Promotional Coolers Carry Your Message All Year
When most people think of buying promotional coolers they think of them as a summer item. Truth is they are one of the most widely used promotional items throughout the winter because they are often taken with the end user on vacations. When they are not being used on vacations during the colder seasons they often end up by the pool, next to a beach chair or while camping. These are all ideal locations for someone to discuss the logo or message on the cooler and for people to ask more about where the item was purchased.
Gemline has long been one of the industry leaders in custom coolers. This month they have released a series of new products geared towards the budget minded shopper but also looking for a quality promotional cooler. Starting at the lower end of the cooler spectrum the Catalyst Lunch Cooler has all the benefits of other mainstream corporate coolers but comes in at a lower price and with more colors available. One of the real limitations in past years has been the fact that most coolers were available in black of blue. Gemline was one of the first to market with vibrant colors and has continued that this season. In addition they are one of the first to market kid friendly promotional products that are actually CPSIA certified with PDF certificate files available for download on their site. Like the earlier model the Laguna Lunch Cooler has the same certifications and is also made from people safe non-PVC lining. What I like about all of their coolers is the construction which usually involves heat welded seams which hopes to keep the cold in and more importantly melted ice on the inside so your car or house does not end up soaked.
Gemline has gotten particularly aggressive with the mid-year launch after contracting the number of products heading in 2010. It is possible we will see more items released as the year goes along. Unlike some of the other major manufacturers such as Leeds and Bullet Line which continue to suffer from inventory problems Gemline is poised to deliver products in a timely fashion as we cruise into July and August. When you are comparing coolers and especially coolers that may be given to children the fifty cents you may save on the bargain brand may backfire when your client realizes you saved a few cents and in turn sacrificed their safety. Giving customers a potentially dangerous cooler does not relay a message of caring about their business. When looking for your next promotional cooler give Gemline a good long look.
Promotional Products Industry Plagued By Inventory Problems
One of the major challenges facing the promotional products industry as we head into the middle of 2010 is the absolute lack of inventory available from major ASI suppliers. This is mainly the result of poor planning or inability to see the return of the economy in the first months of the year. But it is also partially attributable to problems with cargo containers leaving Asia. That leaves distributors in the difficult position of not being able to provide new products to customers.
And there are a good amount of new products hitting the market this month. Leeds a division of Polyconcepts has launched an entire umbrella line. One of their newer offerings the 41" Classic Folding Umbrella is the very first custom printed umbrella Leeds has ever offered. This is one of the first major leaps for Polyconcepts into a new market since they launched their technology line several years ago. The umbrellas are scheduled to arrive in the coming days and as of this point there are no reports of difficulties in transit. Meanwhile over at Bullet Line which is another division of the same parent company they have expanded their custom caps line. Do you remember the big foam hats with a mesh back that were so popular thirty years ago? They are back with a vengeance and the Solid Cotton Twill Trucker Cap is one of the additions to the offering this year. Almost all of these hats and caps include custom embroidery in up to 7500 stitches which will cover almost all users. A nice aspect off the foam hat is it presents a large decoration area, almost a billboard for that matter on the front.
It remains to be seen whether or not the big players in the industry will have problems with freight as the year goes along. We should also be clear on another point. It is not that the containers are totally unavailable it is that the prices have gone up so much for immediate shipments as they bring capacity back online that some manufacturers are electing to wait it out. In some ways you cannot blame them if the alternative is shipping products that will eventually result in a loss or diminished profit. Combined with what were some of the higher fuel prices in the past few years once products arrived in the States there is no choice for some producers but to wait it out. Several of the major players have taken the time to write to their distributors explaining the shortages and this has gone a long way to repairing relationships and it also helps distributors maintain honest relationships with their end user clients.
As many of you may have read Google has announced that Caffeine is complete. Like so many others online I have noticed a steady decline in the quality of search results. One can only hope that in the coming weeks and months they fine tune this new product to bring it up to earlier higher standards.
Simple Marketing Efforts Sometimes Effective
Day in and day out we are hit with advertising messages that are at times becoming so complex they are flying above the heads of the intended markets. Although these types of "thinking" marketing efforts can be very effective they have their place and time. With the economy the way it is today even organizations that are doing very well are reluctant to spend money in a way that may be viewed as frivolous. Think of what happened with the major bank last year that was going on a golf outing while borrowing money to stay in business.
That leaves three real possibilities all of which have their advantages. First a business can elect to not advertise at all. Obvioiusly this is not the ideal approach to gain market share. A second option is simply to spend less. The promotional products market is being dominated right now by products like the Fuzz from Leeds. A couple of years ago nobody would have even taken a look at this product at the top firms. They would easily have passed it over for more premium items. Lint brushes are hardly the giveaway of choice for top executives but they will carry a logo and do it in an economical manner. Along the same lines the lightbulb keychain has all of the virtues associated with LED type keychains which can provide an end user with safety at night but is affordable and will not be viewed as breaking the bank. A final approach would be to replace an item used on a dialy basis such as the Leeds Double Wall Ceramic Tumbler which can be used in place of a regular coffee cup. The advantage of this type of approach is that it serves two purposes, first it reduces the cost to the end user employee or client and actually helps to decrease the amount of trash and second although it is a premium item it does not carry the baggage a high end leather or desk gift might.
Meanwhile the imaginary world our politicians live in continues to provide evidence on a daily basis that the disconnect grows. Treasury Secretary Geithner indicated on the Sunday talk shows that the economy is growing more rapidly than they expected. Of course he glossed over the 10% unemployment rate, growing commercial real estate problem and also increasing fuel prices. These are all factors that are going to continue to impact families and as a result will temper any recovery. Instead we will be left with a recovery that has fits and starts much like we saw at the end of 2009. In addition there appears to be no acknowledgement of the shift going on overseas. Instead of shipping products to the USA we are finding factories overseas are either holding containers or are shipping products elsewhere to economies that are recovering more rapidly than we are domestically.
To see more of the Leeds product line take a look at Leeds site. They offer over two thousand promotional products and the number continues to grow each day.
An Alternative Approach To Buying Green
The focus for Earth Day tends to be on buying recycled and other environmentally friendly products. Quite often very little time is given in consideration of where those products may be coming from or of the carbon footprint involved. Having some experience in this industry suffice to say there are gigantic problems with the promotional recycled business as it is now.
An alternative to buying an item that may be recycled from materials made half way around the planet is to buy a one trip item. By this we mean an item designed to degrade in the ground. The Biodegradable BPA Free Sport Bottle not only has the advantage of falling into the eco-friendly category but it does so at a much lower cost to the environment. Almost all of our current recycled promotional items manufactured by ASI suppliers are of questionable origins. The underlying first use products such as the water bottle are used domestically before being piled into containers. These containers often end up being loaded into larger containers before they are shipped to Asia. At that point they are recycled into new products which are then again shipped back to suppliers throughout the country. Rather than going through all that trouble and burning all that fuel it makes more sense instead to choose a product that will break down in a landfill at no additional cost to the environment. This particular bottle is one of the few we have come across that is also BPA free. Although the debate rages on about BPA there is no sense in having a product that contains it at this stage.
Last week witnessed some mediocre economic news. There are several reports due out this week that will shed a lot of additional light on how business is going. In our eyes it is pretty clear though that with job losses still mounting and gas prices also increasing there is little hope for a substantial recovery. Instead we are in a pattern once again of fits and starts as the economy grows for short periods after intervention from the government only to slow again later. We will begin daily updates on Monday and look forward to providing additional reviews.
Maintaining a Stainless Reputation More Difficult
A few years ago it was not all that difficult to maintain a solid reputation with your clients by simply taking orders and getting them out the door in a timely manner. During the high times of the last economic boom manufacturers were spending so much money on inventory they would spend months unloading out of program products. That all changed during the financial crisis and the net result is it is tougher today than it has been in many years to provide reliable service to your clients.
When providing a proposal to your client be sure to check and make sure the inventory is deep. If you are quoting a thousand piece order and the supplier only has a thousand pieces in stock your best bet is to find another product. Nothing screams amateur more than giving your client a product to select and then having to go back and tell them it is out of stock. Take the Colorband Stainless Bottle which is made in three colors. All of these colors are available to the point of several thousand in immediate inventory. Surely you cannot control quick and unexpected shortfalls but there are enough color options and enough pieces in each that you should be safe even if it takes a week to decide. With deep availability in the same three colors the Leeds Deco Band Stainless Bottle is another choice that will provide you and your client with some level of security in the coming weeks and months. If you are researching large orders you may want to even check with the manufacturer to check into overseas production at a discount. Be aware though that there are some significant difficulties getting containers across from Asia as prices have skyrocketed. In either case please remember to check inventory before recommending a product to your customer. Almost all of the major vendors provide instant public access to this information so there is no excuse for leading your client down the wrong path.
Apple announced the release of their 4.0 software this Summer. Hopefully it will take care of some of the existing problems such as the voice control issue I discussed earlier. It is likely that the introduction of multi-tasking may get around the issue entirely as it would no longer overtake the other controls. At the same time news of initial sales of their newest product have been strong but whether or not that continues in the weeks ahead remains to be seen.
Insulating Business Growth with Ceramics
By now we all know that the economy is only slowly starting to recover after millions lost their jobs and businesses closed all over the country. Billions have come out of the economy and as a result spending for less than vital projects such as promotional advertising have been trimmed. Aside of the few businesses directly tied into major contracts with the government most other organizations have kept spending to a minimum.
That does not mean a popular or exciting product will go ignored. Take for example the 11 Ounce Double Wall Ceramic Mug which was released this year by Hit. There have been several other suppliers that have released similar products but what differentiates this offering from Hit is the fact that they actually have sufficient stock to sell during the busy season. With dual wall insulation your hands are protected and your drink stays warm or cold. Another interesting release is the Flexi-Vase which is something we have never seen before in the industry. It is a combination flower vase and paper weight that folds completely flat when not in use but is water tight as soon as it is filled. This is an ingenious idea and one that someone should patent as it eliminates the hassle of trying to store a bulk vase under the sink or in a cabinet. Another important attribute of the vase is that it is resistant to breaking which is important for a hospital or other similar facilities. Both of these products demonstrate that a popular or innovative product will sell even in a bad economy.
As I discussed yesterday the problems with my current phone continue to mount. Today it went off into voice control no less than seven times in the course of two hours. The only thing that seems to help is a hard reset. If others have any ideas I am all ears but at this point I am resigned to the fact that my expensive smart phone is one of the dumbest devices I have ever purchased. I talked awhile back about major retailers providing examples of poor customer service but today it appears a major international manufacturer is providing the best example of terrible service. With all the hype surrounding the new iPad I can only wonder how many deficiencies it will ship with and how tolerant customers will continue to be in that situation. Look for further discussions in the next few days regarding new and popular products.
Keeping The Message Cool
There are literally hundreds of thousands of ways to get your marketing message out to the general public and your customer base. Very few executives consider the timeliness of providing your message on a medium that is delivered at the right point in time so as to maximize your return on investment. Quite often in the advertising specialties industry clients are directed not towards the hottest item but instead the most available.
With millions out of work that means even those employed may have someone at home heading to the park this summer. The Family Picnic Cooler Set works as both a functional day to day cooler because the wine portion can be substituted with the new 2 liter soda bottles and as a more upscale weekend cooler for contemporary adults. For those looking for a more practical solution to your summer cooling needs while recognizing the tighter budgets of today the PolyPro Insulated Tote is made from earth friendly materials, can be washed and is available in a multiple colors. The beauty of polypro is that it allows manufacturers to deliver a greater set of features and a larger unit footprint than other materials. If you are looking to provide a recognized brand the California Innovations 12-Can Cooler Sling is a multi faceted bag with PEVA lining. Whenever possible you want to request PEVA lining as it is far safer than earlier liner materials that were made with potentially dangerous substances.
Coolers provide a unique opportunity to not only touch the initial end user but in the case of family oriented coolers thousands of other potential clients. A cardinal mistake that we see many clients making is excluding their number or web address from the logo print area. Any other form of advertising would come with critical contact information. Unless you are major local, regional or national business there is an excellent chance your target audience will have no way of easily gathering your contact information. By placing a simple web address on your bag or directing your audience to the various social media sites you are maximizing your marketing efforts.
With the economy continuing to stutter slowly forward there is little doubt that we have endured one of the longest periods of stagnate economic growth in modern history. Despite historic involvement of the various governmental agencies many critical sectors are still unstable. Marketing budgets are still being trimmed and despite the rapid build in inventories and associated growth at the end of last year this year looks to be a struggle for many.
Two Tiered Memberships Lead to Angry Clients
Everyone is looking to save as much as they can with the bad economic news. Every bit helps and now more than ever your clients are more aware of piece prices and also any charges associated with orders. The same holds true in the regular world as consumers look to save on everything from coffee to cereal. Private label brands continue to outperform more expensive national brands as people try to extend their resources. Memberships in all types of civic organizations are suffering and charities are having some of their worst year in decades. Smart business owners are doubling their efforts to gain customers from weaker competitors but not all of their decisions make sense.
Take for instance the local fitness center that is struggling to increase their membership base as customers have moved to a newer less expensive nearby competitor and others have just decided there was no longer enough money in their personal budgets to pay dues. There are three ways this business could have made an effort to make up for the lost revenues. The first and easiest method would be to increase the per person revenue. In this setting that would be accomplished by extending the services offered such as opening a juice bar or adding equipment or classes that require additional fees. Other opportunities would exist in terms of selling promotional gear to clients but that ship has sailed so to speak and the days of "cool" gym gear are gone. Another option is to simply raise monthly rates which in good times might work but in the recession it would simply result in customers either forfeiting their memberships or going elsewhere. That leaves the third option which is the age old method of increasing sales which is to obtain new customers. This is easier said than done and most gyms have already exhausted potential clients in any given area. After newspaper ads have failed and signage in the streets have blown over the only way to draw people into the gym are special offers. The problem with any second tiered pricing strategy is that it will inevitably alienate the customers that have stayed with you all along.
In this case new customers off the street or those that have been gone for a few months are rewarded with paying one third of what steady clients are required to pay. It may increase sales initially but it will create a significant amount of negativity amongst old members and will cause some to outright leave and go to other facilities. The only way to pull off this type of discounted membership is to offer existing clients something in return which is either a discount on premium classes or at the juice bar. Perhaps giving them a piece of clothing with the gym logo would also help but all too often the gym owners blinded by the influx of what will mostly turn out to be short term customers see the money coming in the door without realizing they have won the battle but lost the war. Newspapers are littered with stories of these types of programs going bad and facilities vanishing. In fact many States have now adopted laws that protect citizens with insurance in the case that a facility were to vanish.
Consider your sales activities closely and weigh the possibility that an existing client may not view it as favorably as new clients. In the end it is customer retention that will keep you profitable not new customers constantly jumping from vendor to vendor shopping only on price. No business will ever survive catering to clients that shop purely on price.
Competitive Bidding Hurts More Than Profits
Day after day the news is littered with instructive pieces describing how all of your daily transactions should be conducted as if you are at an auction. Whether you are at an electronics store or online shopping for some clothes the economy is so bad you are supposed to be able to hammer any seller down on price at your leisure. As a wise person once said it never hurts to ask and as a consumer there is no harm in asking. As a seller and business owner there is harm in obliging bid requests and we will discuss the reasons why in depth.
Studies have repeatedly shown that the least loyal customers are those that shop purely on price. Although times have changed the traditional rule of 80 percent of your business coming from 20 percent of your customers is still consistent to some degree. Knowing that a majority of your business comes from a small portion of your customers typically means your most loyal customers are the basis for your success. The other 80 percent of your customers continually change as customers come and go. Studies have also shown loyal customers are much less sensitive to price so long as they are not being gouged and are instead interested in the business relationship, consistency and meeting of mutual goals. When a new customer calls or emails asking for your business to participate in a time consuming and lengthy bidding process that will come down to the lowest bidder you have to ask yourself is it worth the cost? Do you really want to establish a relationship and tie up financial resources on a customer who values you only for your price and what does that do to the industry you operate in as a whole? Take for instance the story relayed to us today of a customer that asked four different distributors to participate in a sealed bid. One distributor refused to participate probably having previous experience with this organization. Three others submitted bids. Two "finalists" were selected each likely being played off of one another and asked to bid again. The final outcome was a friend of the company President getting the order at between 0 and 5 percent profit not including carrying costs. The customer may think they have "won" in this case but in the end they too lost as there is no way that distributor can continue to effectively service that account at those margins and will either be out of business in a year or will be like the distributor that refused to bid. By the time they reorder that distributor will refuse to take the order or be out of business which means they'll incur new costs associated with acquiring a new distributor and likely expensive setup costs. If the customer saved $500 in real order costs but spent 10 hours of manpower to do it they too had a net loss as those hours should have been spent on revenue producing activities. Meanwhile in this era of decreasing credit the distributor that took the order at 5% is chewing up valuable capital resources to produce an order that they make little money on and are potentially on the hook for a five figure loss if payment is not made.
We will discuss this in more detail tomorrow, meanwhile take a look at earlier entries such as the arrival of custom bpa free sport bottles that we wrote about last spring and our post on retail brands crossing into the corporate channel.