Promotional flashlights can drive business

Small business owners know that they need an edge that sets them apart when developing business strategies. This is especially true when comes to the ways a company markets and brands itself. To be successful, companies need to set themselves apart from competition and engage new clients by showing them that the values they have are shared by the company.  Promotional items are one way that companies can make clients pay attention to their services and begin to build a personal relationship.

Flashlights come in a variety of shapes and functions and are a useful way to ensure clients remember their interactions with a company. Flashlight pens customized with company logos are dual function and will certainly be useful to clients. This is a good choice for medical practices, as it is reminiscent of the flashlights doctors use to check tonsils.

Solar powered flashlights are a good option for companies engaged in green business. The rechargeable cells promote energy efficiency, and if the tool carries a company’s logo, then it is associated with the same practices. Flashlights will be used in cars or for travelling or in the office, and using them as a promotional giveaway sheds light on successful branding.

Promotional items clients will use

Small businesses have to use every tool available to them when it comes to reaching new clients and keeping established ones. Creating a brand identity and making your vision clear and accessible to clients is necessary for every small business, but how that is done is likely to vary on a case by case basis. Businesses should be aware of what they offer and who they want to reach.

Promotional products are a unique way for businesses to reach clients by offering them something they will use. It is best if companies tie these gifts in with a particular promotion or if the products have something to do with the services offered. Consider the following business gifts to make you stand out in clients’ eyes.

Promotional pens
Pens are needed every day by a majority of workers. Companies can have pens or other writing implements customized to carry a business logo or contact information. Pens are likely to be circulated widely, and people that come across them may have their attention piqued. Excellent companies specializing in promo items can also offer pens fitted with tools or flashlights, which should make a significant impression on clients.

Technology-related items
Many workers today are engaged in technology-based production for which computers and tablets are central. Think about reaching these clients with a promotional USB flash drive adorned with a corporate logo. These items are designed to transport data easily and efficiently, and workers are therefore likely to use them often, increasing brand visibility. For an upgrade, consider an environmentally-friendly solar powered smartphone charger. The recipient of this gift will likely think highly of the company and consider them forward thinking and concerned about green enterprise.

Roadside emergency kit
For an important client who is often on the road, an automotive emergency roadside tool kit makes a direct statement that the company is looking out for its clients. Kits come with jumper cables, screwdrivers, socket sets and glass shattering tools. The case can be customized with the company’s logo, making for a unique and desirable corporate gift.

Businesses may see benefits from choosing several different price points for corporate thank you gifts by distributing them to clients according to different levels of involvement. Companies should always consider clients’ needs when determining marketing strategies so they may best take advantage of opportunities to make their services known.

Golf Accessories Are Par for the Course

EmbroidMe has the customized golf accessories and golf clothes you’re looking for. Being able to combine a promotional opportunity with a pastime favored by clients is like hitting the elusive hole-in-one. Golf, for some people, is all about the win. For others, it’s the challenge of self-improvement, and for many more, it’s just the opportunity to be outside and simply participate in a sport they enjoy.  Whether you are a course champion or weekend enthusiast, a game of golf is also a time to build or maintain relationships, business and personal.  

Golf accessories can become useful giveaways that fit almost any budget.  Game necessities like balls and tees are available in several packaged designs, like a match book, nylon pouch or reusable zippered organizers, each with a different configuration of balls, tees, markers, club brushes, divot repair tools or spike wrenches.  Refining the item selection provides an opportunity for multiple or repeated messages with imprinting options on each item in the assortment.  Additionally, most brands and varieties of golf balls are available by the box and send an impressive, memorable message when imprinted with a logo.  

Looking good on the course is easy with embroidered or imprinted apparel.  Golf clothes like polos and T-shirts are practical yet valued giveaways. Additional options include caps and visors or outerwear like zippered jackets or pullover wind shirts. 

“Golf tournaments are terrific opportunities to build your brand with customized promotional products,”.  “Organizers look for customized golf shirts for staff and teams, and participants appreciate event-supplied golf accessories such as club towels or pouches for valuables, but everyday items like water bottles and beverage can insulators are all popular items.  Post-event gatherings are ideal opportunities for awards and trophies, as well as prizes like golf umbrellas, shoe bags or coolers.”

Drive Sales and Show Your Employees You Care with Personalized Awards & Incentives

With an unstable economy and news of layoffs every day, it is more important now than ever to show employees how much they are appreciated and that the hard work they put in is not going unrecognized.  

Since, competition between businesses has reached unprecedented levels, the best way to drive sales and attract new clients is to display past successes which increases their level of trust in your business.  Providing visually appealing awards, incentives and trophies, is one of the most effective ways to display your achievements.

“Companies like Mary Kay Cosmetics have gone to great lengths to recognize their employee’s successes and there is no doubt that this is intricately intertwined with their sales success,” said Christine Marion.

Calendar

Let EmbroidMe Help Schedule Your Future Promotions: Brand Your Image on Customers’ Walls

 Calendars are not just for writing appointments on anymore, it’s a great way to get your brand noticed. Ninety-eight percent of all homes have at least one calendar; they can be found in the kitchen, next to the phone, in the bedroom, on the fridge, in a purse or wallet, in the garage or in the computer room. At work, they are on a mouse pad, a desk blotter, a wall, the weekly planner and the list goes on! There is no better way for you to obtain customized promotional calendars than with the expertise of EmbroidMe.
“Many people do not recognize the value of promotional products, however calendars, specifically, provide a high impression value at a low cost,”

                                                                                                           
Have you ever wondered how many people see a calendar in one month? The average calendar is viewed 12 to14 times per day! Furthermore, 58% of ALL promotional calendars are used for more than six months. Your message is in front of everyone who views the calendar; that can happen 3 to 20 times every day, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The high-impression, low-cost ratio doesn’t stop with views. In a recent study, 84% of respondents were able to identify the advertiser who sent the calendar, and 62% indicated they had done business with the advertiser after receiving the item.
“We are constantly creating ways to help businesses grow and build their brand, while making a lasting impression. With thousands of options to choose from at EmbroidMe, it has never been more convenient, cost effective and environmentally conscious to put your company’s name out there,” states Marion.

EmbroidMe the world’s largest embroidery and screen printing franchise, offers more than 800,000 promotional and apparel products. Whether choosing embroidered apparel, client gifts, incentive awards or employee prizes, EmbroidMe can assist with creating the perfect product.

Brand Your small Business

Well, you have finally taken a bold step and gone into business for yourself. Naturally, you are worried about whether or not your business is going to “take” with the potential clients out there. Yes, that can be accomplished, and successfully, when the client starts to identify your brand amongst a plethora of competitors. This small business branding can be considered to be your image and market standing, and will be the way in which your customers, as well as the competition, view you.

Many small business owners do not understand the importance of branding, because they think that this is something done by the big players.  A common misconception is that those companies with multimillion-dollar advertising budgets can afford to spend a significant amount of money on getting their brand name advertised all over the place.  That is not necessarily so; even if you are working on a tight budget, you need to do a little bit of branding, so that people get to know about your company, its products, and its services.

Do you know that, even though you have a small business, you have a brand? The brand came into the existence the moment you made your first deal, the first sale, or got your first contract. Someone trusted you enough to try out your product or services. He expected good value for his money. Now, it is up to you how well you maintain that trust and treat him as a valued customer. A satisfied client is definitely going to be your best asset in the future, because he is going to tell everybody around him about you and your product. So, use this excellent tip of proper customer care, and giving your client what you promised him.  Then, there you are – your small business branding endeavors are on their way to success!

Many people look at their health in Spring

It is no secret that a poor diet leads to health problems later on in life. According to Fatty foods high in cholesterol are well-known to be a leading cause of atherosclerosis in adults, and people don’t always understand the nutritional properties of the food they are eating. A small business can project a responsible brand image by distributing promotional products with suggestions on serving size and alternative ingredients.

Regular exercise or physical activity helps many of the body’s systems function better, keeps heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other diseases at bay, and is a key ingredient for losing weight. According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, (1) being physically active on a regular basis

·         Improves your chances of living longer and living healthier

·         Helps protect you from developing heart disease and stroke or its precursors, high blood pressure and undesirable blood lipid patterns

·         Helps protect you from developing certain cancers, including colon and breast cancer, and possibly lung and endometrial (uterine lining) cancer

·         Helps prevent type 2 diabetes (what was once called adult-onset diabetes) and metabolic syndrome (a constellation of risk factors that increases the chances of developing heart disease and diabetes; read more about simple steps to prevent diabetes)

·         Helps prevent the insidious loss of bone known as osteoporosis

·         Reduces the risk of falling and improves cognitive function among older adults

·         Relieves symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves mood

·         Prevents weight gain, promotes weight loss (when combined with a lower-calorie diet), and helps keep weight off after weight loss

·         Improves heart-lung and muscle fitness

·         Improves sleep

 Promotional products can be branded with information on how to reduce your daily intake of fat. For example, custom coffee mugs can suggest the use of soy milk and other sweeteners instead of the traditional heavy cream or milk. Customers are likely to be impressed with a company that is trying to improve their lifestyle, and even something as simple as a promotional pen that features health information can go a long way.

Boost The Summer Sales

Small business owners should prepare for the summer months by devising new ways to generate awareness of their brand. The summer presents unique opportunities for companies to expand their profile, as Small Business Branding reports. Markets that go untapped in the winter months include vacation spots, local tours, agricultural operations and outdoor markets.

Get involved in your local community; Parades, golf tournaments, band shelters and many more ideas are out there.  Your involvement will create more potential customers.

The summer also allows businesses to take advantage of lower staffing costs, as many college and high school students look for seasonal jobs that will expand their resumes and allow them to earn some spending money. Business owners can spread the word about their organizations by employing students to hand out fliers or work the booth at promotional events.

The biggest advantage that the summer months offer small businesses is the sheer number of people who are out and about. And this perk doesn’t just apply to places with a healthy tourist trade. Potential customers will be walking around and enjoying the outdoors in most areas of the country, which presents organizations with the opportunity to market themselves via outdoor signage and promotional product giveaways.

The target Audience

Many different aspects are involved in a promotional marketing strategy. Aside from the design and construction of unique features and brand images, a geographic distribution zone needs to be created to reach a specific target audience. Financial analysts and executive managers often spend a lot of time and money researching these markets, but there are a few simple categories that you can use to maximize return on investment while saving as much capital as possible.

Age

It may sound simple enough, but age is one of the most important characteristics promotional products may target. It can be a painful to the  small business if promotional items target the wrong demographic, and there are two sides to this coin that must be taken into account.

The first is the services that a given business supplies. If your company designs personalized checks, for example, it would not make much sense to distribute promotional pens to a group of people below the age of 18. It is not necessarily likely that teenagers have checking accounts or associate with people who might need one. If this group is your only option, get creative – only hand out products to youths who are employed.

The second answer to the age question regards the promotional products themselves. Marketing executives must imagine which age group will get the best everyday use from business gifts. Daily visibility is critical to the success of a promotional advertising campaign – once again, you would not distribute personalized USB keys to an elder care facility because the average resident will be a senior citizen. People over the age of 65 cannot, by default, be expected to be familiar with modern computer technology.

Gender

This can be a sensitive subject for some companies, but the bottom line is that some promotional products are more frequently used by one gender than another. A ladies’ diver watch can be worn by a man, but fashion sense typically dictates that a woman should be the one receiving this particular gift. It would not be a good idea to send this watch out to a traditionally male demographic, like the construction industry.

However, unless you are targeting one of these gender-specific industries, your promotional products should err on the side of caution and remain gender-neutral for optimum results. As with any promotional giveaway, practical items that can be used by anyone will most likely result in the maximum return on investment.

Location

Another critical thing to remember are the geographic distribution zones mentioned earlier. These can be as small as a local town or as large as an entire continent. A demographic typically knows no bounds when it comes to physical location, but it is still up to you to decide where to send executive gifts.

These areas should be evaluated in conjunction with age and gender, in addition to any other important characteristics. The same check design company mentioned before might give out custom coffee mugs geared toward people in between the ages of 20 and 30. Though the west coast of Florida boasts plenty of residents and tourists around this age, there are also a lot of senior citizens who maintain permanent homes there.  It would be much better to give out these promotional products in Boston, Massachusetts, which has a large percentage of college students in this age range.

Essentially, a marketing team needs to scout a planned location beforehand. Age, gender and other types of personal information are collected by government agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau, which can provide all of the data a promotional advertising strategy needs to be successful.

Learn from the Past

Promotional products should generally follow the mantra that the less quirky a theme or item is, the more likely it will be successful with a potential client. However, some companies have embarked on bizarre promotional advertising schemes in the past, and small businesses can learn valuable lessons from these examples.

The popular movie franchise Star Wars embarked on a reboot during the turn of the 2000 millennium with three films that portrayed a world before the original trilogy. These movies featured brand-new characters, younger actors and exotic locales that were incorporated into promotional products. Some of the more memorable items included Death Star-inspired straws, but the flawed design interfered with the drinking process at the cost of decorative features. Marketing executives may have felt the straws would not appeal to casual and die-hard Star Wars fans and were rejected.

Promotional products can be effective when they offer practical applications. A gift that can be used every day is more likely to generate future business and referrals than another which looks good but will be thrown away soon after it’s received. For example, Star Wars may have been better served with a themed personalized USB key than with these other items.