Loyalty in business does not necessarily have to be one sided. Brand-Loyalty is a phrase that is often thrown around and is a focus of many marketing plans. How does a business create brand loyalty? How do they get consumers to keep buying their products, even if they aren’t the cheapest, flashiest, or most convenient? This, my friends, is the loyalty that you hear about in business. What you seemingly never hear about, however, is company to customer loyalty.

Company to customer loyalty is just as it sounds, it’s the business showing the same amount of dedication to their customer base as the customer has hopefully shown to the business. An example of this type of loyalty could be a company deciding not to take the opportunity to raise their bottom-line a little bit by hosing a long time client…. or signing with a different client just to save a small margin. I mean, could you imagine doing business with a company that is willing to show this kind of customer loyalty?!

Simply put, for a business to show this kind of dedication and loyalty to their customers, it means that they have an immense amount of pride in their craft, their product, and the way they handle their business. They also respect their customers and want to build long term business relationships, not just one time sells. These are the type of people you want to do business with and be loyal to!

A few days ago, I pointed out that promotional products greater name recognition.  Now I want to talk about how that’s beneficial beyond the obvious. Here are a few reasons: 

1)     They’re tangible Most promotional products are products you can hold, you can touch, you can use.  They aren’t tucked away in a magazine or available in sight and sound for a quick 30 second shot on TV. 

2)     They’re useful (give quick examples)Oh, yes.  They’re not pet rocks or couch potatoes.  They provide a purpose, solve a problem, or make you feel good.  That makes them INHERENTLY valuable.  A lot less likely to be tossed in the bottom of the drawer – or in the trash.  Since they are useful and valuable, they’re more likely to stick around for a while. 

3)     They’re personal The reason you get a promotional item is because they want you to HAVE it.  You take it because you want to USE it.  Once you have it and start using it, it becomes…yours.  It’s not long a promotional item or a giveaway, its your customers personal property.  One that THEY use.  One that has YOUR name on it. 

4)     They’re long lasting Most corporate gifts are something that the recipient can use for a long time.  Be it a pen (until the ink runs dry), a calendar (for 12 or 16 months), or a golf umbrella at a tournament (a lifetime). 

5)     They’re portable If they’re tangible, they’re often portable.  That golf umbrella or golf towel can be seen on the golf course.  The pens goes with you everywhere.  In your pocket, on your desk, in you hand.  If you lose it, someone else is being advertised to.  The custom made sunglasses, the shirt or hat with the logo, the picnic set.   

6)     They’re memorable A story.  I grew up in a small village in Rhode Island called
Oak Lawn.  This was the late 1960’s. We had three gas stations nearby, one of which was a Shell station.  Back in the summer of 1969, I was in the second year of following my first love.  The
Boston Red Sox.  Now the local Shell station was giving away pictures of several players, along with a mug.  Every time we got in the car I wanted us to get gas.  I convinced both parents to exclusively go to that station to get gas – and the latest autographed picture.    

By the time I was old enough to drive – about eight years later, I, for some reason, preferred that Shell.  Always did.  And now I can remember why. 

Here it is, 38 years later.  I  still got those autograph pictures.  Pictures of relatively obscure players long retired.  And when my son asks me for a glass of milk before he goes to bed, he gets it in that glass mug that my mom brought home so long ago. 

Message:  promotional products can build AFFINITY.

Let’s face it, no matter how good, how amazing, or even how BRILLIANT your company’s product is, no one will buy it if they don’t know it’s out there. It seems as though creating a dynamite product is only half the battle these days. You need to know how to inform your buying audience that this product is available and, more importantly that they can’t live without it. I know this sounds simple enough, but it’s a step that many businesses don’t take seriously.

As a company you need to separate yourselves from your competitors, stand out from the back and find ways to uniquely advertise your product to put it firmly into the minds of the audience. This is where promotional items can really help. Key chains, pens, any logo merchandise can help; while it may not seem that these items are advertising your product necessarily, they’re advertising your company and your IMAGE!

You know, and I know, in any industry, Image, is Everything.

 

 The $100,000 Question [4:16:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• Not everybody can make $5,000 to $10,000 a month doing affiliate marketing. There is too much competition.
• There is no easy money that will fall into your lap without you doing anything. And in case there was any easy money I would keep that information to myself and not write it in an article read by thousands of people.
• You will find the best working affiliate opportunities only by finding them yourself, either through testing and research or networking and business development.

1. Google and Overture rock!
2. Do Mail Outs!
3. Consider your own affiliate program!

So whats the bottom line?

• Spend limited amounts of money to test offers and see how they return your investment.
• When you find something that works - scale it. And then repeat.
• Test your success!

Look, when it comes to business, I think there’s one thing we can all agree on…Competition is an obvious challenge that we all face. All companies have competitors, all of whom are trying to gain an advantage to raise their bottom-line. There is, however, an easy way to raise your bottom-line without the bells and whistles of an elaborate marketing scheme. What is this Magic Pill, you might ask? It’s called Customer Appreciation. This goes beyond just the idea that “the customer is always right;” it’s a complete company commitment to those that matter most, the customers. Through promotional items, incentives and business gifts, a company can show customers that:

1. They appreciate their business

2. Are concerned about the customer’s opinions/feelings

3. Are committed to a long term business relationship

We live in a fast paced world, but the fact is, word of mouth is still one of the most effective forms of advertising and marketing. If a company takes the time to scratch their customer’s back, then the customer will return the favor, increasing the company’s customer base and ultimately the bottom-line.

Let’s take a look at the industry TheBestPromotionalProducts is in. OK. It’s obvious. We sell promotional products. Corporate apparel. Logo products.

Organizations like yours have used our ad specialties and business gifts to get their name out there and to strengthen their relationships with their customers, to establish or enhance a particular image they want to project. Or perhaps you’re a reseller who’s providing or looking to provide ad specialties to the suite of services you provide to your clients. Good call. You’d be entering a thriving industry.

This isn’t a small industry. It shouldn’t be. There are literally millions of companies and other organizations out there that are seeking to gain someone’s business. Or rather, a lot of people’s interest. If you’re reading this blog you are probably part of an organization that is doing just that.

In fact, it’s an $18.8 billion dollar industry. That’s $18,000,000,000. That’s approximately $60 is being spent each year for each and every American. All 300,000,000 of us.

Think about that. Millions of companies spending billions of dollars each year to attract the attention of three hundred million of us. That’s a lot of money spent…and a lot of money to be made.

There are a couple of reasons why those numbers exist. One is that “that’s what it takes” to attract that attention in the first place. A second is that IT’S EFFECTIVE. Here’s a telling example of a recent study put out by LJ Market Research for the Promotional Products Association International. In a survey of business travelers, it was found that 71 percent of them had said that they had received a promotional product in the previous year. Of those who had received a product, a significantly greater number could recall the name of the advertiser of the promotional product (76 percent) than those who could remember the name of an advertiser from a print publication they had read in the past week (53.3).

I have decided to put together for you a series of articles going into detail the importance of building your company branding. Also known as “Your Image”

Image is everything in the world of developing new business and consistently impressing the people you currently do business with now.

The face of your company is your Brand.  Sometimes even the smallest things will reflect the image of your company.

• The attitude of the receptionist at your office.
• Your company voicemail.
• The professionalism of your invoices.
• If your tie is straight.

In this day and age, it is extremely important to represent your company in such a way that people will remember your name and have the warm and fuzzy feeling when they say or hear it again later.

We encourage you to focus on the small things. Once you perfect them, the rest will be obviously easy.
Always think of ways of representing your Branding to impress the people you do business with. Image is what will make or break you. Image is everything and it will last a lifetime.