Green Promos in Time for Earth Day
I am a huge fan of environmentally friendly promotional items. I am also a fan of socially friendly items that only come from areas and manufacturers who take the time to check on the quality and also verify the products are being made in a socially acceptable facility. All too often products are coming from factories half a world away with little concern for product and labor safety.
Just in time for April comes the release of several recycled promotional items that actually have great looks and are built off of previously successful models. The Recycled Cotton Expo Tote features strong handles and is made from recycled cotton. Built off of the hit Expo model this tote has a large carrying capacity and can double as a shopping bag. The Recycled Cotton Zippered Tote keeps true to the namesake by having a solid and smooth zipper and enormous storage capacity. What I like about this tote is that you can use the multi color imprint method from Gem that keeps costs down over traditional multiple color imprint methods. With the constant barrage of commercials today from the major shopping chains promoting reusable shopping bags there has been great demand for products such as the Recycled Cotton Market Bag which has 22" handles that can be used over the shoulder or as a traditional arm carrying. For those looking for a little more color in a tote the Accent Tote provides several exciting colors and multiple decoration locations. There is even the opportunity to decorate with embroidery which is somewhat rare in the lower price range.
The economy continues to stumble with no clear sign of a recovery in sight. The markets took a beating today due to continued fear about the automobile industry and the potential for eventual failure. Combined with poor data from around the World the equity markets slumped over three percent. There is little hope for an immediate recovery but the idea continues to be promoted of a recovery in the second half of 2009. Although this seems somewhat plausible one has to keep in mind the millions of jobs lost and the jobs we continue to shed each week. With home prices continuing to coast down and with so many out of work the drag on the economy will continue to be severe. Efforts to promote the economy and spending will include tax breaks on car purchases, overall tax breaks and even home purchase rebates. The problem ultimately is that with so much of the world suffering through difficult economic times there is little hope for meaningful recovery soon. As I discussed in Marketing Your Way Through A Recession the best course of action for many will be to continue to aggressively market their businesses in these tough times.
Marketing Your Way Through A Recession
Recessions can provide a unique opportunity to build your business and market share but requires a level of planning and patience. Under most theories economic slowdowns require rapid and measured budget cutbacks. However these actions are contrary to what you would need to do in order to grow your business and proportional market share.
Instead consider expanding your promotional and marketing budgets during downturns such as the one we are in currently. Your competitors are probably cutting back and spending less money while cutting staff. Pick up any newspaper and it is full of stories involving cancelled trade shows, conventions and other corporate retreats. In some cases it's necessitated by a business in jeopardy of failing but in other cases it is the result of over compensation to perceived market conditions. If finances allow these periods can be full of opportunity for your business as you fill a void being left by your competition. While they are spending less to keep and capture new clients any dollars you spend will go further and have less direct marketing competition on the other end.
The American Marketing Association has a multitude of information on their site as do groups such as the Direct Marketing Association for those looking for general marketing information. If you are looking for promotional product information PPAI is a great place to start. Taking it a step further there are various vendor websites end users can browse such as Sweda and sites such as Ashworth. Most of these manufacturers are prohibited by agreement from selling to direct end users and instead use a network of local distributors which you can generally find by browsing their sites.
Take the opportunity as it presents itself and get a head start on the recovery. Most of the recent economic data points to the economy now being in the trough and showing the beginning stages of recovery. Now is the time to increase your marketing efforts and make new contacts.