17 Mar

Keeping It Cool

Posted in Uncategorized on 17.03.11 by John Meloche

Throughout this week, we have been blogging about a variety of unique ways that business owners can promote their companies at the retail level. Yesterday, we reviewed an extreme example of in-store promotional campaigning through the story of a Florida-based car dealership that plans on giving away free vehicles if it rains on the 8th of April! So far, this strategy seems to be working.

Today, we would like to continue the trend by taking a look at a few other “cool” promotional ideas. As we’ve mentioned many times before, thinking outside of the box is the best way to show that your business is different than any other. Coming up with ways to dazzle your customers and create a buzz can be both fun and rewarding.

Nicole Ayers of eHow.com has a few ideas that you might find interesting. Her suggestions may not be for everyone, but it is undeniable that this type of innovative thinking can help certain companies stand out from their competition. One of the ways to do this, says Ayers, is to implement multilingual campaigns.

She advises business owners to cater to citizens from a variety of cultures. To do so, creating promotional materials in multiple languages will help to grow your client base as it will reach more communities. Be sure to distribute your marketing materials in various areas that are comprised of specific groups of people from different cultures.

In addition, hiring employees who speak the various languages that you use in your promotional materials will help you develop a much more powerful and far-reaching sales team. By the way, getting your company to accept various currencies from across the world will expand your client base to travelers to your area.

Have you ever wanted to be part of the music industry? Well, you don’t necessarily have to become a singer to do so. Ayers suggests that you create a mixtape style CD that includes singers, rappers and other musicians who have composed music that promotes your company.

“Hire independent musicians to record short announcements about your company that will be played between main tracks on the CD,” writes Ayers, “Instruct your employees to give away copies of your compilation CD to customers at music-themed retail stores.” Now you must admit that this suggestion is one that will add that “cool” factor to your company.

Finally, if music CDs aren’t your thing, you may want to hire a freelance fiction writer and illustrator to create an original comic strip that is centered around your products and services. Perhaps coming up with a superhero or mascot that represents your brand will be a great way to open your company up to a younger client base. Now, that’s “cool”!

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16 Mar

Car Dealership Defines Promotional Genius

Posted in Uncategorized on 16.03.11 by John Meloche

Over the past couple of days, we have blogged about some tips that entrepreneurs can take to promote their retail businesses. When you own a store that allows customers to walk in and check out your merchandise, it is important to find ways to keep them coming back. Getting repeat business should be a constant practice for any owner.

The Synergy Marketing Consultants Blog has often offered suggestions based on the advice of industry experts from different types of businesses. Today, Lesley Ciarula Taylor of The Toronto Star reports that a car dealership in St. Augustine, Florida just may have taken our advice.

Now, we always like to talk about being different, standing out from the crowd and doing what you can do to get ahead of your competition. If it rains on April 8th, the Bozard Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership will be doing just that. The car dealership is offering…get this…FREE cars to anyone who buys in March!

If we may say so ourselves, THAT is the way to generate interest in your business! We’ve always heralded the practice of giving your customers something for free to make them feel appreciated, but a free car is definitely one way to make a major statement about your brand. They are even offering this special deal to Canadians who spend the winter in Florida, better known as “Snowbirds”.

Exclaimed Jeff King, the car dealership’s general manager: “Tell Canadians they can buy a car while they’re down here and drive it home.” To make things clear, the dealership has revealed the criteria under which an individual will be able to drive away in a free car. Firstly, the purchase of the vehicle must be made in the month of March.

Secondly, as Taylor writes, “Specifically, 2.5 centimetres of rain must come down in the six hours between 6 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. on that Friday morning” of April 8th. She continues to note that the forecast in that part of Florida for that time is “thundery”. The Weather Network reports, however, that the area is generally dry in April.

One wonders just how many cars the company would have to give away for free if rain actually does fall on that fateful day. After all, who is ever really able to accurately predict the weather? Mother Nature has been known for much stranger things than rain in April.

As of this writing, the dealership has reported sales of more than 70 cars so far for the month. Taylor reveals that the dealership has, in fact, purchased a more than $1 million event insurance plan just in case those cars end up being giveaways. Our hats are off to this dealership for providing a great example of how to generate more interest in one’s business.

King sums it up best: “In our market, it seems to work better to get customers to strike up a conversation rather than screaming at us.”

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15 Mar

More Ways To Promote Your Retail Business

Posted in Uncategorized on 15.03.11 by John Meloche

In yesterday’s blog, we took a look at some tips offered by Patricia Oropeza of Nails Magazine. Although she deals mainly with nail salons and other areas of the beauty industry, her tips can easily be used by entrepreneurs of all kinds. Promoting your business is the name of the game. Here are a few more suggestions on how you may do so.

Good signage is imperative, according to Oropeza. She writes that “There’s no better way to let your clients know the benefits of the products you sell than using signs. Shelf-talkers, product literature, table tents, and counter cards are a good idea, especially if staff member are sometimes too busy to talk about a product.”

“Guarantee your products,” she also suggests. Oropeza writes that it is important to your customers that you stand behind the products that you sell. Be sure to let them know that if they don’t like what they have purchased, you will be willing to allow them to make exchanges. The bottom line, remember, is to keep your customers happy.

Following through is another key ingredient to business success that a lot of business owners tend to forget. Oropeza recommends that you surprise your clients by making a follow up phone call after you have completed a sale. Ask your customers how the products they purchased are working to ensure that they are satisfied.

You will also want to reward your big spenders, she says. The customers who spend the most money in your store are the ones that you will want to make the most happy. After all, they are making you the most money. Offer them special discount cards based on their spending that allow a “buy-10-get-one-free deal.” Freebies, as you should know by now, go a long way!

That being said, Oropeza also champions the practice of giving out free samples. Often, when you provide a free sample of your product, the customer will end up wanting more of it. Give your clients the opportunity to try things out before making the purchase. Having “tester bottles” in your beauty products store is one example of how to do this.

Continuing with this theme, she reiterates that “free is good”. Writes Oropeza: “When was the last time you bought a product just so you could get the free gift that came along with it? Try the same strategy with you retail. Offer a gift-with-service promotion, or a buy-one-get-one-free special. Clients will be more apt to purchase a product if they know they’re getting something else with it.”

We hope that, just as always, the tips we provide on how to promote your business at the retail level will be abundantly helpful to you.

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14 Mar

Ways To Promote Your Retail Business

Posted in Uncategorized on 14.03.11 by John Meloche

At Synergy Marketing Consultants, we have had the pleasure of working with business owners from all types of industries. If it is one thing that these various entrepreneurs have in common, it’s that they all want their businesses to be successful, and they are willing to work towards growing their companies through cost-effective methods.

Promoting your business at a retail level is one of the most personal ways that you can connect with your customers and grow your client base. One of the best things about giving out promotional gifts is that it provides that personal touch. This helps to encourage the type of recommendations for your business that the average television commercial cannot achieve.

Patricia Oropeza of Nails Magazine agrees that promoting and marketing your retail business can be very rewarding. Although her expertise lies in nail salons and beauty professionals, her list of ways to promote your retail business can be very helpful to business owners of all kinds. We’d like to take a look as some of her suggestions over our next two blogs.

One of Oropeza’s first tips is to do what is “in” for the season. When promoting your business, you will want to make sure that you don’t leave the holidays out of the equation. With St. Patrick’s Day coming up this week, it would be wise to consider green decorations in your store that may help celebrate a promotion of some kind.

There are a variety of days throughout the year that you can use to reach out to your customers in new and inventive ways. With Easter coming up next month, your business should already be in line for setting up a “hunt” of some kind that may allow customers to win something special from your store.

“Pack a visual punch”, suggests Oropeza. She notes that most salons with retail areas have displays are usually unappealing and lacking in character. You don’t have to own a salon to know that your displays should be attention-grabbing. Your objective, naturally, should be to continually draw new customers into your store.

Another way to grab the attention of new customers is to “hold a super sale”. Oropeza notes that a special sale helps for customers to remember your store the next time they run out of your product. It doesn’t hurt to clear out the remainder of your inventory once or twice a year at special discounts. The rewards you reap will be worth it.

We will continue to take a look at a few more of Oropeza’s tips to promote your retail business in tomorrow’s blog.

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11 Mar

More From Our 2011 Product Line

Posted in Promotional Products on 11.03.11 by John Meloche

Last month, we blogged about some of our new 2011 promotional products that are now available for order on this very website. We’d like to introduce you to a few more so that you can make the best decision about what promo gifts would be best suited for the clients and colleagues associated with your company.

The first one we’d like to mention is the 8 in 1 Card. Now, what is an “8 in 1 Card” you ask? Well, it’s an amazing compact tool that is the perfect gift for just about anyone who enjoys the outdoors. It’s a lightweight and sleek package not unlike a small wallet. This isn’t just some ordinary wallet, however!

Instead, the package comes complete with a telescope, magnifying glass, compass, laser pointer, LED light, UV light, invisible ink pen and a black ink pen! Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not only true but it is all available in a leather-like sleeve with space for your company name and contact information. Order the 8 in 1 Card HERE.

If this awesome new item doesn’t get people talking about your business, then nothing will! Well…maybe that isn’t entirely true. “The Escape” is another incredible new promotional gift that is guaranteed to dazzle the handyperson you give it to. Now, what is “The Escape”, you ask?

It’s the perfect tool for any emergency situation. In fact, it’s a 6 in 1 tool that includes a razor-sharp knife that can slice through seat belts to free occupants from being trapped in a car. It also includes a 3 LED flashlight, a screwdriver with full length screwdriver bits and a double steel tip that can shatter windows! Order “The Escape” HERE.

Now, you know that we love our mugs. And we love them because we know our customers love them too. We have two brand new mugs that we’d like to tell you about. The first is the “Indigo” Translucent Travel Mug. Now, what is the “Indigo”, you ask? It’s an insulated stainless steel mug with an easy grip handle that is available in red, black and blue. Order yours HERE.

The other new mug is the “Traveller”. Now, what is…okay, you get the picture. “The Traveller” is a 14oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug that comes with a plastic liner, lid and easy grip handle. It’s perfect for taking your coffee, tea or hot chocolate on the road. Order yours HERE.

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10 Mar

Canadian Schools Among Best In The World

Posted in News on 10.03.11 by John Meloche

To be completely honest, the Synergy Marketing Consultants Blog has done its fair share of bragging in the past. We’ve mentioned that our promotional products are the top-of-the-line in our industry. We’ve discussed Toronto – where we are headquartered – being among the world’s most livable cities (see our blog from February 22nd).

And today, we’d like to continue to our streak of braggadocio, by mentioning that our home country of Canada is among the smartest nations in the world. Well, at least this is what Times Higher Education magazine has revealed based on a new survey about universities across the globe.

As Lesley Ciarula Taylor of The Toronto Star reported yesterday, Canada has garnered four spots in the Times Higher Education rankings of the world’s best schools. Based solely on reputation, reports Taylor, the magazine rated schools based on the opinions of 13,388 academics in 131 countries.

Among the top Canadian schools was the University of Toronto, which was ranked the highest in Canada. Overall, U of T ranked number 17 among all post-secondary schools in the world. Not too shabby, we’d say. Canadians universities also making the list was Montreal’s McGill at number 29, the University of British Columbia at number 31 and the University of Waterloo making the top 100 at the 91st spot.

Reiterating that this list was based solely on reputation, Taylor also mentions that schools across the world were ranked on another list that measured “reputation, teaching, research, citations, innovation and international mix of students and faculty.” The University of Toronto held on to its spot at number 17 on this list as well.

On Times Higher Education’s overall list, a number of other Canadian schools ranked fairly well. Taylor reveals that “on that overall list, UBC ranks No. 30, McGill No. 35, McMaster University 93rd, the University of Alberta 127th, the University of Victoria 130th, the University of Montreal 138th, Dalhousie University 193rd and Simon Fraser University 199th.”

Considering Canada’s population, the nation should be pretty proud of these results. The United States held 13 of the top 20 spots on the magazine’s reputation list. Harvard, the world’s richest university lead the way. Meanwhile, the U.K. Had 12 schools in the top 100 while Japan had five. Canada tied with Australia, Germany and the Netherlands with four.

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09 Mar

Facebook Boosting Divorce Rates!

Posted in News on 09.03.11 by John Meloche

As we mentioned at the beginning of March, the Synergy Marketing Consultants Blog is now available to read on our official Facebook profile. And as we have been mentioning for months, Facebook and other social networking websites are among the most popular online sources of information in the world. It is hard to find someone who doesn’t have a Facebook profile these days!

With hundreds of millions of users, Facebook has become the go-to destination for companies looking to promote their businesses. As the website gets more popular, the uses of the site also increase. One of the most popular things for people to do on Facebook, however, is chat with friends…and make new ones as well.

Yesterday, QMI Agency reported that the popular practice of making new friends on Facebook is starting to become a cause for many a break up in the world of marriage. According to the article, a new survey of American divorce lawyers cite Facebook as a source for about a fifth of divorce cases in the U.S.!

Apparently, evidence taken from Facebook is being used in the divorce proceedings to show disloyalty within marriages. In fact, 81 per cent of the 1,600 lawyers surveyed mentioned that there is an increase in evidence from social networking sites in general that is being used in divorce court cases.

This information was derived from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. 66 per cent of this evidence comes from Facebook, about 15 per cent comes from MySpace, 5 per cent from Twitter and a combined 14 per cent from other social networking websites, says QMI Agency.

Said Marlene Eskind Moses, president of AAML: “Going through a divorce always results in heightened levels of personal scrutiny. If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence.”

“As everyone continues to share more and more aspects of their lives on social networking sites, they leave themselves open to much greater examinations of both their public and private lives in these sensitive situations,” she continued. Evidently, it would be wise to read this blog, say hello to some friends and stay away from strangers on Facebook if you’re married!

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08 Mar

Celebrate Your Business

Posted in Uncategorized on 08.03.11 by John Meloche

Imagine Halloween came in March? It would be pretty odd, wouldn’t it? Think about it. Kids show up at your door dressed in scary costumes asking for candy. “Trick or treat!”. Well, we suppose more bizarre things have happened. The very least you could say, however, is that it sure would be different to celebrate the spirit of trick or treating about seven months too early.

Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. Now, wait a moment, hear us out. What if your store were to start giving things away for free…with no holiday to celebrate at all? You didn’t wait until Halloween, or Christmas for that matter. You didn’t wait until it was someone’s birthday or anniversary. That would be different, wouldn’t it?

What do you think the response would be of the recipient of your treat? Happiness, surprise and appreciation are a few of the things that come to mind right away. Sometimes the best way to make an impact is to just think outside of the box. Celebrate your own day in your own way.

As we have always mentioned in our blog, standing out from the pack is one of the most important things a business can do. What makes your business unique? Why should customers keep coming back to you instead of going to the competition? It’s going that extra mile for your customers that will almost always do the trick.

So while we don’t expect you to turn your store into a haunted house where you will be giving away free candy tomorrow, we would like to encourage you to create a special event of some sort to promote your business. The truth is, the event doesn’t have to be anything big. In fact, the giving out of promotional gifts is an event in itself.

Let your customers know that you care about them. Make them feel happiness, surprise and appreciation so that they may continually associate those feelings with your business. The promotional gifts that we provide here, at Synergy, have been giving customers these feelings for years.

Yes, giving out promo gifts is about promoting your business. But remember, it is about doing so in a way that leaves long lasting impressions. It’s about ensuring that your client base feels valued so that it develops a sense of brand loyalty to your company. It’s time to get your customers to celebrate your business. It may not be the holidays, but the time for giving gifts is here.

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07 Mar

Facebook To Shut Down For Earth Hour?

Posted in News on 07.03.11 by John Meloche

On Saturday, March 26th at 8:30pm, people throughout the world will be acknowledging “Earth Hour” in an effort to conserve energy and send a global message about protecting the environment. Conceived by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature in 2007, the premise is simply for everyone to turn off the lights and not use any electricity for one hour.

With technology such as smartphones continually developing, and not even requiring electricity, there are more and more ways to get around having no electricity for an hour. This, however, is contrary to the overall concept of “Earth Hour”. At least, this is what Angie Bird of Toronto thinks, according to Metro News in an article published last week.

Bird has gone so far as trying to contact the founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg to get him to join in the “Earth Hour” festivities. How so? By shutting down the massive social networking site, of course! Interestingly, Bird is using Facebook to advertise her plea to Zuckerberg.

She has set up a page on Facebook requesting that the site with hundreds of millions of users shuts down for “Earth Hour” to help bring about greater awareness of energy conservation. Needless to say, if Bird is successful in her bid to shut down Facebook for 60 minutes on March 26th, it’ll be quite the feat.

Bird, originally from Australia – which is where “Earth Hour” originated – is already getting quite a lot of attention. According to the Metro News article, her mission is to reach all races, religions and backgrounds in an effort to unite the world in lowering carbon emissions and conserving energy. As of last year, 128 countries participated in “Earth Hour”.

As of this writing, Bird has not yet received a response from Facebook. She does, however, have a message to anyone who is concerned about being unable to log in to their Facebook accounts during “Earth Hour” if her request is granted: “It’ll be character-building…They’ll have amazing things to update their status about, if they get through it.”

Our guess is that it is doubtful that Facebook will shut down for an hour on March 26th, but we would like to encourage you to give yourself a break for 60 minutes that day. Helping the environment by conserving energy is your way of saying you care about the world you live in.

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04 Mar

Gift Giving Gives Back

Posted in Promotional Products on 04.03.11 by John Meloche

When was the last time you received a gift for no reason? It wasn’t your birthday. There was no anniversary to commemorate. The holiday season was no where near. But someone you know decided to offer you a symbol of his or her friendship, gratitude and appreciation. How did you feel?

Now, if you can’t remember this ever happening…well, we’re sorry to hear about that! But for the majority of us who have been recipients of this gesture of kindness, we have all felt a great sense of joy. Doing something special for someone else, in fact, often feels even better than being the person who has received the gift.

The point, of course, is that acts of generosity go a long way. They are not often forgotten and just as importantly, if your gift is a useful and practical one, it will not be thrown away! The purpose of providing your customers with promotional gifts is to send that message of gratitude and appreciation.

For the most part, it is unlikely that your clients expect anything from you for free to begin with. The gesture, in and of itself, is generally enough to have your customer feeling good about his or her relationship with your business. Furthermore, when someone receives an item that he or she can actually use, it will ensure that you remain on the mind of the person given the gift for a long time.

Promotional gifts are easily among the most effective, yet least expensive ways to promote your business. It provides the personal touch that a television commercial cannot. Now, of course, a TV ad may have a farther reach. But a promotional item is something that will garner a sense of loyalty that will lead to word-of-mouth promotion – which is the best type of promotion there is.

One of our reps mentioned, earlier today, that he received a free DVD from a store that he frequented for his music and movies. Not only does our colleague plan on revisiting this store for all his media needs, but he has now told a large number of his co-workers that the store is a place that they should all go to shop at.

Take a look at the Synergy Marketing Consultants website and think about the ways in which you can have your customers feel that way about you. What items best suit the needs of the customers who come into your store? Consider the impact you will have by having them each leave with a gift. It is a gift that will keep on giving to you!

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