27 posts tagged promotional items

While most businesses recognize the value of promotional products for marketing and building their brands, promotional products create an opportunity for retail businesses as well in the form of resale products.   In many cases, promotional products are essentially identical to their retail counterparts.  In fact, many manufacturers have both retail and promotional product lines of comparable products.

While large department, warehouse and discount stores purchase products in a large volume to enable them to buy direct from manufacturers, smaller and medium size retailers as well as those looking for customized products have more limited options.  Promotional products can provide these retailers with both a large array of product choices with relatively limited minimum order quantities as well as the opportunity to customize products to further distinguish them from competitors.

Here are some tips to help leverage promotional products for resale whether it’s in a gift shop, retail store or on-line retailer. 

Buying Products for Resale

Anyone can buy promotional products.  In most cases, products can be customized with logos or as blank goods.  Some products sold by promotional product distributors can only be sold as blank goods based on agreements with the manufacturer of the product.  This is primarily the case with certain high-end  products and brand name merchandise (e.g. Bose, etc.).  Similarly, there are a few suppliers who may only sell products that are imprinted.  Likewise, the level of customization (product color, etc.) can be limited based on supplier and license requirements. 

When products are purchased for resale, businesses can avoid paying sales tax at the time of purchase from a distributor if they have a resale certificate.  The resale certificate is available through your State Board of Equalization.  You’ll need to provide the distributor with a copy of the resale certificate to be exempt from paying sale tax on your orders.   For more information, be sure to contact your state tax board or accountant for specific requirements.

Pricing & Profit Margins

Because promotional products are sold in bulk, there can be ample opportunity for a reasonable profit margin when reselling these products especially at larger quantities.  Of course, the amount that you can mark a product up will vary based on several factors such the product itself, the quantity you’re buying, the level of customization and your competitors prices.  Nonetheless, for many products, there can be ample profit margins even when competing against larger retailers.  For example, at the time of this writing, a major discount retailer’s website is advertising a 25 ounce stainless steel water bottle for $19.99.  The same style stainless steel water bottle can be purchased through a promotional product distributor for $7.99 for as few as 50 bottles or $5.00 for  500 bottles.

Tip #1:  Because Promotional Products are priced based on quantity purchased, retailers should ask their distributors what the price points are for any product being considered.  If you’re planning to purchase 100 ceramic coffee mugs at $3 each but there’s a price break at a quantity of 144 for $2, it makes sense to buy more cups than you originally planned.

Tip #2:  Ensure you consider the cost of shipping.  Often, a promotional product distributor will have multiple suppliers for any given product.   The costs of shipping can off-set savings from a more distant supplier.   Don’t pay 50 cents extra per item in shipping to save 25 cents in product cost by using a distant supplier!

Order and Inventory Quantities

While promo products are sold in bulk quantities, there are often relatively low minimum order quantities.  Retailers can benefit from these lower minimums as the basis of testing out new product offerings, offering a larger variety of options (colors, etc.) for any given product, as well as offering an expanded selection of products.   

Retailers, especially smaller businesses, should consider purchasing lower initial order quantities even at the slightly higher prices in order to assess customer interest and sales potential.   Follow up with larger order quantities for products based on demonstrated sales potential.   Take a similar approach when introducing new colors or expanded product offerings.  Note that when reordering the exact same imprint on the same products, there is typically no additional set up charge so the only incremental cost of this approach is the higher unit cost of the lower order quantities.  This approach, however, will limit risks associated with carrying a larger inventory of a slower moving product.   

Tip #3:  Ask your distributor if you can purchase an assortment of colors for your initial order to assess both the product and various colors.  While such assortments are not offered by all suppliers or on all products, some suppliers will even allow you to choose specific colors for the assortment.

Artwork & Customization

Customize the products with unique artwork to further distinguish the products from your competitors.  Consumers are increasingly purchasing products based on the imprinted designs or messages incorporated on the product.  Trendy, eye-catching graphics as well as inspirational, humorous or motivational messages can make an average product very unique and appealing.

Retailers have long embraced this concept when it comes to products like imprinted T-shirts and caps, but have often neglected to consider the potential for other apparel and non-apparel products.   More recently, many retailers are recognizing the potential with expanded offerings using screen printed designs on polo shirts and fleece.  Some are even introducing designs on outerwear like windshirts, rain jackets and coats.   

Don’t just focus on apparel; look at opportunities to incorporate custom designs on other products as well.   While most promotional products offer some level of customization, the extent varies from product to product.   Stainless Steel, Aluminum and BPA-Free Plastic Water Bottles are especially customizable with a near-360 degree imprint areas which can be screened with eye catching artwork and messages.  There are an increasing number of totes which can be customized with full-color artwork as well. 

Tip #4:  Consider using mixed media designs incorporating unique screen print techniques, appliqués, laser etching and/or embroidery.  

Tip #5:  Newer businesses should proceed cautiously with applying your own logo on products for resale.  While products featuring a business’s logo are great for promotions and branding, businesses will often need to develop a more loyal following from clientele in order to sell customers products with their logo.  There are some exceptions to this rule:  businesses with an especially eye catching logo as well as certain businesses such as bars and restaurants which more quickly develop such followings. 

Brand Your Products

Help build your brand with each sale.  There are a variety of ways to further build your brand even without prominently displaying your company’s logo on each shirt or product.  How often have we seen people look at other people’s tags to see who made a shirt?   Consider having custom apparel tags made and sewn into your resale garments.  In particular, those garments which you’ve customized with your own designs should include garment tags to remind the wearer where the garment came from.  

A major supplier of promotional sports bottles just introduced a great line of branding options for customers ranging from customized hang tags to business card and book mark inserts which can be designed to mirror the design on the bottles.  These tags can be particularly useful when products are given as gifts to ensure that the recipient has insight as to where the product was purchased. 

Finally, consider custom packaging.  Packages can make quite an impression… remember the cow pattern boxes of a major personal computer manufacturer?   While most brick and mortar retailers have their logo imprinted on shopping bags, many on-line retailers overlook the opportunity to further their brand with packaging.  If budgets are tight, consider something as simple as logo stickers to apply to packages.  Then pursue customized primary and secondary packaging as budgets improve.  For high end businesses, look at furthering your high end brand image with logo embossed stickers, logo imprinted tissue paper or logo imprinted ribbon.

Tip #6:  Make the package part of your product to further distinguish the product from your competitor’s and build your brand.  Many products have customized package options designed specifically for that product.  Just as the perceived value of jewelry is enhanced by a nice jewelry box, the same is true of other products.  For example, there’s some great triangular, flat, square and tube shaped pen boxes available.   In many cases, a high quality package will be retained and reused (e.g. as a keepsake box, etc.) for years to come.

Originally, Memorial Day was called Decoration Day.  No, not because of the decorating that’s done for the Memorial Day Bar-B-Ques.  Rather, Memorial Day was first enacted by local communities as a memorial to those who died while serving the Union in the Civil War.  In 1967, Memorial Day became a federal holiday to remember those who died serving their country in the military. 

While there continues to be many Memorial Day events focused on remembering those who were lost while serving the country, many people have come to simply view the holiday as an opportunity for a family picnic or Bar-B-Que event.  With the on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no time better than the present to renew the original meaning of the holiday.  That’s not to say that we cannot both remember those lost while also celebrating the freedom that they have helped us to obtain and retain.  In fact, it may be the best tribute to those who died serving their country to both recognize them and the cause for which they gave so dearly.

When planning an event for Memorial Day, whether it’s a large corporate or organization activity or a small family gathering, organizers and participants should pursue a balance of remembrance and celebration.  This is especially important to help today’s youth appreciate the true meaning of the holiday.  Regardless of the type of event you’re planning for the holiday, there are ways to incorporate the spirit of remembrance and embrace the significance of this Memorial Day.  Here’s a few examples:

• Festivals & Flags:   While many will attend local festivals and fairs for the holiday, why not start out the day taking your group to a National Cemetery or military cemetery to place small flags on gravesites.   Since most military cemeteries observe this tradition, contact the cemetery in advance about volunteering to support their efforts.  Another option is to visit other local cemeteries and place small flags on graves displaying headstones indicating that the deceased had served in the military.  Military service is often included on headstones even at public and private cemeteries. 
• Meals & Memorials:  A lot of people will travel to friends and relatives homes for a Memorial Day Bar-B-Que.  Why take your family on a slight detour on the way to the Bar-B-Que and stop by a local war memorial to pay your respects.  Bring a flag or flowers (especially Poppies) to leave at the memorial.   Families with small children might even create a poster or card using markers, colors and patriotic stickers to further engage them in understanding the spirit of the holiday.  Consider contacting local military bases about hosting service men to join your group for the day.
• Picnics & Pictures:  Whether it’s a small or large picnic, invite people to bring pictures of family members, friends and loved ones who died serving their country whether it was recently or decades ago.  Invite them to bring other articles as well, like loved one’s medals, awards and even clothing to become part of the event’s memorial display.  Include note pads or cards for people to write personal messages of remembrance.  Consider putting out a patriotic styled jar or decorate a container to collect donations for a local vetrans group.
• Luaus and Leis:  Whether it is a Luau or a volleyball tournament, beaches are popular destinations for Memorial Day in coastal locations.  Consider including an American Flag at your beach site and give participants real or silk flower Leis which they can then lay at the base of the flag pole as a memorial to the country’s fallen heroes.  
• Baseball & Caps:  Sporting events are very popular Memorial Day activities.  Why not gather your group together before the event to participate in a moment of silence to remember those who served their country and give them a customized patriotic cap or light up lapel pin with a “Always Remember” message.  As a reminder, a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 PM local time on Memorial Day.
• Symphony & Scarfs:  Some events may not lend themselves to flashing pins and baseball caps.  Nonetheless, there are some subtle ways to show your patriotism even if you’re attending a symphony or theatre performance.  A patriotic silk scarf, a flag lapel pin or a “God Bless Our Troops” lapel pin could be great ways to show your patriotism at such events along with a stop afterward to a site flying the American Flag (like most government facilities have) for a moment of reflection.  As a reminder, US flags are traditionally flown at half-staff from dawn to noon local time on Memorial Day!

Regardless of the way Memorial Day is celebrated find a way to remember those who gave their lives to protect our freedom!

Awards, Rewards and Incentives are effective tools to motivate employees.  However, if you’re company is still employing an “Employee of the Month” (or quarter, or year) program, it’s time to step into the 21^st century.  Back in the day, it seemed that every company used a cookie cutter of reward programs including:

• Employee of the Month, Quarter and/or Year:  These awards often came with a plaque or certificate, a monetary award and a parking space.  Often, supervisors struggled with figuring out who they were going to select for the award.  Employees were often at a loss to understand why the recipient was selected, often relying on the “bosses pet” presumption. 
• Employee Suggestion Program:  The idea here was to reward employees for suggestions to reduce costs and improve efficiencies.  Often, these programs had the potential for significant monetary awards based on the anticipated savings.  Unfortunately, they often lead to employees’ infighting the source of an idea.  Management spent an inordinate amount of time assessing suggestions and refereeing.  The results of infighting often lingered long after awards were paid.
• Service Awards:  These awards were based on years of service and often came in the form of a Lapel Pins, potentially progressing to a larger award after 20 or 25 years of service.  Back in the day, Service Awards usually started with the 5^th anniversary of employment which means that many of today’s employees would never have earned a service award since an increasing number of employees change jobs more frequently.

As times change, companies need to recognize that what motivated employees back when they worked for the same employer for 40+ years may not be effective motivators today.   Unfortunately, the loyalty that existed between employee and companies (both directions, I might add) doesn’t exist to the same extent today as it did then.  This is evident by companies that never had lay-offs resorting to such measures in the recent recession as well as by employees changing jobs much more readily as they search for a more suitable position, greater opportunities or just greener grass.  The stigma of frequent job changes has dissipated to and today’s entrants to the workforce seem to care more about job satisfaction and opportunities than about longevity, tenacity and job security.   Appreciation and acknowledgement of one’s efforts can significantly influence job satisfaction.  It is time to relook at Employee Incentive Programs. 

Employers need to recognize that incentive programs are very effective tools to motivate employees when used appropriately.  Some key attributes of an effective award program in today’s society include:

Know What Deserves To Be Rewarded

Instead of arbitrary awards like service awards (which, tradition may preclude eliminating), the focus should be on identifying key attributes of a valued employee and rewarding those attributes.   These attributes will vary depending on the role of the employee.   For example, interpersonal skills may not be as important for a software developer as they are for a receptionist.   In addition, companies need to recognize that they need to value different attributes even within similar roles.  While it is great to have a high-profile barn burner on your team, you also need to the low-profile workhorse since not every effort is going to be in the spot light.  Companies need to identify the employee attributes they value in the following areas:

• Behavior – Yes, that friendly outgoing receptionist who greets every person who walks through the door and manages to do so with a smile and helpful disposition deserves to be rewarded for their behavior.  You might say, “it’s their personality, their not doing anything special”.  The point is, you value that personality and want to retain it.  Let them know you value their work!
• Performance – There are some employees who do the work of 2, 3 or even 4 other employees.  This is the customer service representative that steps up to the plate and get things done.  They’re on top of the work, proactive and highly productive.  Okay, you might find some typos in the massive volume of work they put out… but keep things in perspective.  They may not be supporting the prestigious account but they are keeping the difficult client happy and putting out fires along the way.  Often, they’re the ones overlooked because they’re too busy to hype themselves and because they keep things moving so smoothly that their contributions may be underestimated.  They may be employees misclassified as “workaholics,” as if they like working 14 hour days.  Reward them now, or pay the price later when you have to hire multiple people to replace them.
• Potential – Some employee may not be star performers… yet, but you can see that they have that potential.  Maybe they just need more experience or to further refine some skills.  You’re willing and able to invest in their development through mentoring, training or just time.  If you’re willing to make that investment, be willing to reward them for the progress made along the way or risk losing your investment and their potential.
• Results– These is the attributes that management can easily acknowledge as being worthy of  rewards.  The key is to not only follow through on those awards but to do so in a timely manner.    These attributes are associated with employees that solve the big problems, develop new products, land new clients and make the sales.   Don’t be so caught up in the celebration of their results that you forget to reward them for their role in making it happen and don’t let weeks or month pass before you do so. 

Of course, employee’s contributions don’t typically fall into just one of these categories.  An engineer who is performance driven may also be a great mentor which is a behavior that warrants acknowledgement.  That receptionist who’s behavior is essential to the image of your office may also step up to the plate in a pinch and deliver results on a special project. 

Know When to Give Rewards

Rewards and awards don’t have to be high dollar items but they do need to be timely.  If your company has a lengthy approval process to give an employee a reward, then it’s time to change your processes.   To motivate employees, the acknowledgement of their contributions needs to occur close to the timing of those contributions warranting the award.   It will then be clear to both the recipient as well as other employees why the award was given.  If it happens two months later, the opportunity will be lost.  It’s like hearing a hilarious joke during happy hour and then waiting two weeks to roar with laughter in a business meeting.  It almost seems inappropriate and looses it’s effect! 

So, when do you acknowledge employees efforts with an award or reward?  While it can be obvious when an event occurs that warrants a Results driven award, it may not be so clear for the other categories unless you’re looking for it.  

• Behavior:  When you see an employee conduct themselves in an exceptional manner that you wish everyone would mimic, reward it!  This is especially true for when an employee handles a difficult situation exceptionally well… like the employee who not only maintains composure dealing with a difficult customer but who can bring that customer around.  Do it on the spot, not days later.
• Performance:  When employees are pushed to work long days or weekends in support of a key deadline or to cope with an exceptional workload, acknowledge their effort with an award as soon as the deadline is met. 
• Potential:  If you want people to build on their potential, reward them when they demonstrate progress by completing a course, mastering a new skill or completing a challenging assignment.   This should go beyond a “certificate of completion” that will end up in a drawer somewhere and should coincide with each course or milestone completed.
• Results:  While it may seem obvious, reward employees’ results within days of their accomplishment not the next month or quarter.

Know What To Give As A Reward

Aside from having a process that avoids a lengthy approval process for incentives, you have to have to awards and rewards readily available to provide timely acknowledgements.   What type of timely awards, reward and incentives are appropriate for a time-sensitive, 21^st Century Employee Motivation Program?  Here’s some considerations:

• The old stand-bys:
  • Certificates:  As a primary form of acknowledgement, forget it.   Look around your employees’ offices and cubicles and see just how many of them display all their certificates.  Save a tree… and the plastic frame. 
  • Plaques:  Avoid the standard wood plaque with an engraved metal plate.  There are more up-to-date, trendy, and eye-catching plaques that employees will be proud to display.  Get something bold, trendy and intriguing.
  • Awards:  Gone are the days of the little metal figure standing on a pedestal… or, at least, they’ve all been stuck in the back of a file drawer somewhere.  There are now some really great artistic awards that are more like works of art than awards.  These are pieces employees will be proud to display.
  • Money:  Money is always welcome by employees but be careful.  It attaches a monetary value to the award which is immediately comparable to other awards.  Financial awards can become a greater source of contention among employees than an equivalent value incentive type award.   Keep the money in the bonus program instead.
• Newer options:
  • Music Download Cards:  These days, nearly everyone’s has an iPod or MP3 player.   For a quick award, why not have a stack of music download cards on hand.  The number of downloads per card can be specified by the company.   
  • Movie, Event and Venue Tickets:  Like the music downloads, movie tickets and sporting event or amusement park admissions can be purchased in bulk and kept on hand.  Distribute them in packs of at least 2 or 4 tickets to allow for employees to bring family or friends. 
  • Corporate Logo Items:  Employees can be rewarded with various corporate gifts featuring the company’s logo ranging from imprinted sports bottles and customized travel cups to custom logo computer bags and embroidered jackets.  Of course, don’t reward them with something you’re readily handing out at the receptionist desk.
  • Gift Baskets:  Gift baskets are great options because they can be customized rather quickly to suite the specific circumstances.  Gift baskets can include both food and non-food products, including company logo products. 
  • Gift Cards:  Like downloads and movie tickets, gift cards can be kept on-hand in varying amounts and can be redeemed for a variety of things from dinner to electronics.   Because the monetary value of a gift card is obvious,  gift cards present the same potential issues as giving money .
  • Corporate Awards Program:  Corporate Awards Programs provide employees with a merchandise catalog from which to select an award.  Catalogs are available at varying levels corresponding to an undisclosed value thereby avoiding issues associated with the monetization of awards.
  • Company Points Program:  Companies can create a custom reward program providing employees with customized redemption cards or custom coins worth a specific point value redeemable through the business’ on-line Company Store.  Employees may redeem points immediately or save and combine for a higher level award.  Company’s can specify the awards available on their company store.  These may include logo products as well as brand name merchandise.   
  • Reward Scratchers:  For a fun and unique option, custom scratch off cards could be used as part of a rewards program.  Supervisors could reward employee with the scratchers.  Cards could include prizes ranging from free music downloads to a large screen  television as a grand prize.  As an alternative, the Reward Scratcher could be used in conjunction with a Company Point Program.