by Kirby Hasseman
When I first entered the world of promotional products (or branded merchandise) I was so hungry to create business and opportunities that I would do nearly anything to make a sale. Oh, nothing illegal of course, but I was not choosy. I was not particular about the clients I took on or the vendors I worked with. I just needed to put food on the table, so “a sale was a sale.” In that season of my career, that was what I needed to do.
But as time went on, I learned and evolved.
I learned that one of my jobs was to curate products. That’s pretty straightforward. There are millions of options and our clients simply don’t have the time or the knowledge to sift through them all. If I could narrow the search to just a few appropriate selections, I would be serving my clients. I could help them create a cool branded campaign that fit in the budget and (hopefully) moved the needle for their desired results.
Then I realized I was also curating something else…my vendors.
After a great deal of time in the business, I realized that not all suppliers are created equal. This is not as simple as some suppliers are “good” while some are “bad.” That is a wild over-simplification. The reality is, we are all better at some things than others. Some of our suppliers have an amazing selection of low-priced branded merchandise. A few of our suppliers have totally creative art teams that can dazzle us with mock-ups. And a few vendors can turn our branded products really fast, but they are not the cheapest. Each of the suppliers has its strengths and weaknesses.
That leads me to an important lesson.
When it comes to branded merchandise, you can have it:
You get to pick two out of three.
While this lesson almost certainly applies to many industries, I can say for certain that it does to branded merchandise. As a distributor in this industry, it’s our job to do our best to guide you to the product AND supplier that can most effectively meet your need. As much as we want the industry to be amazon, it’s not. So if you want a branded campaign to be done in a week, there are options. They just probably won’t be the least expensive (or they won’t be done right).
As a side note, as I write this the challenge is doubly difficult. It seems nearly every industry is being affected by challenges in the supply chain (can’t get the product) or the labor force (can’t get people to work). It’s a reality we are all facing.
So my advice to you…plan ahead.
While that has always been the case, it’s really true right now. Stock is here today…and gone tomorrow. So please give yourself lots of time to make sure the item you want for your next campaign can make it on time. And if it’s not, it gives time to find a replacement.
If you want to schedule a time to discuss your next campaign, feel free to click here to set a time to chat. And if you want to make sure you never miss an update, join our VIP list here.
by Kirby Hasseman
There are plenty of reasons you might want to do business with Hasseman Marketing. We have that bubbly personality, our engaging smile, the ability to tell dad jokes, and more. But our goal is certainly to provide more reasons than just being fun at a party! We want to make sure we stay up on all of the latest trends that will affect our business…and yours. That is why we come to you today to discuss some of the trends we see in promotional products and marketing now.
The Costs Will Be Rising
We hate to be the bearer of bad news…but here we are! Challenges with shipping items into the country are no secret. For the past few months, getting large ships into port has been a challenge. We can blame any number of factors…but more and more shipments have been affected. Combine that with the ship that was stuck in the Suez canal that backed up shipping for days and cost billions, and you have a recipe for increased costs. It’s not just in the promotional industry to be sure. But it will be coming, as soon as later this year. This is not a doomsday prediction. Everything will be fine. But just be prepared. As a matter of fact, if you are planning for events later in the year, you might get ahead of the game by getting orders moving sooner rather than later.
Work From Home Is Still A Thing
While some companies are calling people back to the office, a large number of organizations may have changed the way they work forever. While I personally wonder what this means for company culture moving forward, many point to increased flexibility and productivity. And let’s face it, for many organizations it means a decrease in rent! What does that mean for you? It means you still need to consider delivery in your promotional products campaigns. Some suppliers have really become amazing at creating drop-ship programs that can reach your team or customers right where they are. Make sure you factor that in your cost and your timeline when you create your next campaign.
Doing Brand Good Is Important
We have talked about this for over a year now. Brands want to not only tell their story. They want to leave some bread crumbs of “brand good” behind. This means creating promotions with a purpose. You can do that in a ton of ways. One of them is to support suppliers or products that have a giveback component to each item. There are more than you might think. One example is the Basecamp line of products from Sweda. Every purchase from this amazing brand donates money to the Wounded Warrior product. They donated $100,000 in 2021! You can learn more here. There has never been a better time to use your brand to do good.
Online Learning Is Here To Stay
While no one is more excited to get back to in-person events than me, online learning is here to stay. The technology has been here for years, but now we have come to accept that we can level up our game from home…then use it right away. This has created the chance to learn at a much more affordable cost. That’s great news. That is why we have helped to create Better Business University. Our goal is to create a low-cost learning option for those that want to level up…and help their team do the same. You can learn more about this project here...and help us shape it as well.
These are just a few trends that we see in promotional products and marketing. As I said, we love that you do business with us because of our sparkling personality, but I hope this adds some value to the relationship as well! If you want to chat more about any of these, please reach out to your rep or click here to schedule a time to chat!
by Kirby Hasseman
When I first got into the promotional industry, I had a sales trainer (who also happened to be my dad) ask me a simple question. “What is the worst thing that can happen to a promotional product?” Being the young smartass I was (as opposed to the older one I am now), I grabbed the calendar he was holding out, looked at it, and then threw it in the trash can in the corner.
Smiling. He looked up at me and said “Exactly!”
He went onto explain that I noticed the promotional item. I looked at it. Then I discarded it. “That is the worst thing that can happen to a calendar (or any piece of branded merchandise). But that is the best thing that can happen with most other advertising!” This might sound like a simple story, but it has powerful implications for your marketing. When you are deciding how to market, you should consider the results you get with promo and other advertising.
I tell you that story to tell you this one. Sometimes there are problems when ordering branded merchandise. I have actually talked about that before here. So let me tell you about the time a Beach Towel order went sideways…and what happened.
It started like any other order.
I met with one of my favorite clients. Lisa Reed, Executive Director at RHDD, and I have a great relationship. I work hard to understand her business. She talks about that here. In addition, she asks me to push her on deadlines. She has so many details in her brain running RHDD (an amazing organization that serves people with Developmental Disabilities) that sometimes she needs me to help keep her on task on promotional projects.
I tell you this because of what happened next.
Lisa and I had discussed getting beach towels to recognize her team. She wanted to do something other than just her logo. She wanted a message recognizing how much she appreciated her team. We had bounced around a few ideas and landed on a message that said “My boss kinda thinks I am a big deal!” We had our theme and worked on a design to make it fun on the towel. In addition, we had discussed our deadline. Lisa had an event where she wanted to hand the towels out…and it was coming up quickly.
I sent over the proof for approval and did not hear back. As I mentioned, Lisa is super busy, so I sent another reminder. Still nothing in response. After I sent the proof over a third time with no response, I was starting to get nervous. The deadline was coming up fast. I got a message from the supplier that if we did not the proof approved today, they would not have their towels on time.
So I made the decision to approve the towels.
The supplier worked their miracles and the towels arrived on time for the event. There was one really significant problem. Lisa and her team had decided they were not going to do the beach towels. They had not approved the proof because they did not want to move forward. It’s not that they did not want to recognize their employees, they were not just not sure about the design. Lisa called me to tell me the “good news/bad news” situation. The good news is that the towels arrived on time. The bad news is, they had decided they did not want them.
Lisa was gracious and kind. It was my mistake. While I was trying to do the right thing to take care of my client (and keep them on deadline) I had most certainly over-stepped. But after seeing the towels, she decided to give them to her team anyway. At the designated event, Lisa and her leadership team gave the towels to her employees. The response at the event was great…but then something cool and unexpected started to happen.
One by one, when her employees went on vacation, they started to post pictures of themselves on the beach with their new towels! Without being asked, the team tagged RHDD on Facebook to show how much their boss “thinks they are a big deal!” For an organization that is proud of their employees, this was magic.
As a matter of fact, I would say “it’s kind of a big deal!”
While the situation was not ideal (I will never do that again), the outcome was really great. It does go to show you that, when you recognize your employees using beach towels (or other branded merchandise), good things happen. Even when the delivery does not go as planned, the outcome really can be powerful.
Special thanks to Lisa Reed for her leadership and understanding on this project! If you are looking for a great place to work that really does value their team, you can learn more about RHDD here.
And if you want to discuss an appreciation project for your team, let’s talk!
by Kirby Hasseman
I was on a call with a bunch of amazing content creators the other day and the topic of “re-posting content” bubbled to the surface. The people on this call are talented. They create great content that is created for the audience. They “give first.” That is to say, they create content that provides value. Even this group struggles with this simple question.
Is It Okay To Post Content More Than Once?
Let’s start with the assumption that the content is evergreen. In other words, it’s a blog post, podcast, or video that is just as timely today as it was when it was created. We also can assume that it was well-done.
If the answer to both of those questions is “yes,” then the answer is very simple. Yes.
To me, this is a funny discussion. And the reason most people struggle with it is a combination of hubris and insecurity. It’s a funny mix, I know. The hubris comes from the idea that everyone has already seen the content. Intellectually, we know this is not true. Even the best blog post is not read by even a tiny percent of the population! That is why I mentioned the group of content creators. This group understands the metrics better than most. Most of the time, we are frustrated because only our “25 readers” are seeing our blog post. But somehow we can’t repost it because “everyone has already read it.”
That is silly. If you believe the post has value to your audience…share it again.
But that leads to the second reason, our insecurity. We don’t want to re-post because we are fearful we will get called out. Or even worse, we think people will notice and think we are being insincere. These fake opinions of imaginary people hold many people back in life. Don’t let them hold you back from sharing (or re-sharing) your content in the world.
- We watch movies and television shows again all of the time.
- The same commercial airs on a loop, and no one thinks the advertiser is not being creative.
- Facebook has even created “memories” to share because we like revisiting things from the past.
So set yourself free from the chains of insecurity. If you have a great piece of content, share it with the world…again and again.
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by Kirby Hasseman
Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have tried to help you stay on top of what you (and your business) would need to do business safely. We all want to get back to some semblance of normal (whatever that means now), but we want to keep our employees, our customers, and our loved ones safe. We talked about what organizations needed to do to safely open back up here. And now, as the vaccines are starting to roll out and the government begins to cautiously talk about restoring normalcy, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting a bit brighter.
And seeing that light get brighter is very exciting!
While we are starting to see signs of the pandemic easing up, there are certainly lessons we won’t soon unlearn! There are likely precautions we won’t stop taking even as the restrictions ease up. And that is not a bad thing! Not only does this hopefully mean we will be smarter about spreading germs but also presents an opportunity for branding to the savvy marketer!
3 Sanitizing Products That Everyone Will Still Appreciate After the Pandemic
That’s right. Even though things are changing for the better, there are still some great marketing products that smart marketers will use well into the future. These are things that will be sought after at trade shows (yes they will come back) and appreciated as marketing gifts.
Paper Soap
Hopefully, the number one lesson we have all learned is that we need to do a better job washing our hands! I know…it still seems weird that we needed to be taught that. That being said, some locations are just not as easy to wash our hands as others. If a restroom is out of soap, you are just out of luck. But Paper Soap helps you solve this problem with soap on the go. Each packet is filled with 30 thin (citrus scented) pieces of soap. It’s useful, appropriate, and a conversation starter. We love this one! Learn more here and order here.
Hand Sanitizer
When this pandemic started, the whole world seemed to run out of hand sanitizer (and toilet paper). It makes sense, as everyone was scrambling to keep their hands clean. But supplies are back and now is still a great time to show your customers you care by giving them hand sanitizer to go. Think about every time you pump your gas, or grab a door, or (gasp) shake someone’s hand! It is nice to have a travel size of hand sanitizer handy. There are several options here.
Wireless Charger and Sanitizer Box
As I have long said, one of the most valuable marketing spaces in the world is around your customer’s phone. We have it with us all of the time. But your phone also tends to be way more “germy” than we would like to think! That is why this item is an amazing gift for any employee or top customer. It’s not cheap…but there is a reason. This is an item that will be used each day…and remembered for years.
These are just a few of the Sanitizing Products That Everyone Will Still Appreciate After the Pandemic. Learn more and order here. And if you have questions, please let us know.
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by Kirby Hasseman
I was sitting in my office yesterday editing a video. The sun was shining in my window as the signs of spring start to surface in Ohio. My laptop was sitting beside me and the email application was sitting open. It was 11 am eastern when the ads started to arrive.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Ad after ad after ad. All right about the same time. This went on until about 11:03 am. Then it stopped. (Actually it slowed down. Emails never really stop, do they?).
The emails dinging interrupted my concentration on the video…and got me thinking about chasing marketing shortcuts. (We can have a discussion about why I had my email open while I was trying to edit a video another time).
Chasing Marketing Shortcuts
When you are trying to tell your story or spread your message, it makes sense to look for the most optimized way to do it. We see these suggestions on social media scheduling apps. They suggest the most optimized time to post each time. You can google the best time to post to Instagram on Thursday or the best time to send your email newsletter. As you get started, it makes sense to do that research. It would be foolish not to. There is a ton of data out there that can help inform you on how to get started.
What I am saying is, don’t keep chasing that time. Once you have decided that you are going to send your email newsletter to your subscribers at 10 am on Tuesday, stick with that. Don’t be a slave to jumping around to different times, trying to find the most optimal time. The idea behind many of those metrics is to combine when most of your audience will be able to see the message with when not everyone else is posting or sending their messages.
The problem of course comes when everyone tries to be different at the same time. You know, at 11 am eastern.
The Power of Consistency
It’s better to pick a time and stick with it. This consistency helps your audience to know when you will be communicating with them. This builds anticipation and trust. It can also shape the message you send. Our newsletter is a good example. I started sending email marketing messages MANY years ago as I got into sales. I decided I wanted to take pro-active activity on Monday, so I decided to send out the message on Monday morning.
Now, if I started my email today I don’t think I would have chosen Monday morning. But I have been doing it for years…so our subscribers are not only used to it, they tell me they look forward to it. And since it is on Monday morning, I work hard to fill it full of inspirational content to help our customers start off their week on the right foot. (You can sign up to get your Monday inbox filled with inspiration here).
So while it’s important to understand the basics of when to post or send an email, it can be fools gold to chase marketing shortcuts. Your messaging and your message will be all over the place.
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