Mr. Quinn and Mr. Bell, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what a wonderfully helpful and courteous employee you have in Liz McClenaghan. We are starting up a new XXXXXXXX here at The XXXXXXX, and I am the Program Coordinator. This being my first time doing any of this I was completely unsure how to go about any of this. I explained what we were looking for and I felt getting the products we were looking for and getting our logo put on these items seemed like a next to impossible task at first. Then I was introduced to Liz and she has taken me under her wing and turned out some spectacular products, and I know had it not been for her assistance and patience with me I would have not ended up with such wonderful products. She is not only a delight to deal with; she is incredibly efficient with all that I have thrown at her. Her helpful and friendly demeanor is contagious, I am sure if you know her you are aware of all that I have stated as well as the fact that she is a huge asset to your company. I am not sure if your company has any sort of employee recognition program or not but I do believe she is well deserving of such recognition.
NOTE: Liz has been a printing and promotional products adviser in Greenville, SC for 27 years.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Get What You Pay For! Trade Shows and Giveaways
Trade Shows and Giveaways
Many of our clients are exhibitors at trade shows and they often ask us for trade show giveaway ideas and strategy. Our initial discussion with them is along the lines of what is the show’s focus, how many attendees are expected, what level in an organization are the attendees, budgets, etc.
Generally, our advice is:
1) if you want to give something to every attendee, buy a big fishbowl, fill it with some sort of candy and put it out so everyone that wants some can have some. This helps you avoid the “dreaded tradeshow promotional product thieves”, those attendees only interested in collecting promotional products. (Heidi Thorne)
2) consider inviting potential clients to your booth by mailing them an invitation prior to the show that promises a “reward” if they stop to see you.
3) qualify, qualify and qualify. In an earlier life, we used to get on a plane and visit anyone that was even remotely interested in our software and services. After we wore ourselves out traveling, we defined who our potential clients were and developed a set of questions or talking points to qualify them as viable prospects.
4) offer a firm handshake and request a business card from everyone you meet. This provides you with an opening to ask questions and qualify the person and/or the company represented. Throw away the cards that are thrown, literally, into the booth. These cards will have something like this printed on the back: “Please send me 3 catalogs and free samples to the address on the front of this card at your expense.”
5) trade show giveaways should be easily moved to and from the tradeshow and since most attendees are from out of town, the item should fit smoothly in their luggage for the trip home.
6) have a little something extra special for existing clients that stop by to see you.
7) and most of all, be just as sharp during the last hour of the last day as you were during the first hour of the first day. Because you never know when the “ONE” attendee you were hoping to meet, will walk up to you and say, “Hello, my name is…”
Mike Bell resides in Greenville, SC and is a partner at PROforma AdMark Solutions Group, PROforma-Events.com, Golflocker.net, BallyhooBands.com and TheEmployeeMall.com. He can be reached by email at mike.bell@proforma.com and by phone at 864-239-0050. He can be followed on Twitter @proformaguy.
Many of our clients are exhibitors at trade shows and they often ask us for trade show giveaway ideas and strategy. Our initial discussion with them is along the lines of what is the show’s focus, how many attendees are expected, what level in an organization are the attendees, budgets, etc.
Generally, our advice is:
1) if you want to give something to every attendee, buy a big fishbowl, fill it with some sort of candy and put it out so everyone that wants some can have some. This helps you avoid the “dreaded tradeshow promotional product thieves”, those attendees only interested in collecting promotional products. (Heidi Thorne)
2) consider inviting potential clients to your booth by mailing them an invitation prior to the show that promises a “reward” if they stop to see you.
3) qualify, qualify and qualify. In an earlier life, we used to get on a plane and visit anyone that was even remotely interested in our software and services. After we wore ourselves out traveling, we defined who our potential clients were and developed a set of questions or talking points to qualify them as viable prospects.
4) offer a firm handshake and request a business card from everyone you meet. This provides you with an opening to ask questions and qualify the person and/or the company represented. Throw away the cards that are thrown, literally, into the booth. These cards will have something like this printed on the back: “Please send me 3 catalogs and free samples to the address on the front of this card at your expense.”
5) trade show giveaways should be easily moved to and from the tradeshow and since most attendees are from out of town, the item should fit smoothly in their luggage for the trip home.
6) have a little something extra special for existing clients that stop by to see you.
7) and most of all, be just as sharp during the last hour of the last day as you were during the first hour of the first day. Because you never know when the “ONE” attendee you were hoping to meet, will walk up to you and say, “Hello, my name is…”
Mike Bell resides in Greenville, SC and is a partner at PROforma AdMark Solutions Group, PROforma-Events.com, Golflocker.net, BallyhooBands.com and TheEmployeeMall.com. He can be reached by email at mike.bell@proforma.com and by phone at 864-239-0050. He can be followed on Twitter @proformaguy.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Get What You Pay For! With PROmotional PROducts
In 2008, The Advertising Specialty Institute conducted a survey. The purpose of the interviews was to understand how advertising specialties influence end-users' purchasing decisions; determine the number of impressions of popular advertising specialties; and analyze the Cost Per Impression (CPI) of advertising specialties compared with other popular advertising media.
If you would like the details, just let me know. Here are the results.
Summary of Conclusions:
• Instant recall: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) respondents remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they received.
• Very impressionable: 42% of respondents had a MORE favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving the item. And nearly a quarter (24%) said they are MORE likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they receive.
• It's all business: Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the item.
• Pens are in: Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps and bags.
• User-friendly: The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.
• Staying power: More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for more than 6 months.
• Bag it!: Bags were reported to be used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month. They also deliver the most impressions: Each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month.
• Most impressive: The average Cost Per Impression of an advertising specialty item is $0.004; as a result, marketers get a more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media.
Mike
proformaguy@gmail.com
If you would like the details, just let me know. Here are the results.
Summary of Conclusions:
• Instant recall: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) respondents remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they received.
• Very impressionable: 42% of respondents had a MORE favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving the item. And nearly a quarter (24%) said they are MORE likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they receive.
• It's all business: Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the item.
• Pens are in: Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps and bags.
• User-friendly: The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.
• Staying power: More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for more than 6 months.
• Bag it!: Bags were reported to be used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month. They also deliver the most impressions: Each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month.
• Most impressive: The average Cost Per Impression of an advertising specialty item is $0.004; as a result, marketers get a more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media.
Always be sure you Get What You Pay For! If you don't think you are, send me a note and I'll give you my opinion.
Mike
proformaguy@gmail.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Get What You Pay For! - Corn Flakes
According to the advertising slogan, if you see Kellogg's on the box then you know it's Kellogg's in the box.
But now the company has become so concerned about similarly packaged supermarket cereals, it has developed a laser to burn its logo on to individual Corn Flakes.
The concentrated beam of light creates a toasted appearance without changing the taste.
Kellogg's embarked on the project to reinforce that they don't make cereals for any other companies and to fire a shot across the bows of makers of 'fake flakes'.
Helen Lyons, lead food technologist at the company, said: 'In recent years there has been an increase in the number of own brands trying to capitalise on the popularity of Kellogg's corn flakes.
'We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else.
Read the article and see the pictures: http://tinyurl.com/yjrwzdq
But now the company has become so concerned about similarly packaged supermarket cereals, it has developed a laser to burn its logo on to individual Corn Flakes.
The concentrated beam of light creates a toasted appearance without changing the taste.
Kellogg's embarked on the project to reinforce that they don't make cereals for any other companies and to fire a shot across the bows of makers of 'fake flakes'.
Helen Lyons, lead food technologist at the company, said: 'In recent years there has been an increase in the number of own brands trying to capitalise on the popularity of Kellogg's corn flakes.
'We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else.
Read the article and see the pictures: http://tinyurl.com/yjrwzdq
Always be sure you Get What You Pay For! If you don't think you are, send me a note and I'll give you my opinion.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Get What You Pay For! - Wholesale
There is a reason that Sam's Wholesale Club is now known as Sam's Club. In 1990, the word "wholesale" was dropped from the name, because of a lawsuit filed in North Carolina by the Better Business Bureau, which argued successfully that most of the goods weren't actually being sold for resale.
Why was the lawsuit succesful? Because the Better Business Bureau Guidelines for Truth in Advertising states that the term "wholesaler" and the like should not be used unless the advertiser actually owns and operates or directly and absolutely controls a wholesale or distribution facility which primarily sells products to retailers for resale. And, Wal-Mart believes in the Code of Advertising.
The key word is RESALE.
One of the major internet promotional product distributors sites touts that the buyer can save money by buying "wholesale" promotional products. This is an incorrect use of the term because they are not selling product for RESALE. What they are really doing is using the term "wholesale" to imply that you are about to get a good deal because you are going to be able to buy at wholesale prices. NOT!
What you are really getting, at best, is less than the suggested retail price. And even that is debatable. See Get What You Pay For! Koozies.
What you are really getting, at best, is less than the suggested retail price. And even that is debatable. See Get What You Pay For! Koozies.
When you see terms like "wholesale", "wholesaler", and "wholesale prices" know that while they imply a siginifcant savings on promotional products, be wary.
The next time you are thinking about buying "wholesale", Get What You Pay For! If you don't think you are, send me a note and I'll give you my opinion.
Mike
Monday, October 5, 2009
Get What You Pay For! Koozies
Without a doubt one of the most popular promotional products there is. What you may not know is that Koozie is a registered trademark of Norwood / BIC. And just as Xerox is to copiers, Koozie is to beverage wrap, can holder, can hugger, etc. It comes in all types of material - scuba, open cell foam, neoprene, etc.
I prefer the collapsible neoprene. A little more expensive, but for the right situation, worth it.
So, are you getting what you pay for when you buy Koozies?
Generally, all of the suppliers of koozies to promotional products distributors charge a setup fee. It has been my experience that this setup fee covers printing on both sides as long as the logo and the imprint color are the same on both sides.
Recently, I acquired a client that had been buying koozies at a fair price from an internet promotional products distributor. However, they were only getting their logo on one (1) side. When I asked why only one (1) side, they said there vendor charged an extra setup fee to get the 2nd side printed. Can you guess what they thought when I explained what was really going on?
The next time you are thinking about buying koozies, Get What You Pay For! If you don't think you are, send me a note and I'll give you my opinion.
Thanks,
Mike
proformaguy@gmail.com
I prefer the collapsible neoprene. A little more expensive, but for the right situation, worth it.
So, are you getting what you pay for when you buy Koozies?
Generally, all of the suppliers of koozies to promotional products distributors charge a setup fee. It has been my experience that this setup fee covers printing on both sides as long as the logo and the imprint color are the same on both sides.
Recently, I acquired a client that had been buying koozies at a fair price from an internet promotional products distributor. However, they were only getting their logo on one (1) side. When I asked why only one (1) side, they said there vendor charged an extra setup fee to get the 2nd side printed. Can you guess what they thought when I explained what was really going on?
The next time you are thinking about buying koozies, Get What You Pay For! If you don't think you are, send me a note and I'll give you my opinion.
Thanks,
Mike
proformaguy@gmail.com
Friday, October 2, 2009
Get What You Pay For! - Introduction
I am starting this blog to encourage promotional products buyers to be aware that while they may be getting a good price, they may not be getting what they pay for. My blogs will be based on the experiences that my clients have had dealing with web based promotional products distributors. My experience with the Local Advertising Review Panel of the Greenville, SC Better Business Bureau, will also provide me with some blogging material.
Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions or experiences that you feel are appropriate.
Thanks,
Mike
proformaguy@gmail.com
Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions or experiences that you feel are appropriate.
Thanks,
Mike
proformaguy@gmail.com
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