What We Do Best

“The world accommodates you for fitting in, but only rewards you for standing out.” - Matshona Dhliwayo

Have you noticed  that email marketing you receive all day long could have been created by the same person? “I know you're busy…” “Quick question…” “Are you the right person…” followed by promises of great positive changes if you only let them demonstrate their “whatever”.

Seems like there is a digital answer to every business need. Hundreds of choices (if not thousands) and each one guaranteed to be the best!

Best, however, we (promotional products media) own! Nothing else commands the attention a message will get that is delivered on a promotional product. I still  have had many people discuss with me how they can become like all their competitors with slick websites and automated responses. 

Cross media advertising always created a credibility problem for the media being promoted. How can a TV broadcaster convince an advertiser to use their media with an ad in a magazine? I saw an ad on the back of a bus that said radio was the best way to reach customers. If that was true, why then the bus ad? If our goal is to help our clients deliver messages the best way (using promotional products media), we can’t be making that claim in an email.

All those ads we get are asking for appointments to demonstrate their product or service. By using our own media to contact and message your clients and prospects, you are giving a demonstration simultaneously with the message. Then the real secret power kicks in. Your message will be influencing the client over and over (assuming the promo item you used was appropriate and well chosen. 

For example, an investment advisory company had a message “Numbers don’t lie” that they used as a tagline on their signage and literature. They had no measurable idea if that tagline had any impact. When an attractive mailing sleeve was created and a small calculator was inserted, the message and tagline resulted in a stunning 77% response. They stopped trying to fit in and focused on standing out!

What are you doing to stand out? From what I see, distributors are working hard to fit in. From websites, to correspondence automation, to product presentation, to complete turn-key platforms, individuality is surrendering to fitting in. So why not take advantage of this? Everything you recommend for your clients and especially for your own marketing should consider “standing out” as the starting point.

If you are not really sure what standing out means, just look at what everyone else is doing and saying and go in the opposite direction! If your competitor has a dazzling website, great blog and live chat - just pick up the phone and talk to the client and none of that matters because YOU will stand out!

Another example. While working with a client preparing for a national hardware show, a sales pro in our promotional products media business called me with a question. The client just found out that the two booths they were assigned were not next to each other. He asked if I could suggest a way to get attendees to visit both locations. I realized that something desirable had to be used that was able to be separated into two handouts. A gift quality pen & pencil set in a nice presentation case was selected. One location gave the pen in the case. To get the matching automatic pencil the attendee had to go to the second booth. 

The message on the case was “Where Quality & Value Meet”. The pen had the company’s logo and the word Value, the pencil had the logo and the word Quality. 

The promotion was very successful and the client received recognition and accolades for being so creative to have requested two booths that were not next to each other! The client accepted our recommendation to amplify the fact that a mistake led to the booths being apart and used that as a way to stand out from every other vendor at the show.

Stop “painting by the numbers” staying in the lines! Stand out in your own marketing and help your clients see how to benefit from marketing that just doesn't fit in!