Referrals are priceless; when you think of all the money and time involved in marketing your products or services you just can’t put a price on one of your customers passing your name on to someone they know.  I have never implemented a referral program that offers some type of monetary payback; I simply send a thank you card or give a referral back if possible.

I do plan to really dig into my referral sources the balance of this year set up a defined referral program of some sort.  Here are a few things to consider making the most of referral business.

You should keep in contact with all your referral sources, whether they are customers or networking groups, associations, friends or family.  If you want referrals from customers make sure every single customer is satisfied without question.  Referrals from networking groups may take a bit more work, you need to give first.  Get to know everyone in your group, what they do, what their business has to offer.  Then start sending them referrals, they will be inclined to return the favor sooner or later.

The “Wow Factor” will explode your referrals hand over fist.  People love to tell others about great experiences they’ve had – it may be bragging about an unbelievable deal or memorable event, but any way you look at it people love to talk up things that excite them.  Blow your customers away with great service, over deliver on your promises and reward them with a gift showing them your appreciation for their business.

Give everyone you meet a reason to refer you and your business.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

It’s no wonder all types of businesses are jumping on the bandwagon, with the increased popularity of social networking sites. While targeting your niche you can find many ways to get exposure on these sites. This can be as inexpensive as creating a free profile or going as far finding paid advertisements in cleaver locations on the site.

Finding the Right Network for Your Business

 
Make sure you have a goal of what you would like to accomplish with your profile before creating it.

WHAT-
Social networking sites are great tools for “word-of-mouth” marketing and “grass-roots” campaigns. This is a great option when trying to get a group of distinct people to talk about your site. The main investment needed here, is time.

WHO-
The key is finding the people that would be interested in your product or service. Visualize online networks the same way you would in regards to sports & clubs in high school. You won’t find many ballet fans on the football team. However if you venture into the theatre and arts club or the dance team, you might have a little more luck.

WHERE-
Do a little research. By searching for lists of such sites on popular search engines, you will see the list is fairly extensive. Many sites have distinct communities, examples include: indie music on myspace, classmates on facebook, car enthusiasts on cardomain,  tv fans on television without pity, mothers on mombloggers, etc.

Making Friends
You set your goal, you found your community, and you made your profile… Now what?

Start “Friending.” Do searches for people with common interests, in the same region, or personal friends. Nobody will know you have a profile until you let them know. If there is nothing there, your profile can look pretty plain and boring.  Something to keep in mind is that you must put time into your profile.

Keep updating your profile. Set specific times out of the week to make this happen. People will not come back to your profile to read the same “About Me” information over and over again. This can be 10 minutes a day, 1 hour a week, or every few days. Get out there and mingle, popularity does not come over night.

Kathy Kane is the owner of Market Insights LLC, an action oriented marketing consulting firm with many years experience in the areas of sales, marketing & management. She graduated with a degree in Hospitality Services and Marketing from Central Michigan University, managed several hotels in the Detroit area and founded Market Insights in 1995.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.
Over 750,000 Promo Items To Help Your Business Grow!
 

Both of these items are great for handing out at school sporting events.  An item like the Cheerleading Megaphone comes with a free white plastic Popcorn Cap – this is a great bonus to use as fundraisers at school events, a consumer buys popcorn and gets to keep the Megaphone which they use later to cheer for their team.

The back to school sale on Megaphones and Plastic Footballs will not last long – The Mega specials are as follows –

Megaphone – custom printed with your info – 500 min. .85 each (plus $45 set-up/shipping/tax)

5 Inch Plastic Football – custom printed with your info – 500 min. .95 each (plus $45 set-up/shipping/tax)

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc. 

Below is the email I received from Roscoe (posted with permission of course) and a great picture of Roscoe and his Dad Gary, decked out in the t-shirts (designed by Roscoe himself).

What I Did Last Weekend:

Chopper Show Detroit 2008 - Corktown Tavern, Detroit - next door to Old Tiger Stadium on Michigan Avenue - which was being demolished even as the event progressed. Saturday, August 9th 2008.

The shirts I designed for the Chopper Show Detroit 2008 last Saturday (Printed by Bizarre Promotions) went over pretty well.

The event was a LOT of work: I had to pack, unpack, put up, tear down, pack and unpack the tent, tables, displays and everything - so today I feel like I’m recovering from having been beaten up;

When the torrential rain started, I made a comment to Dad that “Rain is one thing, but I take exception to torrential rain.” As if on cue, the HAIL and high winds started, and the tent kept trying to take flight like a kite!

It was on and off like that for the whole evening, but old gnarly bikers on beer are made of tough stuff - and mostly stuck around. Made a lot of contacts for the shop; Dad ran into some of his old bike club brothers he thought must have croaked years ago.

I gave a lot of the Johnson Tattoo Shirts away as promotional freebies along with my “Bird Flip” Chopper Show shirts, which got completely soaked several times over.

I should have known that a bunch of old bikers would need lots of 3XL’s and even 4XL’s - Ran out of those really fast!

Thanks Roscoe!!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Camouflage has become a trend from Pink Camouflage Shirts to traditional hunter’s camo hats that are consistently popular among the young and old.  If you are looking for great employee give-a-ways get off the fence and look at the many different camo options available to imprint your company logo on.

Camouflage clothing comes in the traditional army camo or olive drab, popular hunting patterns, orange camo as well as a host of just about all the colors in the rainbow.

The new Silencer Cap features camouflage with an in-depth scene of tree bark camo and leaves on a hunter green background.  Image your logo displayed prominently on this hat stylish hat.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Still many companies like Whirlpool, Honda, General Electric, Whole Foods and Toyota are pushing green campaigns and are ranked in the top 10 of businesses that are taking evasive action in helping improve the environment.

The promotional products industry is also taking a stand on helping the environment with many suppliers launching eco-friendly promotional item lines.  With over 3,000 Environmentally Friendly Products available to custom imprint your logo on so far, I am sure this number will continue to grow over the next year.  

Recycled paper products like custom printed memo pads and post-it note pads are currently the most popular items with recycled plastic bags printed with your info a close second.

You can even have your employees decked out in eco-friendly corporate attire.  Many mills are now offering lines of 100% organic cotton clothing that can be custom embroidered with your companies logo proudly displayed.

The Carton Pen (72511) has be a proven best seller, offering a promo item that has a 100% recycled paper barrel and 100% natural wood clip that will impress your customers and prospects showing that your company is Going Green.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

The come in many shapes, sizes and are made of wood, metal and plastic.  This weeks feature is a plastic letter opener (SM-1711) that includes your custom printed information on one side for just .63 cents each (300 min).  Each letter opener comes individually poly bagged with instructions for use. For .20 cents (each) you can add a magnet to the back of each letter opener.

I have personally used letter openers for tradeshow give-a-ways with great results.  I can’t tell you how many users have called me asking for another one because their boss or co-worker wanted one.

Although this letter opener has a basic shape, we offer just about any shape you can think of – from house shaped letter openers to heart, over and compact disc shaped openers.

To see out complete line of letter openers visit our site.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

That said, I am sponsoring the MichiganBusinessHub.com Online Contest were you can enter to win over $1,300 in prizes and you don’t have to purchase a thing.  Bizarre Promotions prize is $500 in custom printed promotional products.  Visit the contest page to see all the other prizes.  This contest is geared toward business owners, but anyone can enter to win.

For entering the contest you get “One (1) Virtual Ticket” you will find many ways to earn additional tickets – if you already subscribe to the Bizarre Promotions email distribution list you automatically earned an additional Ten (10) Tickets (be sure to use the same email address though).

So enter to win today, but consider launching your own contest and generate a buzz that will get people talking about your business.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

For the next two months (through September 2008) we are offering 15% Off All Calendars - We have something for every budget.

Desk Calendars Keep Your Name on Their Lips   by Matt Franks

If you want your customers to remember your company name, address, and telephone number, then maybe you should consider investing in desk calendars with your information at the top. Desk calendars are great organizers and can help your customers keep a track of important dates, meetings, and appointments right at their fingertips. This marketing tool can be as large as a desk pad or as small as a magnet. With your logo at the top, your customers will always be able to reach you.

Desk calendars can be customized in a variety of different ways to make sure that your company logo is easy to see. Desk calendars that are large pads with a sheet for each month can be a single color with a space for notes along one side or they can be decorated with scenic images, flowers, or other designs. As a marketing tool, you can choose the backside and what is printed on the under pad of the desk calendar you hand out.

Some desk calendars, depending on the company you order them from, can be imprinted in one or multiple colors. They be engraved with gold imprint and even shaped to your specifications. If you decide to go for a smaller design as your marketing tool, you can have your desk calendars turned in handy magnets that simply hang on a metal surface with a small calendar or you can choose a marketing desk calendar that has a thermometer. There are no limits to the design you choose to remind your customers who you are.

Everyone needs a calendar and desk calendars are a practical marketing tool for your customers. Even if you go for a small version that simply helps remind them of the date, having your logo and company information somewhere on the desk calendar will keep you firmly in their minds. If the work your company does is also well remembered, your customers will be able to rattle off your company information to a new customer without hesitation.

Desk calendars are also great for your own employees, especially new ones who may not have memorized your company information yet. The information will be right there in front of them and they will be able to answer questions that pertain to the company without hesitation. Even your employees enjoy receiving promotional materials from your company and they can help promote customer loyalty. By using them as organizers, desk calendars can keep your employees on time during projects and for appointments.

Promotional desk calendars show your customers and your employees how much they mean to you. Their loyalty to your company is what allows your company to remain in business. By sharing this with them and providing them with something that keeps your firmly in their minds when they need your services, you are proving them with not only a marketing tool, but also a service.

Remember, desk calendars can be produced in all different, colors shapes and sizes. Chose the one that best fits your company’s marketing scheme and make sure you get enough to hand out to everyone.
About the Author
Matt Franks is director of Fluid Branding, the UK’s largest supplier of Promotional Desk Calendars and Branded Desk Calendars at www.fluidbranding.com. For Eco Friendly promotional products, including Recycled, Organic and Sustainable items visit www.ecoincentives.com

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Education is a major key to sales superstardom.

There are many levels of education.  Knowing your customer and their needs, now and anticipating their future needs is an area you must education yourself with.

You can education your self by reading, various selling techniques, business trends, economic and industry trends for your industry as well as your customers industries.

Sharpening your skills by being the first to sign up for continued education in sales development and various other business skills will lead to sales superstardom.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.