Winning Through Difference

In the promotional products industry there are alot of competitors and it is important to run with your point of difference to get the most out of your business, strategically and financially.

Some strategies which can help you stand differentiated in a big pond of competitors include:

1. Product Differentiation
• Unique products (fresh products new to the market place or niche products)
• Better offerings
• Wider offerings
• =more choice & unique proposition for the client
2. Relationship Differentiation
• Customer trust and loyalty
• Persevere to build trust and loyalty with customers
• Take time to strengthen relationships
• =the more time spent building relationships, the better the relationships with client
3. Process Differention
• Selling products in a different way
• Internet
• E-Commerce
• Creating more convenience for the client
• Being able to sell at a global level (if you are online, anyone else who is online anywhere in the world can view your products and buy)
4. Technological Differentiation
• Teleconferencing with clients
• Smart phones
• Laptops
• Again creating more convenience for the client
5. Experiential Differentiation
• Customer service excellence
• Willing to go that extra mile for a client
6. Marketing Differentiation
• Smart marketing tactics
• Product/price discussions to keep the business profitable AND the customer happy at the same time

So there you have it, 6 strategies of differentiation that will help your business stand out from the crowd in such a saturated industry in such a forward thinking technological age.

Source: Don Hutson: Stand Out From The Crowd, 2011, January Counselor Magazine

Pens, Pens, Pens!

Pens have been used as promotional items for many, many years. There are many associated benefits of using promotional pens :

1. Pens are a cost effective promotional product
2. Some pens offer refills in which case the pen is kept for a longer than usual period
3. There are numerous amounts of styles, colours, textures of pens to choose from
4. You can choose from gel, roller ball, ballpoint, pencil tips and more
5. The type of pen you choose is up to you, whether it be a plastic, metal, bamboo, wooden or otherwise
6. There are many different decoration options for pens including screen printing and engraving
7. Transport of pens is cost effective as they are lightweight and small size
8. Pens are a handy size as a bag filler for events
9. Pens can be used as business cards, they will be more effectively utilised by the user and less likely to get damaged (i.e. business cards being damaged by water etc)
10. Pens can classified into many different categories including writing pens, marker pens, highlighters, banner pens etc.

So there you have it. 10 MASSIVE reasons why PENS are awesome promotional products for your business and brand.

Source: Courtesy Promotion Magazine Nov-Dec 2010, pp.37-39

Reach & Recall—How Promotional Products Compare

This is a very interesting video about how promotional products generate more brand recall and provoke more brand memory than other leading ways of advertising such as TV, print and even online ads. While the reach may be lower than TV advertising, the recall and retention of brand names and messages on promotional products were by far way higher than TV advertising.

I guess when you think about it, it's alot like the old quality vs quantity saying. Would you rather reach millions of people but only have a hundred people buy your product or service? OR would you rather reach thousands of people and have thousands of people buy your product or service or recommend you to someone? I know which one I would rather.

Don't waste thousands of dollars that you don't have on TV advertising because you think it is the biggest and best form. Think again. Spend Less. Get better returns. Be remembered. Choose promotional products.

Love In The Office - Promotional Products Work!

Consumers Love Promotional Products

Technology in 2011

According to a Counselor Magazine (DEC 2010) survey, the most important technology for a company to be making use of in 2011 is online social networking.
Counselor Magazine Use of Technology survey
Which technology will be most important to your company in 2011?

1. Online Social Networking = 31%
2. ERP Systems = 26%
3. CRM Systems = 17%
4. Mobile Apps = 14%
5. Web-based programs = 12%

So there you have it tweeters and facebookers, the technology most important in 2011 for companies is social networking online.

---

Customer Service

Customer service does and always will define the way companies are seen and talked about. Whether it is going the extra mile for that one customer or making a customer smile, it’s all worth it for positive word of mouth marketing about your business.
The January/February edition of Supplier Global Resource magazine mentions the following tips on how to better your customer service:

• Listen to the voices: This means listen to customer emotions. Listen and try and decipher just how the customer feels about the company. Also try to ensure that the level of service at each customer touch point is consistent and positive. Further, ensure that your company acts on complaints because complaints are opportunities to improve the business.
• A team-wide effort: Customer service must be an integrated focus of the organisation, where the customer is frequently thought about in the strategic direction of the firm. This also means that the integration and strategic direction of the firm must be managed and evaluated at ongoing and long term intervals to ensure the success of the organisation and the committment to the customer.
• Get social: Ensure that you have the right social media communications tools to connect with your clients, positively. Social media is an outlet where customers can vent about their customer service experiences and you want to make sure that your company is not ‘vented’ about but more positively ‘praised’ about. You must have an appropriate social media strategy for the kind of business you are in, whether it be business-to-business or business-to-customer etc. Social media in this digital age, is actually responsible for some of company reputation building and therefore, the messages and conversations that the company is using online must be consistent with the organisation’s principles and aims.

---

A Bright Idea

Believe it or not, promotional products are one of the easiest and most affordable ways to increase brand awareness, brand recall and brand recognition for your business.

Surrounded by choice, businesses of all kinds (small, niche, etc.) can gain presence in the marketplace through utilising effective promotional products.

So what then, you say, is an effective promotional product?

Well, an effective promotional product is a product which is useful, practical, fun and gets your brand name into homes (and/or outdoors) and businesses/offices.

Typically, we know of pens, bags, t-shirts and caps. Who doesn’t have more than one of those items? Pens are used in the home and office for doodling while on the phone, writing down important information, jotting down quick data etc.

Bags (especially calico, bamboo, non-woven and canvas tote types) are increasingly being used as recyclable shopping bags. This is due to the fact that Aldi supermarkets don’t even have plastic bags & if you want a bag, you have to buy one for $0.99c. Target charges $0.10c for biodegradable and I think most supermarkets are heading that way.
 
T-shirts (polos, shirts, Tees) are similar to walking billboards for your brand. Whether it be an event T-shirt someone got for competing/attending (fun-run, concert etc.) or a witty brand slogan T-shirt; people will wear them to the shops, to the gym, on the weekend and so on. Wherever they go, the public will read their T-shirts and will remember witty slogans and events they must go to or a band they must see.

Promotional caps have been around for many years and most people have many caps hanging around the house which they wear when outdoors to bbqs with friends, exercising, gardening, talking to the neighbour, going to the shops, going to the beach and so on and so forth.

What do they all have in common? They help get brand names in the public eye, whether it be you neighbour next door seeing you wearing a Bunnings cap (and later heading down to Bunnings for a new screwdriver) or a work colleague borrowing your Suncorp insurance pen (and later going online to check out whether it would be cheaper to switch to Suncorp) or you going down to Aldi to do the weekly grocery shop with BCF non woven totes (and someone seeing you in the shop and later stopping in at BCF on the way home from the shops).

But alas, that is not where it ends. Promotional products are increasingly becoming more electronic, gadget orientated and even more professional than before. Today you can get premium stainless steel desk accessories & keytags (complete with bottle opener), leather luggage bags, electronic items (such as travel alarm clocks, USB ports), cheese boards, kitchen items, games (like cheese and noughts & crosses) and more with your business logo embossed, engraved or printed on them. Think about how many people could see your logo on a stylish item & how your brand & products would be perceived.

People keep promotional products. People don’t keep SMS marketing messages or emails. While people may act on SMS’s and emails, they won’t keep the messages on their kitchen bench or office desk. The brand won’t stick in their head every time they answer the phone with that doodling pen or every time they put their groceries in a branded non woven bag.

---