When Was The Last Time You Did Something For The Very First Time?

Interesting question that isn’t it? It certainly made me stop in my tracks – engage brain – and give it some serious thought…… how about you?

When was the last time you did something for the first time

As any regular readers may know, some of my best ‘interactions’ come to me when I’m engaged in some social drinking, and this time’s no different. I was in a bar with some chums, and one of them asked me, straight out, “So, when was the last time you did something for the first time – and I bet it was some time ago” – WOW – this was a question that didn’t have ‘ready made’ answers, it was a question that demanded some thought. Were they right? Was it some time ago?

Now, the question is designed to get you thinking outside of your comfort zone, the point of the exercise, to coin a phrase, must be that:
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got”

So, how are you doing? Have you done something for the first time recently?

For me, I had had a BIG moment in the very same week that I was asked that question – it was a seriously engaging business challenge I was faced with, that caused me to do something unique. This blog probably isn’t the right place to share that with the world (some business issues are sensitive after all), but I DID share it with my chums in the bar. The interesting thing is that I wasn’t proud of what I had done. I saw it purely as a necessary/commercial decision – a tough one, and one that I hope I never have to make again, but not something to boast about. My chums, on the other hand were most impressed by my actions and thought it showed real character.

My Top Ten Tips for Choosing a Keyring

Top Ten Tips for Printed Keyrings

It’s a rare sight to see a key without a keyring isn’t it? A bit like ‘love and marriage’ and horse and carriage’ – they go together so well, you rarely see them apart. Thus – you have the makings of a powerful corporate gift.

Keyrings are consistently in our ‘Top Ten Best Selling Promotional Gifts’ lists, so using one as a promotional give-away ticks all the right boxes.

Have a read of my top ten tips before you make a purchase.

1
Nearly all keyrings – by their very nature, are pretty small – so think carefully about what you want to have branded onto them. If it fits – we’ll get it on there for you, but if you have a huge logo that won’t reduce down in size, or need to publish a complicated message to the world, maybe a keyring isn’t the right product for you?

2

Not all keyrings are equal – some are perfect as a low cost give-away, whilst others will be perceived as a ‘gift’. The golden rule with all promotional gifts is who, what, when, where, how and why – when you can answer those questions, you’ll then know which type of keyring to purchase.

3

Branding in full colour reduces your options. Choice number one should be acrylic keyrings. Yes they’ve been around a long time, but they’re still here because they’re effective so don’t overlook them. Another popular method for getting full colour onto a keyring is the ‘epoxy domed‘ style.

4

Why not get a keyring with a ‘gift’ attached to it? One of our top-selling lines is a keyring/bottle opener – would that work for you?

5

The ultimate attachment? It has to be a USB memory stick!!

6

Metal keyrings just have that ‘feel’ about them don’t they? We have some in our range where we can even engrave individual names for you – and at no additional cost

7

Our Logo Keyfobs have been a best-seller for years, and as a low cost, colourful give-away they take some beating. We can even sequentially number them for you making them perfect for prize draws and raffles.

8

Why not consider our pound coin keyrings?

9

If your target market is ‘motorbike riders’ – make sure the keyring doesn’t scratch. Unlike in a car the keyring on a motorbike will often dangle against the fuel tank and frequent use of a metal or hard plastic keyring will cause damage to the paintwork.

10

Need a unique shape? Our range of PVC keyrings means you can have almost any shape/colour you want.

Evidence that Promotional Gifts bring a ROI

The newest research from the bpma indicates that Promotional Merchandise delivers results, that’s why big brands have increased their spend on this marketing medium.

The survey was commissioned by the bpma and individual interviews were carried out by an independent research agency to a 1000 respondents, the results of which were published in Spring 2013. Sectors represented in the survey included finance and IT, retail, services, insurance, charity and education.

See – I told you it worked!!!!!

Promotional Product Effectiveness

Five Things ANYONE Can Do On Twitter

I often get asked – “how do I get started on Twitter’?, or ‘how do you get people to connect with you on Twitter’? And you know, it’s not difficult at all to get started, and once you get going, if you follow these five simple tips, you’ll soon be making headway.

Tip 1: Make it personal. If it’s about ‘you’, why not let us see ‘you’ with a personal photo, but don’t whatever you do, leave that lazy boy ‘egg’ avatar in place. Most folk are deeply suspicious of bios that leave the egg in place – not an auspicious start to connecting with folk.

Tip 2: Spend some time editing and then re-editing your Twitter ‘bio’. Why are you on Twitter? Who do you want to connect with? Maybe put a link to your website here too. The go back, read it, and do yet another re-edit!!

Tip 3: Post as often or as little as you choose – post about whatever you choose, but please post something. It can’t be beyond you to post daily can it? Ask the world a question – or tell the world something – go on, open up a little bit.

Tip 4: Always check for comments under the ‘@’ button – this is where you’ll see what folk are saying to you, or about you, on Twitter. Read what’s been said, and reply, engage, show the world that you’re a human being. If you see someone’s re-tweeted you, say ‘thank you’ – you were always taught to do that weren’t you!!

Tip 5: Do a search on Twitter for folk that you want to connect with, or even folk simply discussing stuff that interests you – and, when you find them, engage with them. If they’re tweeting things that you consider to be good reading or reference material, why not re-tweet them? You’re sure to make connections, and it’s friendly!

Trade Secrets – Promotional Coffee Coasters

I know what you’re thinking – ‘what on earth is there that’s a ‘secret’ about a simple coffee coaster’? Well, believe it or not, there’s a few things I can tell you, that could make a BIG difference to your buying experience when you find yourself considering the options available to you within this sector of the promotional gifts market.

Promotional Coffee Coasters

My company, RT Promotions, has a fairly comprehensive range of coasters on offer on our website, in excess of fifty in fact. They range from cheap and cheerful paper coasters, to plastic, acrylic, PVC, metal, leather, vinyl, gnalvic and glass – and I’ve probably missed a few!!! They all have their particular features – some can be printed onto in full colour, whilst others can only be printed in ‘spot colours’, some can even be embossed or engraved. But, I can hear you ask – what about the secrets??

The secrets come into play, when I consider what the coasters WONT do….

I’ll give you an example. There’s a promotional coffee coaster on the market, that’s been a best seller for years. My company has sold tens of thousands of them – and we’ve not had one single complaint. The manufacturer claims the coasters to be ‘virtually indestructible under normal use’, but I always warn my customers not to get them too wet. A bit odd don’t you think? A coffee coaster is going to get wet, spillages are going to occur, after all, that’s partly what they’re designed for isn’t it, to keep the spillages away from your desk or table? So here’s the secret, this particular coaster will be destroyed if placed in the washing up bowl. It will probably be irreversibly damaged if liquids are allowed to get under the base – and yet, it’s claimed to be ’virtually indestructible under normal use’….. I must emphasise, the coaster has a lot going for it. It offers great colour reproduction, and is available at a great price. When I have customers visit my showroom, they almost always select this particular coaster from amongst the many samples we show them, and even when the clients are made aware of the coaster’s weakness, they usually proceed to purchase it regardless – but I often wonder how many people buying this coasters from other promotional gift suppliers are made aware of these facts in advance?

My favourite secret regarding a promotional coaster though is about the coaster that distorts and bubbles when you place a hot drink onto it!!! Can you believe it, a coaster that’s readily available, but which breaks when used for it’s intended purpose!!! I’ve removed this particular coaster from sale, it’s no longer on my company website, BUT – it’s still available from other companies, and being sold in the thousands.

Trade secrets eh? But then again, that’s the point about talking to my company – talk to seasoned experts in promotional products, and you’ll be advised properly.

Is Your Glass Half Full?

I don’t know about you, but I get just a little bit fed up with all the doom and gloom I keep hearing on the news…..

Glass Half Full

Maybe I’m just lucky to be working in an industry where the clients I speak to are nearly always ‘upbeat’, where new businesses want to talk to me about promotional gifts, and established businesses have made the decision to exhibit at a trade show and need some give-aways and corporate clothing for their staff to wear.

Or maybe I’m a ‘glass half-full’ kind of guy?

For sure, most of my clients tell me business is tough – but they also tell me business is good.

I wonder – is there’s a connection between all this, and the fact that these same customers  can see the benefits in continuing to promote their businesses during difficult times?

Makes you wonder….

How Do You Recognise Your Own Unique Skills?

I’ve been pondering on this question for a while. Ever since I heard a presentation from a guy called Gary May. he runs a business called ‘Salesology‘, which is all about helping people and companies, realise their sales potential. Well, during his short presentation, he challenged the group to consider “Ten things You Should Consider When Purchasing (insert your product or services here)”.

The idea here is that you create a list of things, your customers should consider, when they’re about to make a purchase. The point of course, is that aside from being honest, it should focus on the ‘uniqueness’ of your products or service offering, something that your competitors probably don’t have, or at least if they do, they wont have all TEN of them. The challenge is this: every single one of the people in the the same group I was in, that heard the exact same presentation, ALL said – “what a brilliant idea, I’ll go away and work on those ten things right now” – and yet here we are, maybe five months later, and not a single one of them has done it yet.

I believe it’s mostly because they are struggling with understanding their ‘uniqueness’. What we’re really saying is, “why do people buy off of you, and not your competitors”? It’s really tough to blow your own trumpet isn’t it? So I say this, go talk to some close associates, people who truly understand your business, and ask them to tell you. After you’ve done that, why not ask your customers? You might be surprised at what you hear!!