Your employees are your most important resource: their appearance and dress can make a profound impact on their ability to provide the service and productivity you depend on to make your organization successful. This is the second part in our three part series on what to consider when developing employee uniforms to meet your needs. The three articles cover the three most important components of any uniform program: Part 1. Uniform look and branding, Part 2. Uniform design as it affects productivity, Part 3. Uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics. Read on for more about how uniform design can vastly affect your employee productivity.

The mental aspect –

Employee uniforms can reinforce roles

This aspect is often the most overlooked of all uniform design considerations, yet can have as much, if not more impact on a person’s job than any other consideration. In the previous article, we touched briefly on how the customer uses visual queues to identify members of your organization’s roles subconsciously. This works the other way around as well. When you employees slip into their uniform, they are slipping into a role. How well the uniform is designed can play a critical role in how that person is perceived in their uniform, and can thus significantly impact their ability to fulfill that role.

The nursing profession is currently, on the whole, moving away from the starched white nurses robes to more soft-looking patterned and colorful garb. This allows the nurse to feel more approachable and friendly, while still being easily recognized as a nurse. This can lead to less of a frightening or cold outward appearance, especially with children, thus making it easier to interact on a more comfortable personal level with their clients.

Police and uniformed guard companies around the world are constantly researching uniform cut/style and coloration as a way to improve their daily interactions with people. For example, wearing commando-style pants and darker blue or black colors, forces can appear more mysterious and authoritative. On the other hand, wearing lighter blues with a cleaner cut can give off a more approachable, less commanding vibe. By changing their uniform appearance, these organizations can better define their presence and image within their respective communities. Communities in certain areas would reject a more authoritarian tone, while others may benefit form it.

Uniforms have been used since time immemorial to convey a sense of belonging, a team atmosphere, and to inspire confidence. Uniforms can help to bring coherence to the outward physical appearance of your staff, as well as enhance the sense of unity and pride in being involved in a professional team. In fact, studies have been performed that show there is absolutely no correlation between the amount of customer contact an individual has and the positive effects of professional uniforms. This means that the uniforms themselves had a positive impact through serving to reinforce the professional role of the individual.

Make it comfortable –

Choose your cuts and fabrics wisely for a happier workforce.

When designing your uniform line, be sure to pay serious attention to garment comfort. Spending a few extra buck s on your employee uniforms can yield high returns in attitude and productivity.

First of all, you have to make sure your garments allow your employees to move effectively. There are many styles of uniforms and garments, some more restrictive from a movement standpoint than others. You want to be sure that your employees will never have to “fight” with the uniform while performing their duties. For example, if one’s job duties include a lot of stooping and heavy lifting, you want to make sure the uniform pants will fit relatively loosely; in order for the person to squat, bend, and lift effectively. Kitchen and wait staffs, on the other hand, typically need lots of movement in the upper body area. They often need to stretch their arms and shoulders to do their job duties. A uniform shirt that is too tight can be very costly in both employee attitude and efficiency lost.

Many job duties may need multiple uniform sets to meet changing or seasonal temperature conditions. What works in January, may be horribly uncomfortable in July. Plan ahead for these changing conditions and provide our employees with seasonal options if necessary.

Jobs such as kitchen or outdoor summer wait staff, who constantly are in hotter conditions often benefit greatly from modern moisture wicking, breathable fabrics. These types of fabrics, while generally more expensive, can help keep your staff amiable and professional in the heat.

When cold weather strikes, be sure to be prepared. Oftentimes, organizations forget that there are more than two seasons; winter and summer. There is typically a wide range of variation in between, and there are many options between a summer tee and a winter jacket. Designing your uniform schemes to be easily layered can be extremely utilitarian in these cases. For example, a uniform could consist of a long-sleeve shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and a lightweight jacket for spring and fall weather. In the morning, the employee could wear all three layers and take them off as the day heats up in order to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Practical and functional –

Pocket size, placement, and sleeve length can have a huge effect on productivity

The third important piece in affecting your employees’ productivity is in functionality. Safety, fabric choice, and construction all can be directly linked to your organizations’ success. Subtle changes in these three uniform aspects can have significant impact on how well equipped your staff is to do their job.

No matter what the job is, safety is always a factor. In jobs around heavy machinery, you will want to ensure that there is no loose fabric that could be potentially caught up in the machinery. In construction or warehousing jobs, where there is heavy equipment present, you will want to make sure that the uniforms are colored so as to make the employee highly visible. Reflective materials aid in this regard as well. Non-slip shoes, protective eyewear hard hats, and gloves all can play an important role in safety.

Fabric choice can play an important role in safety as well. New, anti-bacterial fabrics can be an important tool in preventing food contamination and/or laboratory contamination. In certain jobs flame-retardant or chemical retardant uniform fabrics can serve to protect your workers as well.

The fabric you chose can have more impact than just from a safety standpoint, however. Jobs such as mechanics or janitorial positions can come into contact with grease, oil, dirt and cleaning materials. Choosing a fabric that repels such things is imperative in these jobs in order to ensure both longevity and proper appearance. In addition you want to be sure that in jobs where there are repetitive movements, you get a fabric that does not irritate. Pay special attention to the collars, sleeves, shoulder/armpit areas as these are several areas where skin irritation can be quite common.

The final piece to consider when designing your uniforms is general functionality. Things like placement of pockets, the size of pockets for certain tasks, sleeve design, and ease of wearing can be incredibly important in day-to-day activities. For this part, you will want to observe the general tasks your employees perform on a daily basis. Could they use an extra pocket? Where could it be placed? What are they using their current pockets for? Do they need closures for their pockets? Are certain existing uniform elements not being utilized, and why? After observing your employees, what sorts of things do they struggle with in regards to their uniforms? A perfect, yet common example of one of these types of struggles is in the food industry. Often it will happen that the uniform look will take precedence over the function, and the sleeves will be made too large. What will commonly occur is kitchen and wait staff will end up with their sleeves brushing or dipping into the food. In this particular example, this results in not only lost time, but increased food waste, as well as a potential bad experience for the customer (longer wait times, possible food contamination, seeing dirty sleeves on the staff, etc…).

Check in next month for the final entry into our uniform series as we continue with a look at how uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics. We will look at how your choices in designing your sourcing and distribution channels can significantly affect your uniform program. Until then, for more information on what to consider when designing and developing your next line of uniform goods, please call us at: (800) 588-7111 (and talk to your sales rep), or email us at: customerservice@powertexgroup.com.

Employee uniforms say a lot about your organization

Your employees are your most important resource, and their appearance and dress can make a profound impact on their ability to provide the service and productivity you depend on to make your organization successful. This is the first part in our three part series on what to consider when developing employee uniforms to meet your needs. The three articles will cover the three most important components of any uniform program: Part 1. Uniform look and branding, Part 2. Uniform design as it affects productivity, Part 3. Uniform sourcing and fulfillment logistics.

Uniforms don’t exactly have a reputation of being highly fashionable, but it is important to remember that uniforms can be more than just a necessity. Through proper, thoughtful design, uniforms can add a touch of class, enhance your brand image, and enhance the customer experience. In part one, we will be covering uniform look and branding, which is the most immediately visible component with perhaps the most direct impact on your brand.

Uniforms can be comfortable and fashionable at the same time

Uniforms as Fashion – The main pitfall most organizations make when developing uniform programs is to follow convention and not even consider alternative designs. Too often uniforms are looked on as a necessity rather than what they really are; a prime opportunity to enhance your organization’s visual appeal and provide a stylish way to establish your identity. There are limitless uniform options available. By giving careful consideration to: uniform design, fabric color, fabric type, garment cut, and sizing options, you can develop a custom look all your own. Through custom overseas sourcing, it is literally possible to design your own uniform line from the ground up.

Of course, it may not always be necessary to keep pace with the latest runway fashions for your organization. Keep in mind, however, that there are thousands of high-quality domestically sourced alternatives on the market. You don’t need to necessarily settle for a standard look. You should be sure to partner with a uniform provider who has experience in sourcing a wide variety of uniform goods. Given the available choices on the market it is a relatively small task to put together a line that makes your employees stand out. With a minor amount of coordination, it is possible to develop a line that will not only enhance your brand’s visual style, but that can improve productivity through both practical and motivational means.

Uniforms as Branding – Obviously the uniform is a central piece in your organization’s branding presentation. Your employee’s visual look, demeanor, and professionalism all reflect on your brand image. Your uniform line development choices can be instrumental in positively influencing all three of these factors.  When designing your various uniform pieces, you will want to make sure that all pieces are all consistent from a branding standpoint, as well as from a design perspective. This goes beyond just making sure the uniforms are color-coordinated. Everything from the decoration design and decoration method to the garment type, cut, and fabric need to be taken into account when putting together a coherently designed uniform line. If any of these elements are ignored, the result can be a visually scattered and confusing brand representation.

You also want to step back and make sure that your line, as a whole reflects your organization’s philosophies. Imagine yourself as one of your customers in front of your uniformed employees for the first time. What would you infer from your employees’ manner of dress?  What exactly would their uniforms tell you about what to expect from your organization? Would it stand out as a dynamic example of industry innovation? Or would it perhaps reflect quality, dependable service? Or maybe it would represent high-end comfort and performance? The point is, that your customers will form assumptions based on how your uniforms are designed and branded. Make sure your team members are given the best opportunity to succeed by matching your uniforms to your branding message.

Uniforms can help indicate jobs and roles.

Uniforms as Customer Experience Enhancements – There have been many studies about the perceptual and emotional impact of uniforms on an organization’s customers. Uniforms can be a critical aid in helping to define the customer experience by helping to clearly establish visual queues as to your corporate structure, thus helping people to find the individuals they need. Take, for instance a common experience from the retail environment. The last time you were in a big-box retailer, and needed assistance with a product, what was the first thing you did? That’s right; you looked for a colored polo shirt with a tag on it. If you found one, great. If you found one that was a little different from the rest, even better for finding a manager.

We pick up on these queues all the time subconsciously. It’s how we differentiate between the bellboy and the receptionist, the cashier from the help desk person, the machinist from the janitor. Imagine being in a store and not being able to tell the customer service from the maintenance staff, or even worse, the employees from the customers. These visual queues can be carefully implemented in order to strategically guide the customer through your sales process with the minimum of confusion and hassle. Not only that, but they can lead to higher morale, more positive customer interaction, and higher customer satisfaction rates.

Check in next month for the next entry into our uniform series as we continue with a look at how uniform design and construction can affect employee performance. We will look deeper at how everything from the fit of the garment to the fabric should be considered from a productivity standpoint. Until then, for more information on what to consider when designing and developing your next line of uniform goods, 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

Keep up on new technology trends or risk being left behind.

Powertex Group Home Page

Business and technology move quickly, which is why it is important to occasionally take a moment to gain perspective how far things have come, and where they are going. The last several years have seen a drastic shift in available mainstream technologies as well as applications for those technologies. We have seen advances in a variety of areas such as cell phones, social networking, miniaturization, and internet technology amongst other converging technologies. This has led us to a point where we are set to leap into a new generation of marketing techniques and delivery platforms.

Where we’ve been:

Youtube Powertex Page

In the mid-late 1990’s we saw websites and, more importantly, e-commerce websites emerge as a necessity for retail businesses. This caused innovations in search engine technologies, web marketing, web advertising, and affiliate programs that added an extra dimension to business promotion. From the year 2000 to around 2006, there were a few major innovations that changed the marketing game, such as more targeted advertising abilities, better visitor analysis, better e-commerce features, better usability and online merchandising. Blogs also rose to prominence during this period, along with content aggregators (such as Digg and Reddit), pod-casting, online pay-for Mp3 services (such as iTunes), RSS news feeds were popularized, Youtube pioneered user-submitted video, and more ample online news platforms evolved as well. Each of these innovations was game-changing in the sense that they each created massive opportunities for those that were willing and able to integrate those new platforms into their business and marketing model.

Recent developments:

It wasn’t until the last 2 years, however, that we saw the biggest and arguably most important technological innovations since the late 1990’s. There are 5 things that have recently converged to change how we look at not only marketing, but business in general:

1. Cell phones - One of the most immediately impacting developments, the cell phone has yet to reach its full potential. The ubiquity of the Smart phone has made it possible for not only the road warrior, but the average user to be connected 24/7 via email, text message, GPS, and internet browsing. Through recent (and continued) innovations in processors, batteries, motion-gesture technology, touch screens, 3G wireless access, and new interface technologies, the smart phone is set to possibly replace the computer as the primary source of internet access. The smaller screens and unique limitations as well as opportunities that smart phones provide will continue to drive a whole new marketing methodology in the near future.

2. Social Media - Probably the single most important development with regards to marketing, social media has changed how people interact with the web. No longer is the web a place where

Facebook Powertex Group Page

only tech-savvy people can participate,but it is something where everyone can share their thoughts. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter are critical new platforms to watch, as they are incredibly successful, and have not yet even matured as market delivery platforms. Do yourself a favor, if you haven’t already, get involved with these platforms, and at least be sure you understand how they work. People are getting networked and connected like never before, and you can’t afford to be left behind.

3. GPS - GPS has been around for a long time already, but has never really been a major market factor until the last couple years. GPS usage in driving and navigation has jumped in the last few years, and has become more of a factor in where people go for dinner, where they stop for gas, and which routes they take to get there. Not only that, but GPS mapping has become more and more tied into the internet, and social media in particular. In the near future we will begin to see the real capabilities of GPS from being able to geo-tag photos of people you know, to being able to provide a visitor coupon based on their geo-position in relation to their nearest restaurant.

4. Search Technology - We have yet to see the full impact of this convergent marketing technology, but there are new developments in the Search Engine world that will revolutionize t

Wolphram Alpha Search Engine

his area by finally realizing the dream of a more “semantic” web. These technologies will take human-style queries and return useable information. The recent release of a project code-named “Wolfram Alpha” has demonstrated just how far these technologies have advanced. For instance, in the Wolfram Engine, should you ask it for “Champaign, IL county retail sales” it won’t return a page with links to web pages, rather it will scour the web for raw data. It will then pull that data together, repackage it, and put it into a human-useable format. In this instance, it will tell you a dollar amount, generate a chart with last year’s retail sale in the county by month, show you the 1-year maximum sales for the county as well as the minimum, display various currency conversions for the amount provided, as well as provide the breakdown of those sales by wholesale, retail, service, and manufacturing. Never before have such capabilities been available, and it will be in the next few years that we will finally be able to realize the full potential of these new web search advances.

5. Computers and the Web as a Total Media Delivery Platform -

Hulu Media Delivery Platform

For the first time in its history, the web, through services like Netflix’s video-on-demand service, Hulu.com, Joost, and MTV.com, has become a total media delivery platform. More and more computers are making their way to the living room, and the line between a computer and an entertainment center is becoming more and more blurred. This is causing the death of traditional media such as cable and news media outlets. Look for more and more opportunities for aggressive marketing in these areas as these technologies mature.

What it means for you:

What this all means for you is that, for better or for worse, there is a marketing and technology revolution going on that, once finished, will see major changes in not only how your business approaches promotional marketing, but in how it operates. There will be big winners, and there will be big losers by the time this all shakes out, and it will be up to your organization how well it adapts to these new opportunities. No one knows exactly where each of the above technologies will end up as of yet, but one thing is for sure: the future is happing now.

As an industry leader in promotional marketing, Powertex Group is dedicated to ensuring that we are always on the cutting edge of developing technologies. We strive to make ourselves leaders in all aspects of marketing, which is why we have such value to our promotional partners. To learn more about how these upcoming technologies can impact your promotional marketing efforts, give us a call today at (800) 588-7111. Email us at customerservice@powertexgroup.com. Visit us at: http://www.powertexgroup.com.