Summer Corporate Gift: Umbrellas

Depending on your local climate, the summer forecast may call for showers and thunderstorms. It’s time to pop open those protective coverings we commonly know as umbrellas. Oh yes, this timely promotional opportunity is knocking. Just think, when it’s raining outside and the streets are crowded with people, all you see are moving umbrella tops. If you ask me, there’s vast marketing potential for a guerrilla street campaign on a wet day.

Print your logo on a sleek promotional umbrella and employ it as a gift with purchase or as a reward in a customer retention program. When your clients carry it in high esteem, you garner premium outdoor advertising space. The functionality of the gift will surely make it a long-lasting format for promotion. It’s uncharted territory for brand visibility—capitalize on it before your competitors do!

Seriously Sweet Corporate Gifts: Edible Promotions

Chew on this perfectly-baked promotion. Fairytale Brownies hold the recipe for a truly word-of-mouth-watering corporate gift. Seriously, people will taste and talk! For any distinctive occasion, these customizable treats are a scrumptious way to sweeten up a business relationship.

From peanut butter to toffee crunch and raspberry swirl, these baked goods are a classic gesture of hospitality, like the warm gift of a friendly neighbor. The welcoming neighbor analogy serves the same purpose: to open the relationship with a genuine act of kindness. Instead of sending a dry bunt cake to your favored clientèle, dazzle them with rich, decadent brownies.

The delectable line of goodies from Fairytale Brownies treats your long-time customers with heartfelt care and expresses their value to your organization. As well, the treats pack an added bonus! The individually wrapped brownies can be imprinted with your company’s logo to tastefully reinforce your name for higher recognition and recall. Plus, Fairytale lets you customize the gift box color and screen-print your logo again, to comprehensively reinforce your brand identity.

Available in 14 flavored varieties, the home-style brownies guarantee customer satisfaction after any business transaction. With a boxful to share, the brownies’ packaging extends awareness and shapes an attractive brand image. The unforgettable aftertaste will reflect the sweetness of clients’ post-purchase decision. And chances are they’ll want a bigger bite of business in the next batch!

Corporate Gift Trend: Branded Apparel Feature

Outfit your clients in style and promote your company name with hot, summertime apparel. As your most esteemed customers sport your logo, they make more than a fashion statement - they provide public exposure for your brand in a memorable way. What's more is that your client takes on the role of a loyal user, because wearing your name translates to the function of a spokesperson that supports the organization.

Corporate apparel should be a top consideration when devising a promotion, be it a company event, a trade show, gift with purchase or customer rewards program. Apparel items have longevity and functionality that will keep your name visible over time. These days, you can customize any type of accessory or clothing essential for a successfully original gift.

T-SHIRTS

A comfy T-shirt is the classic, all-American piece of casual wear. People can't get enough free promotional T-shirts - they're always a surefire hit. But to set your business apart, select soft, high-quality fabric and inspired designs. Get creative with vivid colors instead of a plain white T for a bold, distinguished promotion.

FLIP-FLOPS

Make a lasting impression with customized flip-flops, which are great for knocking around during the summer months. Again, functional and fashionable, sandals express a laid-back, fun-oriented brand character. With your logo visible in an unexpected place, the flip-flops are bound to command attention.

SWEATBANDS

Let's talk accessories. I love the concept of logoed sweatbands because they literally "sport" your company logo in a clearly noticeable place - the crown of your head! What better way to gain top-of-mind status with your clients? The headband is worn during active or recreational activities, leading to an interactive experience between your consumers and your brand.



For example, imagine an apparel item had an imprinted Nike logo. People would make a mental note because they have established strong brand awareness and familiarity. They might even compliment you aloud or inquire about where you purchased it. That's called creating buzz about your company with word-of-mouth referrals. And ultimately, that's the end result you want to achieve with branded apparel.

Corporate Gift Trends: Direct Mail for Retail

In the retail industry, it’s essential to deliver high quality customer service in order to obtain high ratings of customer satisfaction. Without solid customers, you’ll get chewed up and spit out by your competitors. To prevent this at all costs, you need to employ some type of customer retention program.

Whether you’re a mass merchandiser or a small-business entrepreneur, one of the best ways to open a personal dialogue with your consumers is via direct mail. If executed poorly, direct mail winds up in the junk pile, which translates to an unfavorable return on investment. But if implemented expertly, you can provide service and quality that exceeds your customers’ expectations.

These days, savvy marketers are coming up with fresh, innovative strategies to catch people’s attention through the mailbox clutter. Depending on your business category, you can customize creative promotional mailers to match your needs. If you think outside the box—or outside the postcard—there’s plenty of unique, eye-catching ways to target your recipients.

To get a better idea of how to plan a direct-mail promotion, let’s review some current industry trends and examples.
Themed Promotions – The number one reason to send inspired mail-outs is because they will be the most relevant and memorable for your clients. By imprinting an item that reflects your brand character, you’ll gain a competitive advantage in your sales category. For example, a grocery store or restaurant could send out edible promotions for their consumers to savor, leaving a sweet post-purchase aftertaste.






3-D Pieces – When you allocate funds for direct mail, you want to ensure that your message ends up in the right hands. How can you stand out when your consumers are bombarded with junk mail? You’ve got to break through the jumble with a three-dimensional promotion. The key benefit of an atypical sized or shaped promo is that it attracts curiosity, which in turn, increases the chance of it being picked up, read and remembered. For instance, a clothing retailer could customize fashion-forward items, like mirror compacts, sewing kits or combs.




Customer Rewards – Instead of using direct mail to attract potential customers, you can retain current customers and transform them into advocates for your brand. As you reward consumers with a small token of appreciation in the mail, you can actively develop and maintain a viable, long-term business relationship. For example, a bookseller could send branded bookmarks and book lights to its most avid readers to reinforce their post-purchase decisions and encourage repeat purchases. This sort of promotion is very affordable and worthwhile because the items will be used in tandem with the product sold, enhancing the brand’s visibility and image.


Loyalty Incentives - Direct mail helps expand your business because it prompts a single-transaction customer to become a repeated customer. This conversion is important because long-term customers are less likely to switch brands and are less price-sensitive over time than one-shot customers. For the bottom line, loyal customers are the most profitable. You can develop this loyalty with incentives, like a t-shirt postcard, on which you imprint a promotional message to notify frequent customers of upcoming sales or to thank them for their purchase. As a result, the recipient will feel highly valued and more inclined to revisit your company. Plus, the individual becomes a spokesperson as they wear the t-shirt and provide added exposure for your brand.

My final word is that direct mail builds strong customer relations that can lead to increased sales volume and profitability. And best of all, brand-loyal clients provide free word-of-mouth promotions and rave referrals!

Celebrate your Best Customers with Birthday Promotions

Remember the 80-20 rule? It’s the golden rule of marketing, which states that 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your clients. For retailers, this insight should be more than just a rule of thumb; at best, it should be a chief guiding principle for your marketing strategy.

Ultimately, you want to cultivate the upper crust of your client base because it’s that faithful group of customers which sustains your business. You can build your brand on this foundation, using the “relationship marketing” approach to establish long-term rapports with your most frequent customers, and to keep them coming back for more.

One of the latest trends I’ve noticed within relationship marketing is a shift towards personalized marketing, both on the web and in direct mail. With technological advances, you can tailor promotional pieces to reflect the individual needs and preferences of each recipient. As a result, the customized promotion will be more relevant to the customer and elicit a much higher response rate.
Along those lines, a creative way to reach out to your recurrent clients is with personalized birthday promotions. After all, what’s more individualized than a birthday? Celebrate your best customers with a standout direct mail piece. It allows your company to send warm regards and a “thanks, come again” sentiment, all bundled into one memorable and non-intrusive greeting. You can imprint a fun-spirited birthday message and include promotional offers that fit the customer's taste according to purchase history data. In turn, this targeted effort has the ability to strengthen consumer loyalty and promote repeat purchase.

The relationship approach is ideal for the retail industry, but can be applied in other sectors as well. Next time, let’s go beyond the scope of traditional birthday cards and review examples of some brilliantly customized promotions.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Corporate Gifting

Search no further! I’ve compiled the ultimate set of guidelines to help you make the most gifted choice for your next corporate occasion. If you don’t know where to start, use this checklist to pinpoint your options and identify the message and tone you want your gift to convey. Any way you slice it, you need to have the proper frame of mind to choose the most appropriate gift, and of course, to best reflect your professional purpose.

Here’s my definite Do’s and Don’ts:

Do

• Market Thyself - Whether it’s a gift for employees or clients, your number one objective should be to reinforce a positive brand image. Branding is an important buzz word in today’s business world, especially for industries with highly saturated competition. With branded promotional products, like unique pens and mugs, you can distinguish your company from the pack to make a visible and lasting impression on the recipient.

• Emphasize Customer Service - Make it a habit to thank consumers and clients for their business with a quality reward. It’s becoming a continually essential business practice to stand out from competitors who offer parity products and services. Really, a great way to differentiate your corporation is through exemplary customer service. Make every transaction memorable with a personalized thank-you card to tangibly express your gratitude and build consumer loyalty.

• Recognize Your Employees - Internally, it’s vital to show appreciation for hardworking staffers. The value of their contributions can be measured by the thought you put into a meaningful reward. In essence, choose a gift that will highlight the attribute you wish to commend, like diligence, strong work ethic, performance or integrity. A classic professional bonus, like an imprinted leather-bound portfolio, signifies a hallmark of accomplishment to an employee because it’s a quality expression of worth to the organization.
  

Don’t

• Come Off Cheap - Always, always, always have a discerning eye when sifting through your choices. Eliminate low-quality items and opt for impressive-looking gifts that don’t compromise the budget. That’s the telltale sign of a savvy buyer. For mass purchases, it’s okay to order low-cost products, but you still want the appearance and effect to represent a high-quality keepsake. Don’t mistake the two L’s! Low-cost and Low-quality. Some seemingly upscale suggestions include customized chocolates and engraved glassware, which make a nice presentation for essential cost-effectiveness.

• Lack Consideration - A gift without thought is quite the insult. The last thing you want to express is negligence. To ensure that you give with sincerity, you can personalize the product to communicate the character of your company. The more you tailor the gift to the occasion, the more cherished it will be. Let’s say you’re in the food service industry. You can draw inspiration for gifts with branded kitchen items. Or, if your line of business is informational technology, your contacts would certainly love promotional mouse pads and computer accessories. Even a bland accounting firm can spice up their promotions with creative imprinted calculators. Get the idea?

• Forget the Intent - Are you trying to generate sales? Increase consumer loyalty? Maintain a business relationship? Expand your network? Whichever your goal may be, choose the ideal corporate gift based on relevance and function. You can never fail with promotional desktop items because of their utility. If the recipient can find a practical use for the gift--instead of deeming it a throwaway piece of collateral--he or she will be more likely to remember your name and seek your services in the future.

The old adage, “it’s the thought that counts,” proves to be accurate in defining corporate relations today. Take these bits of advice in high-esteem and you will definitely get noticed for your insightful efforts.

Top 3 Gifts for your Golf Outing

The game of golf is a highly effective tool for business operations, so it’s no surprise that golf ranks as the number one leisure activity for business professionals. In fact, more than 85 percent of top executives of Fortune 500 companies are big-shot golfers! With this in mind, the arena of golf should be played strategically, since every element of the game reflects the nature of your business practices.

With the right corporate golf gear, you can easily swing deals in your favor. Here’s my top three picks:

1. Golf Accessory Portfolio

Think of the golf course as the board room, where negotiations and trade deals are made. At all times, you want to display competency and professionalism. Help your employees convey these core values with a customizable golf accessory portfolio. It’s brilliant for staying organized on the course. Your company reps will perform well with the clientele using this stylish promotional gift.

2. Golf Polo Shirts (Men’s and Women’s)

It’s important to dress for
success in the workplace, and the same goes for golf business outings. You can polish your company image with uniform golf shirts, like the imprinted Pique polo by Adidas. With the style and comfort of this corporate accessory, your employees will feel authoritative on the course and be able to conduct business with a stroke of finesse.

3. e-Count Electronic Golf Score Counter

Serious business golfers know that the method of play can be more telling, more revealing and more indicative of business practices than anything. That’s why this corporate gift is so purposeful and practical. The promotional golf scorekeeper will express that your company is detail-oriented, accurate and efficient in business dealings.

Top 3 Corporate Gifts to Beat the Heat

With summer sizzle in the air and the kids out of school, it’s time to utilize those coveted paid-vacation days! Wish your employees well with cool corporate gifts that they can enjoy during their time off. What better way to boost company morale? Promotional gifts effectively refresh employees’ devotion to the job. Rested and ready, the staff members will return to work with an invigorated need to reciprocate and contribute to company efforts.

Here’s my top 3 picks for summer success:

1. Explorer Grill and Cooler – 12 can

Why didn’t these two get married sooner? The grill and cooler
have officially merged into a convenient portable hybrid. The novelty of this gift will certainly fire up your hardworking staff. It’s the perfect accessory for camping, tailgating, a picnic or the beach. Let the recipient take their backyard barbecue on-the-go!

2. FM Scan Radio with Clip On Fan

During the summer, your business associates will rejoice in spending time outdoors. Don’t sweat the small stuff when choosing a corporate gift—like this promotional FM Radio equipped with a fan. It makes a great running buddy or exercise companion, providing music and a cool breeze to go with the scenery.

3. Classic flip flops

Since your clients or employees will probably be spending a lot of time at the beach, a great corporate gift would be some promotional beach sandals. They fit just right for relaxing summer weekends or even casual Fridays at the office, which prove to enhance corporate culture. An additional benefit to this corporate gift, the footwear functions to gain exposure for your company or brand.

Even though you may not consider it gift-giving season, summertime is filled with positive energy that can be transferred to the workplace. With promotional products as the vehicle, deliver sunshine and fresh air to brighten up the long office days.

Gift with Purchase: Wii Fit Corporate Gift

Gifts with purchase make for an attractive promotional tool. Take for instance, the freebies that Nintendo bundles with the Wii Fit: a gym bag, a gym towel and fridge magnets. Not only do these items complement the activity of the video game, but they also add value to the purchase in the mind of the consumer. Nintendo demonstrates a mutually beneficial marketing tactic, which rewards enthusiasts and continues to promote the Wii brand.

When consumers publicly use these promotional pieces, they are actually serving as advertising vehicles for the Wii. Diehard Wii Fit gamers create momentum for the brand when they sweat it out with the promotional towel at the gym, stick magnets on their fridges, and sport the gym tote bag around town. All in all, the idea of getting something for free delights consumers and serves as an effective promotional strategy for marketers.

For the retailer, the right promotional item greatly improves consumers' perceived values of their purchases and advocates satisfaction of their post-purchase decisions. Thus, the free gift offer builds consumer loyalty, which in turn, strengthens repeat purchase intentions and the potential for future sales increases—a “Wiin-Wiin” situation for any marketer!

Top 3 Gifts for the Outdoorsy Employee

Hiking, fishing, and camping are all activities commonly enjoyed by the outdoorsy type. Outdoorsy employees are the types to spend weekends escaping from the hustle of their lives and getting back in touch with the natural world. There are numerous corporate gifts to give to the outdoorsy type; here are our top 3 picks:

1) Some people go into nature with endless supplies. Other people like to rough it. The Crossing Adventure Hiking set is the perfect gift the latter group. The gift comes with the bare necessities- a few survival tools and a water bottle. Get this gift set with your company name imprinted on the front and your employee is sure to say thank you!

2) A good sleeping bag is a must! This promotional sleeping bag is insulated for extra warmth. Giving your employee this gift and they’re sure to return Monday morning well-rested and ready to go!

3) Nature been the muse to many artists; inspiring paintings, poetry and novels. For your employee who experiences nature to find inspiration there is the Nature Trek Set. This promotional product comes with binoculars, a pen and notepaper, allowing your employee outlets for their inspiration and hopeful bring some newly found creativity back to the office!

Corporate Gift: Top 3 Corporate Gifts for the Retiree

Like the Serengeti in The Lion King, the corporate world has its own circle of life, which usually ends with retirement. An employee only retires once, and nothing says “thank you,” “goodbye” and “good luck” like a nice gift.

1) Pens are always a corporate gift staple, but some pens really stand out and convey a deeper message. One such pen is the Lismore Ballpoint Pen by Waterford. The Lismore is a beautifully cut crystal pen, inspired by the gothic Lismore Castle. An exquisitely made pen, engrave a message to show your retiree how much you valued their work and company loyalty.

2) Sometimes the simplest gifts mean the most. This black acrylic and chrome plaque is an elegant and understated gift. A plaque gives you the option to engrave a truly heartfelt or congratulatory message.

3) Watches are a popular retirement gift; however, a cleverer update would be the Wenger Swiss Army Compass Watch. The watch, made with Swiss quartz, has a leather accented wristband and a fully functioning compass. An engraved watch makes the perfect gift as a retiree begins to metaphorically travel a new path in their lives.

Corporate Gift Tip: Avoiding Gift Giving Gaffes

Finding the perfect corporate gift for your clients have never been easier with all the possible choices available online. However, choosing the right business gift can be far more time consuming and challenging than most people expect. Before you start purchasing, you should carefully consider whether anything you give might offend the recipient. We've seen more than our share of unfortunate gift giving gaffes over the years -- many of which could have been avoided with some extra consideration. Without further ado, here's our list of potential mistakes to watch out for:

Getting too personal -
Building close personal relationships with clients is all fine and dandy. There's nothing wrong with getting to know your clients personal preferences better -- it can help your business and certainly can't hurt when you're deciding on a corporate gift.

However, there's personal and then there's personal. Gifts of a more intimate nature, such as lingerie and perfume are almost never appropriate, although this kind of thing can be mitigated by gender differences. While it's generally acceptable for women to give their female clients spa kits and lotions, men should not be so familiar.

Ignoring religious and lifestyle issues -
Finding a neutral gift may be harder than you think. When dealing with religious considerations, many people only remember to take the winter holidays into account. However, avoiding religious gaffes go beyond issues like remembering not to give Christmas ornaments to non-Christians and so on. There are often other considerations you may miss such as dietary restrictions.

For example, when giving gift baskets, one should never send alcohol or tobacco to an account in Salt Lake City. For Jews and Muslims, non-kosher and non-halal foods should be avoided and so on.

Dietary restrictions must also be taken into consideration for secular lifestyle choices (vegetarians, vegans, etc.). Until you know your there'll be no conflicts, you should hold off on giving those frozen steaks (don't laugh, it's happened) or any other animal derived items (leathers, furs, etc.).

Not researching cultural differences -
Business relationships have increasingly gone global, exposing many companies to more cultures than they might have dealt with in the past. Many cultures have their own gift giving customs and expectations. Not researching these customs can lead to a serious faux pas. For example, in many Asian countries, using white wrapping paper is frowned upon as it symbolizes death.

Forgetting to check their corporate gift policies -
Ok, so you've finally narrowed down your choices to something you believe will not be offensive to your client. Before you start celebrating, did you remember to check whether they have a standard policy for accepting gifts?

Some companies have firm guidelines on what their employees can receive as gifts. The best corporate gift idea in the world will not earn you any points with a client if they are forced to return it. Keeping within company gifting guidelines is important -- doubly so if your company is the process of bidding on a contract from that company.

Fortunately, avoiding most of these gaffes can be pretty simple. Rather than worry about whether a gift is appropriate, why not just call up the client and ask? While it might remove an element of surprise in gift giving that first time, it'll certainly make gift giving much easier in the future.