJM). While her client base includes government contractors who must hire some women-owned businesses, Omohundro says that characteristic can be a positive one.
“We’re in a branding transition process, but most of our accounts have the potential to be national accounts, so when we target them we will be using our certification [as a woman-owned business] as a selling point,” says Omohundro.
Carol Rogers, president and owner of Bryan, Ohio-based supplier Airmate says while she hasn’t emphasized her company’s certification in efforts to recruit new business, the distinction is helping to open some doors by garnering invitations to shows they might not otherwise have had access to. “We’ve been invited to some events to be paired up” with other companies looking for the services Airmate offers, Rogers says.
Being a woman-owned business hasn’t kept her company from having to downsize, though—an unfortunate reality in today’s market.
Omohundro says while her company has also reduced the size of its workforce, the move came as a result of changing SJM’s structure, not the economy. She adds that women who may want to open a business shouldn’t let the current situation hold them back.
“I think if a woman has the financial ability to start a business, this is a great time,” she says. “There may be some unable to keep their business and others who are changing the way they do business, but people are still doing business.”
Rogers agrees. “They say half of all new businesses fail in the first year, but there are success stories. If you have a good product or plan, then I say go for it.”
Employee Recognition TTD List
Posted by Dan in Business Tips on May 19, 2009
Whether your clients want to engage or praise employees, it’s always a good time to put reward and recognition programs on your radar.
While many companies may think twice about investing in recognition programs with the economy gone bust, the smart ones realize that even in tough times, recognition is crucial. It sends the message that recipients are valued, it reinforces desired behavior and it leads to improved performance.
Daryll Griffin, president of Norcross, Georgia-based distributor Accolades, Inc. (UPIC: ACCINC) says distributors can reap the rewards of creating outstanding recognition programs for their clients—if they do it right. “Recognition is not just a product—it is an entire appreciation program that includes an award,” Griffin says.
“We specialize in awards. It’s one of the biggest parts of our business,” she continues. “Recognition is very powerful, whether it’s a spoken word or the biggest award. Telling or showing people that you appreciate what they’ve done is a very humanistic thing to do.”
PPB asked Griffin to dish on what she’s learned about awards and recognition programs. Here are some of her top pointers:
There are several criteria with awards. “Always consider the recipient, the meaning, objective or purpose, the presentation and when you’ll need it.”
The type of award matters. “Think beyond traditional wall plaques. The more custom the award, the greater value it has to the client and recipient. Look at the theme or HR plan and design a complete program that involves an award and also other components.”
Don’t get bogged down by misconceptions. “Most distributors think awards are too expensive. They say, ‘I can never sell a $100 or $500 award.’ It really depends on the company or organization doing the recognition. It also depends on the budget, theme and rationale for giving it.”
Save budget talk for last. “If you’re working on a true recognition program, you’ll talk about budget last. If you work with a trophy shop, budget is one of the first things. Budget should always be discussed—it has to be—but it’s not one of the leading parts of the conversation.”
Public presentations are best. “The most powerful type of recognition takes place in front of your peers. If your boss hands you a plaque and nobody sees it, it doesn’t have the same wow factor.”
When you need employee awards and custom recognition gifts. Visit our main site www.GallantGifts.com or www.AwardsbyGallant.com
Promotional Items – NEW Marketing Ideas…
Posted by Dan in Promotional Ideas on May 19, 2009
New Promotional Items – Marketing Ideas….
LIP SERVICE
Elevate your next promotion to lip-smacking status with All Natural Lip Balms. Made from a beeswax and coconut oil base, these lip balms moisturize and help prevent chapped lips using pure ingredients. Choose from three flavors—fruit punch, mint or orange vanilla—or opt for a stick of flavorless balm.
Call 1-800-GALLANT (330-1343) if you have an upcoming promotional project.
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DAZZLING USB DRIVE
Bedecked in silver crystals set in Ceralun™, the polished stainless steel Swarovski/Phillips Lockout USB Memory Key is opulence in data storage. This memory key features slide-out hooking mechanisms, a high-speed USB 2.0 interface and can store 1 GB of data (about 250 songs or 1,000 photos).
Call 1-800-GALLANT (330-1343) if you have an upcoming promotional project.
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All Over Printed T-Shirts
FASHION FORWARD
Whether your clients crave foil, stones or studs, there’s no wrong way to embellish a Fashion Tee. These all-over print tees are made from 100-percent cotton jersey and are printed using a water-based process that leaves the shirts soft to the touch.
Call 1-800-GALLANT (330-1343) if you have an upcoming promotional project.
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GROW GREEN
Dig into your next environmental campaign with the EcoTrowel, a handy garden tool featuring a translucent handle packed with flower seeds and a heavy-duty, stainless steel blade. It’s packaged in a gift box for easy presentation at company picnics or outdoor events.
Call 1-800-GALLANT (330-1343) or visit www.GallantGifts.com
if you have an upcoming promotional project.
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Why People Love Promotional T-Shirts
Posted by Dan in Promotional Ideas on May 18, 2009
A new survey reveals who keeps what type of tees and why.
Promotional T-Shirts by www.Em-Printers.com
Working on the theory that peeking into a person’s t-shirt drawer is akin to glimpsing into his or her past, Bowling Green, Kentucky-based distributor BlueCotton (UPIC: bluecott) surveyed 1,000 of its online customers asking, “What favorite, sentimental old t-shirts do you still own?” The answers spilled out like laundry out of a hamper.
It turns out that most people feel attached to their t-shirts, despite their age or demographic group. “A Little League championship, a first concert, a family vacation, a cherished alma mater, your own business—everyone’s list is like a snapshot of their personality,” says Mike Coffey, BlueCotton’s CEO.
Approximately 79 percent of those who responded still have an old t-shirt, and 788 have a combined 2,124 shirts. The study also found that:
•Four out of five people hold on to at least one sentimental old shirt, and some keep two or three.
•Vacation tees are the most kept of any category.
•Those ages 18 to 24 are most likely to hang on to an old t-shirt, and they are also more likely to keep a t-shirt from a concert or political election.
•Post-graduate degree holders are twice as likely as those with only a bachelor’s degree to have a tee from a sorority or fraternity.
•People are more likely to keep a shirt they acquired as a sports spectator than as a sports participant.
•Employer or work t-shirts are most often kept by those in the highest income brackets.
•Shirts from church events are most cherished by women, non-whites and residents of the South.
Check out www.Em-Printers.com for embroidered apparel optionsd and the best custom screen print specials.
Promotional Products – New Products
Posted by Dan in Promotional Ideas on May 18, 2009
E-Grips – NonSlip Strips adhere to cell phones, digital music players and other electronic devices to prevent them from sliding around. Your clients can provide phone numbers, addresses and websites on each strip in addition to customizing an optional marketing card. The strips can be used as coupons, loyalty tags, passes and personalized with variable data and unique barcodes.
promo product -
Get A Grip
This and other great promotional ideas from Gallant, Inc – 800-GALLANT
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Stretch Your Imagination
Packaged with a removable promotional card, your clients can use flexible, magnetic Stretcherz as vet appointment reminders, game schedules, coupons or special offers, or as tradeshow traffic builders. Four designs are offered: cat, dog, person and sports.
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new promotional product ideas
Stay Posted
Complete with a full adhesive coating, Post-it Poster Paper can be plastered anywhere and easily removed with no leftover residue. The coating makes mounting crisp and neat when tape and tacks aren’t allowed. Up to four colors are printed on cardstock that’s offered in two sizes.
This and other great promotional ideas from Gallant ,Inc. – 800-330-1343
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customized socks
Happy Feet
End users can scuttle around the house worry-free in the Fuzzy Feet Slipper Socks—they’re designed with slip-resistant dots on the bottom. They’re made from 100-percent polyester and are offered in 10 cozy colors including light green, light pink and purple.
This and other great promotional ideas from http://www.GallantGifts.com/promotional-products.html
Creating Company Uniqueness
Posted by Dan in Promotional Ideas on May 15, 2009
“Say cheese,” says the person behind the camera. And you say cheese. Your facial muscles are frozen. You have a dumb, goofy look. And under your breath you’re muttering, “C’mon, take the picture, take the picture, c’monnnn!”
Click! You blink. The picture has been taken. And then the photographer runs to you, all excited to show the nice digital photo. You take a look, roll your eyes and cringe because you detest the photo. It looks artificial and posed. It’s not you. It looks like all those cheesy pictures you’ve seen before. It’s not unique.
How can it be unique? You weren’t yourself! And that’s the whole problem with uniqueness. You’ve tried too hard. In your business you’ve tried your darndest to get your own uniqueness. And you’ve failed miserably—because you froze. And the uniqueness you sought to find looked like a cheesy picture.
WHAT MAKES A BUSINESS UNIQUE?
When asked about your uniqueness, do you mumble something about “service or quality,” which mean nothing to most people?
The funny thing is, Sarah had the same problem. You see, Sarah teaches a yoga class. And a yoga class is a yoga class, right? Sarah twisted her brain like a pretzel, but she just couldn’t come up with a form of uniqueness.
So she did what all the experts recommended. She asked her clients. And some of them shrugged. Others gave her mixed answers. But this left Sarah more confused than ever.
Then she did what most businesses do. She gave up and figured her business would remain a commodity. The heck with uniqueness, she thought, because trying to find what was unique was too hard.
You see, Sarah was asking the wrong question. She was trying to look inward. The question isn’t, “What’s unique about my business?” Rather the question is, “What do I want to do in my business that’s different from everyone else?”
I asked Sarah what she’d want to achieve for her students most of all. Her response was lightning quick, and I backed up two steps at the speed and ferocity of the answer, “Injury,” she said. “You can really hurt yourself in a yoga class if you’re doing the wrong thing. I want every student to have injury-free yoga.”
Can you see it? Sarah couldn’t see it. Her uniqueness was “Injury-Free Yoga,” plain and simple.
So ask yourself, “What do I want to do in my business that’s different from everyone else?” What’s your dream for your customers?
Ask Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza.
Today you take quick pizza delivery for granted. But if you zapped your way back to the swinging, hey-groovy ’70s, you’d grow old just waiting for a pizza. You’d call a pizza place and ask, “Can you deliver?” And about 79 hours later, you’d be still tapping your fingers waiting for the pizza guy to arrive.
Tom Monaghan did what Sarah did. He couldn’t find anything unique about his business, so he invented his uniqueness. He figured out how to get a pizza to his customers in 30 minutes or less. And then he came up with Domino’s’ now historic slogan: “Domino’s Pizza. In 30 Minutes Or It’s Free!” Yup, the pizza man invented his uniqueness.
You can’t find uniqueness—it must be invented and here’s how you do it. You look at your business as if you were a monarch surveying his kingdom. And then you make a big, warm wish for your royal subjects by asking yourself, “If I could, what would I do differently? Then do it. And once you’ve gotten the swing of things, announce your uniqueness to the world.
Ah, but hang on there a second—once you’ve decided what you want to do better than anyone else, survey the neighborhood. Does any other competitor do the same? And do your competitors stress their uniqueness?
If the answer to these questions is no, then go right ahead and proclaim this uniqueness to your customers. However, it doesn’t matter if your competitor does the same thing. If you’re the first to announce it, you own it.
If you don’t believe me, ask Cindy Russell. Cindy Russell runs 9 Seconds.com, a search engine optimization firm in Tampa, Florida. So what’s so different about a search engine optimization company? Cindy invented her uniqueness.
Cindy’s proposition is simple. If you’re a real estate agent in Milwaukee, she won’t work with another real estate agent in Milwaukee. She’ll work with a real estate agent in New York. But she won’t have two real estate agents scrapping it out for top search engine rankings in one geographical area.
This makes Cindy different. Her customers know their privileged information stays privileged with Cindy. They realize the advantage of working with someone who has the integrity to pass up instant income for client secrecy. And they’re willing to pay more to get Cindy’s enhanced service. Cindy’s onto a good thing with her self-created uniqueness.
But, having a point of uniqueness isn’t enough. Once you get your uniqueness going, you must blah, blah, blah it to the rest of the world. Keeping it hidden on page six in paragraph 73 isn’t going to help you one little bit.
Most businesses know their uniqueness. They’ll even tell you their point of difference in a conversation. Yet, you won’t find it on the front page of their website. It’s swept under the carpet in their brochures and newsletters. When they stand up to speak, they forget to make it an important part of the spiel.
At the bottom of our newsletter, you’ll find “A real newsletter—not a disguised ad.” That’s what we decided to achieve. It’s our own invention.
Get your uniqueness where it can be seen on a consistent basis. Not hidden under a bushel.
IN CONCLUSION
You, too, can create your own uniqueness. If you have been frozen so far, un-freeze that cheesy slogan. Be who you want to be. You’re different. You know it. Now let the world know about your point of difference, too. Invent it!