Monthly Archives: January 2013

• Thursday, January 17th, 2013

  The 12 Month Marketing Plan

  Millions of marketers are going to make billions of resolutions and plans and by the end of January, most of those resolutions and plans will be shelved because of deadlines, backsliding, and doing what’s most expedient. Nevertheless, there is value in these exercises, and the best way to keep the change you’re looking to make on the front burner is to have it close by for reference. Most of us get some sort of gift calendar every year. Take one of them and turn it into a 12-month marketing plan for your business or yourself. Let’s assume that you and yours are not going out of business, or are not going to be bought out by Richard Branson, but are looking to increase performance. Take …

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• Wednesday, January 16th, 2013

  Open Up Opportunity with a Leather Keyring

  Find Your Own Way There are lots of affordable ways to brand your online business, sometimes it just demands becoming a little creative. One creative, inexpensive idea to consider is the use of Promotional Leather Keyrings. These are outstanding for handing out at exhibits and events, and even as a giveaway at your own place of business. Everything You Need There are numerous types and designs you are able to choose from when considering leather-based key chains for promotional functions. Whatever your option may be, your primary goal will probably be achieved as you’ll have your company brand title or emblem embedded in the minds of all of those who will probably be utilizing your key ring. Check out the Choices There are many ways …

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• Tuesday, January 15th, 2013

  Is Competing on Price Worth It?

  These days, my mail box is filled with merchants and marketers offering a “deal.” In the paper, they even call it the “Daily Deal.” The deal is usually something like two meals for one, or a similar discount. What these folks are doing is attempting to drive some traffic in the door, with the hope that you’ll spend once you are there. And yet, curiously, at my house, most of these offers for deals wind up in the circular file. How come? Well, if I never had much desire for the product in the first place, how much desire will be added by the promise of 10, 25 or even 50 percent off? Not much. And yet, if you are a merchant, or marketing for …

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• Monday, January 14th, 2013

  Adorn Yourself with a Promotional Silicone Wristband

  Now is the Time All of your clients deserve the best from you; after all they are what keeps you in business, right?  So when you are looking for something new to give them in order to show your appreciation you definitely look at all the available and new promotional products.  So many new and shiny products are available but there are some which work better than others. Decorate Your Clients So when you are looking you kind of want to follow the current trends out there amongst the general populace.  Something that is fun and decorative and a good reminder of your company is a Promotional Silicone Wristband.  Very popular with lots of people right now you should jump on this bandwagon to promote …

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• Saturday, January 12th, 2013

  How Do You Know When You’re Winning?

  The reason spectators spend billions of dollars watching sporting events is that at the end of the contest there is a winner and a loser. Few things in life, however, are as clear cut as the outcome of a football game. The question of “did we succeed?” must always be paired with the question “from where did we come?” If we’ve launched a brand new product to a national audience under tight budget restrictions and a subpoena by the government, and…you get the idea. As marketers, however, small business owners and boards of directors are going to want to know “how did we do?” and that is why an industry was developed to track viewership with electronic boxes or why advertisers speak of “impressions,” however …

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• Friday, January 11th, 2013

  Wine Cooler for the Cool Ones

  Look Ahead We all know it is smart to use promotional products to increase our customer base and name recognition.  So no need to repeat what we already know about how budget friendly and easy it is to get a promotional product plan put in place, right?  But there are times when we need to look at some special items for some special clients due to unusual circumstances. Something Different There are some periods of time when the typical, normal types of promotional products are just not what you might need.  A client may be going through a special time in their lives, or an employee might have met a certain goal or maybe it’s just the right time to do something a bit above …

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• Thursday, January 10th, 2013

  Does Your Website Engage?

  Web hits, click throughs, and page views are all ways to measure Website engagement, but they don’t tell the entire story about whether a Website is engaging its audience. Not all metrics are created equal nor are they useful for every audience. Take the various news portals, like Yahoo, Drudge, etc. They get tens of millions of hits from surfers who may stay there only long enough to scan the headlines. Is there stickiness? No. Will news hounds be back later in the day? You bet. Since the news portals have heavy ad traffic, one must figure that this mode of marketing is working well for them. Some Websites are going to be limited in their audiences through no fault of their own. They may …

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• Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

  Chill Out With Some Promotional Sunglasses

  Look Around When you are the one charged with keeping the marketing plan fresh and exciting you have a pretty good job on your hands.  It is hard to continuously come up with new ideas and plans to keep your business moving forward.  But the nice thing about this is you can always fall back on promotional products because there are hundreds to choose from so there is always a new product available. Multitudes These multitudes of products give you the opportunity to try new things pretty much on an ongoing basis.  This is good because people sometimes tire of the typical such as sticky notes and pens; they sometimes are ready for something a little more varied.  Not that those products are necessarily bad …

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• Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

  Marketing Examples for the Taking

  Marketing can be a lonely enterprise. Sure, at first it’s fun to know you have a hand, or maybe an entire arm, in fashioning a message for your product or client, but soon enough the marketer is confronted with the “down in the weeds” decisions over medium (print, TV, Web?), message, cost, and reach (who do we want to see this?). One advantage marketers have is that good and poor examples of marketing abound. You’re throwing them away with the junk mail. You’re flipping around them on TV. You’re buzzing by them on the radio. You’re failing to take notice of them on the Internet. Why? Do they lack impact? Are they merely annoying (see: Geico lizard) or are they downright insulting (beer ads)? What …

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• Monday, January 7th, 2013

  Use Promotional Frisbees for Some Fun

  Going Forward Always in life we are following our schedules, and this includes the marketing types who have to figure out how to push their companies forward.  Sometimes this becomes a drag and we need to take a break from all the serious aspects of marketing.  Using promotional products is a no brainer and it can provide more fun for you and your target audience. Try to Enjoy All of your clients and prospective clients are doing their daily grind, getting up early every day, showering, going to work, taking care of kids, doing personal financials into the night, etc.  So it’s up to you to try and make their load a bit lighter, a bit less stressful.  When you look at your promotional products …

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