Private labeled merchandise

Most organizations make use of branded promotional items on a regular basis, while very few organizations take advantage of private labeling for their garments and caps. Private labeling can add a level of professionalism and high-end retail feel that can greatly enhance your branded efforts for minimal added cost in most cases. Whether you are looking for stronger sense of brand identity, or looking to build a completely new brand; private labeling can be the final piece of the puzzle that gives you something to build your branded efforts around.

More than Just Custom Tags –

On the surface, private labeling could be looked at as being as simple as throwing a custom-branded label inside or on the back/sleeve of a garment. In truth, private labeling really is a launch pad that allows you an incredible amount of latitude in promoting, marketing, and growing your program. It instantly adds a certain level of legitimacy, adds value, and creates the perception that the line is truly custom and exclusive. It also creates a branded name that you can more easily position for marketing and/or promots. Take, for example, a

Private labeled headwear

private labeled name like Macy’s ‘Alfani’ brand which features a line of modern and professional wear including: tailored clothing, sportswear, intimate apparel, jewelry, shoes and accessories. They have managed to be very aggressive with the marketing and growth of this brand by creating an unique brand image around the mark; while simultaneously creating an image of exclusivity and specialized identity that is completely separate from the main Macy’s brand.

Another example of a private label success story is the Mathews Solocam apparel line. Rather than separate their brand name from the products, they have chosen to stamp their custom line of private label goods with their own brand name for an added level of exclusivity. They have been very careful to construct their branded apparel and headwear line to closely match their core brand. In their case, they market their private label brand in close conjunction with their other products; thus using their private labeled items as a clever way to reinforce the brand though everyday lifestyle usage. This has led to increased sales through the apparel program as well as greater brand reach.

Private Labeling Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive Or Difficult –

It doesn’t take a ton of volume to make private labeling make sense financially. It will add some cost, and the higher the volume the lower that cost will obviously be. It is not for everybody and every situation, but the point is that it is generally more accessible then most people realize. It is always recommended consulting a competent promotional branding company before getting too deep into researching whether or not to private label. They will be able to more easily navigate the many private label decoration and supply chain options.

Private labeled jackets

At the end of the day the greatest hurdle to overcome, more than pricing issues, are often supply-chain and logistics issues. Often, private labeling can increased lead times as well the number of stops along the supply chain. This can often lead to indirect cost increases such as higher shipping costs and higher inventory costs. These issues, costs, and risks can often be minimized with the proper industry know-how, which is why it is highly recommended to consult a qualified promotional provider before getting into private labeling. A good provider will have the connections and supply-chain network in place to minimize supply interruptions and potential cost increases.

Whether you are looking to create a new line, or enhance your current brand with a line of branded merchandise with a pre-existing mark, Powertex Group can help. We have experience helping our clients build everything from small simple brand-enhancing private label lines, to full independent retail apparel and accessory lines. Whatever your private label branding goals, we can help you get there. For more information on creating a private labeled line of apparel and headwear, please call us at: (800) 588-7111, or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

When developing your company’s promotional programs, it is always important to consider just how they will be implemented, who will do the implementing, and what the benefits of each of your options option would be. Of course, each organization is differently structured, has different specializations, and has a different infrastructure; but in general, it usually ends up being far better for an organization to partner with a quality promotional marketing company than to try to build it on their own. This is due to the three primary benefits that a qualified promotional marketing company can bring to the table: more competitive pricing, higher efficiencies due to optimized infrastructure, and greater flexibility.

Promotional partners use volume to leverage pricing.

More Competitive Pricing – One thing your promotional products company brings to the table right away is something critical to providing the highest value possible; volume. A high-end promotional partner will typically push hundreds of times the volume annually through its supplier when compared against an individual company. The promotional company is then able to leverage that volume to negotiate much better pricing than an outside organization could ever hope to. A good supplier will also have developed long-term relationships with worldwide sourcing partners in order to provide high quality goods at extremely competitive rates. Overseas and domestic relationships can be hard to develop, and even harder to maintain for an individual organization.

One of the reasons our organization has been so successful over the years is that we have been able to offer full scale self-supporting, or even profitable, value-added programs for far cheaper than our clients can. This is simply because our organization has both the volume and the advantage of being able to maximize our economies of scale in regards to our extra value-added services. The bottom line is, due to our highly specialized service platform, we can typically offer higher quality services for less when compared with going it alone.

Your promotional partner should have an optimized program infrastructure.

Higher Efficiencies Due to Optimized Infrastructure – Most companies are good at what they do, but then again most companies aren’t promotional products companies either. With a qualified promotional partner, you can rely on their finely-honed suite of value-added services and the infrastructure that goes along with that. From product sourcing to design, to warehousing and fulfillment, most companies simply aren’t equipped to cost-effectively build the infrastructure necessary to manage a large scale program. The complexities increase even further when you include other high-end services such as custom e-commerce, program marketing, and customer support. Chances are, to build the program from scratch and fund it; you will spend more than it is worth.

In addition to the costs of building a program, there is the cost of managing a program. A good promotional program will be able to offer dedicated in-house support staff to handle things like customer service, program accounting, and technical support for all of your programs. Your partner should also be able to offer tools that make your part easier and more efficient: specialized reports, online program management, custom program support systems, etc… The daily cost of managing and supporting your promotional program can quickly spiral out of control if you are not careful. A quality promotional marketing partner can help absorb or even eliminate those costs.

Your promotional program partners will provide more options for your programs.

Greater Flexibility – Promotional needs change over time, and your promotional programs will need to adapt as well. In other words, what works well today may need to reverse course tomorrow. Your organization will need to change with the times, and you can avoid throwing away your carefully earned investment dollars by going with a partner who has the flexibility to adapt to you needs in a cost-effective way. Chances are, if you have a promotional program need, your promotional partner has ideas and solutions ready to implement to help you reach your goals. Typically they can have these solutions ready to deploy quicker and more efficiently than by starting from scratch.

It should also be noted that the promotional product industry itself changes rapidly as well. Something that was impossible yesterday may be a simple matter today. Most organizations don’t have the time to follow new developments as they arrive. For organizations like Powertex Group, keeping current on promotional trends is not only helpful, but vital to our ability to remain competitive in our market. With a solid promotional partner, you can be sure to get feedback on new program ideas, new products, as well as new business-enhancing techniques involving promotional marketing.

It is important to consider that there are always exceptions to the rule. For example, at Powertex Group, we have several trucking companies that we service. Distribution is what they do, and they can definitely do it competitively. In these cases, Powertex Group provides a whole range of value-added services while working with these partners to utilize their pre-existing distribution channels. The most important part to remember is that your organization is unique; your solutions should be as well. That is why you need a partner who is able to maximize promotional program value while working within your specific environment.

For more information on how a quality promotional supplier can help you, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Avoiding a one-size-fits-all mentality is key to reaching your different audiences.

One of the most challenging aspects of designing and implementing promotional marketing programs is accommodating each of your primary audiences. It can be easy to slip into a one-size-fits-all mentality, which is often a sure recipe for failure. The truth is, each audience is different, and in order to effectively sell to them, their solutions should be different as well. Being aware of the important differences between your primary audiences segments is one thing, being able to design programs that accommodate each audiences’ need is another.

In this article, we will look at some of the more common high-level audience segments, and look at what drivers typically motivate them, as well as some quick tips on how best to reach them.

Retail Audiences – This segment can typically be broken down into many sub-segments, each with their own habits and/or motivation. In reaching out to your retail market, it is often helpful to keep that in mind. Always be aware of who your audience is, what your end goal is, and most importantly, what value your products and/or services bring to your clients. In order to effectively reach your clients with promotional marketing programs, you may have to strategically separate out your audiences and fine tune your message and/or offerings to suit each segment.

Retail audiences can often be segmented into a number of different sub-sections

A perfect example of this is in a recent promotion we designed with one client; we had a large incentive program that consisted of an online signup promotion with a subsequent visit to the nearest dealer location to redeem their signup form for a custom-branded cap. During the design process we identified that, for this particular client, a large portion of their potential customer base would be considered either light internet users or loyal to another competing brand. In order to effectively reach this segment, we designed a complimentary walk-in program component that functioned completely independently of the online portion. It was deigned complete with point-of-purchase displays, and physical signup forms that would allow retail/dealer locations an incentive to entice that potential customer segment with the same promotional benefits as the online users.

Dealer Networks/Retail Locations – Dealer networks and retail locations differ from retail audience segments generally in the fact that you are not as much marketing to them as giving them the tools they need to effectively market to their audiences. Consequently, program such as promotional product kitting, dealer promotion discount purchase programs, dealer custom-branded merchandise catalogs, and even employee uniform and incentive programs work well for Dealers and Retail location segments.

Customized name-dropped merchandise is an excellent tool for retail locations

One of the most important things about creating promotional marketing programs aimed at this group is to consider how it helps to build on the clients’ relationship with their dealer or retail location. Every promotion should be designed either to help your retail locations make the sales conversion or to get customers to know your brand through your dealer or retail location.

Another thing, when creating promotions aimed directly at the retail customer, you want to make sure that you are not alienating or bypassing your dealer or retail location base. It might make sense, in many cases, to modify your promotion to drive sales and conversions through these locations rather than a central website or catalog. This will help to add value to your retail network while simultaneously driving sales.

Corporate Members/Employees – Corporate Members and Employee promotions look very different from retail or dealer/retail location promotions in that they are generally aimed at promoting the brand from within and improving employee morale. This can be more difficult that it seems, since often times it is hard to gauge what will work and what will not within each organization. Each organization typically has an extremely large range of workers, from retail workers, mechanics, and manual workers to executives, sales persons, and technical workers. This tends to make it much more difficult to find a one-size-fits- all promotional incentive solution, and often requires a delicate hand in making sure you are properly incenting each group while making sure you are not appearing as favoring one group over the other.

Employee uniform and incentive programs can have a great effect on employee morale.

More than any other market segment, employee and corporate incentives can easily backfire if not applied correctly. They can easily engender feelings of inequality or favoritism, or they can sometimes be seen as insincere gestures. This is why we recommend, more than for any other type of promotion, consulting an experienced promotional partner before implementing any sort of employee incentive program. You will want someone who can ask the right questions about your organization’s internal structure and your particular corporate culture. Be wary of programs that don’t take into account these things as each organization is vastly different. Their employee incentive and corporate programs need to be designed around that.

When properly implemented, corporate and employee incentive programs can vastly improve employee morale, increase sales, decrease costs, reduce accidents, or any of a whole number of possible goals. They can help you get your organization where it needs to go, and should be considered a valuable part of any organizations’ promotional plan.

When designing your promotional marketing programs, it is always important to consider who you are marketing to in relation to what your end goals is. This article discusses only a very small fraction of the possibilities relating to only a few of the more common market segments. These subjects become incrementally more complex as you divide them down further, add more potential audiences in to the equation, and take into consideration each brand’s individual audiences and culture. With the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right partner, it becomes much simpler to design, implement and deploy programs that help you and your individual audience segments reach their goals. For more information on how you can design effective programs ofr your audience segments, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Social Media and M-commerce are examples of rising technologies

In a promotional marketing world where change is the name of the game, it is important to keep perspective on what is most important; your brand. It seems each month brings a slew of new techniques, new strategies, and new platforms. Of course, most of these end up either being flash-in-the-pan ideas or not relevant to your particular needs. There is always more work to be done in the promotional marketing world, and it is necessary to keep your ear to the ground for developing trends. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the most important part of any marketing endeavor is to grow your client base and convey a sense of value to your customers. That means always paying attention to the basics, no matter what particular technology or technique you are using.

The basics of promotional marketing are as such: brand identity, brand integrity, and brand value. No matter how your are reaching out to your clients, always be sure to use the medium to convey your message, rather than changing your message to suit the medium. Never sacrifice your brand integrity by communicating just for the sake of communicating.

A video on youtube describes who we are

Brand Identity: The first piece of the promotional marketing trifecta, it can be considered the foundation. The question you need to ask when looking at how best to define your brand identity is a deceptively simple one; “Who am I to my customers?” Before  you send one more promotional email, post one more tweet, or give one more tee shirt away, you need to have the answer to this question.

The complicated part of this question is that, we all know who we are, but do we really know who we are from our clients’ perspectives? Take Cadillac for example. From one perspective, they are a producer of luxury vehicles. They handle the sourcing, production, delivery of these vehicles, and maintain complex dealer relationships across the country. Another definition of Cadillac is a creator of, as their latest commercial puts it; “reinvented, re-imagined, re-inspired” vehicles that  “reignite the soul”. Which definition do you think is more relevant to their customer? It is obvious marketing speak, but the important things are there: “reinvented, re-imagined, and re-inspired” speak to not only the new and modern design characteristics, but also references the long Cadillac history and existing brand reputation. Reigniting the soul speaks to the excitement of finding something fresh and new; something invigorating.

The reality is that your customers don’t really need to know about, nor do they really care about 90% of what you do. They are only interested in the parts of your identity that directly affect them. Take care to hone your external identity with this in mind.

Mathews, one of our customers, a company expert at cross-branding and brand integrity

Brand Integrity: This is often one of the most overlooked aspects of consistent branding. With so many different mediums available in the modern marketing world, it can be incredibly difficult to struggle to maintain your brand identity across them all. This can be made much easier however, if you’ve adequately defined the first brand basic, and have a strong, coherent definition of who you are, and who you want to be to your clients.

One of the reasons so many companies have struggled with social media is not because it is so new, but because it offers a platform that is generally outside the realm of total control. Once you place your message out there, you have lost complete control of it contextually. This is something many brands have struggled with, while others have been able to thrive. Why? Because many brands have been able to successfully maintain their brand integrity while encouraging and embracing the communal nature of social media. Those that have not been able to bring their message along with them, however, have struggled in communicating directly with their audience. Not having a strong company definition, combined with not being able to properly communicate value to their customers across platforms, has led some organizations to struggle in modern marketing arenas.

Strong brand integrity is crucial in developing a cohesive branding platform. Again, be sure never to mold your message to your platform, but mold the platform to your message. Use your assets correctly, and you can build a strong, cohesive platform for promotion.

The Carbon Signature Series is an excellent example of communicating brand value

Brand Value: When engaging your audience, always consider the value that you provide. This is not to be interpreted as an excuse to SELL, SELL, SELL to your customers. It is more a reminder that your customers (and potential customers) derive value from your goods and/or services. Why would your customer choose your service over someone else? Are you faster in supplying what your clients need? Do you provide a more comprehensive solution? Be sure, when creating your marketing message, that you always keep your perceived value in mind.

In our industry, for example, our customers don’t particularly care that we deal with national and international logistics in sourcing, shipping, and production every day. Nor do they care that we face rapid production deadlines and complex production deadlines every hour of our day. What they care about, and the value we bring, is that we provide hassle-free cost effective customized promotional programs.

When we communicate with our audience, we focus on the value we bring as a provider of solutions, and someone who can help achieve goals. This allows us to more easily engage our customers, since we are talking about things that they care about and that bring value to them.

At the end of the day, you should come back to these three simple concepts: brand identity, brand integrity, and brand value. No matter what your strategy or platform, these three basic ideas should be at the core of your marketing message. To learn more about branding basics, contact our expert staff at (800) 588-7111. Contact us by email at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com

Get more marketing punch with a full-service promotional provider:

We all know the value of a fully realized and well implemented marketing program and the value it can bring to your organization. But does your organization have the know-how and resources to implement a large scale

Licensed Promotional Goods

promotional branding campaign? How about the infrastructure to supply the promotional products to the locations you need? With a large scale promotional campaign comes many different logistics issue that may be expensive and time-consuming to solve.

That is where a promotional licensing relationship can be beneficial. By bringing in a full-scale promotional partner, you can save considerable time and money by utilizing the pre-existing infrastructure that a high-end partner brings. In addition, you can take advantage of the wealth of promotional experience that a specialized promotional company has already accumulated.

In a licensing arrangement, the promotional marketing company becomes a member of your organization and assumes a major part of the responsibility of making your branding initiatives successful. This ensures a close working relationship, and is the closest thing you can have to an extension of your own marketing department.

Experience counts. When you have a promotional partner, you automatically gain access to the full experience derived from dealing with countless other clients in countless other situations. Get invaluable advice on what works, and how to build your program. Stop throwing money around on “best guess” scenarios, and focus on proven tactics and tested models. This will not only help your organization to build its brand, but save considerable money by investing in more effective programs.

When building a promotional program, you not only need to consider what the message is, but how the program will be implemented into your pre-existing business model, and how it will be fulfilled and maintained. Implementation and proper maintenance is where a vast majority of promotions fail, as they are often the most overlooked and under-planned aspects. A proper promotional partner will have an infrastructure in place that will make it cost-effective and simple to maintain and fulfill the program.

Another thing that your promotional partner will bring to the table is a flexible range of assets and abilities to help you successfully launch your projects. From art and design, to full promotional line creation, to online technologies, to warehousing and comprehensive distribution capabilities, the extra capabilities that your partner offers

Putting it Together with Promotional Programs

will give you the proper support in areas that you need to ensure a successful program. This adds strength to your organization by giving you the proper supplement in areas where you may not be as strong or as experienced. This can add much value in that it saves you the very costly measure of having to build a separate department or add employees to compensate for your new marketing programs.

With a promotional licensing program, not only do you gain a new promotional partner, but you can gain valuable marketing experience, save time/money, and hone your marketing focus. In the branding world, the possibilities are almost endless, and it can definitely be helpful to have an experienced promotional partner in reaching your full branding potential. To learn more about the benefits of a licensing deal or gain a new partner in your promotional marketing endeavors, give us a call today at (800) 588-7111. Email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com or visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Look to Your Client Base to Increase Sales:

Promotional gifts make a good way to say "Thank You"

It is often really easy for businesses to focus their marketing efforts on getting new customers. We all want to grow our businesses and it makes sense that the way to grow is to get more customers, right?

Not necessarily.

Many businesses have untapped potential for growth right under their noses. By deepening relationships with existing clients, going deeper rather than wider with your client base, you can grow your business significantly. You’ll almost always find that the return on investment for client appreciation programs are much, much higher than programs designed for new client acquisition. You’ve already overcome most of the hurdles to establishing a relationship, deepening that relationship is simple by comparison. Here are a few ways that you can show your clients you appreciate them.

1. Send a genuine thank you. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to be sincere. Business owners appreciate sincere gifts for no apparent reason. In fact, just taking the time to stop by and drop off a gift, and talk with them to let them know you appreciate their business can make a world of a difference.The most important thing is that you go the extra mile to let them know that they are an important customer.

Sample Executive Gift Idea

2. Remember that 20% of your clients give you 80% of your business. Your bigger clients are usually the life-blood of your business. Your business would not be what it is today without their patronage. These clients are often irreplaceable, so they may warrant a little larger gift. A personalized executive putter set or a nice gift box full of wine would be perfect high-end examples for gifts.

3. Don’t forget the holidays. Christmas is definitely a given, but there are a lot of other, lesser known holidays on the calendar too. Lots of companies give clever little gifts for Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day to great effect. Obscure holidays can be fun reasons to give a gift to someone. They definitely won’t be expecting it, and most likely will get a kick out of it. Don’t forget National Salesperson Day and National Barbecue Month when searching for off-the-wall holidays!

Personalized gifts can have a huge impact

4. Make it personal. Stay away from sales pitches, it cheapens the sentiment. The purpose of this type of a program is not to up-sell, or move product. It is aimed at deepening relationships for the long term. A small personalized gift with a hand-written note can work wonders for this.

However you choose to implement your customer appreciation plan, just remember to plan well in advance. As with all types of marketing, execution is key. Make sure all members involved know their part in making the program happen.

If you want to nurture your current customer base by setting up a customer appreciation program, Powertex can help. Our sales staff has excellent knowledge in planning, maintaining, and executing programs like these. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Capture Client Information to Maximize Your Sales Potential.

We all know the value of promotional marketing.

Or do we?

Sample BRP customer satisfaction survey

Think back to the last promotional marketing campaign you ran. Can you say with certainty how your organization benefited from that campaign? Do you know how much your return on investment was, how many leads you gained, or how your customer retention rate was affected? If the answer to these questions is no, then you may be missing out on a huge opportunity to get much more from your promotional marketing campaigns.

Much of the secret to realizing success in the promotional marketing world is to design your promotions to have a measurable end result. Without an expected end result, and a legitimate to track the results, you can never be sure of a campaign’s success or failure. The examples below are a perfect illustration of why measurable results matter:

A. Salesman A attends the trade show every year. Between travel, fees and promotional items, he invests a significant amount of money into the trade show. He always orders some high-priced pens to take with him, so he has something nice to give his potential customers. Throughout the day, he talks to hundreds of people, handing out almost all of his promotional items, and at the end, he goes home to await the phone calls that inevitably come after the trade show. He knows that he gets more business, but has no idea how much, or what kind.

B. Salesman B attends the same trade show, brings the same pens, and has essentially the same booth, but instead of just handing out the promotional items, he politely asks for a business card in exchange. Once he arrives back at his office, he enters his stack of contact information into his computer – along with notes on who the potential hot leads may be. Throughout the next year, he tracks what sorts of customers he has gained from the trade show, and he can follow up with his hot leads immediately. He knows exactly how much income his trade show appearance is responsible for. Next year, he can make an informed decision whether the investment is worth it. He also has a gauge by which to determine the next year’s relative success or failure.

Mathews Special Offer Example

There are so many ways to gather information on your promotional marketing campaigns. If you run a store front, you could offer a promotional item as an incentive with a purchase of a particular item. You can then track your sales throughout the promotion, and compare it to recent sales data to determine the relative profitability of the promotion. If it is successful, run it again at a later date. If not, scrap the idea and try something new.

Reward your customers for completing a survey. You will get more respondents, plus you’ll get valuable data about how you are perceived by your customers. You’ll also get feedback on how to better serve your clients and improve retention rates.

Getting more from your promotional marketing initiatives isn’t difficult, it just takes a little more planning on the front end. Plan for some way to achieve a measurable result, and set goals for the promotion. When it comes time to make a decision on what sort of promotion to run next, you’ll have reliable data to help you create a more successful campaign. To learn more about capturing customer data during your next promotion, contact Powertex. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us a customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Summertime is the perfect time of year to focus on event-based promotional marketing.

Golf Outing Event

Summertime is here, and it’s the perfect opportunity to increase your brand awareness through event-based promotional marketing. With all of the summer festivals, sports events, and fairs it’s the best time of the year to use strategic co-branding to grow your brand. Many organizations understand the importance of event-based marketing, but many more totally miss the boat. Below are a few examples of how you can take advantage of summer festivities:

Baseball/Softball Games: If you have a popular baseball or softball league in your area, arrange to give out baseball caps with their logo on it. Then, as a subtle way to brand it, you could have your logo printed in a de-emphasized location like the side or back of the cap. People love to sport their team’s logo, and you can have your brand along for the ride wherever they go.

Golf Outings: Golf events are great for free giveaways. The easiest way to increase the value of your offering is to tie it to an established popular brand. Many popular brands like Nike, Calloway, and Cutter & Buck are available for promotional customization. You could easily get Nike or Max-Flite golf balls branded with your logo. Cutter & Buck windshirts go over well too. Brands like these have a high perceived value, and are much more likely to be well appreciated.

Music Festivals: If you are after a younger demographic, this is a great way to go. Besides the larger music festivals, there are usually countless other outdoor music festivals going on that would really be open to cross-promotion ideas. T-shirts are a staple in this market, but the younger crowd, being more marketing-savvy than most markets really love more subtle trendy items. Things like wristbands, buffs, glow sticks, and nalgene water bottles go over well with music festival goers, and are perfect platforms to showcase your brand.

Charity Sport Event

Charity Sports Events: When planning your targeted event campaigns, don’t forget summer charity sports events. These types of events are the classic triple play of brand awareness. They show: your company’s commitment to the community charities, a commitment to local sports and fitness, and your brand’s leadership in support of causes beyond your own corporate well-being. Sweat bands, t-shirts, and water bottles are staples to this type of event, and are almost guaranteed to be used.

When planning your summer promotions, be sure not to forget events specific to our local events. Just about every town in America has some specific event each year, and they each may draw a different type of demographic that may be suited to you. Consider what events would be best for your brand, and plan accordingly. To learn more about promoting yourself at events, contact Powertex. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Taking a look at what sorts of marketing strategies are right for you:

Powertex Blog

A lot has been written lately about the so-called modern day marketing methods. Blogs, social media, forums, email marketing, search engine marketing, etc. are all changing the face of promotional marketing so fast that it can make your head spin. There are promotional marketing firms that acclaim these new methods as the be-all-end-all solution to the marketing question. However, when you look at it, there is something to be said for the tried and true methods that have just plain worked for decades.

Each business has it’s own unique set of needs from a marketing perspective. What works well for one business can be the kiss of death for another. One thing, however, remains true throughout every industry: there is no substitute for a personal touch and positive word-of-mouth. In fact, in many industries, a majority of client contacts result from direct personal contact or referrals.

What does this mean? Primarily it means that, while electronic marketing solutions can and most certainly SHOULD be used, all alone they are still no substitute for the value of tried and true old-school methods. The value of sending a mass email, for example, can’t possibly compare to sending your client a personalized gift.

There is an important reason that Trade Shows still exist, and are important factors in the promotional marketing world today. There is little substitute for the face-to-face contact that these events offer. When you attend a trade show, and present a prospective client with a unique promotional item that will help to emblazon your name into their memory, it shows the power of building personal relationships between businesses.

Sample Promotional Items

Does this mean you should ignore high-tech marketing solutions? Absolutely not. They are an important method of promotional marketing. Often times they are a great way to cost-effectively communicate with your current or prospective client base. Having a well-tuned website, for example, is absolutely essential in introducing yourself to prospective clients. Many companies use modern marketing methods to near perfection, and see great benefits to doing so.

To be truly successful in the modern promotional marketing sphere, you need to embrace the old and the new. Often times, the best marketing programs combine the old with the new. The low-cost high speed modern methods have their place in making and keeping “touches” with your prospective clients, but at the end of the day, it’s the “personal touch” of tried-and-true marketing methods that cement relationships and grow businesses.

To learn more about what marketing methods are right for your company, contact Powertex. We can help you develop programs that will help you meet your marketing needs and grow your business. Give us a call today at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Sample Promotional Incentives

It’s not always about the money. Many times it’s the more tangible benefits that can motivate your employees. It’s been shown time and time again that incentive programs that focus on incentives other than cash bonuses work, and work well. Take a look at the excerpted article below (taken from the Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) website). of things to think about when giving gifts to customers and colleagues:

“Scott Testa knows what motivates salespeople. The COO of Philadelphia-area intranet software company Mindbridge has run numerous successful incentive programs for his company’s 35 sales reps. “We go for the mind set of something that’s big, something that touches this person’s life and their family,” Testa says. “You can’t do it all the time, but giving a gift check for something they can actually show off to friends or family makes them more motivated to sell and to stay with us.” And that jibes with what many studies have found.

Creative Promotional Incentives

Contrary to what they may tell you, salespeople are motivated by more than money. Sure, compensation is very important. But for top sellers, whose incomes are generally more than comfortable, it’s the non-cash rewards that inspire them to perform. Think about it. When you’re talking about being recognized at work, you’re not going to say, “Oh I got a bonus for such-and-such amount.” That’s just tacky. But, when someone visits your home and sees a flat-screen TV, you can take pride in saying, “I earned it for being the top sales rep at my company this year. And, see this photo of me in Jamaica …”

Furthermore, non-cash rewards also work better over time. When people are given cash rewards, they tend to put it toward paying bills or buying everyday essentials, but highly coveted items like plasma TVs remain as reminders of an achievement for years to come. The 2005 Incentive Federation study found that 60% of survey respondents said that cash bonuses are perceived by recipients as part of their compensation package, but 80% said that travel and merchandise incentives are remembered long after cash rewards are forgotten. Here are just a few ways companies can use promotional items and other rewards to achieve stunning sales results.

Use Promotional Products to Incent your Employees

Truthfully, sales incentive programs do much more than increase sales. They help create an inspired and engaged sales team that knows you appreciate the hard work they do for the company. And, feeling appreciated goes a long way toward more satisfied employees who are less likely to run off at the first offer from your competitor. In fact, a recent study by Maritz Incentives proved just that. It found that 53% of respondents had left a previous employer because of a lack of incentives or recognition. When you start to think about accounts lost and all the money and time it takes to find and train a new hire, the savings become more apparent. “It costs us more not to do incentive programs” Testa says. ”

You don’t necessarily have to buy a plasma TV to get your employees motivated either. Just try to make it something that they can, and should be excited about. Many times it can be interesting, even if it’s not a terribly expensive gift. With incentive programs, a little forethought can go a long ways. If you are interested in starting an employee incentive program, please call (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Sample Promtional Items

Promotional gifts can help to cement long term business relationships, show appreciation, and close deals. However, not all promotional items will generate the same response. You want to tailor your offering to the specific persons or organization you are giving it to. Take a look at some general guidelines below (taken from the Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) website) of things to think about when giving gifts to customers and colleagues:

“Think you’ve got the perfect gift? You just might. But it helps to keep the following gift giving rules in mind when picking out the ideal present for valued clients.

Practically Speaking.
Want your client to remember you every day? Then give him a gift that he’ll pull out on a daily basis, whether it’s a great pen or a USB port that he can use regularly.

Make It Personal.
No, that doesn’t mean a Victoria’s Secret nightie. But it does mean sending gifts that reflect your client’s personal interests. Leisman Insurance Agency sends baby presents whenever one of their clients has a child.

Watch the Budget.
Some companies still put limits on how expensive a gift their employees can receive ($25 is a common cap). If your client works at one of those firms, you’ll need to watch your gifting budget, but some of the most clever gifts come in way under $30.

Gifts Aren’t Billboards.

Sample Promotional Products

Yes, you want to get the message across that your company is valuable to your client, but plastering your logo all over a gift to do so may not be the smartest move. Rather than put off your customer with glaring marketing messages, place the decoration subtly.

Give Gifts Year Round.
Giving gifts during the holidays is nice, but your company might stand out more if you give gifts at other times of the year, such as Valentine’s day or the Fourth of July. Send out corporate gifts in the middle of December and your otherwise memorable item may get lost in the mad gifting shuffle.”

Just remember that if you are going to give a gift, you want it to be one that they will remember, and even better, use often. Gift giving is more than just self promotion, it is creating daily top-of-mind presence that can go a long ways towards building and maintaining relationships. If you are interested in starting an employee incentive program, please call call (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.