Gifting - The Corporate Level

Personalized, valuable, beautiful, functional, etc.  What can you describe using all these words?  Your staff?  Your volunteers?  How do your gifts to them recognize the best qualities you feel they exhibit in their work?

Recognition gifts can effectively express how you really feel about your staff when they provide more than a token expression of thanks.  Ask yourself how the gift you've selected for someone on your staff will appear to them.  How thoughtful does the gift look?  Does it provide value to whoever receives it?

There are two ways to approach gifting in a corporate environment.  One is to select a universal, 1-size-fits-all gift and present it to everyone receiving recognition for their efforts.  The other way is to hand-select 1 gift at a time, perhaps even ordering them personalized if possible.

Here are the benefits of 1-size-fits-all gifting:  It's easy on your time and gift budget.  Also, it can appeal universally to everyone in the organization without fail.  (See an example of this solution)

Now for the personalized, unique gifting:  It's personal, obviously, so it can mean a whole lot more to the recipient.  Selecting gifts one at a time also adds diversity to the presentation, especially if everyone receives them at the same time.  It makes gifting a whole lot more enjoyable for the giver and the receiver.  Care to find anything that crosses your fancy as a unique gift for your staff?  You can search by different categories of products, or price range, or even colors.  Unique gifting can still be simple.

How to find new products for retail

Finding new products for online or brick & mortar retailing is easy with Keystone's product search engine.  Access to over 500,000 products means customization, quality, & uniqueness all in one location.  Here's how to find a new product on our search engine:

1.  Identify what the product is that you're looking for.  (product category examples: art, balloons, leashes, zipper pulls, etc.) 
2.  Choose keywords to describe details about how you want your product to be made.  (examples: ceramic, latex, leather, metal, etc.)
3.  Identify a quantity & price range you can afford to purchase for an initial order based off the target retail price & profit per item needed.

Once you identify any of these details, using the product search engine is simple.  You may find more options are available by leaving some keywords out of your search, or eliminating a specific price range.

Once you find a product you like, use the Request Quote or Request Info buttons to get answers to your questions before placing an order.  If you like a product from your search results, you may also use the Place Order function to get started.  Image files for customized imprint can be submitted online, as well as payment information and the shipping address where you need your new product to arrive.

Questions?  Contact us via the Request Info button or call 800-240-8639 Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Standard Time.  Out phone number is listed on the product search engine also.  Here's to happy product searching, and more retail profits for your store!

How to Develop Products to Win New Customers

As is the case for any retailer, the fresh, new inventory is what brings regular customers back, and brings new customers in more often - whether online or in the store. If sales are flattening out instead of growing consistently, it's time to take a serious look at product development. Here are a few critical questions to analyze before creating new products:

Which products are newest in the store? How long has the old product been offered? If you compare the total sales reports to each piece of merchandise, what are your strongest players? What are your weakest? As any retailer needs fresh merchandise regularly, and it is best to eliminate the weakest products from the line-up to make room for new items. Of course new items are a gamble until you have sales numbers to measure your shoppers’ reactions to them, but that’s reason to start with the smallest possible quantity on the first order. If the new item is a hit, then by all means order more… and then more… and finally, more!

Any retailer following this formula will see sales volume rocket towards the stratosphere (There are other conditions that may hinder sales, such as poor personalities among the staff, etc, but we trust the bad eggs are not allowed to remain in the egg carton to spoil the rest).

Look at the sample items enclosed objectively. What of the samples are already represented in the store? Which items have a purely function purpose? Which have an aesthetic purpose? Which ones serve both purposes to your customers? Now consider the niche market that each item serves among your customer base. Is there a customer profile who visits the store (other than young children), but rarely purchases anything to your knowledge? What kind of items need to be added to attract their spending dollars as well?

This may seem like a lot to digest, but it’s a winning formula in retail. Good luck coming over to the winning side of product management, and feel free to contact Keystone Specialties for help.

Promotional items bring sales growth

Custom promotional items are everywhere on the planet. Look at a tube of toothpaste, your favorite pair of shoes, or a gift card from your favorite store. Every manufactured item we use contains a logo representing a brand we closely identify with, and therefore feel comfortable using. It's a "touch point" used by the company owning that brand to keep us as a customer. So, how do you design your own brand identity to grow your organization's sales or fund-raiser support? You need to start with a professional promotional product development team.

Keystone Specialties designs new products every day for thousands of organizations, both non-profit and for-profit corporations. As a customer looking to grow your sales or raise funds, all we need from you is an open mind. Send us your organization's logo, or a picture you would like to feature on a product. We have direct access to 4000 quality manufacturers, a professional art staff, and 28 years of marketing experience. When we win you as a customer, we will see your project through from start to finish, and we'll even check in after your product arrives to help you promote it successfully. Visit us today on the web, and find marketing possibilities beyond your imagination.