by Kirby Hasseman
We all like to think we are good at saying “thank you” and giving praise. But it’s hard. We get wrapped up in day-to-day activities, and sometimes, it just gets away from us. But it’s so important to make sure people feel appreciated! Employees are more likely to stay where they feel appreciated…and so do customers. As a matter of fact, 69% of customers that leave you, say they leave you because of “perceived indifference.” That’s right, nearly 70% of your customers leave because they just don’t think you care! But how do you know you are saying “thank you” in a way that matters? Here are 3 tips to make the recognition (whether for employees or customers) stand out. Make It Personal: Whether it is your customer or your employee (or whoever) your people want to know the “thank you” really comes from you. If you are an employer, make your recognition public by making a big deal at a company meeting. If you want to thank a customer, take after one of my rock star customers McWane Ductile. They create custom awards (more on that in a moment) and get them in the hands of their sales team. Their sales team then takes the awards to personally present them to their best customers. They could mail them…but they choose to make it personal and get that one extra “touch.” Make it Custom: When you can, it’s amazing to create an award that is “just for them.” McWane wanted to create an award that recognized their top volume customers. So we worked together to create an award that incorporated their new branding AND called out the customer by name. This award was larger than life and really stood out to biggest customers. Make it Public: The final step in taking recognition to the next level is to make it public. McWane does this by creating an award that is perfect for public display. This has several benefits. First, it’s a constant reminder of the appreciation they want to show for their clients. And because it’s such a nice piece, it catches the customer’s eye on a regular basis. Second, it gives credibility to McWane’s customer! Anyone visiting them sees they are a big deal to be getting awards of this magnitude. Finally, it’s a nice marketing piece. Though this is not the purpose of the award, it creates a constant reminder of the relationship between McWane and their customer. It’s recognition done right. If you want more information on creating a custom recognition program, contact us here. If you want to shop online, feel free to click here to check out our site.
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by Kirby Hasseman
It all started 5 years ago. PPAI (Promotional Products Association Inc) started to recognize and celebrate Promotional Products Work Week (PPWW). The idea was to rally the thousands of people in our industry to do a better job telling our story. Promo works…and we can prove it. (This year PPWW is April 19-24 and Paul Bellantone joined me on Delivering Marketing Joy to talk about it here). Since the beginning, we at Hasseman Marketing have rallied to this cause. We have done so through Open Houses, Social Media contests, speaking at local organizations and even having our local Mayor issue a proclamation. Why? Well of course it matters to us. But should it matter to you? PPWW Talks Numbers: In today’s marketing world, we rightly want to understand the metrics and return our investment. PPWW is a time when the industry talks about the real and tangible benefits of promotional premiums. We want to be a leader in the forefront of this conversation because it should matter to you…our customers. PPWW Backs It Up: In addition to talking numbers, PPWW provides customers with case studies and data to back it up! HMC Is Always Willing to Party: Let’s face it. PPWW is a celebration of what we do. At Hasseman Marketing we are always ready to pop open the bubbly and have some fun. Industry Leadership: When it comes to new initiatives, leaders get out in front to make things better. That’s how we feel about PPWW. Our industry needs companies that are willing to help our industry overall to be better. We want to be that. And we think our customers want to associate themselves with us because we are leaders in what we do…in every way. So that’s why we are a part of PPWW! To learn more about the initiative and some statistics that might make you lift your eyebrow, check out www.promotionalproductswork.org. If you are a Promo Pro and are interested in learning more about joining our team, check out this link and get our free Sales Playbook. If you are interested in learning more about us as a company you can check us out here or email us for more information here.
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by Kirby Hasseman
It’s time for a quick does of Weekly inspiration and education. Each week Kirby takes a word and digs into it for a lesson on business (and sometimes, life). It’s the Weekly Word! This week the word is…Reaction. 
On the Weekly Word today we dig into the 3 R’s of Advertising and Marketing! If you create a campaign, you can measure the success with Reach, Recall and Reaction. Reach is simply how many people actually saw the message. How many people did it reach? Recall takes it to the next step. Now that they saw your message, how many people can recall the message…or who you are? But when it comes to what you really want with marketing and advertising, that is measured with Reaction. So for those of you that are yelling, “what I really want is sales!” Exactly. You want people to “react” to your message. You want them to pick up the phone (remember those?), come to your store, click on the link…and buy! Reach is important. Recall is better. But the holy grail of successful marketing and advertising is Reaction. If you want to dig into more on this (with case studies, etc) check out our blog on this here. Long story short, Promotional Premiums give you the best bang for your buck when it comes to reaction. Promo affects human behavior…and that is what you want. So the Weekly Word this week is Reaction.
Want to learn more about us? There are lots of ways. First, you can shop online here. You can also check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here.
If you are a Promo Pro, head here and download our Sales Playbook.
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by Kirby Hasseman
We all know that person who lives for the weekend. They celebrate Friday a little too much (every week) and complain about Monday too much (every week). We all have weeks “like that” sometimes. But if you are like that every week, you really might want to change jobs. It shouldn’t be like that every week. This post is for for the rest of us. Everybody has that “Monday feeling” every once in a while. You had a nice weekend and you just want one more day. We all get it. But Monday is here…so we might as well make the most of it. So here are some tips on making the most of your Monday. Drink Water: What? You might be thinking “I need coffee on Monday!” I get that…I do too. But if you are like most of us, we spend our lives a bit under-hydrated. Add to this that you might have had too much fun, or worked outside too much this weekend and you might really need some H2O. Being fully hydrated will help you feel better…and that helps you get your week off on the right foot every time. Go For a Walk: Whether it’s on the treadmill or outside, getting your blood flowing will help you stimulate your body and brain. That exercise will also help you deal with the stress of everyone else dealing with their own Monday. Gratitude Exercise: While you are walking, spend some time thinking about what you are thankful for. Spending the time at the beginning of the week being grateful will shape your mindset for the week. Take it a step further and send out some thank you’s to people who helped you last week. Meditate: This is a very new exercise for me, but it’s been really powerful. If you are like me, and don’t know where to start, try the app Headspace. It’s guided meditation to get you started. Either way, it helps to get your mind get right to take on the week. Create Time to Laugh: Sometimes Monday can be stressful, so if you are a leader, try to build in time on Monday for the team to laugh. Is that a funny video? Funny article? Whatever. Just give you and your team time to break up the work day with some chuckles. Focus On One Big Thing: It’s really easy on Monday to get overwhelmed with minutia. There are lots of things to get done. But in order to keep it in perspective, set one big thing at the beginning of the day that you want to knock off the list. This will help you focus on the “big things” during the day and not get lost in the weeds. Bonus: Stop Complaining! Yes…it’s Monday. But stop complaining. It’s Monday for everyone. By complaining we push out negative into the world and create a non-productive noise loop in our brain. In addition, do you know who is attracted to complainers? That’s right…other complainers. So knock it off and get ready to attract a better week!
Want to learn more about us? There are lots of ways. First, you can shop online here. You can also check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here.
If you are a Promo Pro, head here and download our Sales Playbook.
Want to keep up all the time? Make sure to join our VIP List! Our VIP’s get an email with the latest content…and other special offers as well. Join here.
by Kirby Hasseman
This is the post where we flex our “hustle muscle.” At Hasseman Marketing, we are in an award winning creator of business content, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to find it all in one place. So please check out this week’s line up of videos, blogs and podcasts…and feel free to share with anyone you think would enjoy! Weekly Word: Each week, Kirby digs into a word to provide motivation to the masses. This week the word is Desk. What? Just remember, there is no money behind your desk. Check it out here. Delivering Marketing Joy: For over 2 years now, the award winning Delivering Marketing Joy web show has interviewed business leaders, authors, entrepreneurs and marketers. It’s must see business TV! This week Kirby talks to Ben Taylor from BamBams about Content Marketing…and how to do it right. Watch this one now! Welcome Stephanie Ansel: We are so excited to welcome Stephanie Ansel to the team! Stephanie is hitting the ground running with us after 7 years with Barnes. Read more about Stephanie here. Books for 2017: Those who know Kirby know he is a voracious reader. In this post he tells us what he has been reading so far in 2017. Check out his list of books here. unScripted Podcast: For those in the Promo and Marketing world, check out the unScripted podcast with Bill Petrie and Kirby. Each week they riff about topics in and out of the industry. It’s a fun and light podcast and it truly is “unscripted.” Listen here. Jeff’s Pick: It’s become a tradition like no other! Each week Jeff picks a great product in the Promo area that he thinks you should know about. The video is here as Jeff explains his affinity for the Embarcadero Backpack from Origaudio. Want to see pics and pricing? That’s right here. So that’s a quick look at the week of content hustle at Hasseman Marketing. Intrigued? Cool. There are lots of ways to learn more about us. If you want to learn more about working with us, feel free to check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here. If you are a Promo Pro, head here and download our Sales Playbook. If you want to learn more about working with us, feel free to check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here.
Want to keep up all the time? Make sure to join our VIP List! Our VIP’s get an email with the latest content…and other special offers as well. Join here.
by Kirby Hasseman
For the last several years, I have set a goal to read enough to change me. Two years ago I read 50 books. Last year I read 31. This year I have set the goal to read 40 books. Why? Because “in 5 years you will be the same person, except for the people you meet and the books you read. Simply put, it helps me (and you) grow. Here are just a few books I have completed so far this year (with links so you can check them out yourself). Deep Work: These rules for success in a distracted world are good reminders. The fact is, I think most of us understand that we get more done when we are focused. But Cal Newport fills the conjecture with studies and facts. Get Smart: Brian Tracy covers the basics of success principles in this short book. There are not new ground breaking principles here, but awesome reminders about business truth. Business For Punks: Truth be told, I really liked this one because it was about BrewDog (and I am starting a new brewery). That being said, I enjoyed their irreverent look at how to start a business.
The Fortune Cookie Principle: Often the most profound lessons are the simplest. We each need a compelling brand story to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Bernadette Jiwa teaches us to create one. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k: Sorry for the language, that’s the title. If you are offended by language, I think it goes without saying you should steer clear of this one. If you are not, however, I think this has real and lasting lessons is priorities, business and life. This was one of my favorites of the year (so far). Delivering Marketing Joy: What? It’s my list! As you may know, Delivering Marketing Joy was re-released this year with new material, a look and a new audio book as well. If you want to learn how to create promotional products campaigns that pop, you might want to look at this one. Contagious: This one is high on my recommended list too. Jonah Berger explains why things catch on (or go viral) and how you can work to make your idea spread as well. This was a really good one. SCRUM: I am excited about this one because the Hasseman Marketing team is reading this together. It’s a great book that explains how to get more done in less time…and I think it lives up to the title. I am anxious to continue to work with the team to implement some of the ideas here. Want to keep up all the time? Make sure to join our VIP List! Our VIP’s get an email with the latest content…and other special offers as well. Join here.
