| |
| |
|
Online Advertising |
Guaranteed Targeted Website Visitors from just $0.45 per 1000. 24 Hour Unique Visitors, Online Stats, 30 Day Guaranteed. We offer Country Targeted or Mainstream Traffic at wholesale cost.: CLICK HERE |  |
|
|
To Swag or Not to Swag: Tip to Brand Your Tchotchkes on a Shoestring
It's interesting to see how resourceful people become when starting their own business. Especially when budget is tight, creative juices go into high gear. I recall my days in corporate marketing when every event, whether it be a sales conference, partner summit or tradeshow had to have tchotchkes. ("Tchotchke" is Yiddish for those corporate giveaways you see at tradeshows, usually small trinkets branded with the company's logo. If the tchotchkes are really cool, some people even call them "swag" or "schwag.") It is not uncommon for marketing managers to spend upwards of $20,000 per event for straight swag. For some of the higher-end swag, it could cost up to $30 per product when you're dealing with custom branded USB drives, mini-mice and golf gear. All in the name of brand awareness - an unquantifiable, zero-ROI marketing expense. So why do they do it? Because they can. But where there's a will, there's a way, and small business owners excel at finding the best resources under desperate measures. Ever since I've started my own company, I've become more skilled and more disciplined at making my marketing dollars stretch. When I wanted to create my own branded tchotchkes, someone had introduced me a vendor that could set up a store front for my branded products, manage the inventory, fulfillment, returns/exchanges, payment and customer support all with no upfront costs. The best part was that there was no minimum when I had been used to buying into minimum quantity requirements of 500 units. The vendor is Cafepress (www.cafepress.com) - a 6 year old start-up in Foster City that is backed by Sequoia Ventures. You can brand various items with your artwork to use as tchotchkes or set up an online store and sell your branded products. I didn't see any mini-mice or USB drives, but you can get started with your basic apparel, mugs and office accessories, to name a few. If you decide to sell your products, Cafepress mails you a monthly check with your earnings. As I come across these types of resources and tools, I will continue to publish them to my small and medium business (SMB) community, SMBxchange, Inc. To share best practices, get your business featured on the site, and learn about new technologies, products and resources, join www.smbxchange.com Betty Liang, spent most of her professional career in various marketing management positions with companies such as Ricoh, Cisco, and Oracle. She is now focused on her own small business helping other small and medium businesses advance their technology capabilities through exchange opportunities.
MORE RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Every Days a Holiday! You probably know that February 2nd is Groundhog Day. But did you know that it is also Kiwi Fruit Day, Laugh and Grow Rich Day, and Bonza Bottler Day(tm)? Each of these holidays was created by someone who wanted to commemorate or promote something. Trade Show Videos Need to be Planned A few months ago, we attended the recent Austech 2005 Expo. It was a large trade show that showcased over 500 manufacturers selling machines, equipment and systems. Powerful Direct Marketing Numbers Direct Marketing works!Why? It works because it's personal. It carries a message, answers questions and gets orders. Six Secrets to Creating Successful Tourism Marketing, Websites, Ads, Tradeshow Booths, & More If you want to substantially increase your tourism prospects and sales without a lot of effort and expense, then read on and prosper. You are going to learn the power and impact of the written word. How to Use Your Newsletter to Research Your Market A few decades ago, in the early days of automatic banking terminals, the management at Citibank made a somewhat reluctant decision to introduce automatic tellers. They were anxious to cut costs, but they assumed that customers would rather deal with human tellers, had they the choice. Promotional Freebies What's a promotional freebie? A promotional freebie is something you can give to your customers, visitors or subscribers. Giving away "freebies" is an excellent marketing tool. Incestuous Relationship Between Football and Marketing Thousands eyes were fixed. Hearts were beating hard against the chests. When Business Cards Arent Enough: Unusual, Unexpected, and Uncommon Networking Tips There comes a time in every small businessperson's life when common networking practices like handing out business cards, attending various meetings and schmoozing with potential clients only goes so far. Eventually, the same old techniques get overused to the point that they become insufficient. Marketing Success Defined How do you personally define success? High income? Substantial net worth? A fine home? Peer recognition?On a personal basis, there are likely almost as many definitions of success as there are people in the world.In marketing, though, there are just four measurable elements of success:Profitability, Market Share, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention. Three Alternative Methods On Getting Quality Testimonials with Bonus Here are three alternatives to increase your testimonial numbers or their quality. Create an online diary or blog, use an auto responder method, set up a form on your web site or set up a survey. 3 Strategies to Market Your Business Even When There's No Money Many small and home based businesses know they need to market and yet, have little or no money to do so. Sadly, many use this as a reason not to market. Give me a Referral any Day - the Power of Networking I nearly panicked recently! Well, maybe a slight exaggeration but here was a situation I had not been in for some time. The freezer had broken down and the dilemma I faced was - a speedy solution was necessary BUT I did not know anybody who repairs freezers. The Art Of Writing Classified Ads The writing of good classified ads truly is an art that needs to be learned and perfected. Depending on the type of business you run, the development of a good classified ad can boost your annual sales by an average of £5,000 to £20,000 or more. Basic Brand Building A brand is the essence of who you are. The more powerful the brand the more memorable you will become. Always On Stage - 3 Quick Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors Do you feel uncomfortable when you're in the trade show booth? Like folks are looking at you? Like you're on stage? Got as little stage fright?Well, folks are looking at you. Yes, it's like you are on stage. Want To Impress Customers, Win Clients and Influence People? Remember the baseball cards kids traded while chewing their way through kilos of noxious bubblegum, all for about a nickle a pack? No? Then ask your Dad. Are you familiar with the latest digital CD Cardz that look like traditional sports trading cards and play interactive video, triva, bios, stats, music, as well as desktop goodies? No? Then ask your kid. 5 High-Impact Marketing Tips Here are 5 high-impact marketing tips you can use to boost your sales quickly. All are simple to implement and they involve little or no new expense. Are Your Brochures Worth The Paper Theyre Printed On? Brochures are one of the oldest marketing weapons in the business arsenal. And for good reason. Business In 2010: A New Face of Marketing The term "internet marketing" was virtually non-existent a short 8 years ago, now it is a growing phenomenon that is raking millions every year. Because of this expanding industry, the internet landscape it changing. 25 Ways To Get More Business Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Pauls name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links. Complete Article with Resource Box at end: Need more business? Who doesnt? Thankfully, new business is pretty easy to get, but you do have to do something to get it.
|
| home | site map | bad credit loans |
| SUBJECTS: • Advertising • Book Marketing • Domain Names • Email Marketing • Ezine Marketing • Ezine Publishing • Internet Marketing
|