All of the old barriers are gone, it’s now easier than ever to work sustainable promotions into your marketing initiatives.

Green Promotional Products - Backpacks, Notebook Sleeves

You’ve probably been hearing about eco-friendly promotional items for some time now. If you’re a regular subscriber to this newsletter, you probably saw our previous article on the topic here. Eco-Friendly Promotional Items have become all the rage across the promotional marketing industry. Some of the primary reasons; over the last few years there has been a significant increase in the selection of available product options, and the price points have become much more competitive. In addition, eco-friendly promotional products have an immediate and appreciated impact upon customers, recycled products have become publicly perceived as stylish, and, of course, it helps organizations in significantly minimizing their organization’s environmental impact. All of the old barriers to entry with regards to eco-friendly promotional items have been erased. Now more than ever, it makes sense for just about any organization to consider “Going Green.”

At Powertex Group, we have made our commitment to environmentally friendly promotional marketing by: making the commitment to switch to environmentally-friendly screen printing inks at our main facility, surrounding ourselves with

Eco-Friendly Bamboo Polos and Recycled Headwear

vendors who are committed to providing a wide and quality line of eco-friendly merchandise, reducing paper consumption throughout our organization, committing a portion of each monthly newsletter to featuring a new environmentally friendly promo item for the last year and a half, and strongly promoting ecological product alternatives to our existing clients. We firmly believe that replacing traditional promos with eco-friendly promotions will not only benefit our clients, but will benefit us all in the long term, which is why we have made our commitment to you.

If you are interested in making the commitment to “Go Green”, it is easier than ever. With plenty of available options and price points available, just about any organization can now get involved. Below are just a few categories of product types available on the market to get you started:

Aqua-Powered Calulator and Corn Cob Pen

Recycled Plastic Products - You know all the stuff that gets hauled away in your plastic recycling bin every week? Well that’s what many of these products get made out of. Recycled plastics get made into everything from cloth shoulder bags to food grade containers such as drinkware. As stylish as they are sustainable, this category is a great place to get started with eco-friendly promotions, due to the large variety of options available. Keep the recycling business alive by supporting these products.

Recycled Cardboards - Recycled paper products have come a long way in the last decade or so, and now have a style and feel uniquely their own. Most recycled cardboard notepads on the market are made with 100% recycled covers and 70% recycled writing paper. You can also find stylish photo frames, business card holders, and recycled pens made of durable recycled cardboard composite material.

Recycled Leather -

Recycled Leather Eco-Friendly Products

Affordable and attractive, recycled leather has become more popular, especially for padfolios. While not the widest product category, it deserves mention because the products in this category are both very competitive in price, and very potentially environmentally impactful. Livestock is a significant producer of the world’s C02 emissions as well as a large consumer of the world’s food resources.

Live Gifts - About as green as promotional gifts get, this category traditionally features live plants, seeds or bulbs that are given in recycled fiber containers. These are typically fun and long lasting reminders of a positive, nurtured relationship. Plus, they typically come in nice looking custom recycled containers, which will complete the environmentally friendly motif.

Bamboo Products and Live Plant Gifts

Alternative Materials - You can’t have a discussion about environmentally friendly materials without discussing bamboo; one of the most flexible and widely available alternative materials out there. Lightweight, strong, fashionable, while at the same time very utilitarian, bamboo can be found in everything from pen holders to lightweight breathable fabric golf shirts. Another highly renewable material becoming popular is hemp, which is used in everything from bags and totes to hats and gloves. It shares a steadfast toughness and lightweight utility with bamboo, while maintaining it has its own unique texture and style.

Eco-friendly promotions and business help to show your clients and employees that you are concerned with the environment and the world around you. And while the branding message may be about you at the end of the day, it is that added environmental message that will resonate with and enhance your clients’ positive image of you and your organization. When we can form a positive branding message, that’s great, when we can do all of that, while causing less harm to the environment, and spreading a positive message about sustainability that’s the icing on the cake. To learn more about environmentally friendly and renewable promos, give us a call today at (800) 588-7111. Email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com or visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.

Promotional gifts are an important tool in: cementing long term business relationships, showing appreciation to your clients, and initiating new client relationships. With literally thousands upon thousands of promotional products available, you can always find a promotional item suited to your needs. The hardest part is knowing what types of promotional items are the best choice for your next initiative.

According to the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), the general guidelines listed below are a great place to start in finding the ideal gift for your valued clients.

Promotional Item Examples

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. Show your client you know them. Look to send 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. 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.

Promotional Gift Samples

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, creating a daily top-of-mind presence can go a long ways towards building and maintaining relationships. Before you start your next promotional marketing program, please call Powertex at (800) 588-7111, or email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. 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.

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.