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When I was a teenager I knew everything.  My mother and everyone else around me was naïve and foolish.  Now I’m the dad…my boys are 22, 17, and 16.  It amazes me some days how much intelligence and perception I’ve lost in 20 years.  Now I’m the naïve and foolish one…just ask my sons.

Have you ever had a week that changed who you are as a person…and changed your business forever?  The week […]

Being in business is a lot like being ringmaster at your very own three-ring circus.  As ringmaster, your greatest challenge is to keep the audience focused on the action you want them to see…your product or service.  You can significantly increase your public image and sales by playing ringmaster for local business and community events as well.  This article can help you stake your claim to the center ring…and have other people pay you for it.  I'm talking about self-promotion through co-promotion partnering.

As I sat in a restaurant during a recent ISS show, I thought to myself, “Now I’ve seen it all.”  I don’t mind advertising on the ceiling tiles at my local bar…or even the occasional wall billboard in the men’s room…but business advertising among the entrees in an upscale restaurant menu seemed a bit much.  The more I thought about this marketing approach, I was impressed at the business savvy of the restaurant owners.  Here was a businessperson who produced a high-end menu for his customers…at no cost.  When the waiters’ apron had the name of their screen printer as well as the restaurant name and the dinner check came in a leatherette folder with an American ExpressÒ logo on the cover…I knew the owners understood co-promotion partnering.

“The logoed items you bought for that important trade show or promotional campaign contain unacceptable levels of lead and you are being sued by the U.S. government for damages.”

When a customer comes through your door and places an order…they are buying the wearables you sell, and nothing else, right?  WRONG!  Ok, a cheap question, we all know customers are buying our industry knowledge, the quality of our work, and our level of service.  To put it differently, the customer is buying solutions to their apparel needs, or maximizing their marketing opportunities.  It’s not enough to be the best, or the cheapest any more, you need resources that allow you to add value others can’t.  Creative packaging of wearables can set you apart from the competition, and add significant profit to your bottom line.

THIS is a test...this is a test of an advertising medium...this is only a test. You will need five items to complete this test: a calendar, the keys from your pocket or purse, a mug, a printed t-shirt, and a pen. Ready? Here we go...

A prospective client called us the other day…they were interested in having us present a proposal on a $100,000 annual corporate program they were exploring.  As the discussion went further…and I realized they were calling from half the country away…I ask where they had heard about us.  It turns out their graphic artist attended an event we co-sponsored two years ago and he has had our promotional product on his desk ever since.  When their current distributor hadn't responded timely…they considered other options…and we were in the #2 spot because of our marketing.

Somewhere amid the ugliness that is "mud season" and the beauty of Vermont summer is a business season you know well: It’s trade show season! For some businesses it’s the Vermont Business and Industry Expo, for others it’s county fairs and home shows. Trade show exhibiting offers a unique opportunity to strengthen relationships with existing customers, inform the public about what you do or sell, and ultimately gain more business. Promotional products and their educated use in conjunction with exhibitions can mean the difference between "trick or treating for adults" and an extremely cost effective marketing tool.

You’ve been selling trade show related products to your client’s for years, but are YOU exhibiting in trade shows…and are you maximizing your marketing potential at these shows? Many times the old story of the cobbler whose children needs new shoes is true for those of us who help others prepare for trade shows. The following strategies can help you grow your business, while setting a good example for your clients.

A prospective client called us the other day…they were interested in having us present a proposal on a $100,000 annual corporate program they were exploring.  As the discussion went further…and I realized they were calling from half the country away…I ask where they had heard about us.  It turns out their graphic artist attended an event we co-sponsored two years ago and he has had our promotional product on his desk ever since.  When their current distributor hadn't responded timely…they considered other options…and we were in the #2 spot because of our marketing.

Have you ever had a week that changed who you are as a person…and changed your business forever?  The week […]

Being in business is a lot like being ringmaster at your very own three-ring circus.  As ringmaster, your greatest challenge is to keep the audience focused on the action you want them to see…your product or service.  You can significantly increase your public image and sales by playing ringmaster for local business and community events as well.  This article can help you stake your claim to the center ring…and have other people pay you for it.  I'm talking about self-promotion through co-promotion partnering.

As I sat in a restaurant during a recent ISS show, I thought to myself, “Now I’ve seen it all.”  I don’t mind advertising on the ceiling tiles at my local bar…or even the occasional wall billboard in the men’s room…but business advertising among the entrees in an upscale restaurant menu seemed a bit much.  The more I thought about this marketing approach, I was impressed at the business savvy of the restaurant owners.  Here was a businessperson who produced a high-end menu for his customers…at no cost.  When the waiters’ apron had the name of their screen printer as well as the restaurant name and the dinner check came in a leatherette folder with an American ExpressÒ logo on the cover…I knew the owners understood co-promotion partnering.

To make a lasting impression, a business must stand out in this ever-competitive market. But when every other business has […]

We've all heard the expression "hindsight is 20/20".  For most of us, this expression is used when some plan or other didn't turn out as we had wanted.  It's a comfortable way of saying, "if only I had thought of this detail or that detail, things might have turned out better.  This article will present a brief review of an alternative planning method that may give you more details to your plans…and lead to greater success.

When I was a teenager I knew everything.  My mother and everyone else around me was naïve and foolish.  Now I’m the dad…my boys are 22, 17, and 16.  It amazes me some days how much intelligence and perception I’ve lost in 20 years.  Now I’m the naïve and foolish one…just ask my sons.

“The logoed items you bought for that important trade show or promotional campaign contain unacceptable levels of lead and you are being sued by the U.S. government for damages.”

When a customer comes through your door and places an order…they are buying the wearables you sell, and nothing else, right?  WRONG!  Ok, a cheap question, we all know customers are buying our industry knowledge, the quality of our work, and our level of service.  To put it differently, the customer is buying solutions to their apparel needs, or maximizing their marketing opportunities.  It’s not enough to be the best, or the cheapest any more, you need resources that allow you to add value others can’t.  Creative packaging of wearables can set you apart from the competition, and add significant profit to your bottom line.

THIS is a test...this is a test of an advertising medium...this is only a test. You will need five items to complete this test: a calendar, the keys from your pocket or purse, a mug, a printed t-shirt, and a pen. Ready? Here we go...