Reflections of an Ad Man

Yet Another New Beginning

2012-01-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

Just the sound of this blog entry's title strikes me as redundant... "another new beginning". But I guess all beginnings are not necessarily new. Take this blog for example. I began writing it thinking about resolutions and renewed optimism and such, but looking back it appears that my previous 'first blogs of the year' were about the same things. Nothing new there.

Hmmm....what are the most popular New Years resolutions and what promotional products would be appropriate in helping your customers or prospective customers keep them. After all, if your business can be seen as helpful or even as necessary to achieving some goal, then that is a good thing. It positions you as a positive force in the life of your customer and that feeling is reinforced every time your prospect sees your logo on the product that is helping them achieve their goal.

The most popular New Years resolution in the US is to lose weight. I don't think there can be any doubt there. There are thousands of products that can fit into a fitness/weight loss program including sports gear like tennis balls, pedometers, golf equipment, duffel bags, clothing, etc., but they are so individually oriented that they limit their efficiency. After all, sending a logoed golf ball to someone who never plays golf is a waste of your money. If all of your customers/prospects play golf or if you are sponsoring an event where all are playing golf, then that would work, but if they don't then the product is inefficient. So here is my list of the top 3 advertising items that would help your customers stay on track in keeping their weight loss resolutions.

1) fitness journals (help them record their triumphs!)

2) measuring tape (help them measure their results)

3) calorie counters (help them achieve their goals)

What items do you think work?

Steve
www.raggo.com

Feeling A Bit Sentimental

2011-08-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

I was just reminded that we are coming up on an anniversary in a few days. One of our long-time customers out in Texas just called to order his 2011 promotional calendars and reminded me that he had been buying these from us every year for the past 11 years. 11 years is a long time to do anything and we truly appreciate his loyalty.

WE LOVE YOU, GARY!

On August 15, 2011 we will celebrate our 14th year in business. They say that time flies when you're having fun, so this must be work! ;^) We - you and I and this country - have been through a lot over those years. My youngest was just starting kindergarten in 1997. She is now a sophomore at college while her sisters have both graduated and begun their post-daddy lives. I now have a son-in-law and a grandson. Somehow, though, my wife is just as beautiful, talented and smart as she was then, while I ... well, let's be kind and just say that I am not.

Over the years, things have gone up and things have gone down. The Dow Jones Industrial average on January 1, 1997 was 6448.30. The average price of a gallon of unleaded that year was $1.23 and gold averaged $331 per ounce. In contrast, the yield on the 10 year US Treasury Bond began 1997 at 6.58% while the average interest rate on a 30 year conventional mortgage was around 7.6%.

It's a funny thing. I can't remember how old I am, but I can remember our first order. It was for business card sized refrigerator magnets for a florist. In our first 6 months of business existence, we served 16 customers. All of them either knew me in a former life, or met me when I walked into their place of business and asked for a moment of their time. Over the next 13 and a half years 6 of those customers sadly closed their doors, changed professions or moved far away (remember, Al Gore's internet had not yet become commonplace!). Of the remaining 7, 1 has changed ownership (and apparently their promotional products distributor) while 6 are still currently active customers.

WE LOVE YOU GUYS!

We stopped using calculators and columnar pads to keep our books in 1998. (Yes, I still have ours from 1997)

Our e-commerce web site went live in 1999.

Our nation was attacked and has been fighting back on 3 fronts since 2001. God bless our troops.

We have have served thousands of customers over the years, including 14 who placed their first order with us this year. Our new customers found us either by internet search, or they met me at a networking event, or they were referred by a satisfied customer. By the way, we reward referrals! Looking back, 9/11 has made door-to-door sales very difficult. The internet has made door-to-door sales almost unnecessary.

What does all this mean? We love our customers. We work hard to make them happy. We remember their names and their preferences. We return phone calls and answer emails. We want to be sure that their promotion or their event goes off successfully, without a hitch - at least our part of it. We work with them to find the right product at the right price and get it delivered on time...year after year after year.

Steve

Danger...Danger

2011-07-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is a dangerous business. You wouldn’t think so, but danger lurks all around a promotional products order. Sooo many things can go wrong…wrong Item Number, wrong quantity, wrong artwork, wrong shipping address, wrong imprint color …sooo many things…no inventory in stock, wrong stock in the bin, wrong sizes pulled, wrong product color, wrong need-by date. Those are just some of the avoidable mistakes. There are always things that cannot be planned against. Things like boxes lost in transit, shipments damaged or destroyed, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, labor strikes, US customs delays or even theft. Now throw on top of that RUSH requirements and the whole order looks extremely risky. How I sleep at night is beyond me. Wait…I don’t sleep some nights.

How do you mitigate the risk?

First, of course, know who you are dealing with. Work with someone you trust, especially if they have experience in the matter.

Second, order early. There is usually no need to wait to the last minute to place your order. “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance”, right? Waiting will cost you both in money and in worry. Rush orders often involve a substantial Rush Charge and expedited shipping. Rush charges are necessary because we are asking someone to put in extra hours, ie work overtime, to get your job done and to us by the event. The shipping cost for 1000 Magnetic Business Card Pro Football Schedules (the kind that you add your business card to) UPS ground to me, usually a 3-4 day trip, is about $29. Shipping the same quantity UPS 2nd Day Freight is about $110. Next Day Super Saver will cost you around $242.

Third, require a written acknowledgment or confirmation of your order as well as a proof of the artwork. There is almost always time to make sure. My father, a printer by trade, always warned “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” Make sure the item number and description, quantity, colors, shipping address, in-hand date and art are all correct. Those are the things you can control. If you receive the acknowledgment and proof, but then don’t check them, any mistakes in production are rightfully yours.

Steve Raggo
www.raggo.com

Showtime

2011-06-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Trade shows can be a great business-building venture. They can also be a waste of time (and money and hard on you back and knees). Depending on the show, hundreds or thousands of people will walk past your booth, table or display. At the show, your job is

1) to figure out which of the passers-by are good prospects and then
2) get the good prospects to stop so you can proceed though your sale process

Last week we discussed some pre-show activities to help ensure your success at the show, namely to get qualified prospects – the people you really need to meet – to your booth at the show. At the show, the approach we take is to divide the attendees into 3 groups.

Group 1 are qualified prospects. These are the people who need your goods or service and can make the decision to buy them from you.

Group 2 are unqualified prospects. These are people who may need your goods or services, now or in the future, but either cannot yet afford them or will not purchase them from you for some reason (long term vendor relationship, their supervisor makes the decision, the boss's son is in your line of work, etc). These might develop into Group 1 prospects when the situation changes in the future.

We call Group 3 ‘the bag people’. These are the folks who are there only for your 'stuff'. They will take everything off your table if you let them. They don't care what you do or what you offer. They bring several of their own bags - really big, sturdy ones - to the event and will walk around the entire venue several times collecting everything they can.

It is best, therefore, to not to go the event alone, especially large events where you have invested a big entry fee. It is also advisable to have several giveaway items of differing values at the show. Think of it as collecting in a river. Put your best closers at the table and one or two screeners in the ‘upstream’ path of the attendees. Arm the screeners with inexpensive items that will satisfy the 'bag people' so they can direct them back into 'the current'. The screeners then direct the Group 1 qualified prospects and, depending on the size of the show and the number of closers you have, the Group 2 unqualified prospects to the closers. The closers take contact information, make the pitch, make the follow up plans and reward the prospects with the more expensive giveaway item you have hidden discretely from view of the ‘bag people’.

For more information along with product suggestions CLICK HERE.

Steve Raggo
www.raggo.com

Winning Strategy for Trade Shows

2011-05-31T06:38:00.001-07:00

Ok. Let's talk specifics. For the next several entries we will focus on a number of industries and events. We will discuss which products seem to make the most sense for each, and how best to use them. It is always dangerous for us to do this sort of thing. Once we start naming products we run the risk that you will think we only offer those products. If we talk about an industry you are not part of, you may lose interest in us. Oh well. No risk, no profit…

Today… trade shows.

Exhibiting at trade shows can be a great way to build your business. Depending on the show, hundreds or even thousands of potential customers will walk past your booth, table or display. Your job is

1) to figure out which of the passers-by are good prospects and then
2) get the good prospects to stop so you can proceed though your sale process

Prior to the show it is a very good idea to decide who you want to meet and what your goals are. If you don't know who you want to meet, why spend the money to exhibit in the first place? Start with your best prospects. Add your dream accounts. Who are your best customers now and who might be their 'clones'? It doesn’t have to be a big number if adding just one of them can make your year.

Once you know who they are, invite them. Yes, invite them. Don't make the mistake of assuming that the event coordinator will send them an invitation. Send them something so that they know you will be there and that you want to see them. More importantly, give them an incentive to STOP AT YOUR BOOTH. Getting them to the show is NOT enough.

Here’s an idea. Send them an ‘invitation to the movies’ along with the event information and promise them a movie gift card when they stop at your table. Or, prior to the event, arrange with the event caterer to buy a number of drink tickets, then send a tote bag with your logo and a QR Code linked to a map with your booth location on it to your list promising to give them extra drink tickets when they stop at your booth WITH the bag. Not only will this send them to your booth, it will help you determine which of the people passing by your booth are the people you want to meet - they are carrying your bag!

More on trade shows later. For a sneak preview, CLICK HERE

Steve Raggo
www.raggo.com

My Favorite Promo

2011-03-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

Practical promotional products are one of the best investments you can make for your business. They’re marketing tools that do the work for you, keeping your name in front of your customer on a regular basis. I can’t reiterate this point enough. If your customer uses a promotional item weekly, daily or several times a day, then your name and logo are constantly displayed and reinforced. Not only are they reminded of you when they use it, but the people who see them using that promotional item with your logo on it see that as an endorsement of you. Think about it. Someone who sees a calendar on your office wall with Jennifer A. Realtors’ name on it is going to think that you would recommend her. Why would you hang it up if you think she does shoddy work? All you have to do is get the right product in your customers’ hands and they can become walking billboards for your business.

I mentioned calendars as a practical promotional product that often gets forgotten in our search for new, innovative items. Well, I’d like to dedicate this particular post to my favorite of all practical promos: the ink pen.

I am a pen guy. I cannot run my business successfully if I do not have a pen or two on hand at all times. Honestly, from writing down my newest ideas to signing checks to filling out orders, I need a pen. Jotting down a phone number so I don’t have to deal with my complicated smart phone—hand me a pen please! Writing down an appointment? Gotta have a pen! I have at least 10 littering the top of my desk so they are always at hand and I always carry extras with me when I go to meetings. Someone always seems to need one and I really like being ‘a hero’.

Pens are an extremely customizable item as well. With some manufacturers, you can specify the refill color (you can even get three ink colors in one pen-WITH a highlighter), medium or fine point, barrel color, trim color – all this customization in addition to your imprint.

There are click-style pens (2800 on our web site). There are stick pens with caps (1500 on our site). Twist-style pens as well (3900 listed).

Pens th at a re s mall , pens that are huge , thick pens , thin pen s , twisted , or heat-sensing mood pens .

Earth-friendly pens made from renewable resources or recycled materials. There are even pens that write in zero gravity - below zero degrees - upside-down!

Take a moment to flip through our online catalog to get an idea of your choices. Think about what you like in a pen and what your prospects would like. When in doubt, you can always contact us if you need any help choosing your next promotional pen.

Finally, check out our facebook fan page where our friends get an additional 5% off every order of pens.

Steve

Year Long Advertisements

2011-01-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

As I think more and more about practical promotions and gifts for customers, employees, and others, one particular product seems easily forgotten. I attribute this primarily to the sheer amount of use this item gets, as well as the number of styles this product comes in. Sitting at my desk, I have 4 of them in sight. There are 3 in my kitchen as well. If you want your promotional message appreciated, kept and looked at multiple times every day, then there is no better medium than the calendar.

Calendars are, plain and simply, useful. Think about it. The true measure of the practicality of an advertising specialty is whether your customer will spend their own money to buy one if you don't give it to them. I know that I would buy calendars. As a matter of fact, I give a wall calendar every year to my daughters as a Christmas present. Though they are twenty-somethings, my girls still look forward to their yearly calendar.

As I said, calendars come in many shapes, sizes, and styles to fit your needs. The most common is the 12 or 13 month wall calendar. Other popular standards are the the desk calendar, the desk pad calendar (you know the kind, the one that gets buried by paper and your keyboard) and the po c ket planner. But that doesn't even scratch the surface. Calendars can fit on computer keyboards, mouse pads, wallet cards, pencil hol ders and even on ink pens. We have the vinyl self-stick calendars for the car or workshop, and magnetic calendars for your prospect's refrigerator that will stay on their refrigerator all year, and maybe longer. Why longer? Because magnets on the refrigerator are useful beyond the date. I still have a 2008 calendar magnet on my refrigerator from a local real estate agent that is holding up my favorite recipe for chocolate truffle tart.

Calendars are a gift that is greatly appreciated by customers because they are USED. But don't just send them to customers or prospects. Think about the types of businesses that can send you referrals. Mortgage companies get most of their referrals from real estate agents, for instance. An auto body shop might get referrals from repair shops that don't do body work; cleaning services from plumbers or HVAC contractors who see a lot of water damaged homes, etc. Get your calendar on their wall as well. Imagine someone fresh from a fender-bender sitting in the repair shop waiting for the car to get fixed and wondering how much the body work will cost. There is your calendar on the wall behind the counter...who will they call?

Just a little side note. Most of our wall calendar vendors offer special pricing for ordering your calendars early in the year. The savings are substantial. If you are certain that your logo, address and contact information are not going to change, then take advantage of the specials and order early. Once the order is placed, we will print them, send you the bill, store them for free and ship the calendars to you in the fall when you need them. Once it is printed, though, we cannot change the imprint. Here is the sale information from just one of our vendors.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Keeping It Practical

2011-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned previously, practical, every day items imprinted with your advertising message will make great additions to your next business promotion. The more often a customer uses a product with your business name and logo, they more they are reminded of you and the less likely they are to forget about your great product or service. Practicality is what makes promotional products a superior advertising medium...they have perceived value. I don't believe a customer has ever thanked me for running a radio, newspaper or television ad. But while I am handing someone an item that they want or need, an item that they likely would or have already spent their own money to purchase, I often hear a sincere thank you. Though not (usually) an everyday item, an umbrella is a great promotional product because of its practicality and high perceived value.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been caught in the rain without an umbrella. We’ve all had those days, perfectly sunny in the morning when we leave for work and then an afternoon downpour hits. Racing from the office to the car with my portfoli o over my head...getting drenched and wondering why I can never remember to pick up an extra umbrella for the office and maybe one for the car as well. Your prospective or current customers have likely had the same experience, so they know the value of that umbrella and will appreciate your thoughtfulness in picking one up for them.

Umbrellas come in all sizes. Large golf umbrellas are great when you’re sponsoring a tournament. Their size also makes them perfect home or office use. Larger umbrellas are able to handle really heavy downpours because of their larger canopy. They also offer a bigger imprint area, so keep that in mind. Because of their size, storage and shipping can be a bit of a hassle, but large umbrellas make up for it in their durability and their, simply put, ability to keep you dry!

A word about venting. Vented umbrellas like the one shown above, allow strong wind gusts to pass through the canopy and help prevent the umbrella from inverting or breaking apart in big storms. Both golf umbrellas and folding umbrella s can be vented. The venting costs more, but your customer knows it has a higher value.

My daughter hates getting caught in the rain, and so she has invested in several telescopic umbrellas. She likes these for their portability. Folded up, they fit in her purse, glove compartment, and anywhere else she hides them. (I think she has two in a junk drawer.) One of her favorites is the 37-inch umbrella with a traveling cas e from Hit Promotional. Zipped up, it takes up all of six or seven inches worth of space, unfolds to a full size, and the bright lime green is a little pick me up on those dreary days. Other colors are available.

Want to be a hero...put an extra one of these in your briefcase or car and be sure to carry it into a rainy day networking event. When it is your time to introduce yourself to the group, mention that you have an extra and ask if anyone needs an umbrella. I am certain that you will see a number of hands in the air and a relieved smile on the face of the prospect you hand it to. They won't forget you quickly.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Another New Start

2011-01-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

I want to apologize for the length between blogs; things have been busy in the Raggo business and household as I am sure that they have been in yours. I did a better job of keeping in touch in 2010, though and will continue to improve in the years ahead. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I know I did and let me be one of the first to wish you a Merry Christmas 2011!

Now, it’s a brand new year. Happy 2011! While working out resolutions in our personal lives, we sometimes forget it’s a good time to reevaluate our business goals and take steps to improve our sales, service, and (of course) profits. The beginning of a new year is a great chance to think about where you want to go and how to get there. We have great sale pricing on many of the items you need and pledge to keep the sales current throughout this year.

In the past few years, we have been tried with difficult economic times. We have had to make sacrifices and turn our attention to filling our basic needs, ignoring frivolity and fun. There have been trends in the consumer market reflecting this return to basics. Think... packing lunches, walking or riding bikes instead of driving, and other more thrifty practices. I will be writing a few upcoming blogs on some of these practical products to help you keep your business on your customers’ minds.

Right now though, I’d like to mention a gift for your customers that is just plain fun. While the dreary days of winter are wrapping up, you can give a gift to your customers to help brighten their home or garden. Seed packets and seed papers are available in a variety of shapes and sizes and at very economical prices as well. Bright daisies, forget-me-nots, and all types of herbs are available in a number of unique packaging choices. They make great Earth Day promotions (April 22, 2011), too.

Indoor plant kits are also available, for those with less of a green thumb. I’m a fan of the Sunflower kit. This four-inch pot is small enough for a window sill and the pop of yellow from the sunflower will brighten anyone’s day.

As the doldrums of winter drag on, a gift of seeds or a growing kit are a great way to remind customers that spring is indeed on the way.

Happy New Years everyone!

Steve
www.raggo.com

The Tasteful Thank You

2010-10-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

While helping you brainstorm ways to thank your customers for their patronage this year, we left a few people out. These are people that you may see everyday, but often forget to thank for their hard work and dedication to your business' success. They may be the ones that get the most face time with your customers or the ones who fill out the paperwork and make the phone calls so you don’t have to. I’m talking, of course, about the members of your team, your back office, your staff.

It’s important to not only give thanks to your customers for their loyalty, but also the members of your team. If you’ve got a workforce as small as one or as big as one thousand, their hard work helped your business to survive or maybe even thrive in these tough times.

It is often tough to give gifts to both employees and customers without stepping out of bounds. Many businesses impose rules on their officers and their purchasing department concerning the gifts that they receive. Want a way to thank your whole accounting department, or the entire purchasing department of your best customers, without breaking the bank, and without singling out one individual? Give a gift to the whole department - one that can be shared. That way you let everyone know that you recognize their effort.

We sell those classic popcorn tins everyone knows and loves. You know the kind, the giant circular tin, seemingly never ending. This gift is a classic for a reason. Flavored popcorn is one thing that never goes out of style. These tins come in all shapes and sizes and can be given as a gift to the whole department, or on an individual basis. This gift is good if you’re leery of any food allergies you’re not sure of. I don’t think Stan in processing would appreciate a gift of cashews that will just make him break out in hives.

I love giving sweet gifts as thank you gifts: chocolates, cookies, candies. I love anything that gives a sweet reminder to my wonderful team. What better way to celebrate making a sales goal than with cookies iced with positive reinforcement? Anything from “Way to Go Team!” to “Congratulations!” can be printed on these delicious treats. Other foods, like lollipops, chocolate bars, bags of nuts, and even those popcorn tins can be a great way to express your appreciation. (I keep a stock of cookies on hand to thank those who send referrals my way.)

These are great things to do in the office, but are you looking for something people can take home with them? My daughter’s terrible caffeine habit is well known to her boss (as is the caffeine intake of her coworkers.) For a special thank you to her and her coworkers, their boss gave them a small bag of delicious, gourmet coffee. This is something she savors, reserving a scoop or two for weekends and holidays (or vacation time.) A variety pack was created for each employee, containing some coffee, some cappuccino, and hot chocolate packets (which were the first to go… let’s just say the sweet tooth runs in the family.)

Let’s get creative this year for our gifts for our employees! These food items can go a long way as gifts and can be imprinted in sweet icing, on a bag, or on a tin. Please browse the links and email or call us with any questions on products. Let your team know that they can have their cake (or cookie) and eat it too!
Mmmmmmmm.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Customer Appreciation Gifts

2010-10-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Since I’ve gotten you thinking about parties, let’s take a look at another great end-of-year event. This year, if you don’t feel a holiday party for your office is right, why not throw an end of year “Customer Appreciation” bash, gala, open house, social or good old-fashioned party?

This is a great way to get all of your most loved customers in one room and thank them for their time and their business this year, or in years past. It’s a great way to start off the new year, letting your favorite customers (or all of your customers) know how much you appreciate them while you take the opportunity to share your plans, your outlook or your goals for the coming year. It is also a way to give your most valuable clients a "warm fuzzy" feeling about you and your business that will last through the competitive times ahead. There are situations when that little bit of edge is necessary to ward off your competitors.

Check out our previous blog for decorating help (we’ve got the napkins, plates, cups, tablecloths and everything else you need to decorate)

I have a great gift idea for you. Do you want to give them something with sticking power, something your clients will look at not just daily, but multiple times every single day? Something that will make that "warm, fuzzy" last over many years and will make it available and visible in your customers' offices whenever your competitor shows up? If we measured “favorite” by the number of times we look at something, then one of my favorite things is the clock on my desk.I’m always checking the time (not so much for when I can leave work, but how long I have until I need to leave for that meeting, appointment, or to make that phone call to California or Brazil). If you think about it, nothing other than the monitor you are looking at right now rivals the advertising ‘hits’ you get with a clock or a watch.

Clocks, like all products, come in many shapes and sizes, so think about the message you want to send.

Is your business all about innovation and creativity? Desk clocks come in many shapes, and this one is quite a unique design. Give a gift that will help your clients 'soar' in the New Year. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) There are other shapes offered from simple geometric shapes, to golf b ags, pianos, guitars, and classic cars-even pens with clocks built in. Check out some of our other designs. If you don't see a shape you want, contact us. I am sure we can find it.

Are you interested in a more classic look and feel? Check out this beautiful masterpiece. Its got a great look with roman numerals and a lovely mahogany finish. We have many similar timepieces, perfect for your favorite clients' desks.

Why not both new AND traditional? This time piece has a streamline look with a analog clock face. Put this on any desk and your sure to dress it up without being too busy.

Clocks are a great way to keep you on your customer's mind..every time they check the time. Best of all, they’ll thank you for the help.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Moving Ever On

2010-09-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

Summer is ending, Autumn is here, and before you know it, you’ll be wrapping Christmas gifts for friends, family and co-workers. Now is the best time to get your promotional products ready for this Holiday season. And perhaps that includes a holiday open house, family gathering, or small work party.

We’ve got everything you need to make planning even easier for you!

Some questions to consider when planning: Is this for a specific holiday, like Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa? Or is this a general holiday party? What colors will I use as a scheme? (Traditional green and red? Silver and blue? Gold? Any other combinations?) How many people will I invite? Is this formal or informal?

Once considering these questions and writing out a guest list, you’re probably getting together with the caterer and planning a menu, looking for a venue, and drawing up some decoration ideas. I bet you’re also planning to hit the store for the same old cocktail napkins, boring plastic cups, and the usual paper plates. Grabbing a few blasé gift bags and impersonal items to fill it.

Why though? This is your year to shine as host or hostess, so why not make the most(est). I’m sorry, I could not resist with that one.

If you’re throwing a party for business associates and employees or potential clients, take a look at our cocktail napkins. Imprinted with your logo and a special message, these are great items to include with your delicious buffet or delightful finger foods. Your party colors or business colors can be imprinted on white or colored napkins, adding a personal touch to even the smallest detail.

Will you be serving punch or cocktails? Plastic cups, in clear, frosted or various colors, can also be imprinted to match or compliment your napkins. Perfect for your family recipe of egg nog or that special party punch.

Even the plates can be personalized to meet your party needs.

After guests have mingled and enjoyed each others (and your own) company, how do you thank them for their time? A great gift for the holidays, especially if your guests have a Christmas tree, is a Christmas ornament. There are many to choose from, flat shapes to ordinate glass balls. My favorite lies right in the middle. Consider a traditional Christmas ball emblazoned with a “Happy Holidays!”, “Merry Christmas!”, “ ‘Tis the Season”, or whatever strikes your fancy. Include your business name and the year. Consider keeping to your party theme colors or your own business logo—your guests can enjoy these gifts every holiday season.

And yes, we do have gift bags. You can personalize the gift bags to include your business name along with “A special gift for you” or any other holiday message. Putting the chorus of your favorite Christmas carol or another meaningful holiday song to you is another way to personalize the bag itself and make this particular holiday gift special.

These are just a few ideas of some great holiday gifts and party items to consider. Please check out the website for any other holiday needs.

Environmentally Friendly Key Tags

2010-08-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Wow. This hitting for the cycle is really hard! It may take a little longer to find the home run in key tags, but here are 3 tags that fit the bill for single, double and triple.

Remember, we established that environmentally friendly advertising products will be products that are

1) recyclable, reusable or biodegradable
2) renewable, sustainable, organic or somehow do no (or less) harm to the environment when manufactured or disposed of, or
3) made from recycled materials.

Using a baseball analogy, we will call products that meet one of the categories above a single. If a product meets 2 of the categories, it is a double and if it meets all 3 of the earth friendly categories it is a triple. If we find a triple that is also on sale, then we will rule that one a home run.

We have quite a few key tags that reach first base. I chose the TTR from Americanna line, show at the left, because it is made from 100% post consumer recycled tires. Getting them out of the landfills without burning them is a good thing. They also carry 2 other shapes in recycled tire key tags - round and barrel shaped. Let us know if you want a different shape as many of our key tag manufacturers (not from this line, but from others) offer some level of recycled content in their materials.

Swinging for a double are 3 tags from AmPro's Nature Ad line. These tags are made from corn plastic and so are both manufactured from a renewable resource and are biodegradable. Shown at the right is the rectangular version. They also offer an oval version and one shaped like an ear of corn.

The triple comes from CorporateKey. It is an environmentally friendly flashlight key tag which uses solar cells to power 3 LEDs, the case is made from recycled materials and it is manufactured completely lead free ('LED free' in the text on the web page should have been 'lead free'. It is, after all, an LED flashlight). Shown at the left, this key tag is recycled, uses renewable energy and uses no lead in the manufacturing. Definitely a triple.

No home runs this time, but I will keep looking for them. Maybe I will try to hit the cycle with bags next time. That should be interesting.

Until then.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Environmentally Responsible Advertising Sluggers!

2010-08-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Alright. Finally. The 'Big Guns' are at the plate. Excitement is in the air and everyone is paying extra to see if they can clear the bases....here goes.

First up is a pair of pens from ID Line. Both of these pens, the Goodkind Woody (at the top)and the Goodkind Timbercrank fill all of the categories we established for environmentally responsible pens (see our earlier post here for that discussion). All of the Goodkind Brand pen s do. First, they are reusable ... in the pen world, that means that they are refillable. Brass refills, which themselves are made of recycled brass, are just $0.60 ea plus shipping. Second, they are manufactured from sustained yield birch, use a non-toxic varnish and are embellished with laser engraving rather than ink imprinting. Third, the steel clips and crank are made from recycled steel. So, these pens are reusable, sustainable, non-toxic and made from recycled materials. Definitely a pen that touches all the environmentally friendly bases!

Now up to bat is one of our heroes, the RCP from Graphco Line. This long ball hitter features a barrel made from recycled cardboard, which is also biodegradable, and the clip is bamboo...one of the most sustainable crops around. All this environmental friendliness AND it is currently on sale through the end of September! Sale price is $0.44 each plus shipping. Set up is FREE. BOOM...out of the park it goes.

I will try hitting the cycle with environmentally friendly key tags next time.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Hit for the Cycle with Environmentally Friendly Ad Products

2010-08-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

Reviewing our categories of environmentally responsible promotional products, we hold that they will be

1) recyclable, reusable or biodegradable
2) renewable, sustainable, organic or somehow do no (or less) harm to the environment when manufactured, or
3) made from recycled materials.

Let's see if we can hit for the cycle with eco friendly ink pens.

Hitting first is an entry from one of my favorite pen companies, Bic. It is the Bic Ecolutions Round Stic pen. With a body made from 74% pre-consumer recycled material, originally used in the production of automotive part trays, it fills the roll of the lead off hitter by getting on with a single...it satisfies category 3 above. It is also currently on sale for $0.29 ea plus shipping through the end of August, but since all 3 of our categories above are not filled by this pen, it is only 'a hard hit single.'

Next up is the Legend from Target Line. This pen's body is made from corn (a renewable resource) based plastics and is biodegradable, so it fulfills both categories 1 and 2 above. Its low price and low minimum order are also very attractive, so we will call this hit a stand up double!

Our sluggers will be up next time to provide us with a couple of 'environmental long balls'. I can't wait to show them to you. Until then...

Steve
www.raggo.com

Another Environmental Homer

2010-07-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

Let’s review the ‘categories’ of environmentally friendly advertising products we discussed last entry. They will either be

1) recyclable, reusable or biodegradable

2) renewable, sustainable, organic or somehow do no (or less) harm to the environment when manufactured, or

3) made from recycled materials.

I love using the baseball metaphor for ranking the environmental friendliness of a product. If a product falls into one of the categories, it is a single. If it meets two, it is a double. Products that fall into all three of the categories we will call triples, AND if it is on special, then it is a home run. As in baseball, we have a lot of singles in our database, fewer doubles and even fewer triples. Home runs are few and far between. Here is another

This is the Eco’brella from Four Seasons. Both the canopy and the frame are made from recycled materials, the fabric is certified to not contain any harmful substances, the handle is bamboo which is both renewable and biodegradable, and it is on sale through 09/01/10. The sale price for 50 or more of these environmentally responsible umbrellas is $19.98 each and we will even throw in free setup, saving our customers another $50. Another one out of the park!

We can’t always hit homers, though. We will talk about some triples next time.

Steve

www.raggo.com

Hitting Environmental Home Runs

2010-07-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Well...so much for resolutions, eh? I resolved at the beginning of this year not to let this blog thing go unattended for long stretches of time. For those of you who are counting, it has indeed been about 4 months without an entry. Time flies, doesn't it? I suppose that all new habits need refocusing and readjusting occasionally. Thank you to Jim, the web guy extraordinaire in my Wednesday Leadshare Group, for holding me accountable and reminding me that blogging is an everyday (or at least an every week) thing.

Perhaps I would have an easier time blogging if I focused on products instead of me. We will try that.

Nowadays, many consumers are thinking about the ways that their buying choices effect the environment. Businesses are no different, but in the business world it becomes more of an economic issue rather than a political one. In this time of tightening budgets, for instance, most businesses are taking steps to reduce expenses. These can be as simple as replacing old light bulbs with new, energy efficient ones. (Available with your imprint). More proactive measures might include encouraging customers to bring their own shopping bags, or asking if they even need a bag, instituting a telework program or giving incentives to carpoolers. These are simple measures, but added together they can help to reduce costs on both the corporate wallet, and on the environment.

You might have taken steps in your own life to become environmentally-responsible even though you weren’t trying. After all, reducing waste and consuming fewer resources ought to have an economic benefit of some sort. Perhaps, in an attempt to lower your printing costs, you have begun to recycle ink jet or toner cartridges in your business. Maybe you chose energy efficient appliances, bought some of those colorful tote bags from the grocery store or you even replaced a few bulbs in your own house with those long-lasting ones.

Whether or not you are personally concerned with such things, many of your customers likely are. To address both your promotional need and their environmental sensibilities, advertising products are popping up everyday claiming the mantle of ‘environmental responsibility’. There are more than 36000 products from over 500 manufacturers in our database that claim to be environmentally friendly. Before we go any further, though, let’s take a look at the term “environmentally-responsible.” Loosely defined, environmentally-responsible people examine their habits and work toward living a life that creates less waste, consumes fewer natural resources and attempts to reduce any negative impact that their actions have on the environment. It would follow then that environmentally-responsible products either create less waste, consume fewer resources or are less environmentally destructive than their non-environmentally-responsible counterparts. Simply stated they are either

1) recyclable, reusable, biodegradable or somehow do not end up in a land fill or degrade quickly when they do,

2) sustainable, renewable, organic, or at least does no harm to the environment when produced, or they are

3) produced from recycled materials.

Some of the products we offer fit only one category. Some however fit into all three of the categories above. One that does fit all three is the wire-bound Ecomaxx monthly planner from Payne Publishers. It is made from 100% recycled paper, the cover is 100% recycled coverstock, 30% post consumer (PCW) fiber, the wire binding is 90% recycled wire, and it is 100% chlorine free (PCF). So, it is biodegradable (#1 above), does not use harsh chemicals (Chlorine) when produced (#2 above) and is made from recycled everything (#3 above). Additionally, there are ecological "green tips" each page and if you order before July 30, you get a 10% discount. All this AND your ad gets daily exposure. Sounds like a home run do me. A weekly version is also available if you prefer that format.

More 'home run' eco-friendly products next time.

Steve

Sn....oooooooh......no.....

2010-02-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Soooo....more snow. Good thing I sell snow shovels! We had something around 2 feet this past weekend and I guess another 12 inches of so is expected overnight and into tomorrow. The average snowfall for the DC area is around 21 inches each year, so we will get more than 150% of our annual expected snowfall in less than one week!

Wonderful.

Looking out of my dungeon/office window at the snow, I am reminded of the snow globes we did for a local church. They were looking for ways to raise money for a building project and we suggested the globes. We took a series of photos of the current building....

...sent them off to the manufacturer and got a pre-production proof back in about a month. After the appropriate approvals, we produced and delivered 500 of them (the minimum order) in about 3 months. Voila...

They can work from artists' drawings as well, so we can produce the domes with replicas of a building not yet built. Actually, any 3-Dimensional object, real OR imagined would be suitable. If you are interested in selling snow globes as a way of raising funds for your organization this year, now would be a good time to start - especially if a committee is involved. That way we can get them in time for the Holiday selling season.

Remember, now, there are only 318 shopping days left until Christmas! I wonder if I sell snow blowers...hmmm.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Save The Last Dance For Me

2010-02-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

I need a break from shoveling snow! (Snow Totals) I haven't been this sore for a very long time.

One of my favorite customers forwarded me an email recently. The original email was from one of our online competitors (Yes, some of them are STILL in business!) and it offered the environmentally friendly, recycled cardboard ink pen with bamboo clip shown on the right at special pricing - $0.59 each plus set up and shipping for 200 or more pens.

It is a pretty good price. List for 200 is $0.66 ea, so it is a 10% discount.

Her 7 word message to me:

"Hi, Steve. Check this out. We're interested..."

She understands.

Her company has been doing business with us for almost as long as we have been open for business - 13 years this August. They know us. They know that our job - our only job - is to get them the right product at the right price and deliver it on time. I looked at the pen then looked through our sale sheets and sent her the following email.

"Thank you for thinking of us. We do have them...but they are less expensive. Here is the info

We can increase the pricing if you need us to. $0.59 each is fine with me ;^)

Let us know if you want us to proceed at $0.44 with no set up.

Steve"

By asking us, she saved 33% instead of 10%!

The concept that she and many of our long-time customers understand is that we are a full-line distributor. We are not bound by a certain set of manufacturers or by franchise or corporate agreements. When our suppliers - there are thousands of them - offer us sale pricing, we pass it along. We have multiple suppliers for most of the products we offer (9 different suppliers of the pen above) which means that they are competing for my attention and business while I am competing for yours. Since we have thousands of manufacturers with thousands of products on special at any one time, we cannot possibly list them all. Our Specials pages contain many of the sale items from our 'go-to' manufacturers, but it doesn't list all of them.

So, if you see something you want somewhere else, let us know. We understand...it's OK to look. Just be sure to contact us before you buy. Chances are very good that if one of our competitors has it on sale, we do too. But we will give you ALL of the discount instead of only part of it.

Steve
www.raggo.com

Being Remembered for Saying Thanks

2010-01-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you belong to any leadshare, network marketing, BNI or other type of referral marketing groups. If you don't, you are missing out on not just the referrals that you might get, but advice and ideas from folks who have and are running businesses. Last year I had the opportunity to speak to one of the lead share groups I belong to. During that 10 minute presentation, I told them about my future blogging exploits and asked them to write on the back of their business cards, one or two topics that they would be interested reading here. In order to encourage participation, I promised to draw one card from all of the suggestions and give one of our chocolate-dipped 'Thank you' cookies to that person. Theresa, the real estate agent extraordinaire in our group, asked a really great question:

"How do I give something with my advertisement on it to someone and make them think it is a gift"

It's a great question because it gets to the heart of what we try to accomplish when we use ad specialties as business gifts. We want the giftee to think fondly of us as we give them the item and to remember us warmly whenever they use or look at the item in the future. Now, you can't expect to get that effect by handing them a pen or a mug and saying, "Here. Take this item with my logo on it." It won't matter if it is a $0.71 Bic Cl ic Stic or a $146 Waterman Carene.

Instead, we have to 'romance' it a bit. Put it in a gift box or basket. Better yet, put their name on it along with yours. When you give it to them, don't just say "Here." Tell they why you are giving it to them and what you want them to remember whenever they use the item. If you can't be there, add the sentiment to a card included with the gift. Make a big deal of it.

A few years back I gave our best referral sources - the folks in each of the Leadshare groups I belong to who referred the biggest new customers that year - Waterman pens. At the next meeting, when the time for announcements came, I stood up and explained to the group about the award I was giving, showed them the pen (Waterman pens still get oohs and aahs) and asked the award winners to come and get their pens. I shook each person's hand and said so everyone could hear, "I want you to remember whenever you use this pen, that my job at Raggo Advertising Products is to help you write more business." and then I promised them that they would never run out of ink. All they had to do was call me and I would get them a refill.

I gave them a 'memory hook' and I made the hook personal. I hope that they still remember.

So, romance it up a bit. Put a bow on it or wrap it in gift wrap or buy a gift basket and add the item to it. Put their name on it if at all possible. Whatever you do, though, make it memorable and make it personal.

Thanks, Theresa

Steve

Fun and Clever Things!

2010-01-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

I am aways amazed at the variety of our products and the variations in the ways that they can be used. A few years ago I had a client who was looking for pens that had a really big circumference, like the Bic WideBody Grip or the Big Kahuna from Gold Bond. These are over-sized pens with grips. They are appreciated by almost everyone (ie., they have a higher perceived value than smaller, but similarly priced pens). They are especially coveted by those folks getting up there in age, like me, as well as arthritis and other joint-pain sufferers. My customer's best prospects were people over 50, so it seemed like a good idea. Anyway, I entered 'large pens' into my database and got 1300+ listings. That was too many to quickly look through, so I changed terms to 'wide pens' and got about 500 selections. Finally, I entered 'giant pens' and out came 29.

Glancing through the list I clicked on the Giant Monster Pen from Great Big Stuff. Wow! 1.5 feet in length and it writes! Ha! That's longer than most people's forearms! "Too big for our use" I thought. "Who could I show this to?"

Fast forward a few years and I am sitting in one of the referral marketing groups I belong to. We had decided that, in order to increase the number of referrals we pass, we would reward the member who passed the most leads with a gift certificate to the restaurant we met at as well as a trophy which would be passed to subsequent referral leaders. Kind of like the Stanley Cup, but cheaper and without the blood and broken teeth. Something that conveys bragging rights. Linda, our group's new Secretary, said, "We should get something fun and clever!" As I was driving back to the office I thought "What do we give the person who writes a lot of leads? OH! Why not a giant ink pen. After all, it takes a lot of ink to write a lot of leads!"

After getting the requisite approvals, we ordered one in, took it over to Dave, the sign maker in our group, to be lettered and...wait for it...wait for it...TA DA! here is our Leadshare Group's Quarterly Referral Award Trophy

Clever and fun, right? Now if I could just find an efficient way to market them to all of the business networking, leadshare and referral marketing groups around the globe. Some medium that doesn't cost any money, but can be seen by everyone, everywhere searching for referral trophies. Hmmm...Any ideas?

Steve
www.raggo.com

Trial, Balloons

2010-01-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Ahhh....I have remembered one of the reasons I stopped making New Year's resolutions. It's the whole business of having to keep (or at least trying to keep) them. There is usually a pretty good reason why we needed to make the resolution in the first place - why we needed that extra 'prod' to our consciences that resolutions represent. It usually has something to do with liking the things that we resolve to give up or not liking the things we resolve to do. After spending a good number of hours this past week updating our Specials pages and repairing broken links on our web site, I found out on Friday that the repairs needed to be repaired again and some of the links that were working on our Specials pages no longer worked. I guess our vendors were working on their web page resolutions as well. Such a hard life I lead... (I know, I know, everyone is laughing)

So I have repaired the repairs and updates. Let me know if you find any of the hyperlinks on our web pages don't work. There is a sugar cookie dipped in dark chocolate in it for you!

I did notice something unusual this year while updating the Specials. For the first time in a very long time balloons are on sale - even the mylar ones. Balloons are one of those ad specialties that have never really needed to go on sale. They are quite inexpensive without the sale discount, and usually in fair demand. Think about it. Just about every event we celebrate can be celebrated with balloons. Open houses, anniversaries, Grand Openings, fairs, trade shows and award ceremonies almost always include balloons either falling from the ceiling or tied to sign posts or carried by kids of all ages. After all, if you are exhibiting at a trade show or expo or street fair of any kind, wouldn't you think it was great if everyone walked past your competitor's booth carrying one of your balloons!

Time to Hit Restart Again

2010-01-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

It has been a very long time since I made a New Year's resolution. I think it was the late 70's and I was at the US Naval Academy at the time. Something about keeping my weight down so that I would not have to go through the agony of making weight for next year's boxing season. I was a Brigade boxer at the time and in case you can't tell, I am the guy on the right. Going from about 180 in the off season to 139 to make weight in the fall was not something I looked forward to. I usually had to accomplish the loss in less than a month. You can check out my LinkedIn page to see how well I have kept that resolution (not!). In any case, I am going to make a couple of resolutions this year.

First, I am going to focus on my web presence. I will not let my web pages go out of date and I refuse to have a multitude of broken hyperlinks. I know that it is going to take some time to repair it and a lot more time to keep up with it. After a week of waiting for vendors and taking care of customers, for instance, I have ALMOST gotten our Current Specials pages updated. Add to that the changes our vendors make to their pages without our knowledge and we have a recipe for trouble. Nevertheless, that is what resolutions are about, isn't it - addressing and readdressing challenges that we have failed to meet in the past. My waistline is proof.

Second, I am going to change the way I look at this blog-thing. Granted, I did not really understand what it was all about when I started. A quick look at previous posts shows that I approached these entries as sales presentations rather than a means for you to get to know me. I might have come close on a couple of them...I really do hate cheap ink pens, for instance. Overall, though, I focused on product rather than relationship. I will go for relationship this year.

So, then, what does this mean? Hopefully, more work for me and a better experience for you. If you are better informed about our pricing, can get where you want to go on our web site, and if I can better relate my 13-plus years of experience with these products here, then all will be well. If not, then I will have another resolution for next year.

Hoping you have a very prosperous and happy new year.

Steve

Cheap pens!

2009-05-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have cheap pens. As a matter of fact we have a lot of cheap stuff. We have more than 26,000 pens from more than 1000 manufacturers and suppliers. If you need a quantity of 1000, our database shows over 1100 pens from over 100 suppliers for under $0.50 each. 32 of the pens are under $0.25 each.

Yes, they are cheap.

You know it.

I know it.

The person you give it to knows it.

There is a reason that they are cheap. Here’s the thing. Cheap pens fail much quicker than other pens...sometimes they fail as soon as you open the box! It may leak, it may skip, it may just not work at all. As it fails, your customer will look at this ‘cheap #@!%* pen’ that he really needed to work and while throwing this failure of a pen in the trash what will he see? YOUR logo. Is that how you want to be remembered? The giver of the ’cheap #@!%* pen that failed’?

I am at the brink of requiring any customer who purchases a cheap pen from us to sign a waiver excusing us from any fault when the pens fail. I do not want to be associated in any way with the failure and so you are warned. Cheap pens fail.

There is a difference between cheap and inexpensive. When it comes to inexpensive, I am a big believer in staying with the brands. They did not get to be the 'big dog' in their field by being cheap. With pens under $1.00 we recommend sticking with Bic, PaperMate or an advertising specialty name like Gold Bond, Hub Pen or Perfect Line. We have more than 11 years in the business. These are names we trust. There are others we might be ok with (no waiver required), but these are our go-to guys for inexpensive pens.

Thanks for letting me vent. Sorry that it has been so long since my last entry. I will try to do better.

Steve Raggo
www.raggo.com

The Questions I Hate Most

2009-02-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

There is a question that I really hate being asked. I get it in networking meetings like BNI. I get it on sales calls and I get it at social events. I hate being asked ‘What is the hottest promotional item out there right now?” I don’t hate it because I don’t know the answer. I hate it because it does not matter what the new, hot, gotta-send-one-now promotional product is. The question that everyone should be asking is, “What advertising specialty would be most effective at achieving my business goal?”

By the way, the new, hot gotta-send-one-now item is probably anything which can claim to be an environmentally friendly promotional product - recycled pens, biodegradable bags, organic cotton or bamboo shirts and the like. Second to that is anything USB related - fl ash drives, hu bs, fans, rechargers, etc. Both of these may or may not be of any use in your advertising campaign, but there, I said it. We will talk about environmentally-friendly promos in future entries.

The second question I get asked all the time is, “What is the best promotional product?” There are lots of answers to this question because the effectiveness of a product is best measured by how it achieves it’s intended goal. In order to correctly answer the question we need to know what the goal is, who the target is and what the price range, delivery method and time frame is.

On my list of “Favorite Promotional Products”, I would probably have to list mugs, promotional shirts, Sticky Note pads and calendars as among the best. Mugs because ceramics last forever (Can you say Ming Dynasty vase?). Golf and tee shirts because their perceived value is usually higher than their actual cost, which means people will hold onto them. Sticky Notes because no one throws a pad of sticky notes away. Calendars because they last at least 365 days, most people need more than 1, they are looked at multiple times every day and when placed properly, they are seen by more than just the person you gave them to.

2009-01-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

Choosing the Right Promotional Product (Step 5 and 6)

Here is our list of questions that we must answer when choosing the perfect promotional item:

1) What do we want to happen?
2) How will we measure success or failure?
3) What is our target demographic?
4) How will we deliver the item?
5) How much can we spend?
6) How quickly do we need the product delivered?

Details…Details...Details

Real estate agents know (I used to be one of them) that it does them absolutely no good to show someone a house that they cannot afford to buy. Similarly, it does me no good to show you products that are either too expensive or too cheap for your budget. One of the strengths that promotional products have over all other types of advertising is perceived value. They are actually worth something to your prospect. Sometimes they are worth more than you actually spent on them! How much use or pleasure will your prospect get from a newspaper or television ad or any other type of ad for that matter? Absolutely none! With advertising specialties you are giving them something tangible, and in most cases, enduring. A stainless travel m ug or an flash drive or a sleeve of golf ba lls or a pou nd of Godiva all have value. They are things that your prospect will probably go out and spend their own money on if you don’t give it to them. THEY ACTUALLY WANT THESE THINGS!.

Now, cost, quantity and speed are all intertwined in the budget equation. Yes, we can sometimes produce just 1 or 2 of an item if that is all you need. However your cost per piece will be significantly more than producing 50, 100 or 10000 of them. Your cost for just one 11 oz white ceramic mug with a full color imprint is somewhere between $11 and $15 plus shipping. If you can find a use for 72 full color mugs, then your cost per piece would drop to somewhere around $3 each plus set up and shipping. That is a savings of $7 per piece, so it behooves us to think of other ways we can use them...door prizes, gift baskets, sales contest awards, thank you gifts filled with candy, board of directors meeting or whatever.

Yes, we have a lot of products that can be produced very quickly...some we can ship tomorrow if we have everything ready by 10 am today. But please don’t wait too long. Not only will the production cost be more, but the shipping will be more as well. Shipping 144 mugs via UPS ground might cost you $90. Shipping them UPS Second Day will probably cost around $190 while UPS Next Day will cost $350 or more. That is more per piece for shipping than for the mugs themselves.

That's it. These are the things we have to know in order to help you pick the best promotional products for your particular needs.

Steve Raggo
www.raggo.com

2009-01-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

Choosing The Right Promotional Product (Step 4)

Here is a list of the questions we must answer when choosing the perfect promotional item for your campaign:

1. What do we want to happen?
2. How will we measure success?
3. What is our target demographic?
4. How will we deliver the item?
5. How much can we spend?
6. How quickly do we need the product delivered?

Delivery method is a very important consideration when choosing an ad specialty for your campaign. Promotional products are most commonly handed out at sales calls, trade shows or expos or at the front counters of offices or retail establishments. Other delivery options include direct mail or through third pardies - like donation them to non-profits or business organizations for their golf tournament or other event.

The delivery method helps determine the size, shape, weight and fragility of the advertising item we will choose. A customer once decided that they wanted to send champagne flutes out to all of their customers as a thank you on their business’ anniversary. Flashing red lights started going off in my head as we talked this out on the phone. While an attractive gift with a lot of perceived value and promotional endurance, wine glasses and champagne flutes are bulky and highly breakable, especially when we are ’sending them out.’ When I asked how they were going to deliver 2000 champagne flutes to their customers the only response was…”Oh, wow.” We decided to send out a brass key tag with their anniversary logo instead, along with a post card invitation to their Anniversary Celebration directing the customer to bring the card (filled out with their contact information) into their nearest branch on that day for a free anniversary flute.

Steve Raggo
www.raggo.com

2009-01-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

Choosing the Right Promotional Product (Step 3)

Here is our list of questions we must answer when choosing the perfect promotional item:

1) What do we want to happen?

2) How will we measure success or failure?

3) What is our target demographic?

4) How will we deliver the item?

5) How much can we spend?

6) How quickly do we need the product delivered?

Taking Aim

We have discussed what we want to happen as a result of our promotional campaign and how we will determine if we are successful. Now a little bit on the target. In many cases, the people receiving the promotional products and the products' targets are not the same. Banks, police and fire departments, medical providers and most non-profit organizations have become quite adept at this sort of indirect approach. Advertising balloons or coloring books featuring a popular theme with the organization logo prominently displayed are generally not handed out with the hope of the child opening a bank account or making a donation, but can help influence the parent to do so.

If you are giving an anti-drug presentation to a classroom of pre-teens or you are participating in a "Career Day" at the local high school, your promotional products can be handed to the student who will carry them home and end up influencing the parent later that day.

You know your prospects better than we do. Imagine where your prospect is when he or she realizes that they need your product or service. Are they at their desk, in their kitchen, in their car or are they somewhere else? The most effective product we can offer to them - the one that will have an impact on them in that place at that time - is one that is in their vision at that moment.

Say, for example, you own a pizza place and want to increase deliveries to a neighborhood nearby. The neighborhood is made up mostly of young commuters who arrive home in the evening hungry and tired from their work and commute. They open the refrigerator and think to themselves, “There is nothing here I want to go to the trouble of cooking” They close the refrigerator and see the magnet from Donato’s Pizza holding up their To Do List, and Donato's Delivers! No looking through the phone book. No need to go online to find a restaurant. No need to find the newspaper to see who has a special. No need to cook or to drive! Just call Donato's.

One of the strengths of promotional products is their endurance. Check out your refrigerator. I still have a magnet given to me by a real estate agent with a 1999 calendar on it!

Steve Raggo

www.raggo.com

2008-12-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

Choosing the Right Promotional Product (2)

Here is our list of questions we must answer when choosing the perfect promotional item:

1) What do we want to happen?

2) How will we measure success or failure?

3) What is our target demographic?

4) How will we deliver the item?

5) How much can we spend?

6) How quickly do we need the product delivered?

Measuring Success

For us, measuring success is an automatic result of deciding to accomplish something. We didn’t open our business just for the sake of opening it. We do not buy printing and postage and Sticky Notes so that we can spend the money. We buy them to make the phone ring or to make the cash register beep or to keep our employees on the job. We make sure that those things happen by keeping track of the phone calls or the daily cash register totals or retention rates. By keeping track we can determine if the promotion was a success. If it is, then we will do it again. If it is not, we will need to make it better by changing the item, the target or the delivery.

There are many ways to keep track. Simple log books and spreadsheets work fine for most goal tracking. In other cases we may need to conduct surveys or send out questionnaires. Let’s say that your goal is to:

“Increase traffic at our trade show booth by 10%”

The plan then might be to send out invitations with flower seed embedded paper (maybe adding "We will help you GROW your business" to the invite text to tie it in) to all of the prospects that you would like to meet. In order to generate excitement, you might choose to offer an MP3 player as door prize, but everyone who stops by your booth will receive a pre-paid music download card in return for their business card. Tell them about the prize in the invitation. Draw your door prize winner from the business cards you collect. The number of cards will tell you if you have met your goal.

Steve
www.raggo.com

2008-12-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this blog is to:

1) help you pick the appropriate promotional item for your needs
2) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the hottest, newest advertising products
3) highlight the best methods for getting the most out of your promotional product investment

Let’s get started.

Choosing the Right Promotional Product

There are lots of factors which go into choosing the right products to achieve your promotional goals. Here is a short list of the questions we must answer. We will discuss each question individually in later blog entries.

1) What do we want to happen?
2) How will we measure success or failure?
3) What is our target demographic?
4) How will we deliver the item?
5) How much can we spend?
6) How quickly do we need the product delivered?

First, we have to decide what we want to happen. If you are not sure that you want anything to happen, then save your money or invest in your people, plant or product. This outcome or promotional goal can be as precise as:

“To increase referrals from our current customer base by 15% in the coming year”

to as imprecise as:

“To remind our volunteers while they are at home of how much we appreciate their work.”

Whether the goal is carved in stone or fluttering by on the wind we need to know what the goal is before we can begin. For instance, sending a Bic Clic Stic home with your volunteers will probably not accomplish the goal for them that we stated above, but it could be useful in helping to remind your customers to write out a referral for you. Send the pen along with a few self-addressed, stamped postcards and an Audio Thank You Card thanking them for their business and their past referrals and asking them to write out a few more referrals - you will pay for everything. The paper, the postage, even the ink. Who could say no?

Steve Raggo
raggo.com