By Terry Powers
Are wall and desk calendars still useful in this technology crazed world we live in? With more and more people owning smart phones, it might make you wonder. But if you spent any time at the mall or strolling into your favorite bookstore this holiday season, you’ll find tons of different calendar choices from babies and recipes to sports and antique cars. And probably everything in between.
In the promotional products industry, calendars were for many years the largest commodity segment and while they have slipped a bit recently, they remain the best advertising value out there. Think about it for a moment. You can buy 500 very nice wall calendars with your logo or message on it for under $3.00 a piece. That translates to 24 cents per day for your true cost. And most people will put a nice calendar in their kitchen or office and look at it numerous times a day, which puts your logo or message in front of your audience as many as 10 to 20 times a day. Broken down further, you are talking pennies per impression. An amazing performance for a promotional product, to be sure.
If you want to take it up a notch, you can print custom date blocks, add coupons, include special messages from the company president or add other inserts. The sky really is the limit.
The bottom line is that while technology is the real driving force behind everything we seem to be doing these days, there is still room for the old tried and true calendar. And now is the time for ordering the 2013 version. Our calendar suppliers have some great incentives available for getting your orders in early. Plus they will hold your order in their warehouse and ship when you need them. If you have the space to store them yourself, we can have them shipped when they are ready and you’ll see an additional savings.
So keep calendars in mind for a cost effective advertising tool. Maybe we can slow down the technology revolution a little bit.
By Celestine Chua
I recently met a former colleague for lunch, and throughout our get-together, I couldn’t help but feel there was a communication breakdown. He would cut me off even though I was still talking. He kept name-dropping and talking about people I didn’t know, but acting as if I should know them. And trying to stay in the conversation was frustrating, so I just gave up and nodded to whatever he said.
Sound familiar? Well, here are 5 tips for better communication.
1. Be receptive to what others say. While it’s good to enter the communication with a clear objective of what you want, don’t be so focused on it that you tune out important messages the other person is trying to communicate. Have a focus and, at the same time, keep your mind open.Even if people come across as critical, learn to deal with critical people and be open to criticism. Many people are quick to shut out criticisms but in the process lose out on a lot of valuable advice and feedback. Ask yourself: “What made the person say this? What lessons can I take away from this? How does this relate to my situation?” With an open mind, you can have more answers to what you seek.
2. Look out for the subtext. Subtext is the underlying message of the communication, or “reading between the lines.” Many misunderstandings between people occur because they take each other too literally, vis-a-vis responding to the subtext. Listen actively to what’s communicated and be observant. Watch out for hand gestures, body language, voice speed and tonality. The most important points of communication are usually not openly articulated. Knowing how to read the subtext will take you a long way in building great relationships.
3. Be positive. Being positive means being generous with emotions such as love and kindness. Have you ever communicated with emotionally stingy people? These people are critical all the time. They keep harping on a small mistake and pinpointing every issue they can find. It feels suffocating and draining to be around them. On the other hand, being an emotionally generous person makes you more endearing to be around. Show genuine care and concern for the person’s well-being. Give praise where it’s deserved. People will look forward to interacting with you because they feel happier and uplifted doing so.
4. Respect the person. If you don’t respect the person first and foremost, it’ll show itself during the conversation. Acknowledge the person’s background, expertise and capabilities. Even if it’s a colleague you dislike, respect him or her for what he or she has done. How do you feel if someone doesn’t respect you? You can’t expect others to respect you if you don’t first respect them.
5. Maintain eye contact. Looking at the speaker in the eye is a reassuring way to let the person know you are listening. You don’t have to stare 100 percent of the time, just maintain your gaze long enough whenever he or she looks over, and give a reaffirming nod every once in a while.
By L. John Mason, Ph.D.
I was pushing my cart through a large department store the other day when I almost ran smack into the Christmas tree display. Christmas—what? How can that be? We haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving yet. Just the thought of the holidays started to make me feel stressed. It’s a busy time at work. Plus, there’s shopping to be done, travel plans to be made and all the other trappings that come with the season.
Do you know this feeling? Maybe it’s not induced by the sight of a giant Christmas tree. Your stress might be triggered by the thought of an annual event that you’re in charge of planning at work or a report that you have to prepare for a large customer. Whatever the reason, we all experience these anxious moments. Here are some ways to help relieve that stress.
1. Take 40 deep slow diaphragmatic breaths each day. Spread these evenly throughout your day, don’t do them all at once. You can benefit from associating the deep breaths with some common work occurrence such as the telephone ringing. Though simple to do, it is a powerful stress-management strategy.
2. Use regular relaxation periods for work breaks. Try 15- to 20-minute periods of undisturbed time away from the phone and/or family. Commit to using this for four to six weeks to begin to see the benefits. You will be surprised to find that this will save you time and energy. You will get more done in less time if you are not distracted by internalized stress.
3. Exercise regularly. Do some form of aerobic activity such as walking, jogging, swimming or biking for 20 minutes, three times per week at a minimum. Thirty minutes or more, four to six times per week is recommended.
4. Eat sensibly. Avoid caffeine. Do not cope with stress by using alcohol or drugs. If you are stressed out, caffeine is like throwing gasoline on a fire to put it out.
5. Focus on new directions and regular planning. Give yourself positive options if you feel trapped. Plan for growth in all aspects of your life; not just work.
6. Use humor. Positive attitudes really help. Difficulties, when viewed as opportunities for growth and proving your abilities, are less harmful.
7. Protect yourself from negative co-workers and relationships. Do not get caught up in other people’s negative thinking.
8. Get back in control. If you cannot control all the people and situations that happen around you, at least you can control the way you respond.
9. Give sincere compliments freely and smile. Be positive and let it shine on everyone around you. It will come back many times more.
10. Learn to really listen. It is the best communication technique that you can develop.
By Stephanie Melish
“Your words are your most powerful tool. There is nothing more powerful than hearing someone say, I love you or (dramatic pause) I hate you.”
I said this today during a training seminar on customer service. I was spending four hours with one company to help them understand this imperative. We had gotten to the section where I was emphasizing communication and I spoke those words.
And, it was as if I were speaking to myself (which I do sometimes, most of the time, OK – all the time!). I realized that my words are my most powerful tool, but they are yours as well.
When we communicate with others, the words we choose to use can either motivate or defeat someone. The words can inspire or infuriate. The words can evoke or emote. The words can attack or embrace. The words – your words – are power.
Most people don’t think about the words they choose. Most people don’t realize the power behind their words, their message (I only had this A-HA today). Most people don’t know that by choosing the right words they can create, instill, initiate, and shape CHANGE.
Change was Obama’s word and, like him or not, you can’t argue that he built a campaign on that one word. It was the right word at the right time in a world that needed hope that something new could be promised, that something would, that’s right, change.
So what are you promising?
What words are you choosing to use to deliver your message?
What words do you use when you parent, teach, lead, sell, serve or tweet?
Do you think about those words before you use them?
Do you choose them wisely?
NO?! I’m not surprised.
Being a writer, speaker, and trainer, I must constantly think about the words I choose when transferring my message to an audience. Not every word will be powerful – but if I can make a few of them, just a few, more powerful than the others, I can inspire action. I can inspire change. I’m in the business of change – change to know more, to sell more, to serve better, to be the best.
What’s my secret to change communication?
1. The Package. Put your message in a box, wrap it with beautiful paper, place a bow on top, and put a gift label on it. That’s how to present a gift to someone. Why wouldn’t you present your message in the same way? Put your message in a clear and concise box. Wrap the message into a creative presentation (hello theme!). Place a WOW! word bow on top. And right before you end your message, address it to a specific person or audience. A properly packaged message that’s personalized is more likely to grab their attention and get them to start to entertain a change. That’s the power of message packaging.
2. The Passion. Passion is directly tied into the belief that you have in your message. When you truly believe in what you are trying to transfer over to the listener, you’ll naturally exude passion. I am passionate about BAD customer service. I am passionate about asking powerful questions in sales. I am passionate about changing your attitude. I am passionate about helping other people become their best. This passion backs my message and puts some OOMPF! into my delivery. Passion is contagious and when it catches it creates change. That’s the power of passion.
3. The Pause. There is nothing more powerful or painful in delivering a talk than a pause. Those moments when you allow the words you so carefully chose to sink in. Those are the precise moments when your audience will soak it all in and consciously decide to (hopefully) change. That’s the power of the pause.
You have the power.
You have the power to choose your words with precision and purpose.
You have the power to deliver the package, the passion and the pause.
You have the power to change communication.
Challenge: To identify a recession-smart holiday gift appropriate for staff from the basement to boardroom.
One of your many tasks is to select and source gifts that act to welcome new staff, show appreciation to the team and foster a renewed sense of community. In years’ past, your firm gifted food and other consumable products with rave reviews, but this year you’d like to try something different. For one, at this year’s event your firm will unveil something new-be it a new logo, new product or new partnership. For two, you’d like to show sensitivity to a troubled market by gifting a budget-conscious product people will repeatedly use and remember rather than consume and forget.
This scenario is playing out across corporate America as organizations seek to cut costs while providing added value to staff through their gift programs. And as colleges and universities respond to the pinch of decreased funding and donor support, the scenario will play out across academia as well. A college near Orlando, Florida, is one such institution seeking to make a difference with its holiday gift program.
With their holiday faculty and staff party fast approaching-and the first party in many years to be held during a recession-the colleges team set out to find an appropriate promotional gift: one that would showcase the college’s newly unveiled logo while providing long-lasting utility to staff from the basement to the boardroom and beyond.
Solution: Roomy, easy access insulated lunchbox with top-loading flap.
Solution: an easy access insulated lunch box in royal blue – one of the school’s corporate colors. This particular promotional cooler has a top-loading flap, which makes getting drinks and snacks in and out while on the go a snap. Crafted with durable 70d Nylon, the lunchbox also features a front pocket and padded web carrying handle to provide years of comfortable use. The committee felt staff would find the product useful, as they’d noticed many more people bringing lunches rather than eating out due to the economic crunch.
Result: Lunchboxes spotted across campus; help college, staff save money.
The colleges team predicted correctly: staff not only commented on how well the new logo looked on the bag; they also remarked on their plans to use the new lunchbox as bringing lunch from home has become much more common these days. Staff also liked that the lunchboxes are roomy and insulated to help keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. The team is also pleased to see the new logoed lunchboxes on campus each day-yet another sign of a successful promotion.
“I need some trinkets and trash for a trade show give away” said the client and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Trinkets and trash, tchotchkes, swag and knick-knacks are just a few of the slang terms used to describe promotional products over the years. These terms typically connote cheap junk that can be given away in mass quantities with little regard to what the item is or who it is given to. Not a very good way to spend your advertising dollars, is it?
We don’t like to think of our business as a dealer in trinkets and trash. As with most people, we dislike the negative connotations associated with the products we sell. We strive to make sure that our clients marketing and advertising dollars are doing the most they can. We have all gone to tradeshows and been given sixteen stress balls with various logos on them. But, what happens to those stress balls when we get home? They get thrown in the garbage, because who really needs sixteen of them, or even one for that matter. There are many other high quality products that can substitute for the trash that most companies give away.
How about this? Once you have decided on your budget, a theme for your event (if you have one) and have determined how many recipients there are and who they are, give us a call and we will come up with some great ideas to help you reach the goals you have for the promotion. There are many inexpensive, yet effective products available in our industry and you can spend a reasonable amount of money to get effective promotional results.
So the next time you think you need promotional products; think of the quality of the item and the fact that you are putting your company’s name on the item. How do you want to be remembered?
By Mary Sandro
This past weekend, I was at a steakhouse. Two couples were sitting at the table next to mine. As is customary at most steakhouses, the waiter asked these customers to cut into their steaks when they arrived to make sure the steaks were cooked to their preference. One gentleman cut into his steak and immediately said, “Here it goes again. They always overcook my steak.”
Immediately the waiter offered to bring him a new steak. The customer refused, but continued to complain. The customer’s complaining escalated until eventually, he ended up with a card for a complimentary meal, plus the manager invited the customer for a private tour of the kitchen. The customer definitely wasn’t expecting that.
This squeaky wheel is a great example of the struggles with customer service.
What happens when the unexpected happens? Customers have an “unusual” request or they simply don’t know the rules of the system? The unexpected provides the opportunity
I arrived late at a hotel dressed for the cold weather in brown boots and heavy trousers. When I got to my room I unpacked only to discover that I had left my black heels at home, which I needed to wear for an early morning presentation.
I went to the concierge for help. It was after 10 pm. Nothing was open. I pressed the concierge, “There’s nothing that can be done?” Silence. The concierge contemplated further then asked, “What size are you?” I blurted out my shoe size. The concierge stepped out from behind the desk, pointed to the black heels on her feet and asked, “Will these work?” She gave me the shoes right off of her feet!
I have observed that companies and professionals practicing creative customer service successfully have two things in common.
The first commonality is that they care. Management cares. Employees care. Everyone cares a great deal about people. They like to help people solve problems. The concierge at the hotel cared about my shoe predicament and personally decided to go above and beyond. How much does your company care? How much do you care?
The second commonality is that employees have authority. Even when people care, if their hands are tied, they can’t help. In addition, employees who aren’t especially “caring” might be motivated to be creative for customers simply because it feels good to exercise their authority. Do you have enough authority to be creative?
Doing a good job isn’t good enough to separate from the pack. The prize will go to the one creating new frontiers. How far will you go to Wow a customer?
For people who spell their L-I-F-E as B-O-R-E-D-O-M
By Rob Allen
I have been working formally for almost a year now. I don’t know, but I feel like everything that I do is no longer fulfilling. I feel that my purpose is getting really senseless as each working day passes. I might blame it on familiarity, to the people around me and myself for living a totally lack-luster life. My life in the office at this very moment in time is totally the opposite of my college days jam-packed with exciting adventures and insane shenanigans. As of this writing, the life I’m living is bland and flavorless.
I talk to some college friends and reminisce about the good old days of being a student. Yes, I have to admit that I really miss the horrific professors, brain-cracking homework, mind-boggling theses and energy-zapping field projects. More than that, I missed my real friends, slumber parties, out of schedule trips around the city and so many things. These cheap thrills are the things that spiced my life back then.
If only I can bring back the past and live it today. There is no such thing as a time machine that will bring back pigments of the past. Past is past so I guess, everyone should focus on the present and what the future holds. Though my life may be insipid, I know that taking the rudder of the ship into a better part of the ocean would spice up my life. There is no need for me to turn back the hands of time to make my life fulfilled. This inspired me to come up with the seven great things that can spice up a lack-luster life like mine.
Don’t live your life like stagnant water let your life flow and let go. If you live your life going from work to home everyday, you should check out the real world and see what life has in store for you. Indeed, there are so many things that can be done outside your workplace. SO if you think that your life seems to be on the straight road, try to take some new routes and detours and explore other alternative roads that would make your driving a little less boring. After all, going astray is good sometimes. That is why you shouldn’t drive alone. Accompany yourself with a map, GPS or friends that would lead you to the right path.
If you have boxed yourself in the office and you consider yourself a one man team, your computer monitor is your ultimate buddy and the customized office supplies are your little friends, you should stay away from your motionless pals and try to make new friends with your office colleagues. Try to break the ice by talking to them. Initiate a conversation and talk about the things that you have in common. Once you have established the layer of communication, try to go a step higher and go deeper beyond the things about office and the next thing you know, you’re already friends.
Try to experience new things. Engage yourselves in things that you haven’t done before. Flex your muscles by playing a brand new sport. We all know that playing any sport regularly reduces the impact of stress to our bodies. If you think that you have mastered basketball, why don’t you kick some butt on martial arts or some extreme sports that would make your adrenalin pump like never before. This will earn you new friends and experiences that you can share with others.
As I’ve said, try new things and explore other alternative routes. Instead of going to your house after work, why don’t you eat at a new restaurant near your workplace or go to places that you haven’t gone before. You can do it alone or with friends depending on your mood. There is nothing wrong with spending your hard-earned money on things like this. After all, you deserve a break.
Explore the Foreign Lands
Exploring the places outside the country would also be a great idea to make your life spicier than the normal. Do the good old backpacking style alone or with your best buddies. Don’t use budget or lack of time as your excuses. Money can be earned but time can never be returned. Plus, it would be okay if you have something to look forward to every once in a while. Indeed, suitcase stories from outside the country would be a great tale to share.
If you want to learn how to play the guitar, study it. If you want to learn how to swim, go for gold. Learning things like these knows no age limit. You should always keep in mind that it is better late than never. Indeed, as long as you can, nothing can hinder you from doing the things that you want to do and learn. There are people who think that they can not do things anymore because of their age. Well, age is just a number. Nothing can actually stop you from learning new things. I guess, it’s just your ego that halts you from stepping up.
Time is gold and it wouldn’t be good if you will let it slip away because you can never turn it back. If you think that you have so much time to waste being a couch potato, why don’t your share it with others. Use your time to make others happy. How? Helping out charities is one of the best ways to share your time. You should know that sharing the love is not just sharing money alone. There are so many non-government organizations that are looking for people who are willing to help them in their endeavors. Try to contact these people and extend a hand. In fact, even blood donation or assisting medical practitioners in their mission can be very helpful. Indeed, you are not just reaching out to the needy; you are also able to make your time worth living. Moreover, you have a chance to meet new people with the same mindset.
These are seven great things that you can do to animate your dreary life. Taking these steps will surely give your life a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the life that you are living now. Waste no time and start today. You should always remember to live your life like you’re dying and seize the day.
When my grandparents moved into a retirement center, I helped with the garage sale. My cousin Claire and I were joking about how best to display the odds and ends from their 60 years together when I stumbled upon a gift from the gods of high kitsch. It was a letter opener, but this was not your typical letter opener.
In the clear acrylic handle floated a mini uterus with two pills strategically placed where ovaries normally reside, alongside the drug’s name, Hormonin. This promotional product was a gift from a drug company representative to my granddad, a doctor in Laredo, Tex. I tried to imagine how this token must have been received by the taciturn Dr. Puig. “Thanks Hal, I’ll put this next to my collection of kidney stones.” Or, “Do you have that on a T-shirt in an extra large?” Highly doubtful. He probably focused on its utility and kept it right there on his desktop. Which is probably what the drug company’s marketing department was counting on.
Promotional products are, some say, the oldest form of advertising. American businesses spend $20 billion a year giving away stuff with logos. Which is pretty good evidence that it works. The effectiveness of promotional products can be credited to centuries old cultural norms that centers around the rule of reciprocity. If you give something, the recipient is honor bound to give something back. In every language and culture, research has found there are really pejorative words for people who get and don’t give back. We humans are hard wired to respond if we get something.
Are we really that easy? When you get that survey in the mail with a crisp dollar bill attached, do you fill the survey out or pocket the money and relegate the envelope’s contents to the circular file? I visited with Dr. Robert Cialdini, professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University. Dr. Cialdini, who has written a book on the topic, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” became interested in studying the rule of reciprocity out of self-defense. “All my life I’ve been a sucker,” he said.
Dr. Cialdini observed Hare Krishna Society members in airports, watching them foist paper flowers upon travelers. As soon as travelers accepted the flowers, they became more likely to reach into their pocketbooks and reciprocate with a donation. Sociologists and anthropologists have found, he said, that there is not a single society in the world that doesn’t train its people from childhood to this rule. “Marketers take advantage of this all the time,” he said. “Tupperware parties – one of the things that happen very early on – they play games so every one at the party wins a prize from the Tupperware representative. And they feel very obligated to give something back in return.”
A well-known veterans’ nonprofit group, the Disabled American Veterans, is a case in point. When the group sends a mailing for contributions, Dr. Cialdini said, it gets an 18-percent response rate. When the same letter is sent with personalized address labels, which cost about eight cents, the response rate goes up to 35 percent. “For the cost of the address labels they get almost a doubling of return,” he said. “It’s very powerful rule and very small things can trigger it.”
How do companies find the right promotional item? Here are four suggestions:
· Give items that members of your target audience will use in the environment where they make decisions about using your product or service. If you go after executives in corporations, give them something they will use in their offices, around their desktop so your company can be top of mind when they make decisions. Golf-related items are exceptions because lots of business happens on the golf course.
· Have it underscore your marketing message and differentiate your company. A computer software company who makes antivirus software put its logo on boxes of condoms and sent them to information technology types with the message, “Protect yourself, protect your computers.” Results? Most I.T. people are male, and don’t really have girlfriends so that’s particularly titillating. They believe they got pretty good results. A bit edgy for most companies, but you get the idea.
·Personalize them. While we are fond of our company logos, customers really like to use items that have their names on them. People like seeing their own name above all else.
· Skip the logoed water bottles and other items that will be quickly used and tossed. Make your promotional products investment something that will have a shelf life.
Some of the most popular promotional items these days are thumb drives, aluminum sports bottles, reusable grocery bags, and anything green or American made. But will this stuff really replace the calendars with alluring young women? I don’t know who the folks were who figured out that men would look at pretty girls and if you put your tools, software or cars next to it, they will look at it. I don’t think that trend is going away.
Did receiving the uterus-enhanced letter opener prompt my granddad to write more Hormonin scripts for menopausal patients? Can’t say, but this promotional product made it 40 years without seeing a trash bin. And it’s now in a prominent place on my desk, right next to a Charlie the Tuna desk lamp.
What is Gaslight Promotions you ask? We are a distributor of promotional items in the greater Grand Rapids, MI area. Promotional products include wearables (like T-shirts, jackets, hats, etc.), mugs, pens, USB drives, and much more. If you can imagine it, we can put your company logo or message on it. If you have an idea in mind or need assistance developing a promotion, we will help you find the products to fit your project.
Who have we worked with? We work a lot with Autocam, East Grand Rapids Schools, Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, American Cancer Society, Wolverine World Wide, Gerald R Ford Airport as well as many other local companies and organizations. We are also happy to help companies outside of the Grand Rapids area.
Why are we here? We would love to share with you new and different promotional items to help your company stand out. We want to provide you with information on the advertising specialty industry. And of course we want to share with you exclusive specials that we will be offering.
