Every year we welcome some of our very best suppliers to join us in Coshocton, Ohio for our annual Customer Trade Show. The show this year was amazing! But we understand that not every person can make it the day of the show. Life gets busy. So we did some of the work for you. Here are a few of our favorite products we saw at this year’s show. You can check them ALL out on our shop here.
5.5″ x 8.5″ Seed Paper Bound JournalBook
The 5.5″ x 8.5″ Seed Paper Bound JournalBook features a seed paper cover and 80 sheets of FSC®-certified recycled lined paper. Includes elastic band, pen loop, ribbon page marker, and back pocket. This was a great item to give to our guests as they walked in the door. Learn more here.
Thor 40oz Eco-Friendly Straw Tumbler
The Bullet Thor 40 oz Eco-Friendly Straw Tumbler features durable double-wall construction to keep your beverages hot or cold in any environment. Food-grade recycled straw is included for easy reuse daily. The Thor has a 40-ounce capacity for fewer refills and features a slim base that fits into most cupholders, a comfortable carry handle, and a splash-proof press-on lid with two openings and a swivel closure, friendly to both Sippers and Chuggers!
12-Month Custom Planner
You might love the calendar on your phone, but many people still love to have the monthly planner calendar to keep things straight. This one includes a full-color imprint on the front and back cover in order to show off your brand.
Colorwav Soundbar
The ColorWav sound bar adds a new dynamic to your home sound system with its slim black construction and RGB-illuminated grill. Its multi-colored lights behind the grill light up your logo and create an impressive statement while high-quality sound fills the room. The compact size is perfect for various spaces, and the full-color packaging makes it an ideal gift for staff or VIP clients.
27 oz Denali Stainless Steel Vacuum Tumblers
Help your clients get excited for their morning commute with these 27 oz. Denali stainless steel vacuum tumblers! This attractive mug features double-wall vacuum insulation and a clear lid to keep your beverage at your preferred temperature and prevent any spills while on the go. The Ridge Deco-inspired design makes this tumbler stand out from the crowd of travel mugs and a product that people will be proud to bring everywhere. Not only is this tumbler secure, eye-catching, and large enough to hold as much of your favorite drink as you need, but it is also environmentally friendly with a BPA-free construction! Promote your brand on a mug you and your clients can feel good about!
And as always, we want to provide you with value. So if you want to create marketing campaigns (and appreciation gifts) that really hit the TARGET, check out our TARGET marketing playbook here.
Thirsty Thursday is back! What is Thirsty Thursday? Thirsty Thursday is the award-winning piece of content from Hasseman Marketing where we take a mystery drink out of a piece of branded drinkware! Be careful…it’s not for everyone. This week we feature the Thor 40 oz Eco-Friendly Straw Tumbler. It’s hot right now. Watch the latest episode now!
Why You Should Consider the Thor 40 oz Eco-Friendly Straw Tumbler
The Thor is doing extremely well this holiday season. And we like it so much, that we did an entire blog about why you might consider the Thor over the Stanley. You can read that here. But in a word, price. The Thor tumbler is available at a lower price point compared to the Stanley tumbler. You can find the Thor tumbler for as low as $9.99, while the Stanley tumbler costs around $50. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, the Thor tumbler is the clear winner. Check out the shop with all of our featured drinkware here.
We are a fun group of companies that need help with math! We are looking for an experienced bookkeeper to join our team. As a bookkeeper, you will be responsible for maintaining our financial records, including accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and bank reconciliation. You will also prepare financial reports for our management team and work with our accountant to ensure accurate and timely financial statements. You can apply here.
Responsibilities:
Maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records, including accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and bank reconciliation.
Prepare financial reports, such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements.
Work with our management team to develop budgets and financial forecasts.
Collaborate with our accountant to ensure accurate and timely financial statements.
Assist with other financial tasks as needed.
Qualifications:
At least 2 years of experience in bookkeeping or accounting.
Strong knowledge of accounting principles and practices.
Proficient in Microsoft Excel and QuickBooks.
Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
If you’re looking to join a fun company and have the skills and experience we’re looking for, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity! Please click here to apply and send your resume.
What do Harley Davidson, Yeti, Nike, Apple, and Jack Daniels have in common?
These brands are all larger than life. And they have a huge group of Enthusiastic Brand Ambassadors who love their brand. The company doesn’t pay people to wear their brand. Their customers pay them for that opportunity! Those are enthusiastic brand ambassadors. There is incredible power in having that type of brand.
So, now that you have started to gain customers intentionally, how do you start to build Enthusiasm for your company? How do you build a real brand?
Let’s start with the foundation.
Step 1: Fulfill your promise.
If you don’t do what you said you would do…you are dead on arrival. You have to deliver. Say what you will do…and do what you say. It’s basic…and it’s foundational. If you don’t do this…you are done.
This is one of those moments when everyone nods and says, “Yeah…I know that.” And I am sure you do. But then why, as customers, are we so often disappointed? It’s because even though we know we are supposed to live up to our promises, we don’t always do it. So, if you want to build a brand that lasts, you have to start there.
Step 2: GLUE
A friend of mine named Stan Phelps talks about this concept in his book called The Purple Goldfish. It helps you create a brand “that sticks.”
It’s an acronym that stands for Give Little Unexpected Extras.
Now that you have delivered on your base promise, it’s time to level up the experience. When you take just a little extra care of your customers, they stand up and take notice. The bad news is, we hear all of the time about the lack of customer service in the business world. The good news is, that means it’s easy to stand out!
Let’s break it down.
Give: Provide some extra value. Do just a bit more than advertised or promised. When you do,
you surprise and delight your customers in a wonderful way.
Little: Great news…it doesn’t have to cost a lot! It can be an extra sticker in the box. Maybe it’s one extra item for free. Maybe it’s an extra special email response that makes them laugh.
Unexpected: It shouldn’t be every time. If it’s an every time occurrence then the customer will come to expect it. Just occasionally…make them smile.
Extra: As we said, find a little way to do just a little bit more. A little bit more can mean a lot.
The fact is, when you add GLUE into your marketing, you give people a reason to talk about you in a great way.
Step 3: Own Your Mistakes.
No matter how hard we try, we will all screw up sometimes. None of us are infallible, as a person and as a brand. When that happens (not if), own it and fix it. Don’t play the blame game.
Again, I know this sounds like a no-brainer. But it’s not. We all want to fight the urge to be blamed for mistakes. But the sooner we lean into the mistake, the faster we can fix it. And problems that are fixed quickly and respectfully turn haters into enthusiastic ambassadors.
As I tell my team, “Remember, everyone looks good when everything goes right. When things go wrong, we have a real opportunity to shine.”
Appreciation Marketing
Now that you have the foundation set, it’s time to supercharge your opportunity to create real Enthusiasm around your brand. Showing real appreciation to your customers is a pretty easy thing…but so few companies really do it. As a matter of fact, check out this statistic.
69% of customers that leave you, will do so because of perceived indifference.
Think about that! Nearly 7 in 10 customers will leave because they don’t know if you care. So, gratitude and appreciation are superpowers in business. I find myself singing Billy Joel as I type this and urge you to “Tell Them About it!”
And while it’s important to show appreciation for every customer and every order, your bigger customers might mean even a little bit more.
You see, most businesses follow Pareto’s Rule when it comes to revenue. That’s the 80/20 rule. It means that 80% of your revenue likely comes from around 20% of your customers. If one of those 20% leaves you, it can be a big blow to your bottom line. So, it’s even more important for you to make sure you show those customers real appreciation.
Quarterly Appreciation Program
The fact is, we all get busy. So even though we want to show gratitude, the whirlwind of life can often get in the way. That is why I recommend creating a quarterly appreciation program to really make sure your 20% is recognized regularly.
How does it work? It’s pretty simple.
First, decide the budget. How much can you spend on each client per year? Remember, this is one of your best clients. Consider this your marketing budget for reaching them. The fact is, we all spend a lot of money on new client acquisition (and we should). But maintaining our current (and best) clients is often just as important, and creates a higher margin!
Now that you have that number, simply divide by 4. This establishes your quarterly budget. Now, choose a piece of branded merchandise that fits in the budget for each quarter.
Why a piece of branded merch? First, because it lasts. You want your top clients to see this item and remember you (and your appreciation) every time they use it. And second, because this is how you start to build a tribe of raving fans. You want this group carrying these cool items and repping your brand…everywhere they go.
Now that you have the items selected, make sure they are ordered to be delivered a couple of weeks before the beginning of each quarter (or when you want to ship them or deliver them). This will give you time to work that into your schedule, so they are delivered in a timely fashion.
Then, just like in sales, the fortune is in the follow-up. Follow up with this top 20% with a call and just let them know how much you appreciate them. This personal touch will push this idea over the edge.
These are the steps to taking your brand to the next level and creating Enthusiasm for your organization.
Want to dig deeper into this? I cover it in my new book Hit The TARGET. Head to HitTheTargetBook.com/video to sign up for the video course today. We will email you a short video for each letter in the TARGET marketing framework in order to help you level up your marketing faster.
At Hasseman Marketing, we are committed to helping fix the Appreciation Gap. We do that by assisting organizations to find really cool Branded Merch to gift to their team and their best customers. Our challenge is, there are so many categories of products that fit the bill! It’s a great problem to have! We work with amazing suppliers with great products…and that’s great! So we are going to feature different cool year-end gifts each time. This week we feature one of the most functional categories in the industry…cooler bags.
Quarry 6 Can Lunch Cooler
The Quarry 6 Can Lunch Cooler features a zippered front pocket to store your favorite snacks and beverages securely when you’re on the go. The interior has a foil lining and fits up to six canned beverages. This stylish lunch cooler measures 7″ H x 8.5″ W x 5.75″ D, making it compact enough to carry and store with ease. Learn more here.
Arctic Zone® Titan Deep Freeze Zipperless Cooler
The Arctic Zone® Titan Deep Freeze Zipperless Cooler features Deep Freeze™ high-performance insulation with a radiant heat barrier and a triple layer ColdBlock™ base to create superior cooling. There is a “flip-open”, patented Zipperless™ lid that provides quick access to food and drinks and an insulated front pocket. The Rhino-Tech® exterior is tough, water resistant and wipes clean easily. The interior features a durable HardBody® liner and can fit up to nine cans. Designed for convenience and usability, this cooler also features an adjustable Backsaver® padded shoulder strap that centers load weight to reduce muscle stress. Get more information here.
Urban Peak® CB161 / SL234PR Gift Set
This is a great time of year for a Gift Set! The Urban Peak Gift Set features the 20 oz Urban Peak® Trail Vacuum Tumbler (SL234PR) packaged inside the Urban Peak® Waterproof 12 Can Hinge Cooler (CB161). The cooler bag is constructed of rugged waterproof 55C PVC Mesh Tarpaulin and the drinkware is constructed of Stainless Steel, double wall copper-lined vacuum insulation with a powder-coat finish. This is a really nice gift for employees or top customers! Get more information here.
It’s hard to believe we are in Appreciation Season, but October is almost here. Please check out the shop. We have even more to select from there! But if you need additional ideas, we would love to help!
Editor’s Note: To be clear, we like both of these amazing pieces of drinkware! But here is a quick comparison of the Stanley and the Thor, and they the answer to “which one should I get?” might not be as obvious as you think!
The Thor tumbler is designed with eco-friendliness in mind. Its handle, straw, splash-proof lid, and lightweight interior liner are made with 100% recycled food-grade plastic. In comparison, the Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler is constructed of 90% recycled stainless-steel metal. If you prioritize environmentally friendly products, the Thor tumbler has a slight edge in this regard.
Price
The Thor tumbler is available at a lower price point compared to the Stanley tumbler. You can find the Thor tumbler for as low as $9.99, while the Stanley tumbler costs around $50. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, the Thor tumbler is the clear winner.
Slim Base
The Thor tumbler features a slim base that fits into most cup holders, making it more convenient for use in vehicles. The Stanley Tumbler is also car cup holder compatible, but the slim base of the Thor tumbler may provide a more secure fit in some cup holders.
Straw Design
The Thor tumbler comes with a food-grade recycled straw for easy daily reuse. While the Stanley tumbler also includes a reusable straw, the Thor tumbler’s focus on eco-friendliness with its recycled straw may be more appealing to environmentally conscious consumers.
In conclusion, the Thor 40 oz Recycled Mug with Straw offers several advantages over the Stanley 40 oz Adventure Quencher Travel Tumbler, including its eco-friendliness, lower price point, slim base design, decoration options, and recycled straw. These factors make the Thor tumbler a compelling choice for those looking for an eco-friendly and budget-friendly tumbler.
It’s appreciation season, so now is the perfect time to chat with us about any year-end gift ideas you might need. And of course, if you want to make sure your marketing and appreciation “hit the TARGET,” you can get our TARGET marketing playbook here for free!
