Posted by Brandy Bell on Fri, Jan 24, 2014 @ 10:37 AM
Starting out a new year means new sales, new opportunities for growth, and new incentive programs for your employees! Make sure that you are encouraging proper participation of your employees by making sure that you are providing the right incentives! It isn’t always about the bonus or expensive TV. Remember that all employees have smaller milestones that they hit throughout a year also. So make sure you are prepared to highlight those smaller milestones with some of the latest and greatest employee give-aways. Typically something they can use or wear are the items that go over best. People don’t want something that they are just going to take home and it take up space and collect dust. Give employees something they can use and you will ensure that you are hitting the mark on your employee give-aways. Always remember that they should always be personalized and customized to your company with either screen printing or direct embroidery. Here is what SITEX recommends:
5) The T-Shirt: Who doesn’t love a free t-shirt??? Even if it is 5 sizes too big, people love that free t-shirt because either they will wear it to lounge around the house, give it to their significant other, or even hand it off to a friend who they know will use it. To add the icing on the cake, people will be wearing something out and about that has your logo and company name on it. Score one for free advertising!!!
4) The Koosie: We all have a drawer full of them, but somehow they never get old and we love continually getting more. Weather it is a brand new one you just received yesterday, or the one stuffed in the back of the drawer still hanging around since college, koosies are a grand slam every time! Nothing is worse than the day your favorite koosie wears out and holds its last cold beverage.
3) The Umbrella: No one thinks they need an umbrella until it starts to rain (unless you live in Seattle, then it is an everyday accessory). However, giving out an umbrella to your employees is something that will definitely come in handy! Everyone can always use more than one umbrella. They need one for the car, one for the truck, one for their bag they take to work, and at least a few to have at home. The extras at home are always for that dreaded day when your umbrella flips inside out and done for forever. Moral of the story… you can never go wrong with an umbrella.
2) The Beanie: Sock Cap, Sock Hat, Beanie, Knit Hat, Deerstalker, Trapper, Skull Cap… whatever you call it, people love them! Keeping the chill out of your bones, starts with keeping your head warm. We all know there is no better way to do that than to throw a beanie on your head before you walk out into the cold. Now maybe this might not be such a popular choice in South Beach, but even still, people are wearing beanies everyday as a simple accessory. Many not even taking into account the temp outside.
1) The Hoodie: The best employee give-away – Hands Down! Like the t-shirt, it doesn’t matter what size it is; like the umbrella, you can never have too many; similar to the koosie, you will always have your favorite; and like the beanie it can be used for warmth or fashion! With lots of styles, materials, and price points, you can’t go wrong with a hoodie. Performance fabric, poly-blended, terry, organic, and good ol’ cotton are just the starters for what you can choose.
There are plenty of milestones to reach and challenges to overcome ahead of each of us in the weeks to come. Make sure you are prepared to highlight those ‘Wins’ for your employees. Have the proper stock of give-aways that you know will be a hit!
Posted by Brandy Bell on Mon, Dec 16, 2013 @ 12:31 PM
With the holidays upon us, many of us are getting lots of gifts and sweet treats from our vendors as a thank you for our business all year long. Promotional products can take you anywhere and get your message to any consumeer! However, as you all know, some of the gifts are the same ol’, same ol’. Don’t be the one to gift the blah gift to your customers. Scratch these off your idea list for good!
10) Flimsy Magnets – Nothing is worse than going to hang your child’s artwork on the fridge, and the cheap, flimsy magnet you got at that trade show won’t even hold a since piece of paper. It doesn’t matter if it is a calendar, a measuring chart, or any other useful piece of information, if it will not do the job it is intended to do… It is headed to the trash!
9) Stinky Lotion– The only problem with buying promotional lotion is that you have no idea what scent you are getting. Yes, it may be called vanilla, but their vanilla and your definition of vanilla may be totally different. There is nothing worse than putting on lotion that smells terrible and not being able to get rid of the smell.
8) Travel Hairbrush – I know there are thousands of women (and some men) out there that keep a hairbrush with them at all times. But for the most part, do not give me something that is going to break the first time I run it through my hair after I get out of the pool on vacation. I am going to be mad at the brush for breaking, and then mad at your company for choosing a promotional item that now leaves me without a hairbrush for the rest of my vacation.
7) Cheap Key Chains – I know it may be tempting to purchase those 10,000 key chains that are available for $0.25 each, but please slow down and really think about what image you are sending to your customers. Just because you can buy enough to give to everyone within a 3 state radius, it likely isn’t the best decision for your business image. Nobody wants a key chain that is so cheap it doesn’t even warrant the spare garage key.
6) Carabiner/ Climbing Hook – A little less that 3% of America’s population rock climbs. Therefore, you stand a 3% chance of someone actually liking this promotional gift. Yes, once upon a time they were cool, but about 15 years ago, everyone already had received 10 of these and their “cool factor” quickly dropped.
5) Golf Tees – Given out time after time golf tees just don’t seem to go away. If you are giving them away at a golf tournament or a golf scramble then you are perfectly in the bounds of giving them away and them being a good promotional gift. However, when someone gives you a logo’d golf tee set and you do not golf, it is totally pointless and makes that person feel silly because it is almost like they are expected to golf.
4) Triangle Highlighters –Three colors in one device sounds fantastic… but take into consideration that they do not fit anywhere!!! They don’t fit in the tray in your desk drawer and they surely do not fit in the pencil holder cup sitting on your desk. So when what happens? They just lie around and get moved from one place to the next until someone gets tired of messing with it and throws it away.
3) Old School Water Bottle – Nothing says your company is stuck in the early 1990’s like a big, bulky, old school water bottle with the giant straw that make that distinct sound when you pull it in and out of the lid. Come to the new age… people want a top that closes, bottles that don’t leak, and something that will maintain a temperature longer than the time it takes you to walk from your house to your car.
2) Stress Balls – Or boat, or house, or bus, or truck, or duck, or whatever other shape you may think it looks cute in. Bottom line is that they do not work and only make you angrier when you are actually giving it a try to reduce your stress, and it doesn’t work!
Last But Not Least…
1) Crappy Ink Pen – Kinda like the key chain thing… just because you can get 10,000 of them for a cheap price, doesn’t always mean you should. People use ink pens every day, so make the right decision and pick out a good one. It doesn’t have to be something that was $50, but forego the $0.50 ones! Ink pens are definitely something that you get what you pay for! And there is not one customer out there that says, “Man, I hate this wonderful pen!”
Posted by Brandy Bell on Tue, Feb 14, 2012 @ 09:49 AM
We all wear clothes to work, so why not simplify your employee’s lives and increase your company’s exposure all at the same time? SITEX is here to help you with all of your uniform needs. Uniforms are available in all sorts of variations including 100% cotton rental uniforms to Flame Resistant Garments.
Have you ever had someone come to your house to perform routine maintenance and they did not have any identifying marks on their clothing? Did you wonder if they really were who they said they were? A uniform with your company logo would have eliminated those questions for the customer and they would have known exactly what company your employee was with before they even opened the door.
Additionally, your employees will be walking billboards for your company as they go through their work day. Not to mention they would have looked more professional and knowledgeable than your fellow competition.
Now consider your employee’s perspective… Instead of your employees spending upwards of $500 to $1000 a year on work clothes they are provided with an employee uniform by SITEX. Not only are you putting green back into their pockets, but you are also saving them valuable time.
Now, there is no need to worry about picking out an outfit each morning. They already know what they are going to wear each day! And don’t forget about the valuable time they will be saving by not having to go shopping, do laundry, and pick out clothes each morning. That extra 15 minutes of sleep they will gain could help increase their daily productivity.
Higher recognition of your company, savings of both TIME & MONEY – what are you waiting for? Outfitting your team in a SITEX uniform could be the best decision you make all year – for your company and your employees! To learn more about why your business needs a uniform company, check out our 12 Reasons Your Business Needs A Uniform Company Guide.