Promotional Products Make Memorable Holiday Gifts

Promotional products are “gifts” so why couldn’t they be holiday gifts? Of course, they can! For many years, companies have been giving out promotional products to promote their company and their brand. The holidays are a great time to give away branded gifts that will help keep your brand fresh in the minds of your customers and potential customers and increase their positive sentiment about your company. Promotional products can make holiday presents not just for kids. Of course, we do have promotional products for kids.

Here are some ideas for branded gifts that you might want to give away this holiday season. Whether you want to just send a small memento, include one with a purchase, or go big with a gift with more impact, we have what you need.

Smaller Promotional Gift Ideas:

There are a number of different gifts that you can just slip into the holiday card you already send by mail to your clients and customers.

Pens
Notepads
USB Sticks or Flash Drives
Bookmarks
Business Card Holders
Seeds for Planting
Magnets and Stickers

Memorable Branded Gifts:

Here are some ideas for branded gifts that will make an impact with your special clients and customers. This is where you can really connect with your brand and messaging.

Clothing
Reusable Bags
Candy Confections
Eco Friendly Promotional Gifts
Safety and Survival Kits
Drinkware
Cooking Products
Travel Products
Pet Products

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Here's How an Email Campaign Can Create Buzz for Your Next Trade Show

When you are preparing to exhibit at a trade show there are many different marketing efforts that should go into making it a success. One of the best ways to create buzz in front of the trade show is with a targeted email campaign. Staying in contact with attendees and alerting your customers about the trade show and related events is an excellent marketing tool. Here are 4 tips for your trade show email marketing campaign:

1. Segment your email list. Rather than sending the same email to everyone on your email list, segment your list into different categories so that you can send relevant email messages to each set of your target customers. Examples of your segments can include past attendees not yet registered for this upcoming show, attendees already registered, target customers who have not attended a recent show, target customers who have never attended a trade show. This will allow you to customise your emails to each group and speak to each one in a targeted fashion. You will receive better results and have happier email list subscribers. Targeted and relevant information makes your subscribers feel important.
2. Offer Exclusive Sales or Specials. Email subscriptions are a give and take. Many people expect something in return for letting your company into their inbox. Make that happen with exclusive offers and be sure to let them know that these are better deals that non-email subscribers get. If you can’t change pricing or offers, perhaps allow them early access, sneak peaks, or special promotional product gifts. i.e. “Mention this Email for an Special Gift”
   
3. Include Important Information. Your emails regarding the trade show shouldn’t only be about your company. Sales only focused emails are less effective than a more social and informative approach. Include other trade show details in your emails that will help improve their entire experience. They will remember you and thank you for it, perhaps even sharing some of your information on social channels. Examples include trade show registration information, schedules, local city information, hotel details, or the best places to eat or visit in the city you are traveling to for the trade show.
   
4. Follow Up. During your trade show, maintain your list and add to it. Then you can further segment your list for a series of follow up emails. Thank attendees who came and made a purchase and offer related products. Follow up with visitors who didn’t make a purchase (yet). Email those who didn’t make it to the show and offer them a different deal.

Originally Posted by GoPromotional on October 31st, 2015

Holiday B2B Gift Giving - What to Give to Who

STEPS:

New Client
You probably don’t know your brand-new customers all that well, so go for something with universal appeal. Everyone loves food. Everyone could use some stress-relief and relaxation. Think about a nice candy jar, or some delicious coffee. You can also consider a relaxation kit.

Biggest Client
Biggest clients – those who bring in the most profit – should receive gifts that cost more and are a little more upscale. A nice leather briefcase works for anyone who works. A special gemstone clock lets anyone know their business is precious.

Friend and Client
For clients who are buddies, too, you can go a little more intimate and even humorous. Also, think about the kids. If you go that extra mile to include your customer’s children in the gift-giving plan, along with custom gift wrap for the child’s gift, that gesture won’t be forgotten.

Potential Client
Potential clients should receive something practical and unisex that they will absolutely find useful. It’s like you’re saying, “Hey, we really gave this some thought.” (Now, think about us!)

6 WAYS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR LUNCH BREAK

Taking a lunch break is important. It’s time when you can step away from your computer and have a little “me” time. Your lunch break should be a time when you can unplug and stop thinking about work so you can re-energize to make it through the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, many of us are guilty of working through our lunch breaks and some of us even skip lunch entirely, which is not healthy.

To help inspire you to do something better with your lunch break, we’ve compiled this list of ways to take advantage of this time:

1. Work on a side project.

What are you passionate about? Your lunch break is a great time to give your cooking blog some love, or maybe work on your poetry. Find whatever it is that excites you and then throw yourself into it just for fun. But make sure it’s something that helps you relieve stress, not create more of it.

2. Catch up with a friend or loved one.

We often get so caught up in the day to day, we forget what – or, more importantly,who – really matters. Use your lunch break to catch up with a family member or friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Not only will it make their day a little brighter, but you’ll likely come back from lunch a little extra pep yourself.

3. Have lunch with the most interesting or inspiring person in your company.

No matter how experienced you are, you can still learn a lot from other people. Ask them what their day-to-day responsibilities are, how they stay organized, what they do to stay motivated and what they most enjoy outside of work. Not only could you learn something that you could apply to your own work, but you could gain a friend in the process.

For executives and business owners, taking the time to learn about their employees has made a tremendous impact on their bottom lines. You may be surprised what you learn. You could find out about issues or inefficiencies in your company that you didn’t know existed, and then take action to re-mediate them.

4. Get outside.

Weather permitting, go eat lunch outside. Post up on a park bench and read a book, or ask a coworker to toss the ol’ pigskin around. Depending on how much time you have, you could also go for a walk or a bike ride. Research has shown that taking a break in nature can do wonders to lower your stress levels and improve your mood, and being active outdoors is extra beneficial.

5. Meditate.

Meditating has been shown to improve concentration and help us relieve a lot of that stress that builds up throughout the workday. Click here to learn how to meditate.

6. Challenge your neighboring office to a competition.

Remember how we told you having fun at work ups your productivity. Take our advice and challenge the office next door to a friendly office chair race or a game of soccer, ping pong, pool, foosball, capture the flag or cornhole!

Six Tips For More Clicks With Email Marketing

Email marketing can be daunting if you’re new to it. Assuming you make it past the spam filter, you have a couple of seconds to make an impression or you’re sent to the trash. Despite this, email marketing is actually one of the most successful marketing techniques, offering a return on investment of 4,300 percent. Seventy-four percent of consumers prefer to receive commercial communications via email, and 66 percent of online consumers, ages 15 and up, made a purchase as a result of email marketing messages. That’s a lot of bang for your buck. To help you achieve this level of success, we’ve come up with the following tips for you to get more opens and more clicks with your email marketing campaigns.

1. Choose an effective subject line

Your subject line should be original, yet straightforward. It should pique your target market’s interest while communicating why they would want to open your email. Trick of the trade: Use numbers, they grab attention and let people know what they’re in for. “6 tips? I can skim through that in a breeze!”

2. Demand attention

Crafting an email that looks professional and is on brand is very important. Choose a layout and image that make your email stand out. Trick of the trade: Test your email on various devices. Forty-eight percent of email is opened on a mobile device, and over 70 percent of mobile purchasing decisions are influenced by promotional emails. So make sure the content in your email is responsive and looks good on all devices.

3. Benefit the subscriber

What is the subscriber getting out of opening your email? It could be a word of advice, a sale or promotion, or an invitation to an event. Many companies make the mistake of creating marketing pieces that are too feature focused. You can’t always know which features are most appealing to your audience and it could be different for everyone. Rather, the focus of your marketing should be the benefits your company or your products bring to the customer.

4. Earn your subscribers’ trust

Don’t overwhelm them with emails. Not every email should be trying to sell them something. Offer help or advice, and be concerned about the growth and improvement of their business, not just yours. One goal of email marketing is to establish your brand as an industry thought leader, meaning your company is who they turn to for all of their promotional needs. Once you’ve earned their trust, they’ll engage more with your brand.

5. Persuade subscribers to act

How will your subscribers know what you want them to do unless you TELL them? Do you want them to view a new product? Buy something during a sale? Register for an event? Always include a clear and convincing call to action. Trick of the trade: Adding the same link several times in the email increase the chances of it getting clicked.

6. Track your success

We can speculate all we want, but there is no average subscriber. Some emails are going to be successful with some people and not with others. Measuring the open and click-through rates with your subscribers is the best way to determine what works for you and what doesn’t. You can run A/B split tests by sending sample groups of your subscribers slightly different emails to see which ones get a better response.

According to a census conducted by digital marketing research firm, Econsultancy, companies that use an email service provider are more likely to be satisfied with their email marketing than those who do not.

Survey Finds Salary Influences Millennials’ Job Loyalty

Salary is as much a motivator for Millennials as it is for their older colleagues, reported in a study of office workers in the U.S. and Canada. Almost one third of Millennials (29 percent) report that higher salary is the biggest contributor to their loyalty, despite only 20 percent of the broader workforce reporting the same.

“Millennials are becoming the largest demographic in the U.S. workforce—about one third of all workers—so it’s critical for employers to understand how to attract and retain millennial talent,” says John Burke, senior vice president, chief culture officer, at Staples, Inc. “Our Workplace Index found that, contrary to popular belief, salary is important to Millennials just as it is to older workers.” The survey also revealed that flexibility and office perks are key to retaining Millennials.

U.S. office workers as a whole consider title and work responsibilities (38 percent) and work-life balance (30 percent) as leading contributors to their loyalty. Millennials favor more nontraditional benefits in the workplace, including flexibility regarding where and when they work, office perks, eco-friendliness, trust in leadership and a relationship with their direct boss.

6 Content Ideas Your Company Should be Posting on Social Media

If your company is new to the social media arena or even if you have had channels set up but weren’t sure what to post, we have some content ideas to help you fill your channels with excellent and engaging content.

One of the most important things to remember with social media is to consistently provide content, updates, and engage without always trying to sell something to your fans and followers. Here are 6 content ideas to keep your company top of mind and engaged with your customers.

• Company News: You may not think that your customers are interested in the newsworthy events that go on in your company, but they are. It is always a good idea to fill your social streams with content about your company’s news. It can be that you moved or opened a new location. Maybe you have a new hire or want to spotlight the employee of the month. Winning an award or even being nominated for one are all news bits that are perfect to share on all your social channels. All of this type of news helps show insight into your company and lets customers in.

• Local News: This works especially well for local businesses that are not solely internet based. Although some local news can even benefit internet-only companies. Posting about local events, things happening in your town, or things happening in your shopping mall or plaza will attract the attention of the fans and followers of the other businesses and the city or town. Tagging the other businesses and your city as well as neighboring cities is a great way to make new connections by getting extra exposure on their social networks as well as yours.

• Industry News: The news from your industry can also be big news for your social media followers. They might want your take on industry news or just want to come to you as a source for the industry. This establishes your company as an authority and is one of the best ways to remain top of mind with your customers and potential clientele.

• Offer Tips and Advice: Are you an authority on the things you sell or services you provide? Show your readers the great ideas you have, how to use your products, or tips to enhance the services you offer.

• Use Humour:  Even the most serious businesses can utilise humour in a tasteful way. Funny posts attract more people and make it easier for them to remember you.

• Images: Whenever possible, include images in your social media posts. People are very visual and a post with a picture in it attracts much more attention than just text alone. Always look for a relevant image to post with your content.