30 Oct

6 More Steps To Building Buzz This Holiday Season

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 30.10.14 by John Meloche

Depositphotos_11312934_xsHalloween is tomorrow! And you know what that means, right? The day after will be Christmas! Well, not exactly. But as business owners all across Canada are well aware, the holiday season practically starts once November kicks off. It’s a two-month shopping extravaganza that is widely known as the busiest shopping season of the year – by far. So that means business is definitely about to pick up!

In yesterday’s blog, we began to look at ways that you could promote your business for the holiday season. With help from Kabbage.com, we began going down a list of things that entrepreneurs could do to boost the levels of excitement surrounding their brands. Among those ideas was using social media to build awareness as well as giving out free treats to visiting customers. In today’s blog, we’ll continue our look at that list. Here are six more ideas.

1. Take business clients out to lunch. There are few gifts better than a free meal. And, in some cases, it’s your best gift for impressing your most important clients. According to Kabbage.com, taking clients to a holiday lunch will help to add that personal touch to your relationship. Your gesture will not only help you to get to know them better, but it will be a sign of how much they mean to your business. This is bound to secure their loyalty.

2. Get involved in a food or toy drive. It’s always important to remember that the holiday season is the season of giving. Getting involved with charities that offer food or unwrapped toys to those in need is a great way to represent your business. “Prominently display a donation station at your store,” suggests the website, “It’ll get people in your door that might not have come by otherwise and will show that your brand is community minded.”

3. Hire a graphic designer to put a holiday spin on your logo for the season. This is always a cool idea. It’s important to have your brand continually represented as one that is “up with the times” and “on the cutting edge”. When you update your logo on your website, for example, it shows online visitors that you are keeping things fresh and that celebrating the season is welcomed at your store.

4. Extend your hours. Let’s face it. The objective here is to make more money, right? One way to do that is to stay open longer. Most shopping malls are no strangers to holiday hours. You may want to take part in the practice yourself. As Kabbage.com reminds us, “shoppers are out longer and later trying to squeeze in every last gift. Do them a favour and stay open later. You won’t regret it.”

5. Organize a carolling group. Don’t fancy yourself as much of a singer? Not a problem. Christmas carolling involves a group of people who will adequately drown out your voice! In all seriousness, carolling is a joyous gesture that is bound to put smiles on faces and make your business look good. “Include employees, customers, friends, and family, and offer your store up for a pre-carolling shopping session beforehand,” recommends the website.

6. Run holiday email campaigns. Using email to promote your business is a great idea no matter what time of year it is. Creating and growing an emailing list should actually be part of your regular activities. However, according to Kabbage.com, “email is a great way to put your products and services right in front of customers where they might not otherwise look for themselves, especially at a time when they’re ready and raring to spend.”

And don’t forget to get your hands on some great promotional gifts. The holiday season is arguably the best time to give them out. Call Synergy Marketing at 1-877-748-9884 today!

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29 Oct

6 Ways To Create A Holiday Buzz For Your Brand

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 29.10.14 by John Meloche

XCD-09-160x160With Halloween just a couple of days away, it’s going to be pretty hard for most business owners to avoid the fact that the holiday shopping season is practically upon us. Generally speaking, the day after Halloween represents the day that all of the shopping malls go all “Christmas-y”. With that said, it means that Canadian business owners need to begin considering the ways in which they plan on ushering in the holiday season at their stores.

This, of course, means that they’ll need to usher in more customers by way of promoting their brands with the holiday spirit. It’s no secret. Business owners do this each and every year. And while the time of year is often referred to as the “season of giving”, it’s also known as the “season of shopping” in the retail world. On Kabbage.com, a long list of ideas for how to create buzz around your company this holiday season is given. Let’s look at six of them.

1. Film a fun holiday YouTube video. There’s no questioning the popularity of YouTube. In fact, you’re likely to know a lot of young people who watch more content on this vastly popular website than they do on actual television. Why not gather together members of your team to film a holiday-themed video to upload to YouTube? As the website endorses, “share it using your social media channels, and show your customers how fun and personable your business is.”

2. Host a holiday themed Twitter chat. Not to be outdone by YouTube, Twitter remains one of the world’s most popular social networking platforms. Kabbage.com recommends that you focus on “either something your business excels in that consumers might want to ask you about or just on holiday trivia to get people in the spirit and interacting with your brand.” It’s a great way to get people interacting with you.

3. Hold a photo contest on your Facebook page. You didn’t think that Facebook was going to be left out of the mix did you? Right up there with YouTube and Twitter, it’s one of the most popular ways for people to communicate with each other these days. “Encourage your fans to send in photos of themselves using your product or at your store or doing something related to the holidays. Be sure to have a giveaway prize for the winner,” reads Kabbage.com.

4. Offer holiday treats in your store. Here’s an idea that you already should be implementing. Halloween provides the perfect opportunity to use tasty treats as a method to add to the customer experience at your store. As Kabbage.com puts it, “shoppers work up big appetites, so help satisfy those empty stomachs with cookies and other bites. If nothing else, hot cider will make your store smell just like the holidays!”

5. Create calendars with your business’ name on them. It’s pretty obvious that the end of the year is the best possible time to hand out calendars to your customers. At Synergy Marketing, our many years of experience providing Canadian business owners with the best promo products in the business have proven that to us. Be sure to check out our catalogue of calendars and choose your favourite design for 2015!

6. Offer holiday cards. “It’s never too early to get people in the giving spirit,” says the website. And we couldn’t agree more. Take a look at our fantastic holiday card selection and pick the one you like best. Handing out holiday cards is a great way to add that personal touch to your interactions with your customers. Our cards, by the way, aren’t regular greeting cards. They come with holiday music CDs!

You know who to contact for those calendars and holiday greeting cards. Call Synergy Marketing at 1-877-748-9884 today!

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13 Nov

Holiday Gifts Are Bound To Boost Your Brand

Posted in Promotional Products on 13.11.13 by John Meloche

XCD-09-300x300The holiday season is here and naturally, it’s the perfect time of year for you to be handing out gifts. Not just any gifts mind you, but promotional gifts. Well actually, not just any promotional gifts, but holiday-themed promotional gifts will make the most sense during the coming weeks. And Synergy Marketing has an amazing array of holiday gifts to choose from!

In yesterday’s blog, we announced that our famous Christmas Music CD and Card was now on sale for just $3.99. A steal at that price, if we may say so ourselves, this great combo of a gift, is a great way to boost holiday spirit. More importantly for you, of course, is the fact that giving out this card will boost your brand recognition. The personal touch of offering this gesture is sure to go a long way.

After all, that is the entire point of handing out promo gifts, isn’t it? It’s all about building relationships that will help to carry your business well into the future. The holiday season, quite obviously, presents the absolute perfect time to get into the spirit of giving. Don’t allow your competition to outshine you. Make your brand the most merry of all by making your customers the happiest they can possibly be.

You may be thinking that perhaps, we are overstating the power of promotional products. But, in actuality, we may be understating them. For decades, promotional products have proven to be among the cost-effective ways for business owners to grow their companies. In addition, the “personal touch” we keep talking about cannot be undersold. The truth is, no other type of advertising can do what promo gifts do.

“It makes people feel appreciated,” reminded one of our reps earlier this week, “It is a form of direct contact between business owner and customer. It’s a way of saying that you appreciate their business and that you want to continue to nurture the relationship you have with them. Commercials on TV can’t do that. It’s just not the same. Especially during the Christmas season.”

This is why Synergy Marketing offers an array of holiday-themed gifts. The Christmas Tree Ornament with Beaded Accents just happens to be one of the nicest ones. They allow for your company name to be kept on the minds of your clients and colleagues all holiday season long. The ornaments come in three holiday shapes: Tree, Star and Snowman. And they go for just $5.99 each!

And how about that Holiday Wine Charm Set? It’s beautiful! It features several elegant wine glass charms in holiday shapes. They include an elf, Christmas tree, stocking, snowman, present and wreath. The set also comes packaged in an exquisite gift box. There may not be a more classy way to promote your business these holidays. For your favourite clients, collegues and co-workers, this $11.99 investment is perfect!

It doesn’t stop there, of course. Synergy Marketing specializes in holiday-themed promo gifts. Give one of our friendly and experienced sales reps a call at 1- 877-748-9884 to discuss which holiday gift would work best to promote your business. Spreading that holiday cheer around is bound to go a long way in building the types of relationships that will grow your brand.

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30 Oct

Preparing Your Brand For The Holiday Season

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 30.10.13 by John Meloche

In yesterday’s blog, we began taking a look at a list of tips found on the Winmark Business Solutions website. In our ongoing quest to assist business owners throughout Canada with growing their businesses, we enjoy researching the internet to find a variety of helpful solutions from different business experts. Of course, we also like to see ourselves as advertising experts ourselves.

We ended yesterday’s blog commenting upon promotional gifts and their ability to help boost sales throughout the holidays. The truth is, promo gifts work wonders all year round. But arguably, there is no better time than the upcoming holiday season to give out promotional gifts. After all, it is the season of giving. Promo gifts help to establish a great rapport between business owner and customer.

The building of this relationship is meant to last well into the future. Because promo gifts provide both personal touches and helpful hands (our gifts are quite handy, useful items), they encourage loyalty that often turns into referrals. Of course, there are numerous ways to push sales throughout the holiday season in addition to handing out your promo gifts. Let’s revisit the Winmark Business Solutions list of tips to learn more.

Adjust Marketing. Naturally, it’s important to advertise all of the wonderful sales and discounts that you are offering. It’s also a part of showing holiday spirit to adjust your marketing to fit the spirit of the season. The more you can do to expose the holiday promotions that you intend on rolling out, the more chances you give your business to attract customers.

Adjust Business Hours. The biggest businesses tend to extend their hours during the holiday rush. Why shouldn’t you? Consider extending them to give shoppers more opportunities to buy from you. If you can open up early and stay open late, do it! Be sure to post your holiday hours on your business’ front door as well as on your website. Plug your extended hours through your social media pages too!

Make Sure Your Website is in Top Order. Speaking of your website, its importance should not be underestimated. It’s widely known that Canadian shoppers enjoy browsing online before visiting the physical locations of stores. Be sure that your business information is up to date, your sales are listed, your product information is clear and that customer support is made readily available.

Watch Finances. “It’s easy to get excited about the added sales during the holiday season, but remember to watch your finances closely,” warns Winmark Business Solutions, “With added sales come added expenses for production. Plan out how much extra you will be spending to accommodate for the holiday rush.” Of course, you don’t want to hire more staff than you need or spend more than you can afford on advertising.

All of the tips listed in our past two blogs can certainly help business owners who put them into practice. As well, ordering promotional products to make lasting impressions will assist your business in gaining customers for the long haul. To select the promo gift that is best for your brand, call one of our friendly and experienced Synergy Marketing sales reps at 1-877-748-9884.

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29 Oct

Getting Your Business Ready For The Holiday Rush

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 29.10.13 by John Meloche

Now is as good a time as any to begin talking about the holidays. When you think about it, the holiday season has technically already begun. Yes, we still have Halloween on Thursday. But when the first of November rolls around, it’s usually all things Christmas in the retail industry. So it makes sense to begin getting your place of business geared up for the rush that comes with the holiday season.

For some business owners, it’s the best time of year. The end-of-the-year holidays provide opportunities for sales to go through the roof in most industries. And for others, the upcoming holiday season presents cause for worry. Will there be enough supply for the demand? Will my business be able to handle taking on more staff? Will my company fall short of its expectations?

In an effort to help lessen the worry, we look to the Winmark Business Solutions website. On it is a list of simple tips for business owners to follow in order to have the most profitable holiday season possible. With just under two months to go until Christmas Day is actually here, the time is now to get rolling on preparing your business for the wave of new customers coming its way.

Educate Your Staff. “Make sure your staff knows how to handle the extra rush,” says the website, “Go over customer service techniques and what to do in a rush. If your staff is small, consider hiring temporary staff to get you through the season.” Having a strong team of employees will ensure that your customers are kept happy. This is important considering the increased possibility of customer dissatisfaction during busy times.

Stock Up. Naturally, it will be imperative that your business has enough inventory to keep up with the demand of shoppers throughout the holiday season. Be sure to contact your vendors to place orders on enough merchandise to get you through the next couple of months. The last thing you want is to have to disappoint customers who have come to you for specific items on their loved ones’ Christmas lists.

Show Your Holiday Spirit. Business is business. But it doesn’t always have to look that way to your customers. Remember that the holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and good will. “Showing your holiday spirit tells customers you are ready for the holiday season and all that it brings,” says Winmark Business Solutions, “And shoppers look for good ‘holiday deals.’ Holiday spirit can lure them in to your business.”

Offer Promotions/Sales. There is likely no better time of year than the holiday season to introduce special discounts and sales on your most popular items. Competition will be more intense than ever as shoppers will be scouring for the best prices in the coming weeks. Don’t let your competitors steal your customers because they have more intriguing sales involving products that you sell.

In tomorrow’s blog, we’ll continue to take a look at some more tips from the Winmark Business Solutions website. Of course, there is likely no end to the ideas that business owners can employ to further grow their businesses during the holiday season. One thing is for sure, there is no better opportunity that the holiday rush to increase sales. We’ll also let you know how promotional gifts can assist!

To learn more or to order your promo gifts, call Synergy Marketing at 1-877-748-9884.

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19 Sep

Filling Out Our Fall Marketing Idea List

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 19.09.13 by John Meloche

fallTreeIn yesterday’s blog, we discussed a few ideas that entrepreneurs can use to help boost sales during the fall season. We’re practically there already! School is in and the weather simply isn’t as hot as it was just a few weeks ago. It’s time to accept that summer is over. With that said, it’s important to welcome the fall season by having your store celebrate it in various ways.

As Rachel Hartman points out on the Intuit Small Business Blog, there are a variety of ways that you can use the fall season to your advantage at your place of business. Decorate your store, offer season-related discounts, incorporate students in your company and support local sports teams and community groups – these are just a few of those ways. In today’s blog, we’ll review a few more.

Say “thank you.” The autumn season is, after all, a season of giving thanks. With Thanksgiving coming up next month, you may want to break out the thank you cards early. Give them out to customers either in person or by mail. Handing out promotional products, as you’re likely well aware, is also a great way to say “thank you”. For decades, promo gifts have proven to build customer loyalty.

They are your ways of showing appreciation to those who support your business. Of course, you can do this all year round. But with Thanksgiving coming up, you may want to tie in your promo gift to your “Thank You” promotion which may also include special discounts on seasonal items. By the way, your thank you notes and promo gifts help to get you referrals as well!

Offer space to community groups. Writes Hartman, “if you have extra room in your business, consider opening it up to local residents. For instance, if you run a cafe or a business center, try hosting study sessions for students. If you own a youth fitness center, offer some of your space for PTA meetings during the week. As well, make special deals available for those who come in.”

This is a great way to generate more interest in your business from audiences that may not generally visit you. Offering discounts to those visitors is also a great way to keep them coming back. This fall, you’ll want to do all you can to introduce your company to new people. Growing your business during the fall will pay off mightily once the holiday shopping season comes along.

Keep customers in the loop. Offer your expertise. Give advice. Show your clients you care. Keep them informed about the many different things going on with your business. But also, keep them informed of things are that going on in your community. This will help your brand have more a “family friendly” feel to it. You’ll be making friends, not just ties to new customers.

This goes a long way with customers because it will help them to build their trust in you. It doesn’t hurt to be liked by the people who come into your store. In fact, it is what you should be aiming for all the time anyway. This tip, of course, doesn’t have to be relegated to your fall promotions only. Keep it, as well as the others discussed in our recent blogs, in mind all year long!

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18 Sep

Fall Into Some New Fall Marketing Ideas

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 18.09.13 by John Meloche

autumnAlthough summer doesn’t officially come to an end until this weekend, it’s pretty much done. The chill is already in the air and any day now, those leaves are going to start changing colour. For your business, that means the ways in which you promote have to change as well. It may not yet be time to start putting up Christmas decorations, but times are certainly changing.

In many stores, Halloween displays are already up. Although the annual spooky celebration is still over a month away, the displays demonstrate the need for business owners to think ahead. On the Intuit Small Business Blog, Rachel Hartman writes that the fall season presents a number of opportunities to entrepreneurs. She offers up several ideas on how to utilize the changing of the seasons to boost business.

Go back to school again. Okay, so maybe you graduated a long time ago and have no intention of returning back to the classroom. After all, you are in business for yourself so when would you have time for classes? In actuality, Hartman recommends that you offer “school-centered deals and promotions”. You may even want to consider hiring students who may be able to help you reach a younger market.

Then again, maybe taking a class isn’t so bad an idea after all. Many long time business owners get a little too caught up in their own way of thinking simply because they’ve been in business for many years. It doesn’t hurt to learn something new. There must have been advances in your industry since the day you first opened your doors. Expand your mind and knowledge of your business world and see if it doesn’t help.

Support local sports. Get involved in local schools as well as youth sports leagues and see if you can sponsor a team. School is in, obviously, so the more noticeable your brand is among the student population, the more young customers you are bound to attract. As well, you may want to have your business name and logo don the sweater of a local sports team.

Consider this. Every game played is an advertisement for your brand. During the game, you may want to be present so that you can offer special deals for team members and fans, suggests Hartman. “Pass out samples, coupons, or free T-shirts to those who come to the game,” she writes. Doing so is an awesome way to attract members of your community to your company.

Think themes. There are a variety of fall themes that you can celebrate at your business. Fall colours are loved by most whether they enjoy the cooler weather or not. Give your place of business that “warm and cozy” fall feeling by putting up season-minded decorations. As well, come up with special seasonal sales where your prices “fall back”. This will inject some new life into your store!

“I actually like celebrating Halloween early,” shared one of our clients earlier this week, “I get the scary stuff up and it intrigues people to take a look around my store. They end up asking questions about where I got certain decorations and those conversations end up turning into ways that I can help them with something I’m selling. It’s fun and it’s good for drumming up business.”

Be sure to check out tomorrow’s blog as we provide some more marketing ideas for fall!

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03 Sep

Planning For A Successful Fourth Quarter

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 03.09.13 by John Meloche

failure-to-planWelcome back to work Canada! We hope that you had an excellent Labour Day weekend. Here’s hoping it was full of fun as well as some rest and relaxation. For many business owners, however, it was just another day of work. Sure, they may not have entered their offices. But they were still trudging away with ideas on how to promote their companies well into the new year.

After all, the fourth quarter starts in just under a month. That means the holiday season is practically here when you think of it from a promotional perspective. Anything that a business owner wishes to promote during the holiday season will need to be concocted immediately. It’s a good thing the Synergy Marketing Blog is always so filled with helpful tips!

As we began to discuss in yesterday’s blog, BalboaCapital.com has offered a number of tips for business owners looking to have a successful fourth quarter. They begin with making an early attempt to promote upcoming holiday sales events. There’s really no reason to not get in on the holiday rush before the holidays even begin. Social media comes in very handy here.

Create Realistic Revenue Goals. “The final three months of the year are hectic and often filled with stress,” says the site. This is why September provides the ideal time of year to meet with your staff to set goals that are achievable. You can base your goals on your past accomplishments and attempt to surpass them with new and innovative approaches. You may also want to come up with an incentive program.

This will keep your sales people “energized”, according to BalboaCapital.com. This will help to avoid the common “checking out” that some employees experience when the holidays are near. Don’t let that happen. Give your team words of encouragement and motivation that will keep their morale high until it’s vacation time again. Promotional products as prizes and rewards always help with this initiative.

Get Ready For The New Year. As we mentioned yesterday, time flies. The next thing you know, it will be Christmas Day and then 2014 will be off and running. That means, it’s time to start planning and forecasting your business and financial goals for the new year. “Planning ahead is a smart business strategy, and it reduces stress and the need to manage tasks at the last minute,” says the website.

Consider Proven Ways to Preserve Cash Flow. There are, of course, a number of ways to cut costs. This should be one of the tasks on your plate as we head into the fourth quarter. Where can you spend less? What can you afford to do without? The more money you save, the more you may be able to devote to promoting your new product lines and sales events meant for the holidays.

Of course, Synergy Marketing is all about helping business owners promote their companies through whatever initiatives they see fit. Promo gifts work wonders in building loyalty between businesses and their customers. And they’re inexpensive! Call us up at 1- 877-748-9884 to choose the ones that will work best with your upcoming promotions. Our experienced sales staff is waiting to hear from you!

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