corporateapparelandpromos.com blog

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has enacted restrictions on the sale of merchandise containing lead, and the legislation is being phased in over a 3 year period. Unfortunately, most buyers of promo merchandise can’t be sure whether the merchandise they’re buying contains leads or not. In fact, since many promos out there are produced overseas in bulk, there’s a very good chance that the order you place for promos today was produced months if not years ago so there’s a strong risk of lead levels being high. The result is that product with high lead content is being discounted deeply and dumped into the market, because soon the merchandise will have to be destroyed. You can read the law at CPSIA’s site http://www.cpsc.gov

In these economic times, it pays to do business with companies who have a Dunn and Bradstreet number (an indication that they have financial resources) and who can assure you that their products are safe as well as stand behind their business transactions. We can offer you both, and if you’re in the market for medium to large order quantities of branded apparel and promotional products, we’re you’re best choice. http://www.corporateapparelandpromos.com or give us a call toll free at 888-256-7131.

This weekend in Santa Barbara with my family, I saw a guy wearing a silkscreened polo shirt wth a CAT company logo standing in the crowd. As I sipped my coke and felt the cool breeze coming over the ocean, the thought occured to me that wearing that shirt was like wearing a name badge at a networking meeting so that anyone there could easily break the ice and say “hi, I’m Jim…do you work for CAT?” Companies pay bucks to stick posters up around town on bus stops and signage up in various ways to promote their brand, product, service or company, and logo’d clothing is a terrific way to accomplish the same effect. And unlike regular advertising, since you’re wearing it, when someone inquires about the company, the person wearing the shirt is prepared to respond and convert the person to a potential customer or business connection.

Whether your company is large or small, having your people wear your branded clothing is a relatively low cost but high value way to stimulate networking opportunities and new business.

Ok, so maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but seriously how are businesses that have been built up through advertising and promotion going to survive if they kill their marketing budget? I’m asking because I’m hearing from a lot of industry people that their clients have a freeze on marketing spending.

My advice? Go ahead and stop promoting your business and let’s see if you’re around next year.

It doesn’t cost much to keep your name on people’s minds so money isn’t a fair excuse for not promoting your business. Sure, you might not have the big marketing budget to buy network air time on a regular basis, but walk outside and look at your company vehicles. Then, look at the outside of your facility at the appearance of your company. Walk into your lobby like a prospective client would and objectively look at your company image and appearance. How are your people dressed? Does your company look like they have their act together? Do you look like you’re a solid company to do business with?

If your business has a poor image, is lacking the markings of success, and your name isn’t tied into your vehicles, signage and building, you’re missing the bare minimum opportunity to advertise and promote your name in ways that cost relatively little compared to traditional advertising. Give us a call toll free at (888) 256-7131. We’ll help you with ideas that will cost effectively promote a successful image.

At Corporate Apparel and Promos, we believe that if your name is on it, its part of your corporate/organizational identity. Keeping with that idea, there are a lot of opportunities to promote your name. And, one of the most overlooked ways that companies neglect to effectively promote what it is they do is with their business card. Yes, the lowly, basic business card.

What is a business card? For some companies, its merely a way to transfer your contact information to someone you have shaken hands with, and when you look at the ridiculously sterile business cards that many companies have, that’s at best what they do. At best, they’re the equivalent to a rolodex card (for those of us who remember what those are for).

But, smart promoters know that a business card is like a brochure or any other advertising the company uses albeit smaller. It doesn’t have to say a lot to make a strong compelling statement about what it is that your business does and offers. My advice is to design your business card in such a way that if someone you never have a chance to meet sees your card on someone’s desk or in a fishbowl or pinned on a board, they will visually recognize what you do and be drawn to it if that’s something they might have a need for in the future.

When you’re the co-founder of Apple, you have to do something special

Janet Attard wrote a helpful article if you’re looking for low cost ways to promote your business. Check it out at www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/24waysto.htm

From the outside in, promotional marketing plays a key role in reinforcing a company identity in your customers’ minds. And today, an effective business identity isn’t just something retail chain stores need to be conscious about. From vehicle and company signage to employee attire and beyond, you’ll see that the companies who continue to grow and prosper are masterful at promoting their brand on everything, and the effect is pretty powerful when you become conscious about what happens when you experience promotional advertising.

Next time you’re standing around some public place, notice what happens in yourself when someone comes around who is wearing an embroidered work shirt with their company’s name on it. You won’t be able to not read it. And, the mere process of reading their shirt will make you think about their name for a moment. Watch yourself-you can’t help it. You may have not been conscious about it before, but now that you’re being conscious, you’re going to notice that you read the name to yourself and then unconsciously you find yourself repeating it over and over.

The same thing happens when someone goes into an effectively outfitted retail store experience. Someone sees the sign outside, walks in the door, and everything from the signage, napkins and cups, employee uniforms, etc is tied together promoting that brand experience. It wraps the customer in your brand experience. Strip that away, and the business has no identity-no face. Its not about a pretty or cool logo. Its about how that logo gets driven into people’s minds reinforced through whatever products fit into your business. And, this holds true whether your business is a retail foodservice operation, a fitness chain, a plumbing parts company or whatever. Everyone needs to promote themselves to hold onto and attract customers or other companies who are better at promotion will eventually attract yours away.

The challenge for people who run a business or an organization of any type is often how to source and order all this kind of merchandise. Its a challenge because who has the time to seek out the sources for everything they need, plus follow up on orders, reorders etc? Its not difficult to get what you need when you have the help of someone like us who can provide everything you need to promote your business and also sell direct from the manufacturers who produce all this kind of merchandise. Why pay more and buy through local shops and middlemen?

Most people buying promos and apparel for their business either find product either by dealing with their usual supplier or by clicking around the internet. But, there’s an easier way.

At www.corporateapparelandpromos.com we’re a master supplier for corporate apparel and promos so we’re not limited to the products we manufacture. We can literally source any product you need to promote your business including trade show hardware like booths, signage, and even direct mail.

With a fulfillment program through our company, franchise operations are able to order the merchandise they need and not interfere with the supply chain for food.

We provide protected 24/7 online access to ordering branded clothing, in store signage, business cards, outdoor umbrellas, table tents, and whatever else is core to running your franchise operations so this merchanise doesn’t require order processing through your purchasing department. And, since the items are overseen by corporate, you control which items are being offered, the pricing, and ensure the brand consistency is maintained.

For more information and names of other operations we’re providing this type of fulfillment for, contact sales@corporateapparelandpromos.com. We are the superstore for sales and marketing merchandise. www.corporateapparelandpromos.com