Gratitude as a Business Strategy

Gratitude as a Business Strategy

“Having gratitude as a business strategy means putting people before money. It means consistently thanking and celebrating your clients, customers, and community. Gratitude should be the cornerstone of your business. Make gratitude part of your mission and brand values, let it be the heart of your company culture…”Wendy de Jong, Founder of The Gratefulist

Being grateful isn’t something that should be reserved just for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day or the holiday season. While it may seem a strange concept in the corporate world, everyone needs to feel appreciated. Expressing gratitude as a business strategy is highly effective, not only for your employees, but also for your clients. As a marketing professional, you are likely aware of how vital it is to know your demographic. It is equally as important to show your clients appreciation.

 

Humanising Your Marketing

Thank you gifts, gratitude as a business strategy

We’ve previously discussed the concept of gratitude, and continue to do so, because it will truly improve your success as a company. The best marketing strategy is one filled with thankfulness. Rather than solely focusing on the B2B or B2C sales approach, think about marketing with an H2H philosophy.

When you break things down to a human-to-human method, you recognise your clients as people, not as piggy banks. Treating others as living, breathing, feeling creatures is generally a great idea. However, connecting with your clients on an emotional level will help them form a positive view of your company. It will also develop customer loyalty. Think about it. Wouldn’t you rather position yourself as a generous, caring business rather than a mediocre one doing business just for the paycheck?

 

Gratitude as a Business Strategy

“Research shows that customers spend more, employees accomplish more, and vendors are more likely to pay on time, if they receive regular gratitude.” –Steve Bookbinder, CEO of DM Training

Yes, you read that correctly. Gratitude is an excellent marketing strategy, and one that will help you improve your ROI. There are many ways that you can express your appreciation to your loyal clients throughout the year. Whether you are looking for thank you gift ideas or client appreciation gifts, we’re here to help you prepare for corporate giving.  The following are just a few ways to show your clients gratitude:

 

Voice your gratitude with simple thankfulness

• Sending handwritten thank you or “just because” notes

• Extending your recognition on social media, celebrating your clients’ accolades and opinions

Nurturing your clients, working just as hard to keep them happy as you did to initially win them over

Thank you gifts, gratitude as a business strategy

Show appreciation with personalised gifts

• Giving individualised birthday and Christmas presents

• Sending thank you for your purchase gifts on large orders

Thank you gifts, gratitude as a business strategy

Help your clients grow along with you

• Providing exclusive client access to informational blog posts and webinars

• Referring new customers to your best B2B clients

Thank you gifts, gratitude as a business strategy

There are so many ways to show your clients gratitude while integrating appreciation into your business strategy. For more ideas, get in touch with us so we can help you build your company with loyal clientele!

Have you implemented gratitude as part of your marketing strategy? What has been most successful for you? Let us know in the comments below!

Girls Guide to Golf

Girls Guide to Golf

You have just been called into your bosses office and he is truly excited about the company getting to host their very own golf day; inviting all your top clients and key stakeholders. You smile through your teeth and say “sounds great”, but you are actually petrified. Not only you don’t have a clue on how to tell apart a putter from a wedge, but you also don’t know the type of golf ball that will impress the CEO of your biggest client. Golf can be a little overwhelming. However, here at Red Tomato, we pride ourselves on making golf superstars out of all our clients. We know that with our team’s extensive experience, we can get your golf day up and running on the highest level.

Here are 4 tips to help you survive planning your corporate golf day:

Planning!

Determine your Golf Day goals. What do you need to achieve from a golf day? Setting clear objectives will help you find the perfect people to invite as well as allowing you to spend quality social time with your best clients.

planning corporate golf day

Here are some awesome reasons to participate or even host your own golf day:

  • Do you want to show your clients a great day out in the sun?
  • Are you celebrating your employees’ good work?
  • Are you looking to mingle with your favourite suppliers?
  • Are you wanting to spend time with an important client?
  • Are you trying to position your brand?
  • Do you have a key product or service that you would like to launch or sample with a specific demographic?
  • Are you wanting to support a good cause or charity?

Choose your golfer.

Golfers come in many shapes and forms, but in general, if they love golf and are typically quite brand conscious, they’d prefer brands such as Callaway Golf, Titleist, and Footjoy for their golf balls and equipment. In some cases, they’d even pass on the free golf balls if they don’t carry these names. In Australia alone, there are over 1.18 million golfers and over 1,000 golf coursesFor this reason, you can count on several different options available that can be effective in helping you achieve your marketing goals to engage with clients, staff, and golf enthusiasts alike. As a business, you need to decide if it is better to invite 3 or 4 of your favourite clients for a more personal round of golf at a local prestigious club; or buy a few groups on a charity day, maybe splash out and host your very own day, or sponsor a local Holden Scramble event, or even go the whole hog and sponsor a National/International golf tournament such as the PGA Championship or Fiji International.

planning corporate golf day

Set your budget.

Decide how much you want to invest and do it well! Choose well done over, mass marketing when hosting a golf day. The power of using a Titleist ball co-branded with your company logo over a cheaper ‘no-name ball’ will give your brand great kudos amongst your peers, and it also ensures it doesn’t get thrown in the trash. Select the right location with green fees, carts, and a great food and bev package. Food and Booze! The essentials to any golf day are to have good food and great drinks to keep the mood going through the day. (See below our fav locations).

Image text - choose well done over, mass marketing when hosting a golf day

Organising goodie bags or tee gifts or just a thank-you pack of 3 balls and tees for all guests is a must. Custom polo’s and caps are great for this. It will help the photos of the day look awesome by adding a sea of your company colour and will give life to the golf day long after the event; you never know, it could become their lucky golf shirt! (Anywhere from $10-50 is a good amount to spend here). If you are sponsoring or hosting the day, don’t forget to brand up the course. Get your own custom golf flags, organise hole signage, you can even get your very own custom caddie bibs! Last but not least, prizes… Good prizes are always a great way to ensure people will be back the next year if they weren’t lucky enough to snaffle a prize this time around. Click here for some golf day prize options available.

Location, Location, Location.

It’s always about location. It will make or break for a golfer to go to your golf day. Corporate golf days are sometimes the only way many golfers can get the opportunity to play on great courses. Australia has many private courses that open up, especially for corporate golf days. Most high-end executives that play golf will have a membership at one of these courses, so if you host your day at a mediocre course, you might end up struggling to influence the right people to take the half-day off work to come to your event.

planning corporate golf day

Here is a list of courses we recommend in each state:

Sydney:
  1. NSW Golf Club
  2. St. Michael’s
  3. Royal Sydney
Melbourne:
  1. Royal Melbourne GC
  2. Kingston Heath GC
  3. Huntingdale GC
Adelaide:
  1. Royal Adelaide
  2. Kooyonga
  3. Grange Golf Clubs
Brisbane:
  1. Victoria Park GC
  2. St. Lucia GC
  3. Indooroopilly GC
Perth:
  1.  Joondalup GC
  2. Royal Perth GC
  3. Lake Karrinyup GC

At Red Tomato, we have a great deal of knowledge on and off the golf course and have been looking after clients such as PGA Australia and Golf Australia with their corporate merchandise for several years now. If you are looking for more information on the ins and out of a golf day, feel free to reach out to Justin Reynolds and we will be sure to help you make the most of your golf experience. Ready to plan your next corporate golf day? Find more resources here:

Use Golf to Promote Your Business
Promotional Product Toolbox

Your Complete Employee Onboarding Checklist

Your Complete Employee Onboarding Checklist

Your team invests a lot of time and energy into recruiting and hiring a new employee. A large part of new employee satisfaction is ensuring they are onboarded properly. Here is a complete employee onboarding checklist for you to make sure your new team member feels prepared for success.

1. Send a Pre-Arrival email 

Once your new employee has signed their contract and has an official start date, make sure you send them a “pre-arrival” email with all of the information they will need for their first day. This email is essential in making sure your new employee feels prepared and enthusiastic for their start date. In the case that they have only spoken with a recruiter and a hiring manager up until then, it will also put them in touch with the person they can ask for any onboarding or first day questions.

Here are some things you can include in that pre-arrival email:

• Introduction sentence congratulating the employee on receiving the role

• Office address and any information they will need to access the office

• What to bring to the office their first day

• Any paperwork they will need to fill out before their first day

• Office dress code

• Employee handbook

Image text - Make sure your new employee feels prepared.

 

2. Send a Welcome email 

A welcome email will be on their start date. It should come from the HR team. The welcome email will welcome the new employee to the company as well as introduce them to the rest of the team. A welcome email could include:

• Picture of the new employee

• Link to their LinkedIn profile to encourage other team members to connect

• Their role and department

• Fun fact about the new employee

Image text - Introduce the new employee with a welcome email.

 

3. Make sure they have the tools they need 

Depending on their role, part of your new employee onboarding checklist will be to make sure they have all of the tools they need to perform their job. This could include a computer, uniforms business cards, specific software, etc. Make sure you speak with the new employee’s manager to determine what they will need on their first day to be successful in their new role.

Red Tomato merchandise with a message - make sure they have all of the tools they need to perform their job.

Read: Are Company Uniforms Necessary? Everything You Need to Know

 

4. Prepare their welcome kit

Welcome kits are useful for a number of reasons and should be included in your employee onboarding checklist. They help improve employee satisfaction by making them feel welcome at their company since day one. If created correctly, they can also instill company values and create a sense of company loyalty with your new employee.

To be effective, welcome kits should include a mix of important onboarding information and fun company swag.

Red Tomato set of mechandise

Read: What to Include in a Welcome Kit for New Employees 

 

5. Plan out their first week 

Managers should have a plan for their new employee, but so should HR. Make sure your new team member is scheduled for training, classes, or anything else that they will need to complete their first week.

Also, try to include some fun activities. Maybe a one-on-one coffee with the department head or a team activity to get to know their new coworkers.

Girl drinking coffee using Red Tomato coffee mug

Interested in receiving more tips on how to increase employee satisfaction? Remember to subscribe to our newsletter. 

6. Plan a first-day lunch 

Make sure the new employee has lunch plans for their first day.

Does the entire team work in the office? As a step in your employee onboarding checklist, maybe plan a first-day lunch with the employee’s new team. This will foster a sense of team and collaboration from day one. Is the team unavailable for lunch? Have a HR employee take the new employee out to lunch. Since they will already be in contact with the employee from before their start date, they will be a familiar face for the new employee.

Food on the table with image text - make sure the new employee has lunch plans with their first day.

 

7. Introduce them

If their immediate manager is in meetings on the new employee’s first day, take the opportunity to introduce them to their team members. Make sure you also introduce them to other departments they might not have as much interaction with. Introducing your new employee will make them feel a lot more welcome on their first day.

Are there other new people joining the same day? Make sure to introduce them to each other and they can ask each other “newbie” questions!

Image text - take the opportunity to introduce them to their team members

 

8. Explain more perks of the job 

Are there some perks of working with your company that weren’t explained in the hiring process? Make sure to create a “Guide to Company’s Perks” for your new employee. These can help instill company values from day one and also ensure your new employee feels knowledgeable about their new company.

Some of these perks might include:

• Travel stipends or discount programs

• Company Health and Wellness programs

• Different company cultural activities they can get involved in

• Referral bonuses

Red Tomato guide to company's perks

 

9. Check in with them

As you can see in this checklist, there will be so much going on for your new employee. Make sure you reach out to them and check in with them throughout their first week. Ask if they have any questions or if they need anything. They will appreciate the opportunity to ask.

Image text - make sure you reach out to them

 

10. Get feedback 

Hiring and onboarding should be a continual process of improvement. After their first week or two, ask the new employee for any feedback on their interview process and onboarding. If you believe they had a really great interviewing experience, ask them to leave an interview review on your company’s Glassdoor page to increase your visibility.

Image text - after their first week or two, ask the new employee for any feedback

Ready to start planning your employee onboarding program? Download here your own Employee Onboarding Checklist:

Onboarding checklist

 

Using Promotional Merchandise at Events to Attract Clients

Using Promotional Merchandise at Events to Attract Clients

As an Event Manager, do you think that the only events you should be attending are tradeshows? Well, we’ve got news for you. The more that you expand your vision, the more that your demographic (and business) will grow. If you are in the field of technology, get it out of your head that you can only attend IT conferences. From sporting events to concerts to street fairs, the limit of your brand’s reach is up to you. Whatever event you choose to attend, be sure to arrive prepared not only to mingle, but to make a strong connection with potential clients. In this article, we will discuss how using event merchandise will translate into gaining loyal consumers.

event merchandise ideas and tips

No matter which way you spin it, people love free stuff.

How often do you see people turn away free samples of food at your local market? How many times have you seen people go crazy for a free t-shirt at an event? Look at your collection of pens; we bet not many are store-bought. A free product is one of the easiest ways to get a person’s attention. However, we want to show you how to use that initial interest and successfully convert it into revenue.

event merchandise ideas and tips

Which events should you attend?

The first step is to choose your event wisely. Think about your current demographic and how you could expand it. Delve deeper into different age groups, ethnicities, and interest groups. For example, say you run a craft brewery. However, you are only drawing in broke, post-college graduates who come in specifically for your happy hour. Sure, you value your current clientele. Nonetheless, you realise that you, too, might be living in your mother’s basement if you don’t bring in higher paying clients.

Think about what kind of people you’d like to add to your clientele. What do they do for a living? Where do they hang out? What are their favourite activities? As the owner of the craft brewery, you may want to make an appearance some golf tournaments. Pay a visit to your local casinos or rent a booth at the next car show. Choosing the right events to attend is crucial. However, it is only part of the equation. Knowing the keys of using promotional merchandise at events will make your investment worthwhile.

event merchandise ideas and tips

How do you determine which promotional products to use?

When choosing the merchandise to pass out, don’t take the easy road. Skip what everyone else in your field is handing out. Unless you’re trying to attract writers, don’t bother with pens. Use your creativity to stand out as much as possible; design a quality product that people will actually use. In the instance of the craft brewery, a beer bottle opener, an eye-catching t-shirt, or a schooner glass would all work seamlessly as promotional merchandise. Why? Well, people who drink beer would actively use all three items. Each time they do, they will think of the brand that was so generous with them. When you are giving, it’s very likely that this act will be reciprocated – in the form of purchasing your products. This is how loyal consumers are born.

At Red Tomato, we are here to help you successfully grow your business, no matter if you’re a veteran or in the process of creating a start-up. If you would like to discuss ideas about which events or promotional products are right for you, please let us know! We will work side-by-side with you, helping you create the perfect alchemy of investment, creativity, and increased revenue. You will be amazed at how using promotional merchandise at events can lead to life-long clients, who in turn will very likely bring in referrals.

event merchandise ideas and tips

Are you ready to start planning your next event? Download your Free Event Planning Checklist and make your life easier.
Tradeshow Preparation Secrets

Tradeshow Preparation Secrets

Perhaps you have put on trade shows before, but gave up on them because they didn’t yield the results you expected. Or maybe this is your first time organising a tradeshow and aren’t sure where to start. No matter your situation, we want to reassure you that trade shows are absolutely worth the time and effort, if done right. They are an effective way to spread the word about your services, gain brand recognition, and ultimately grow your business.

Nonetheless, behind every successful trade show is a ton of organisation and preparation. We understand that planning a trade show can be overwhelming, and this is why we have created a trade show checklist for you. By following this list, you are sure to be ahead of the game before, during, and after your show.

What are you waiting for? Start planning now with the help of the following tips:

tradeshow preparation checklist

1. Create a realistic budget.

2. Book your hotel accommodations and arrange travel plans. The earlier the better!

3. Prepare your booth and products.

A solid trade show checklist starts with deciding on booth size, messaging, imagery, and decorations. Make sure your booth is well labeled and eye-catching to visitors walking by. Make sure you have enough brochures, business cards, and promotional products to give out to leads.

12 commandments of tradeshow and exhibitions

4. Decide on promotional products.

Tradeshow visitors are more likely to visit your booth if you are giving out a product, and are 80% likely to keep that promotional product for over a year. Make sure your promotional product strategically combines creativity, brand messaging, and usefulness to have the greatest impact on your booth visitors; turning prospects into leads.

5. Hire staff.

Trade show visitors are not likely to wait in line to talk to your company, make sure you have enough staff on-site to chat with booth visitors!

6. Thoroughly prepare your staff.

Practice, practice practice! Know what messages and language you want your staff to use when they’re chatting to booth visitors; make sure they’re prepared to convey your company’s message effectively.

 tradeshow checklist preparation secrets

1. Avoid generic questions, such as: “Can I help you?” and “Are you enjoying the show?”

Remember that you want to stand out.

2. Be chatty

Be the friendliest you can – waiting in line for the bathroom, buffet, seminars, etc. You never know whom you might be standing next to.

3. Network with your competitors.

Have a set schedule of times of when you are working the booth and when you are able to walk the floor.

4. Collect business cards.

tradeshow preparation checklist

Always follow up!

Only 50% of exhibitors will follow up with the people who visited their booths, if you are not, your competitors will be. Every single person you speak with should receive a follow up within 24-48 hours.

Here is a checklist of how you should go about following up to make sure your company message effectively resonates with booth visitors:

1. Select follow up channels

Online, email, telephone, direct mail, and face-to-face. The channels selected will depend on the individual and how they prefer to communicate.

2. Create a schedule

3. Check availability

Look at your availability over the next 2 weeks following the event and decide when you are able to dedicate time to contacting leads.

4. Decide the priority of each person

(1st is hot lead, 2nd is warm lead, 3rd in cool lead, 4th is not lead). Here are some examples of ways to reach out:

Hot leads – send a handwritten card or text message first couple days after the event, then later a LinkedIn Connection, and a couple days after that a promotional product and a coffee invite.

Warm leads – these are the most often miscategorised leads, so make sure to have a follow-up call to qualify them and which also makes a personal connection.

Cold leads – send a FAQ email, video message, or recap article a few days following the event, then a week later make a telephone call.

5. Make a calendar of how you will reach each person and the message you will send.

6. Execute plan.

7. Say thank you.

Remember to say thank you to the parties who helped make your trade show a success. This includes:

Key vendors – LinkedIn recommendation, email, tweet, etc.

Booth staff – handwritten card

Your spouse – flowers, handwritten card, etc.

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Download here your pre, during and post Trade show checklist.