The Branded Merch Podcast: Episode 2

Welcome to episode 2 of the brand-new Branded Merch Podcast!  This is the DEFINITIVE podcast for marketing professionals that want to leverage branded merch to grow their organizations and their brand. The Branded merch podcast is brought to you by Hasseman Marketing…and the Delivering Marketing joy podcast network.  Watch the latest episode below.  And if you want to make sure you and your team are “doing merch right,” check out our book Delivering #MarketingJoy.  You can get your copy here for free.

The Branded Merch Podcast

Each time on the Branded Merch podcast, Bill Petrie (industry pro from brandivate) and Kirby Hasseman will tackle topics for the marketing pro that wants to leverage branded merch to grow their brand.

This week Bill brings up the 5 things that drive your customers crazy about your website.  Want to have a website that is effective?  Listen to this section right away.

And what about onboarding new team members?  Bill and Kirby talk about some ways to make sure your new hires feel a part of the team…and plan to stay.

The Branded Merch podcast is brought to you by Hasseman Marketing.  And if you want to listen on the go, just search “Delivering Marketing Joy” anywhere you listen to podcasts.  You can find all of the content from Hasseman Marketing here on our blog page.

Hasseman Marketing is your one-stop marketing shop.  We work hard to “Deliver #MarketingJoy to you.  If you want to make sure you are “doing merch right,” we have you covered.  You can get a free copy of our book Delivering #MarketingJoy here.

Product of the Week: Highland 3-In-1 Copper Vacuum Bottle Kit

Welcome to the Hasseman Marketing featured Product of the Week!  Our goal each week is to show you a piece of branded merch that we love…and give you 3 reasons to love it too!  This week we feature a branded drinkware item that has high quality and a high perceived value.

Let’s talk about the Highland!  Watch this short video below!

Here are the 3 reasons we love the Highland

Packaging:  When you have a product with great packaging it makes it feel like it’s worth even more.  It’s more of a gift!

Quality:  This is a really nice drinkware piece (we have even featured it on Thirsty Thursday).  It will keep beverages cold for days and hot for hours!

3 Lids:  This might seem strange, but it allows you (and your customers) to use the product the way they like.  I usually don’t like larger bottles, but I use this all of the time…and I think it’s because I can choose which lid works for me.

So that’s why we love the Highland for our Hasseman Marketing Product of the Week!  Want to learn more?  Click here to start shopping today.

Hasseman Marketing is your one-stop marketing shop.  We work hard to “Deliver #MarketingJoy to you.  If you want to make sure you never miss an update, now is a great time to become a VIP.  Sign up to be “on the list” here.

Thirsty Thursday: 15 oz Havana Collection

It’s time for the latest edition of Thirsty Thursday!  Who’s ready?  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!  It’s funny.  It’s irreverent.  And we show you some really cool merch as well!  This week we feature the 15 oz Havana Collection.  And to add just a bit more excitement, we welcome our guest-taster, Amy Crown from the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce.  Watch the latest episode below!

Each time on Thirsty Thursday, we feature a really cool piece of branded drinkware. This week we feature the 15 oz Havana Collection. You can order for your own team here.

Thanks for watching!  Again, purchase for your team here…or reach out to your Hasseman Marketing team member.

Hasseman Marketing is your one-stop marketing shop.  We work hard to “Deliver #MarketingJoy to you.  If you want to make sure you never miss an update, now is a great time to become a VIP.  Sign up to be “on the list” here.

New Webinar: 10 Step Repeatable Sales Process

“Nothing happens until someone sells something.”  Most organizations have to “sell” their products and services somehow.  And if that’s the case, every person in your organization is in sales.  But some people in your company are probably tasked with sales.  So how do you maintain a consistent pipeline? How can you keep sales coming in month after month?  What can you do to grow your sales?

We want to help.

That is why we have created our new webinar outlining a 10-Step Repeatable Sales Process.  Sign up now.

Our new webinar will be Friday, February 24th at 2 pm.  Register here for FREE.

The webinar will be only 30 minutes and we will cover some tactics you can get started on immediately.

So please join us!  Just head here to register now.  And please feel free to invite other team members that you think might get value from the training!

It’s FREE.  It’s ACTIONABLE.  And it’s Friday, January 27th at 2 pm.  Please register here.

Hasseman Marketing is your one-stop marketing shop.  We work hard to “Deliver #MarketingJoy to you.  If you want to make sure you never miss an update, now is a great time to become a VIP.  Sign up to be “on the list” here.

 

Jade Hasseman Joins the Hasseman Marketing Team

(Coshocton, OH)—Coshocton-based marketing firm and promotional products distributor Hasseman Marketing & Communications is growing again.  Hasseman Marketing is excited to welcome Jade Hasseman to their team.  Hasseman will be joining the team as an Administrative Assistant and Inside Sales team member.

“I am thrilled to add Jade to the team,” says Hasseman Marketing CEO, Kirby Hasseman.  “Jade has an infectious personality and amazing energy and we are excited to see how that helps our clients.”

In her new role, Jade will be the Administrative Assistant to Kirby Hasseman and she will help with social media as well.  Jade will be a remote employee as she is located in Colorado Springs.  She can be reached via email at [email protected].

Hasseman Marketing headquarters is located at 432 Main Street in Coshocton, Ohio.  They can be found online at www.HassemanMarketing.com.  In addition, you can follow them on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/hassemanmarketing. You can also find more out about our staff at https://hassemanmarketing.com/about/.

How To Market in an Economic Downturn

We know that life is filled with different seasons.  Sometimes we live through a season where things are going well…and sometimes not so much.  From an economic perspective, this feels like one of those “not so much” times.  While I don’t want to over-react and start using the “R” word, I think it’s safe to say we are in an economic downturn.  Inflation is a big concern across all sectors, the supply chain is still not back together, and interest rates have risen quickly.

So what do we do now?  How do we market in an economic downturn?

While economic downturns are challenging, plenty of companies thrive in them.  While the competition and the market panics, these companies seem to not only weather the storm but come out on the other side with a stronger boat (or umbrella…you get the metaphor).  Here are some strategies to market your organization in a challenging economic time.

Keep Your Customers Close

When it comes to marketing in tough times, keeping your current clients is job 1.  The best organizations take care of their customers all of the time…but especially in tough times. One simple way to do this is to show them appreciation.  Studies will tell us that 69% of customers that leave you will do so because of “perceived indifference.”  They leave because they don’t think you care!  Creating an ongoing system of appreciation is a great way to let your top clients (you know, the top 20%) that you value them and their business.

I say ongoing because it’s not just a one-time thing!  Customers are hit with thousands of advertising images a day.  By showing appreciation consistently, your organization is able to fight through that clutter and create real relationships that stand the test of time.  One way to help customers become a strong member of the tribe is to provide them with quality branded merchandise.  The immediate impact is powerful and long-lasting.

Action Step:  Create a quarterly appreciation program to consistently thank your top 20% of clients.

Grow With Those Clients

Studies will tell you that it’s easier to get a current client to buy from you than a new one.  They already trust you.  And yet so many organizations spend all of their time and resources on mining for new customers. New customers are vital of course (and we will get to that), offering your product to your current client base is often the best way to spur sales.  Make sure you create campaigns with current clients in mind…especially in tough times.

Action Step:  Create a VIP deal for your current clients.  Not only will it make them feel special, but it will likely drive sales as well!

Make Your Prospects Targeted

If you want to grow your business, you will need new customers.  But during an economic downturn is not the time to do a shotgun blast approach.  “If everyone is your customer, no one is your customer.”  Now is the time to get hyper-focused on who you want to serve.  This will allow you to be more creative and more valuable to your partners during this time.  This doesn’t mean you need to get rid of your current customers!  It just means that when you are using marketing dollars and resources, you are crafting them to a much narrower audience.

Action Step:  Create a niche that you want to target and serve in your marketing and start to create a plan to tell your story to them.

Focus On “Owned” Media

When it comes to marketing your organization, you can rent media or you can own it.  Most of us are familiar (and comfortable) with rented media.  The radio station “owns” the audience.  We pay them for access to that audience for a brief window in time.  We rent that media.  The same is true for all traditional media.  And make no mistake, the same is true for social media.  They own those audiences.  Even if Facebook makes it feel like the followers are ours, they are not.  That is still rented media.

Owned media is the audience that has opted in to hear from us.  This is your email or text list.  These people have raised their hand and signed up for a newsletter, downloaded a book, or joined your tribe on purpose.  You “own” this audience and you get to decide what and when you send them communications.  This list is incredibly valuable to your organization and is a powerful tool for marketing during a challenging time.

Pro-tip:  Make sure you are adding value through your list…not just barraging them with ads.  Remember, they can unsubscribe!

Action Step:  Start to create new ways for people to join your “list.”  Once you have an “owned audience,” create a schedule of regular communications you send out that adds them value and communicates your value.

Create Content That Adds Value

Adding value is always a great strategy, but especially now.  One powerful way to add value to your prospects and customers (and drive traffic to your website) is to create content.  This is a wonderful time to create a blog, video series, or podcast that is hosted on your website.  We certainly do our best to do that.  One of the best ways to get started is to simply create content around what your clients are already asking you.  Make a list of the top 5 or 10 questions you (and your team) get asked every day.  Now…create a piece of content that thoroughly answers that.  This is a great way to add value, drive traffic to your site, and ask them to join your tribe.  You can join our tribe here by the way.

Action Step:  Start (or re-start) to create content that serves your client.

See The People

Some of the best sales advice I ever got was very early in my career.  “When in doubt, go and see the people.”  In sales, it is incredibly easy to sit behind your desk and wait for the phone to ring.  And when times are rocking, this seems to work.  But in an economic downturn, you have to be proactive.  You can’t just sit back and wait for customers to come to you.  This is the time to go on offense.  It might mean upping your social media game, attending conferences where your customers go (read this if you are going to do that), or even just getting out of the office and going to physically “see” your customers.

Action Step:  Create a strategy to get out of the office and go to where your customers are.

Increase Your Marketing

Of course, the marketing guy says this, right?

But here’s the thing.  During economic squeezes, most people react in fear and retract.  The boldest companies dare to do the opposite.  Now is a time to invest and look to gain market share while your competitors are afraid to stick their heads out and see their shadow.  This doesn’t mean throwing money around irresponsibly.  That’s why this is the last tip.  If you follow the advice of creating value, focusing on a targeted market, and growing your current client base, you can do this effectively.

At a recent conference, I listened to Dean Graziosi talk about the economic downturn and his advice was simple.  “Whatever you planned to spend on marketing this year…double it.”

Update:  One place to focus on your marketing is on video.  Here are 10 videos we think every growing organization needs to consider.

Action Tip:  While your competitors cut back, look for ways to wisely increase your efforts.

Bonus:  Invest In Your Team

“Nothing kills a bad business faster than good marketing.”  For real.  There is no sense in investing in a great marketing campaign in order to send your prospect or customer to a frustrated employee.  The experience will do nothing but chase a good lead away forever.

Now is a great time to make sure your team knows you appreciate them.  I talk in detail here about how to build appreciation into each day.  But suffice it to say, if you are building a tribe with your customers, make sure your team feels a part of it!

Action Tip:  Create internal branded merchandise that the team actually wants to wear!  It doesn’t need to have a logo on the front.  Connect it to the mission!

These are just a few tips on how to market your organization in an economic downturn.  If you want to join our tribe, feel free to sign up here.  And if you want help creating a plan to help your organization not only survive but thrive, let us know!