10 Sage Marketing Tips

These marketing tips are brought to you by Sage.  Sage (S2119) is our 7" American Eskimo Plush Dog .  Sage is a profoundly wise character that brings holiday joy and business marketing tips.  

1. Don’t try and run with the Big Dogs if you’re not a Big Dog.  Trying to make yourself bigger than you are will end up biting you in the tail.
2. Customer’s like Dog’s need attention.  Take the time to show them appreciation, but don’t lick their face.
3. Dogs and customers were made to be close companions, don’t treat them like a meal ticket.
4. Customers are smart but you have to make your message simple. 
5. Give more in each interaction than you ever expect to receive. 
6. Communicate a vision and cause beyond your product or service. 
7. Never stop making a first impression with your customers. 
8. Listen to your customers and make sure you hear them. 
9. Your personal attitude is your most valuable piece of marketing. 
10. Be passionate about what you say and carefully decide how to deliver the message. 

What should a Supplier do when they receive this type of email from an End Buyer?

From: Karen
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 4:22 PM
To: Jennifer Jaman
Subject: RE: Distributor Request from Promo Marketing User: Karen Sherrill

We’re not members of ASI, SAGE or PPAI.

But our corporate structure is such that we support 6 brands in the physical therapy industry –  so most suppliers (like Gold Bond, Hit, LogoMark, etc.) sell to us as a distributor.

Thanks,

Karen 

ARTISTIC ALERT: DELIVERY DELAY - Longshoreman Strike

We expect some of our customer orders will be delayed due to the pending Longshoreman Strike for all East Coast Ports.  The looming strike has a 90% probability to go into effect at midnight October 1, 2012.   Please be see the most recent news release

http://kuehnenagelusa.newsweaver.com/7tdz34sn3xasqeqwyuf7to?email=true&a=11&p=27392895

The shipping carriers have already introduced CONJESTION SURCHARGES in anticipation of the strike.  If the strike does happen more additional costs and delays will occur.  We cannot accurately estimate your delivery time and additional costs at this time; however, we are preparing our team to understand the costs and to discuss alternatives with customers.  We will be closely monitoring the situation and schedule a meeting with you to discuss timing and costs should the strike go into effect. 

Some experts think that since the government has the ability to step in and control the ports, the November elections could play a factor.  

Unlimited Potential

 

Sometimes we are limited by our beliefs.  Over the last 7 years I felt that since Artistic Toy supplies plush toys exclusively to independent distributor companies that it would be biting the hand that fed us if I began attending community networking events where I would be introduced to more end user clients versus  distributors.  In the last 4 weeks, I started challenging myself around this belief discovered I am missing huge potential for our Company.

 

(1)   BNI Networking Meeting -   I attended my first meeting and decided not to join for a number of reasons; however, encountered an uncomfortable situation with a Distributor Salesperson that felt threatened by my attendance.  Today, Five Thousands Forms – David Eiskowitz is visiting our office to meet our team and will be working with me to create a Character Marketing Presentation that I will deliver directly to his 30 BNI members on how and why they should use Plush Toys over other promotional products.

 

(2)   Business Partner Referral – Our Accountant’s Stortz& Associates recognized that one of their preferred providers KeystoneFinancial Management was placing an order for promotional products.  They emailed the Marketing Coordinator and told her to consider using us to help them source their products.  I spoke to the Coordinator and told her why toys were the best promotion she could use and to prove it to her I was sending a sample to her office.  In the meantime, I also noticed from an email copy that Don Spencer – Boundless Networks - Valley Brandworks was attempting to build a relationship with this end user.  Artistic Toy never worked with Don; however, after sending him a duplicate sample and speaking to him about this opportunity he was thrilled to work with us.  Today, I spoke with the Sr. VP of Sales Marketing for Keystone Financial Management who explained he would be placing an order with Don for a couple of hundred of our bears to give out into a school networking functions. 

These two experiences and several conversations PPAI Board Member, Team Member, and Editor have convinced me to think differently about the Supplier Distributor Relationships.  In business and in life we have to continue to re-define ourselves and think about how we are adding value.  I am happy to say suppliers can work directly with end users and maintain the integrity of the supply chain.  This truly is fulfillment of Artistic Toy’s Unique Selling Proposition…. “Helping You Build Character”  

Enjoy The Process

Sometimes people make things harder than they need to be.  I for one want to make a system out of everything I work on.  If I’m going to invest my time to figure out how to do something, I want to make sure it can be replicated and others can achieve the same success as me, if not more.

 

Unfortunately, the system view comes at a cost.  It costs us extra time, effort, and learning.  The thought of taking yourself through the entire process again in the form of documentation is painful.  More work….Ahh!  I’ll never be done what I’m supposed to do and finish the documentation.  So we lose heart and leave future success to chance, versus documenting our experience and teaching others. In order to overcome this dilemma we need to shift our focus from all the things we need to do, to all the benefits our work will provide us and our team members.  Taking the first step is the hardest part.  Don’t worry about perfection.  Start your documentation as if you are writing it to go in the trash can. 

 

I was excited to learn about team members how are starting documentation and also jumping into things that need immediate fixing.  J.J. and Jim have started documenting and training on their Set-up and Closing procedures.  They will be following this up with role reversals and schedule shifts to confirm all aspects of the system are understood and can be replicated.    Jenn and Kelly have jumped in head first to improving our Marketing.  They are investigating Tradeshows, developing WOW type email flyer concepts, and exploring the exciting world of social media.   

 

The last paragraph of our Strategic Objective states that “every area of the Company has a set of documented systems”, “procedures help facilitate training and reliable delivery”,  and “team members are empowered to make decisions”.   What it doesn’t say is that this is a heck of a lot of work, but you can have fun doing it.   Thank you to these team members for embracing our vision and making road to success more enjoyable.

        

Jim Socci, President

Change Marketing

Change Your Market

Change Marketing is imperative for the 21st century and the name of Artistic Toy's campaign that informs marketing professionals how to think differently in terms of the products they are using and the messages they are sending to their customers.

Marketing is an attitude, not a department, and your client's marketing message is represented in everything they do from answering the phone to arriving at their next appointment. If they are not considering the psychological and emotional impact of routine business activities they are missing extremely valuable opportunities to connect with clients and prospects.

It is a well known fact that people buy more for emotional reasons than objective rationale. You need to know the ways to connect with the emotions of your target audience. Studies have shown that businesses who can emotionally connect their lead generation and lead conversion activities to their customers experience three times more business from those customers. Ever imagine why McDonald's would choose to fill their "happy" meal with lots of fun toys and games?

While the economic down turn has slashed marketing budgets, I challenge you to help your clients think differently. Develop successful strategies that emotionally connect before they re-invest in the same, worn out methods they were using before. It is change that has proven to drop to your bottom line.

Artistic Toy will be featuring sales tips and creative product information focused around our popular line of reversible puppets to help you engage your clients in the Change Marketing conversation. We will feature 7 products over the next 14 weeks focused on emotional triggers in the most popular industries. We challenge you to join us and change your market.

Character Ad Challenge

One of the biggest barriers to selling plush toys is overcoming the intimidation factor.

"You want me to walk into my client's office and present a toy as a viable marketing strategy. That’s crazy…. Who would use such a bold and outrageous tactic? I have very serious clients who will throw me out of their office if I presented a childish gimmick."

This objection and consequently misconception is rampant in the minds of Promotional Product Distributors and their clients. That is why Artistic Toy has launched the Character Ad Challenge.

We challenge you within the next 30 days to review your favorite industry or business journal and tell us which advertisements you found with a reference to a Character. Last month I got my first copy of the Harvard Business Review and you may be interested to know what I found. See our new web page Characters In Marketing to review the results.

This type of market research is exactly what you need to overcome any hesitation you may have about presenting plush toys. The experience you gain from this search will equip you with confidence in your quest to build character and generate orders that can change your future. Everyone that participates in this challenge will find new lead opportunities and magazine results posted on our Characters In Marketing webpage. This webpage will soon become a place you can visit to see hundreds of advertisements with examples of characters being used in marketing. This will be a great foundation for you to present new ideas to your clients or prospects with confidence.

It’s the 21^st century, and to remain competitive you must innovate and you must commit to learning what it is you don’t know. You must continue to self-educate in order to see more clearly so that you and your business continue to grow. Be eager to learn, do something intentional to grow every day as you move closer to reaching your potential.

Artistic Toy is committed to principles that will help enable your organization to achieve its growth potential. We value your time and thank you for taking the Character Ad Challenge.

To participate in the Character Ad Challenge:

Send an e-mail to esocci@artistictoysmfg.com including the Publication Name, Publication Date, Page Number, and a brief description of the ad. Then check our Characters in Marketing webpage to see all submissions.