Building Customer Loyalty

Now that you've defined your brand & have begun a marketing campaign using all that's available in your budget, including online & offline advertising & promotional wholesale products; how do you retain your existing customers? What can you do to keep their loyalty so they don't wander over to your competition?

Here are the main constituents of customer loyalty:
1. CUSTOMER'S LOGICAL & EMOTIONAL REACTION TO YOUR PRODUCT: Your target audience has to feel rationally & emotionally connected to your product or service. Before you get your name out among the public you should know who you're targeting & what they're needs are. Also be familiar with their buying habits in the past. Above all, make sure your marketing is going out to the faction of the public you want to receive your advertising message. Your message must be consistent. Bottom line, if they can't relate to you, they'll go to your competition.
2. GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CUSTOMER: Once your product or service has been used by your customer, you should focus on establishing & maintaining a beneficial relationship with them so they continue to come back to you. This is done through online & offline advertising & marketing: emails, direct mailings, phone calls, personal sales calls & promotional imprinted products. And most importantly, the quality of what you offer & the quality of your customer service.
3. OFFER PRODUCT EXTENSIONS: If possible, introduce an extension of your line to keep your customers' loyalty or to draw in new clientele. For example, Crest offers more than their basic fluoride toothpaste with a whitening solution. They expanded their products to include toothpaste specifically for night time use, mint flavored dental floss & whitening strips, to name just a few. To grow & bypass your competition, you need to find ways to expand your targeted audience & keep your old customers interested.
4. SUPPORT A GOOD CAUSE: Some customers will remain loyal to you if you support a social, environmental or communal cause that is advantageous to the public. For example, Wilson Sporting Goods have pink tennis balls & rackets with the pink ribbon to support breast cancer awareness & when those items are purchased a percentage of the profits go to that cause. Most pharmacies & grocery stores offer non-woven recyclable bags for their promotional custom products to promote an eco-friendly environment.
5. AVAILABILITY OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE: Don't advertise what you can't deliver. As I stated in a previous blog: Will The Real Definition Of Branding Please Stand Up, your brand is your promise & not having your product available can drive your client to your competition. Sometimes it's out of your control. In that case make sure you have a rain check on hand & that this in not an ongoing issue. Above all both your services & product need to be what you advertised them to be--don't oversell them.
6. CONFORM TO THE LATEST TREND: Don't be a dinosaur & think if it worked last year, it will work this year. That line of thinking spells disaster. Be educated about your product. Stay up to date & learn all there is about your specialized field.
7. OPTIONS USED AS LURES: A consumer gets a host of benefits from a new company trying to lure him over to their business. Many of them are hard to ignore. Hopefully you've already won their loyalty, but many times it's hard to resist lower prices & special offers. Rather than concentrating on discounted deals for the new client, it's also beneficial to reward your long-standing customers with discounts & promotions for their loyalty.

No doubt you will always face stiff competition. I hope this helps you to stay ahead of the game.
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman

Make Room For Your Message On Promotional Wholesale Products

To be successful today, it's important to have brand recognition. If a potential customer recognizes your company name, they are most likely to choose your business when they need your product or services.

Once you've defined your brand, you need to keep your company's name in the public's view at all times. The best way to do this is with promotional imprinted products.

One of the most used of all promotional items are pens. They're inexpensive, yet effective because they go from hand-to-hand like a dollar bill & carry your logo to places you won't go. The one & only disadvantage: very limited space for your advertising message. And in most cases, this is rarely a drawback.

Yet, for those times when you need the extra space there are many customized promotional products that have a large imprint area & can show off more than your company name & website. These items can display your logo & all your company information in a fun & creative way. They have the room to do it.

1. Note Pads & Sticky Notes: The benefits of having your name on these are limitless as they are used everyday, everywhere by everyone. You can take up every inch of the paper to advertise by using a phantom image in the center.
2. Drinkware: Whether it's acrylic sports bottles, insulated travel tumblers, stainless steel water bottles or ceramic coffee mugs--these offer a large imprint area, usually on both sides. They are carried around everywhere which means where your customer goes, so does your logo.
3. Mouse Pads: Nearly everyone uses a computer daily in the office or at home. Your customers will see your information all the time & so will the people around them.
4. Recyclable Grocery & Tote Bags: Let your customers advertise for you while they shop. As they're toting your company name around you're giving out two messages......your own about your business & that you care about the environment.
5. Beach Balls: Have your company name & logo bounce along the beaches & around swimming pools. Wherever people gather this summer for outdoor fun, let your name be seen.
6. T-Shirts: This is a walking billboard for your business. It is right up there with the pen & is just as popular. Think about it......as you look around you, no matter where you are--how many blank t-shirts do you see? Very few, right? Almost all of them show a logo or display an advertising message.

There are many more promotional custom products with large areas for your advertising message......coolers, towels, blankets, umbrellas......the list goes on. I hope I've given you effective ideas of how to display your logo & company name along with information about your business.

One more thing--make it colorful, make it fun, make your message pop!
IT'S YOUR BUSINESS......SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman

Color Psychology & Your Customized Promotional Items

Look at your logo & text......your website, your printed materials & promotional imprinted products. Why did you pick the colors you chose for your company image?

Colors become a facet of your brand. They set the emotional tone & play a big part in how people react to your company. Many times it's more subconscious than conscious, but nevertheless colors make an impact.

Listed below, alphabetically, are both positive & negative aspects of the most common colors:

BLACK: sophistication, formality, intelligence, sexuality, power, jeopardy, unhappiness, evil, death, mourning. (A dynamic color that runs to both extremes of the emotional spectrum--from the very positive to the extreme negative).
BLUE: masculinity, calmness, serenity, peace, tranquility, security, balance, orderliness, durability, loyalty, sadness, & aloofness. (One of the most popular colors across the board, but also the least appetizing of all colors & rarely appears naturally in food except for blueberries & some plums).
BROWN: earthiness, strength, quality, reliability, comfort, warmth, security, natural & organic, convention, sadness, depression, isolation, erosion, decay & peril. (The earthiness of this color can bring about positive & negative feelings depending on how it's depicted. It can represent life or death. Individual reactions to this color varies widely).
GREEN: nature, tranquility, soothing, restful, growth, health, cheer, wealth, good luck, fertility sexuality & jealousy. (It's the easiest on the eyes. Also it's very sexual--even M&M candy uses the green to send sexual messages. Guests waiting to appear on a TV show wait in the "green" room to relax because the color is calming).
ORANGE: energetic, excitement, electric, fun, enthusiasm, ambition, flamboyancy, edgy, aggressive, blatant & vulgar. (This sparks more controversy than any other color--people either love it or hate it. It's also one of the most unattractive colors to the eye).
PINK: femininity, love, romance, calmness & hope
PURPLE: royalty, wealth, spirituality, majestic, exotic, unity & wisdom.
RED: energetic, electric, deep, strong, dramatic, intense, emotional, excitement, warmth, comfort, love, romance, eroticism, forewarning, untamed & anger. (The most energetic of all colors & evokes more emotions than any other color. It's attention getting......screams: "here I am!").
WHITE: purity, innocence, contemporary, precision, spaciousness, cold, bland, sterile, emptiness.
YELLOW: cheerful, uplifting, sunny, nature, exiting, optimistic, energetic, frustration, & anger. (While it's depicted to be a happy color, it isn't always so. Ironically babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms & people are most likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms).

What is your initial reaction to these colors? Do you change your mind after you think about it & associate with what's familiar to you?

Using the color brown as an example, notice how one color can arouse different emotional & rational feelings. When it's used in marketing for chocolate candy, coffee, an architectural firm or a clothing store it can bring about a nurturing sense of comfort, warmth, safety, quality, durability & tradition. Yet, if it's used in marketing in the dental field, a person may feel emptiness, decay, a vast chasm, sadness, loneliness.
Think of a photo or advertisement using the very same shade of brown......a khaki swede couch seems soft, comfortable & secure. A man in a khaki army uniform brings to mind earthiness, ruggedness, rigidity & possibly a sense of danger.

This is not written in stone & as you can see there are many variables that can sway you to one color over another. After reading this, it may help you understand why you prefer certain colors to others.

Do the colors you choose represent your business the way you want to be identified?
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IF OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman

Logos & Fonts As Part Of Your Branded Identity

Branding encompasses everything that has to do with your company's image. Logos, colors & fonts used are components that make up only a part of the entire branded identity but it's a very important part.

LOGOS

Your logo is the first impression, of not just who you are, but how reliable your company is. Logos are a representation of your entire business......it's products, it's philosophies & it's mantra. All of that has to fit into one simple design.

Whether you are using your logo on packaging, printed material, promotional custom products or online; it is most often the first point of contact with your company's brand. If it creates an initial image that is inconsistent with your brand identity, then it starts off the branding experience by sending mixed signals. And you don't want that!

The most common & safest route to go when creating a logo is to use both images: your logo (ideogram) & your company name (logotype). Many national & international corporations use only ideograms as their logo, but if you're not one of those large, well-known entities then using just an ideogram will not bring you recognition. To be identified by the public, it's important that your company name be part of your logo.

Your logo is one of the most important parts of your company's identity since it's used to aid & promote instant public recognition. Because of this it's counterproductive to frequently redesign logos. In other words, once you display it as part of your identity, think of it as being carved in stone.

TYPOGRAPHY

Fonts are as important to your business image as color & your logo. Many typefaces already represent certain industries, & by using them, a company who's part of that industry shows they're trustworthy & values long-standing tradition.

Three examples are:
1. BANK GOTHIC depicts action or sci-fi movies but works against the food or restaurant industry.
2. ITC AVANT GARDE is a fashion industry standard but is not appropriate for banking or financial institutions.
3. TRAJAN PRO is a font influenced by the style of ancient romans' chiseled writings, yet the clarity of this font also makes it work well with modern printed materials. Law firms & universities use this but it would have a negative impact on packaging for baby products.

A font, alone, can act as your logo without a design or shape if you choose a type style that stands out & represents you. You then have to use it consistently as you would an ideogram. Make sure it's part of your signature at the bottom of your emails & that you use it on all mailings, advertising & on the promotional imprinted products you give out.
Type is everywhere so be certain your choice ties in psychologically with your service or product & your goals.

Whatever you do, don't rush into picking a font & designing your logo because once it's out there for everyone to see, it tells the public who you are. It's introducing you to people you can't possibly meet in person so you need to put your best foot forward in this arena just as you would if you were to personally meet them face-to-face.
Look at other company's fonts & logos & see if you feel it accurately represents them. What does their logo tell you about their business? It may help you decide what to choose for your own & what to stay away from.
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman

Will The Real Definition of "Branding" Please Stand UP

A word of caution before you spend money on advertising & marketing: define your brand identity--your company's "personality". But before you can define it you have to understand it......the actual meaning of the word branding.
When entrepreneurs talk about their marketing & communications efforts, they use words "branding", "advertising", "marketing" & "logo" interchangeably. This reflects the pervasive confusion about the terms. People get the words mixed up all the time, yet they are not all one & the same.
Branding is the most misunderstood concept in all of marketing. It's not advertising, marketing or public relations. It happens BEFORE all of those. First you create the brand then you raise awareness of it through the designing & circulation of your logo with advertising & marketing.

YOUR BRAND IS YOUR PERSONALITY

Your product or your service is not your company's brand. Neither is your logo, your business card or the promotional imprinted products you give out. Your brand is the personality of your company; in other words, a combination of all these should reflect your brand.
Think of your brand as a toolbox containing advertising, direct mail, ads on tv & radio, market research, PR, online advertising & webinars, business cards, promotional custom products & whatever else you use to distribute your name among the public.
It's what your company stands for & is known for. Before you do anything with your business or use any of the marketing tools mentioned, you need to define your brand. If you don't, someone else will......most likely your competitors.

YOUR BRAND IS THE PROMISE YOU MAKE TO THE PUBLIC

Steve Cicil, copywriter & branding expert in San Carlos, CA, defines a brand as a promise & branding as the act of devising that promise your company makes. "Marketing," he goes on to say, "is the strategy that differentiates your brand promise from all the other brand promises in that increasingly crowded house called your catagory."

YOUR BRAND IS A LIFESTYLE

A brand creates an image among the consumer. It says something about you is worth their attention & hopefully, their business as your loyal customer.
This doesn't happen by magic......don't think that just because you have brand identity, you'll have automatic success. Now you need to promote that message you want the public to see. Once your brand is defined, you must constantly use the necessary tools in the "toolbox" to keep your company visible among your clients & prospective customers. The image & message you want to portray should elicit both an emotional & a rational response from people & it needs to appeal to your targeted audience, not to you.

So the main thing to remember when you think of brand identity, is your marketing, logo & product are not your brand--they are vehicles to get your brand known. Your brand needs to be established before you accomplish any other kind of promotion or advertising with your business.

I hope this helps you understand the term branding & will make it easier for you to find your own brand.
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman

Choosing The Right Promotional Imprinted Product

Most businesses spend a large percentage of their revenues on advertising. This is costly whether the advertising is in print, television or another medium. Even marketing on the internet is an expensive venture considering the cost of marketers & SEO companies.
Many companies, especially smaller ones, don't have the funds to promote their business this way. Due to their low budget for advertising, they find themselves at the bottom of their profession with little hope of making it to the top. This creates a vicious circle: if they don't advertise, they won't be known among the public & therefore, can't generate enough profit needed for marketing.
There are, however, ways of publicizing & marketing a company with a small budget for advertising. One is taking advantage of promotional imprinted products. They can bring you excellent results if you select the correct item for your targeted clientele & one that still gives good representation to your company.

How should you go about choosing the ideal advertising specialties
& using them so they effectively work to promote your company?

1. What promotional items will fit your company or your company's image?
It is always safe to give out pens or notepads but if you want to make a bigger impact choose something that will compliment your business & is not what everyone else is giving out. For example, if you are a dentist then dental floss would be a smart choice or USB flash drives for a company dealing with computers. Luggage tags that light up when going around the baggage carousel are perfect for a travel agent. Jar openers are economical & useful & good for chiropractors, assisted living facilities & insurance companies to give out.

2. Who are you trying to target with your promotional items?
If you are going after your loyal customers or prospective clients, make sure you give out something that represents who you are. But there are times when, rather than have the product fit your business, it's more practical to have it fit the event where it's being distributed. Examples of this are golf balls or a divot tool at a golf tournament, recyclable bags at a grand opening, coloring books on safety at a children's fundraiser, biodegradable water bottles at a bike race or team games & book marks at a book fair.

3. What information do you want on your promotional product?
If these are going out to your customers then an item with a small imprint area--large enough for your name & website--will be sufficient. It's something to remind them of you & to keep your business name in front of them when they aren't using your services or product. If you want to show what your company does or advertise an event for your business, then you''ll need an item with more space for your message. Lastly, if it's a gift showing your appreciation for a client's loyalty then you might want your logo to be discreetly debossed rather than visibly silk-screened.

4. Would you like to get this promotional item?
If it's not something that appeals to you personally, how can you expect it to appeal to others? People respond best to promotional give-aways that have a value to them. Not necessarily a money value, but something that is useful to them--not something that will end up hidden & forgotten in a desk drawer or worse yet, get thrown out.

So next time you have to work out a budget for advertising & promoting your company name, there's no need to cringe at the expected cost. Promotional custom products are available in every price range to fit any budget. Rather than concentrating on the cost, think what item would work best for you......what could bring you recognition & effectively circulate your name among the public.

IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!! Let your name stand out in front of your customers at all times.
Ronni Sherman

Eco-Friendly Promotional Custom Products

Companies are now using Eco-Friendly promotional imprinted products more & more to carry their logo & name. They are actually displaying two messages when they invest in these promotions: their own about their business & another showing they care about the environment.
"Eco-Friendly" covers a huge range of products today. Almost anything you want your message on can be imprinted on environmentally safe or recyclable materials.
We all know about recyclable grocery & tote bags. Just look around you in any grocery store. But do you know that there are biodegradable plastic bags? These are available in all price ranges to fit any budget. They also have a large imprint area to broadcast your company while your customers shop.
Yet, there's so much more available besides bags......apparel, pens, notebooks with hard covers as well as all other paper products such as sticky notes & calendars. Almost all plastic promotional custom products can be requested in an environmentally-friendly plastic made from recyclable goods.
This can get confusing since products that are friendlier to our planet use terms like recycled, biodegradable, organic & non-polluting.
Below is a glossary that will help you understand how the items you are buying today will make a difference for all of our tomorrows.

1. RECYCLED: The term means that the raw material used to make the product has been used before & then processed so that it can form a new product. (Pens & plastic promotional items)

2. NON-POLLUTING: This describes the action which is intentionally taking steps to avoid making an area or substance harmful to people, animals or plants by adding harmful chemicals. (Apparel with your company name)

3. SUSTAINABLE: The raw materials to make a product has been supplied from a source that has & will be able to continue to supply over a long period of time, causing little or no damage to the environment. A good example of this are trees used to make paper come from specially planted forests that are grown & maintained solely for this use. (Paper goods advertising your company)

4. BIODEGRADABLE: These products have the ability to decay naturally & harmlessly without any negative impact on the environment. Biodegradable items help limit the amount of harmful chemicals released into the atmosphere & like a fallen leaf will disappear over time & leave no harmful residue in the soil. (Plastic bags with your company's message on them)

5. ORGANIC: These items are produced without using artificial chemicals in the growing of plants or animals for food & other products. (Food products displaying your logo)

I hope this helps to give you a better understanding of how your "going green" promotional items are manufactured & can help our planet.

IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!! Maybe next time with promotional imprinted products that are Eco-Friendly!
Ronni sherman

You've Drawn Traffic To Your Trade Show Booth...Now How Do You Keep Them There?

YOU'VE DRAWN TRAFFIC TO YOUR TRADE SHOW BOOTH......
NOW HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM THERE?

In a previous blog, I discussed how to draw people to your trade show booth. Since then I've heard from several of my customers regarding this blog & even though they liked the suggestions, they all seemed to have the same concern: once you attract people to your booth, how do you get them to stay rather than take the promotional custom products & run?

That's a very good question. The main purpose of a trade show is to draw prospective customers to your booth to learn about your product or service & to let your current clients know you're around & have added new features to your existing line.

The fun give-aways should be a tool to get them to your booth, not the main reason for being there. These promotional imprinted products should also serve the purpose of spreading your name around the show & reminding people of you after the show is over.

So how you display & give out promotional items is very important. Don't just lay the promos out on the table for anyone to take as they pass, but use it as a lure to get people in your booth & to talk to a representative.

1. Candy or Gum. The one exception to this rule may be candy. As I already explained in my blog, How To Draw Traffic To Your Trade Show Booth, this item may draw crowds to you but it won't keep them there. Therefore, if it's still candy you want to give out then I would leave it in a basket or bowl by an eye-catching display of your product or service.

2. Polypropylene Non-Woven Bags. These bags are a great way for your name to be seen throughout the show as people tote them from booth to booth, but I wouldn't leave them by the entrance just to be grabbed out of necessity of needing a bag. Instead have them hanging towards the rear of your booth so people have to come in & pass your displays. Hopefully a rep will be available to talk to them about your company. Make sure all bags have printed material about your business in them......catalogs, sales fliers, pens with your logo on them, anything you may have that can fit in that bag.

3. Products That Light Up. Anything with lights will grab attention so let the promotional imprinted products you give out do the same. Have someone from your company wander around the exhibit area using the item & directing people back to your booth.

4. Beach Balls. I didn't mention these in my previous article, but they're easy to transport to the trade show & something that will be used after the show is over so your name & logo will still be visible. I'm mentioning them now because they are a great way to attract crowds to your booth by displaying them in this simple manner. Put at least one table fan at each end of the entrance with the fan on high & facing up towards the ceiling. Then place an inflated ball over it & it will bounce in the air for the entire day.

After all this, make sure you have plenty of reps on hand to answer questions & talk about your company. If someone is greeted by another person when they enter your booth, chances are they'll stay to listen & look around.

I hope this helps. Good luck at your next trade show.
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman

Eight Steps & Customized Promotional Items Are Yours!

I've had many customers request their promotional imprinted products the day after they've ordered them. "What's the delay......how long does it actually take to put my logo on a pen?" they ask.

And my customers aren't the only ones to pose that question--I used to ask the same to my vendors when something was needed right away. It all seemed so easy......make a screen & then let the machines run by computers carry on. Hah!-not so, read on.

Yes, of course, in most cases promotional items can be done within 24 - 48 hours but there's usually a rush charge added & sometimes, though not all the time, it can be quite hefty. That brings on another onslaught of questions with a few expletives thrown in.

So let me explain the steps it takes to imprint on promotional custom products--in this case, pens, the most used of all advertising specialties.

1. Once an order is received, it goes to the art department. The art may have to be recreated or converted to a correct format. It is then scanned & sent out digitally as a proof.
2. The next step depends on you, the customer......how long it takes for you to approve it & get back to me with your approval or changes.
3. When the art department receives the approval, the artwork & copy are printed on a special paper which is used to make the screen.
4. A screen is burned. This is a timely process because they have to make sure there are no holes or fills. Then it's washed down. By the way, this explains the screen or set-up charge that is often questioned.
5. Next, the machine has to be set up for the screen & the pen to be imprinted. Since all screens are different & most pen styles are varied, this is done with each order.
6. A few test pens are printed & if it goes smoothly, the order is run. This includes printing, heating & a curing process which gives the imprint longevity.
7. The pens are scanned & the ones with flaws are weeded out.
8. It's then packed, shipped & on it's way to you.

So there you have it......next time you're told it could it could be 5 - 10 working days, you'll have a better understanding. One thing to keep in mind with all of this, your order is not the only one in-house, so how long each step takes also depends on how many are ahead of you.

Remember, pens travel......they go from hand-to-hand just like a dollar bill does. This is one of the best ways to let your company name be seen, so it's definitely worth the wait!
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!
Ronni Sherman

How To Draw Traffic To Your Trade Show Booth With Promotional Wholesale Products

These next few months bring on an onslaught of spring trade shows.

Have you ever stood in your near-empty booth & noticed that it's the same companies that draw the crowds to their booths everyday, all day? How do they do it? You sell the same product; your display is brighter & larger than theirs, yet people walk past your booth & stop at your competitor's.
It's not the product & it's not the display. It's what they're giving away that's attracting the crowd. Whether you're in a grocery store or a trade show, people love samples & freebies & that's where they congregate.

ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES & PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS
ARE YOUR ANSWERS!

Here are three ideas that will draw people to your booth & they will walk away advertising your company for you:

1. Candy or Gum. This is the most logical because wherever free food is given out, you'll find a horde of people. It's definitely a crowd-pleaser but my least favorite of all promotional imprinted products. Your logo may be on the candy wrapper but as soon as it's unwrapped, it's in the waste paper basket & your name goes unnoticed.

2. Polypropolene Non-Woven Bags. In my opinion, this is the number one promotional give-away. Have you ever been at a trade show & needed an extra bag? As you've looked around you've noticed people all toting the same bag with the same company name on it. I've been approached & asked where I've gotten the bag I was carrying. The bonus is they're all advertising for you as they're walking around the show displaying the bag with your advertising message on it.

3. Products That Light Up. Signs that catch your attention are ones that are lit in some way. The same is true for promotional custom products. And there's a wide variety of them to choose from. Here are just a few ideas: pens, yo-yo's, high bouncer balls, flash drives & even some drink ware. All of these have LED lights that are activated when the item is used. Contact me for more items that light up & attract attention.

I hope this helps & that at the next trade show it's your booth that has the people pushing to get in.
IT'S YOUR COMPANY......SHOW IT OFF!!!
Ronni Sherman