Tunnel Vision

Good afternoon! Today I wanted to touch on something that I think we can all get trapped in....tunnel vision. What's wrong with being so focused on the tasks at hand? Well...like the old saying goes...sometimes it hard to see the forest through the trees. With shrinking work forces and additional job responsibilities...one can easily get so caught up in the day to day...that they get lost in it. It is good to stop, take a moment, and access where we are going. For example, in my industry I can get so caught up in getting what people want now...I don't take the time to prepare for what they want 6 months from now. Stopping to research what the new trends are, new ways of marketing and advertising, interacting with others in the industry. So I wanted to take this time to remind you....stop and see what other competitors are doing...see what is trending in your industry right now...be prepared...because if your not...you will already be a step behind...

Thanks for stopping by...

Josh Anderson
Logo Boys Image Builders

Creative Marketing

In these tough economic times, companies have to get more creative to get people's attention and reach a larger market audience. With marketing budgets shrinking, doing the standard marketing strategies may not be feasible. There are many different creative ways to get your message out there. With new social networks like Twitter and Facebook growing popularity, these can be new means to reach your audience with relatively no cost involved. YouTube is another avenue where you can post videos about products or services to get your message out there. There is currently an ad campaign from Evian water that is sweeping the viral video world. In case you haven't seen it, here it is for you.



Now granted, there was some cost coming up with a way to have babies dancing around, but it has become an Internet sensation! With over 4 million hits online, its reaching a large audience. Evian chose to launch this video online first, and it seems to be working. It just goes to show that as a company you have to be willing to adapt to different media formats to get your message across...oh...and dancing babies always works!

Thanks,

Josh

Logo Boys Image Builders

The New ABC's of Selling

There is an old saying in sales, Always Be Closing. Basically, it means that a salesperson should always be trying to close the sale. In this economy, that takes on even greater importance. However, I think there are more subtle ways that a salesperson, and a company in general, can do this. The Advertising/Marketing budget always seems to be the first department that feels the hit of corporate cutbacks. So, you have to get more creative. What is a way to have your company's image out in front of your potential customers at minimal cost? Be active in your community! Attend festivals, parades, downtown events, networking events, etc. These are enjoyable activities to begin with, and by attending them with a polo with your logo on it, you are also broadcasting to everyone there that you/your company care about your local community. It is a great way to boost your image in the community. Maybe you are close to a deal with a company and they just happen to bump into you at the local art festival. Your company gets another "impression" on your potential customer and could be a tipping point to finish the deal. You could land that next big account and get a balloon animal at the same. Sounds like a winner to me!

Josh Anderson

Customer Relationship Manager

Logo Boys Image Builders

Eco-Friendly Gift Options

Good afternoon and welcome back friends. My apologies, with prepping for our recent trade show, I have not been blogging as much as I would have liked. I hope you all found my previous article about why doing promotions now to be informative. I look to do that today in discussing what "Going Green" can mean when it comes to gifts you offer your customers and employees.

There are many items that are "Environmentally Friendly", so what does that mean. Let's look at cotton as one example. Organic cotton can be found in tee shirts, grocery totes, pique polos, and sport shirts. These are items that we wear at work, out at outings, or even at your local grocery store. So what is the difference between regular cotton an organic cotton? Organic cotton is biodegradable and hypoallergenic. It is also machine washable and dry able. So it works and wears just like regular cotton, but at a much friendly price to the environment.

Bamboo has also become a popular alternative to twill and sport shirts. Bamboo is one of the world's most renewable plants. Bamboo can grow up to one foot a day without the use of chemical pesticides. As someone who consider himself eco-friendly, that was news to me.

There are numerous products that you can buy for your employees or customers, and now those products have environmentally friendly alternatives. Same style product, but at an environmental conscious price. It's a small way for us all to better serve our community.

For more information on items available, check out our website.

Earth Day is April 22nd.

Thanks,

Josh Anderson

Customer Relationship Manager

Logo Boys Image Builders

Why do promotions now?

I have heard from many customers and their clients that it is very challenging to do promotions right now. Times are tough and everyone is cutting back and they can't justify spending money on promotions when they are forced to lay people off. It is a very compelling issue and one that I would like to discuss today. In sales there are always going to be objections and you have to find a way to find a solution to each objection. These are rough economic times, but we still need to find ways to generate more business and to keep current customers coming back for more. A company called the Advertising Specialty Institute, ASI, recently conducted a survey of 618 business people in four major markets. The purpose behind this survey was to find out how effective promotional products were and do a cost analysis comparison to other forms of marketing and advertising. It was quite the extensive survey, but I'll give you the short summary of conclusions that came out of this.

• Instant Recall: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) respondents remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they received.


• Very Impressionable: 42% of respondents had a MORE favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving the item. And nearly a quarter (24%) said they are MORE likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they receive.


• It's all business: Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the time.


• Pens are in: Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps, and bags.


• User-friendly: The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.


• Staying Power: More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for more than 6 months.


• Bag It!: Among wearables, bags were reported to be the used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month. They also deliver the most impressions: Each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month!


• Most Impressive: The average Cost Per Impression, CPI, of an advertising specialty item is $0.004; as a result, marketers get more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media.

So what does this all mean? To me, it means that we have to be more creative to reach our customers. Just running a TV commercial or a newspaper ad isn't enough. We have to look at new avenues to promote your company. Maybe you send a thank you note with a pen attached to it and say "I would like to help you write your next order" It gets you in front of your customer again, shows your creative side, and shows that you care by giving them a useful item. There are many different creative options that can help your company stand out from the rest. The use of promotional products is a cost effective way of reminding your customers that you are there to help them to continue to strive and grow.

Thanks as always,

Josh Anderson

Customer Relationship Manager

Logo Boys Image Builders

*"Research provided by the Advertising Specialty Institute, Copyright ©2008, All Rights Reserved."