You’ve just finished celebrating a new client signing with your team. Amazing, right? But what actions do you take between that glorious contract signing and the actual project kickoff?
Many companies neglect a proper client intake system, missing a significant opportunity to boost their reputation and revenue. The optimal way to maximise this period involves a properly branded and customised new Client Welcome Kit.
You stand as an expert in your industry and you will carry out your client’s job well. Now, let our experts guide you in creating a new Client Welcome Kit that’ll distinguish your company from the crowd.
Make the Welcome Kit Informative
Intended to delight your clients and foster happy customers, every Welcome Kit should also serve as a tool to ensure they possess all the necessary information to work with you.
Right after signing a contract or reaching an agreement, send a 2- or 3-page PDF containing crucial information about the work you’ll do for your client. Create a master version that you can swiftly customise for each client and project.
This “brochure” should act as part welcome wagon, part client roadmap, and part FAQ. Keep it simple, easy to read, and engaging so your client feels compelled to respond to it.
Keep It Fun
Once you’ve got the informative part of the Welcome Kit taken care of, it’s time to make sure it’s fun. A Welcome Kit for clients should contain items that are designed, selected and customised to be fun in a way related to their industry, to the project and/or to their company’s style. (check out here some popular options)
Be original, but also be mindful of culture, values and other factors that might touch on different sensibilities. Make them age-appropriate and consider how your client will use it on a daily basis, which takes us to the next point.
Take into consideration everything you know about your client (think about using the buyer persona method) and let’s come up together with items that’ll be present in their everyday life in a useful manner. Something useful covers everything from a daily planner, a pen, and a hat, to more specific items that might be used for work or daily life as a meter of some sort, a light, and so on.
Deliver with Class
Of course, regular carrier delivery works most of the time. But you might want to take things up a notch, depending on what your client would appreciate. A special delivery service, a great looking package that is original and might be useful too, or even just delivering it yourself might make more of an impact and reassure your client they’ve picked the right company.
Benefits of using welcome kits for new clients
Going the extra mile by surprising and delighting your client has plenty of benefits, including:
Reinforcing your client’s decision to work with you.
Managing their expectations.
Easing your client into a new process.
Surprising and delighting your client.
Reinforcing your brand in your client’s mind.
And much more. Now that you see the benefits and understand that a new client intake system is crucial, contact us to let us take care of the entire process for you and make sure the items you include are there to make a difference.
What did your employees or staff get last Christmas? Do you remember what you gave your clients or business partners? How about your colleagues? If you don’t remember, it’s more than likely that they don’t remember either, which means they don’t remember your brand. Not so good, right?
The good news is that this year you can get into Christmas gift-planning mode early and hit a home run with personalised, innovative, fun and memorable items that will last in your recipient’s mind for the entire year. How do we know that?
Red Tomato is Australia’s leading promotional marketing agency because we care enough to go the extra mile to get you the items your brand needs and your target audience wants. Read on to find out more details about how we do it, and some tips to help you get better results, and check out an impressive case study along with our Christmas Catalogue full of fantastic product ideas. Ready? Let’s go!
Xmas Corporate Merchandise: It’s All About Timing
To truly hit a home run with your corporate gift-giving this year, the first factor to take into consideration is timing. If you get your process started with enough time, chances are you’ll get every detail right, you’ll have time to fix any issues, and the entire process will run smoothly.
Lead Times and Order Placement for Corporate Christmas Gifts
If you’ve read this far, you know we like to go above and beyond your expectations. Allow enough time to review quotes, organise samples and always add a couple of extra days to allow our experts to dig deep and search for new and innovative products that’ll really rock your clients’ socks off!
Remember to take into consideration the time it takes depending on where you get the merch from. For instance:
Local Options: 10 -15 working days.
Last-minute options are available, with 24-hour express services at a premium.
China Air Freight services: 6 – 8 weeks* depending on the item and the supplier.
China Sea Freight services: 10 – 12 weeks*, also depending on the item and the supplier.
*The clock starts once all artwork and sampling is done.
Samples with China
When sampling products with China, it’s okay to have feedback until you’re happy with the product because it can be a hit-and-miss sometimes.
Quality Issues for Corporate Christmas Gifts
Our experts are very passionate about our quality control process. They’ll make sure every order you place is spot-on and meets our and your standards.
In general terms, our QC process involves:
Final artwork sent to China
Sample sent to Red Tomato for QC
The sample sent to the client for approval
Approved items put into mass production
Packing photos – matched with art approval
Order sent to the client after Red Tomato has completed a final QC
Ideal Volume: How Many Items Should You Order?
Generally speaking, when ordering from China the rule is ‘the more the better’, meaning usually over 1000 units.
Over 1CBM* or 100kg – best to send via Sea Freight
25CBM = 20ft container
50CBM = 40ft container
*CBM = Cubic Metre
Bulk Pricing
When you decide to order general merchandise in advance to get bulk pricing, you’ll save time, avoid rushing factories, have a better chance of getting it right the first time, be able to be creative with your order and add fine details such as packaging and ‘surprise and delight elements.
One of our favourite Christmas corporate gift stories is Kennards Hire Christmas Monopoly 2018. Last year, Kennards was celebrating their 70th anniversary and wanted to thank and reward their staff for their hard work, effort and loyalty. They settled on a family classic, Monopoly, that would hero their branches and the range of products that they offer through the property squares, cards and custom tokens. Needless to say, the gift was a success among all recipients and is something they’ll cherish and use for a very long time.
Now you know how the process works and when to get started.
What’s next?
Check out our brand new 2019 Xmas Catalogue! Browse freely and make a list of your favourite items. Then get in touch with our experts so they can guide you through the entire process and make sure Xmas 2019 is unforgettable; plus, get great deals by starting your 2020 branded items planning now too!
It’s nearly time for Australian marketers’ Christmas in July. This means it’s time to celebrate the end of the financial year. You can use your remaining EOFY budget to throw a party for your department, but…
What if we told you that you can use your end of the financial year budget to win clients and boost your revenue in both numbers and reputation significantly?
A promotional product campaign doesn’t have to be big. When it’s strategic and backed by professionals, it can bring fantastic results. Such a campaign, with the right products and strategy, helps move clients along your marketing and sales funnels. Consider this idea and get in touch with the Red Tomato Promo Pros to get started.
Set clear goals
You should set clear goals to use your EOFY money efficiently.
These goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Your goals could include building up your email database, increasing catalogue downloads, or boosting sales. Whatever your goals, clarity is crucial for efficient use of your EOFY budget.
Some ideas might include building up your email database, increasing downloads of a new catalogue or ebook, boosting sales, getting more engagement, delighting your clients and so on. Whatever your goals are, it’s crucial to be clear about them in order to use your EOFY budget in the most efficient way possible.
Stand out and Conquer
During Christmas in July, many people give gifts. Even though 85% of people do business with a company after receiving a promotional product, it’s important to know your target audience. This knowledge helps you decide what product to use and when and how to deliver it. Doing your research, knowing current trends, understanding if they enjoy certain sports or hobbies, and being aware of their needs regarding season of the year, culture, and other demographic data is essential to finding products that will resonate with your target.
Don’t just send a branded pen. Partner with a Promo Agency that will invest research and resources into understanding your target, their needs, their problems, their situations, and do their best to solve them with the strategy and product we select.
Considering these facts will ensure that your promo products will be useful and your recipients will want to keep them.
Finding the right products for your clients
For example, for Valentine’s Day, at Red Tomato we wanted to send an appreciation message to our clients that would last all year round. To get the best results, we approached the project as a multifaceted campaign.Sending a traditional mailer driving them to a specific landing page was the best way to pique the interest of our target market. Plus, when our mailer went out, our team also sent an email directing clients to Red Tomato’s Valentine’s Day landing page. On the landing page, clients were able to claim a free gift of a mug filled with Red Tomato branded chocolates. This turned out to be a great way to personally deliver the gift to the client.
The gift was chosen because it portrayed our message of appreciation and was combined with good timing for Valentine’s Day because the message you’re trying to deliver is as important as the product you’re sending. In fact, the product itself delivers the message for you.(Read the full Valentines Day case study here)
Go With The Pros
As you see, the leftover budget at the end of the financial year can be used for a new promotional product campaign to successfully win clients for the upcoming year. Which in turn will help you increase your company’s effectiveness?
Want to get started on your promotional product campaign to win new clients or grow your business with existing ones?
Get in touch with us to make sure you see an ROI from your EOFY budget, check out our EOFY Catalogue to get your juices flowing and place your order before June 30 to take advantage of our Buy & Fly promo to go into the draw to win tickets for two from Sydney to New York.
Sports marketing is a powerful phenomenon. Marketers across all sectors aim to capture this. Every weekend and season, sports fans fill stadiums, bars, and homes. They eagerly await the start of the game. Moreover, they often wear their team’s promotional products. Jerseys, hats, keychains, and even team colours for their pets.
An Alluring Landscape for Sports Marketing
Such engagement and loyalty are what brands dream of. If your buyer personas show an interest in sports, it’s a golden opportunity. Sports marketing can boost your brand’s presence. You need to align your audience’s product needs with their love of sports. That’s how your brand can effectively tap into the sports marketing world.
Any brand’s dream, right?
If your brand’s buyer personas are into sports, there’s a power you can harness. It’s the power of sports to boost brand presence. You need a strategic position. This will connect your audience’s need for your product or service with their love of sports. Golf is a good example. It’s a high-class sport often associated with luxury, status, and power. It attracts a certain type of players and fans. If your research shows that your target audience is in the world of golf, then consider using golf as part of your marketing strategy.
Planning a golf event might involve sponsoring a tournament, hosting a golf weekend for VIP customers, or even organizing a golf weekend for employees to boost loyalty. So, planning ahead and making sure there’s an alignment of principles and preferences between your brand and the sports you’re connecting with is essential to successfully partner your brand with a particular sport.
Event Crowd Engagement
Sports events naturally draw large crowds, so preparation is crucial. To avoid disappointment at the event, strategize how your brand will interact and engage with the crowd at each point of contact. There are plenty of innovative and creative ways to do this; you’re only limited by your creativity and how well you know your buyer personas.
Promotional merchandise, carefully selected and disseminated, can keep your brand in your audience’s mind years after the event. Products that blend into the digital world can enhance your brand presence, and those useful in real life can remain a part of your audience’s daily life years later
Promotional Merchandise
Promotional merchandise can be a brand’s driving force at any event. The right promo merch can link all the emotions experienced during the event, keeping your audience engaged and entertained. But there has to be a connecting link between all these emotions, and that’s accomplished by tying the entire mood of the event with the right promo merch in your attendees’ hands.
A well-planned selection of promotional items can enhance your event’s engagement beyond its physical constraints. Your brand can benefit by creating promo merch that connects to your social media and web presence and remains a part of your audience’s daily life long after the event.
In the realm of B2B and many B2C marketing and branding, in-person events continue to rank among the most effective tactics. Pre-trade show marketing, however, stands as a crucial aspect of this approach.
Without a clear and concise marketing strategy that takes into consideration pre, during and post-show activities, you’re bound to come home wondering whether your time and money were worth it. Here are 6 tips to boost your pre-trade show marketing strategy.
1. Plan well in Advance
Most times, companies select the trade shows they’ll be attending far in advance, especially when there are registration deadlines. However, too many times they’ll register and then just forget about it until last minute. Others might just do both things last minute, even worse.
Either way, to do trade shows right, it’s imperative to plan as far in advance as possible. Make it part of your overall marketing strategy to carefully select the trade shows that best fit your goals (discussed next) and then plan a marketing campaign that is specific to each trade show.
This will require setting budgets, timeframes, staff, communication channels, and other resources that’ll ensure you get the most out of the experience.
2. Determine Your Goals now
Generating buzz? Raising awareness? Launching a new product or service? Reaching a sales target? Generating leads? Capture contacts? What are you looking to accomplish at the tradeshow?
Whatever your goals are, you have to make sure they contribute to your overall marketing and sales strategies/goals. Why? Because everything you do related to the show should connect back to accomplishing your objectives, both for the event itself and for your brand in general.
Don’t forget to make your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
3. Spread the Word
Start generating buzz as soon as possible. Some of the ways to do this include:
Host a webinar as a countdown to the show
Post on social media
Email your contacts
Publish blog posts
These tactics can cover subjects related to the trade show like:
Speakers not to miss
Sessions to attend
Breakout sessions that employees are leading
What you’re featuring at the show
Other important event info
You can also personally invite prospects and customers to meet you at the event. Give them a good reason to come to your booth and entice them with a pre-show promo product that gives them access to some sort of promotion, free consultation, etc.
4. Develop an Engagement Plan
While good engagement should be part of the event itself by having staff that actively participate, start your engagement before the actual show.
Contests, promotions, giveaways and other creative methods are bound to attract people to the show. But make sure these tactics are more than just marketing gimmicks. Give them careful thought and consideration so they reach the right people with the right item so you can generate legitimate conversations and leads.
5. Set Up Appointments in Advance
Make room for everyone who is important to your company. Don’t just schedule appointments with new leads or prospects. Also, invest some time into keeping in touch with current customers and other people who are influential to your business.
There’s bound to be some downtime during the show. Make the most of it and spend it wisely by scheduling meetings, talks, and other activities during low-traffic hours.
6. Establish a Clear Call to Action
While calls to action during the show are important, design a solid call-to-action strategy for your marketing efforts before the trade show. CTAs will help you track your success, create more buzz, and attract better leads to the actual trade show.
A couple of CTA tactics are:
Set up a landing page to promote your booth and encourage people to visit and download information.
Run a contest and encourage your audience to enter to win.
Create a hashtag for use on social media and encourage people to use it.
Ready to Get to the Show?
Trade shows are one of the best tools to promote your brand and grow your business. You know that. But to get a healthy ROI, you need a well-built strategy. Our experts are eager to help you get the most out of this process, so click here to visit our all-things Trade-show page where you can all the tools, concepts and ideas you’ll need to excel at your next event.
