In spite of a double dip recession, the UK economy is looking to bounce back, with predictions of 0.3% growth in next year’s forecast from the Bank of England. Times are still hard for many companies, especially public sector. Whilst there have been signs of growth, companies realize that keep staff motivational levels high are critical. There are perceptions of a potential axe hanging over jobs, clear communication and promotional incentives can go a long way towards maintaining a positive working atmosphere.

Big no-no’s for financial bonuses then, which are straight out of the window as many industries are having to deal with a raft of cuts, so cost effective ways are needed to strike staff incentives. Promotional business gifts can make effective staff incentives in these situations, with promotional gifts often coming in much cheaper than bonuses but with the same positive effect as an incentive. Using promotional business gifts to reward hard work and provide a staff incentive is an effective way of maintaining a positive atmosphere in the workplace.

Here are some more tips to maintaining a productive office environment:

• Weekly team meetings ensuring all staff know what’s going on and setting priorities.

• Big Ideas – offering a reward for a great idea. It may be a specific question, like how can we reduce our operational costs?

• Team building event to ensure departments work closely together.
Invest in consistent training and qualifications, which then go on display on the company’s walls.

• Don’t forget to celebrate significant birthdays and milestones for your company. Business gifts can be used as an alternative to cash bonuses, and who doesn't enjoy receiving a nicely wrapped gift?!

• Create an Employee of the Month award. There are websites such as Corporate Awards who can provide a bespoke corporate award that will acknowledge achievement.

• Celebrate Christmas with staff.

• Say “thank you” and “well done”: to each other if a big order comes in, or someone has done something beyond the call of duty. It is often the little things like saying thank you that make a big difference to people's attitude at work.

• Ensure everyone understands the job roles and responsibilities of the rest of the workforce and there is a sense of mucking-in when there is a very urgent job on.

• Promote multi-skilling. One person who can fulfil a number of different roles will obviously save money on staffing.

• Hold annual appraisals with quarterly reviews, which are diarised in advance.

• Share customer testimonials around the office – everyone will benefit by seeing positive feedback on the company, making them feel that their efforts aren't going to waste.
Simple and affordable measures can have a very profound effect on the working environment and will help to improve productivity in the workplace. Ensure effective communication and use business gifts to reward success and you can maintain a happy working atmosphere for everyone.

Written by Daniel Vince of promotional gifts, a business gifts Specialist Corporation

If recent reports are to be believed, we are all getting scruffier in the workplace. According to research by First Direct only one in ten of us wears a suit to work, with the same number of us strolling through the doors with tattoos on show. Jeans are now in, with thirty-eight percent donning denim at least once a week, and suits are out, with 37% only suiting up when there's an important meeting to go to.

So is this the end of traditional office chic and the start of a more modern, liberated view on workplace fashion?

Although office styles seem to be moving with the times, people still like to look good whether they're in the workplace or on a night out. The switch to a more relaxed style of fashion at work would seem to mirror the general trend towards a more liberal way of expression when it comes to what people wear, though the results do show that there is still a demand for more traditional office attire when there is an important meeting to be had.

Moving away from what people are wearing, where does that leave some of the more traditional items, specifically promotional business gifts that have graced the desks of business people for years? Executive business gifts such as posh pens, silver business card holders and paperweights have been the preserve of the office environment for years, and tie in very closely to the "suited and booted" image of the company exec or on the road business person. So if the workplace is becoming more informal, is there still a need for such elaborate items?

In the case of the executive end of the workplace it appears that image is still everything. Where people are called on to meet clients, host meetings and liaise with directors, it is still just as important to put on a businesslike front and that often entails wearing a suit and giving off a strong first impression. Where an individual might be the face of their company, importance is still placed on wearing the right suit and making the right impression with the pen they are using and the style of their business card holder.

Even in areas where executive items are evolving, they are keeping the same sharp sense of style as the more traditional items and new products such as branded flash drives have run with the traditional theme of formal and sophisticated office chic.

For now it seems that when businesses have to put on a show for their clients, partners and investors, suited and booted is still very much the way forward, so executive business gifts will still make up a significant part of the image that the modern exec is trying to portray.

Evolutions in modern day business gifts have brought us items such as branded flash drives, but even these reflect a more traditional and formal office style, so while trends are moving away from the suited attire of old, it seems that for execs and business people there will be plenty more life in the old suit yet.

Written by Daniel Vince of Corporate Gifts Co, a promotional gifts Specialist Corporation

Promotional business gifts can be a powerful promotional and marketing tool and the ability to brand a practical item and handing these out as gifts brings with it obvious benefits for increasing brand awareness.

Another area of marketing where promotional business gifts can bring benefits your company is in the building of better business relationships. Although not always looked upon as marketing, building business relationships can play an important role in securing future business and getting your name known in your industry.

So how can you use promotional business gifts to forge stronger relationships in the corporate world?

Get your Product Out There

People may not be open to the idea of receiving random samples on their desk, but put a nice ribbon on an item that you sell and that people can use in their day to day lives and people will instantly be more receptive to receiving it.

If you have a list of previous clients or have reached out to other potential customers, getting your product in front of them is the best way of showing them what it is that you do best. Do this in the form of a promotional business gift and you may find that a lot fewer of your samples end up in the bin!

Use Branded Promotional Business Gifts

Getting your brand onto a gift item is the more traditional way of using promotional business gifts and the quality of the promotional business gifts you use will have implications on how your brand is perceived by your recipients. When using business gifts with the motive of building business relationships, quality is the key. You need to consider both the effect that receiving the gift will have on your recipient and the effect it will have on the perception of your brand, with a higher quality item having obvious benefits to the company whose logo is on it.

Promotional business gifts for building relationships are different for the more promotional gifts such as promotional pens, they will need to leave a positive impression both on the recipient and for your brand.

Promotional business gifts are a great way of getting the word out about your company and they can be used to great effect by giving them out to your list of previous and potential clients as a way of reminding them of the products and services you offer. In a world of social networking and internet business relationships, business gifts can be a great way of giving your network of contacts a more real way of connecting.

Written by Daniel Vince of Corporate Gifts Co, a business gifts Specialist Corporation

The success of using promotional gifts for both marketing and motivational purposes is no secret; provide high quality gifts to staff and clients that are utilised for years as a way of recognising achievement and showing appreciation for continued business.  So how do you decide how much of your budget to allocate for promotional gifts?

Marketing

It is obvious that you will be looking for the best quality of service for the investment that you make, and when promotional gifts are used for marketing, they need to be a successful hit.

High end business gifts are normally reserved for your best clients, and where promotional gifts fit in is that they are cheap, easily reproduced and can be handed out in a gift set, at ease, even if that has to be in a polythene bag. Promotional products work by sending out to the larger audience, either as a retention strategy or as a branding tool for future new clients.

Promotional products already have an enviable success rate at raising brand awareness and driving new business, as it stands. This recent research by the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) shows what level of impact you could expect.

According to the research, 84% of people believe that a branded promotional gift increases awareness of the company’s brand, while 79% of people will be more likely to do business with the company that gave them the branded product.
This is a great way to illustrate the power of using your logo, your marketing power, and your corporate merchandise to fuel the conversion rate of interested customers, into an integrated buyer, and hopefully satisfied one at that!

Motivation

One other way of using promotional business gifts is motivating and energising staff. Desirable gift items, such as mugs, polo tees or pocket calculators could give them a little jab of enthusiasm and fulfilment. Affordability is an issue as when buying for many members of staff, as costs can quickly rise.

This is the most successful way of achieving the desired end-results without having to stretch out to buy high quality products, such as jewellery, desk items and photo frames. Include some presentation to add some sense of importance another way, try personalisation, with employees’ names, or the names of an award or scheme on them to enhance the promotional products.

Promotional gifts offer an affordable way of improving the morale of your staff, recognising their achievements and hard work. Sending out something, even if it is made of plastic, or just a more specialised piece of work attire, could show your appreciation of your workers, and make them part of your special tribe and detrimental part of the office, warehouse or wherever they may be.

Written by Daniel Vince of Promotional Gifts Co, a Promotional Business Gifts Specialist

With the talk of austerity hanging in the air of every news report and interview with the bank manager, value for money is very much the theme with any business purchases at the moment. For those that are spending, spending wisely is the theme of the moment and everyone in charge of making spending decisions is looking to get a little extra for their cash.

In the business world all eyes are turning towards Christmas and this celebration is still an important time for companies across the world. Bosses will have big decisions to make about how they celebrate the festive season, with many being forced into redundancies and pay freezes.

So what does that mean for this years Christmas business gifts? Is Christmas cancelled this year as businesses deal with the aftermath of the recession?

Not necessarily. When times are tough people don't just stop spending and in fact this would have a negative long term effect both to the company and the economy. What does happen is that companies hold on to their money and make what they spend go further. Rather than putting a complete halt on spending, they are looking for more value for money and to see what they spend as an investment.

This is why going premium with business gifts can be an attractive option when companies are looking to spend more wisely. The rule of Christmas still dictates that businesses will use gifts at Christmas to reward staff and thank customers and this is still an important way of increasing staff motivation and making your customers feel valued. At the lower end of the market, promotional gifts such as plastic pens can be very cheap but very disposable in nature as they do not have a high perceived value. In stronger financial times, the temptation can be to get an item to everyone you possibly can, meaning a large number of cheaper items are used as business gifts.

When times are tighter it will be more tempting for companies to look to their staff and best customers when they are thinking of giving gifts, buying fewer in quantity as a result but looking more to quality. Premium business gifts that have a high perceived value will be treated more as a personal present and be better received than their cheaper alternative, making any branding more effective and resulting in better value for money. If a business gift is of premium quality then it will stand out from others, giving not only the gift but the branding on it greater prominence and greater visibility.

The fact that it is also less disposable in nature gives it a greater chance of being used, let alone the positive effects it will have on the company who gave it by the fact that it is a more distinguished object. The business gift that is given will inevitably reflect back on to the company who gave it. If the gift is cheap and tacky, what does that say about the company who gave it?

Rather than stopping spending altogether, businesses can spend more wisely this Christmas and create a positive image for both their brand and their future prospects.

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Daniel Vince writes articles on issues surrounding business gifts industry for The Promotional Gifts Company. They are aimed at professionals in the marketing, promotional and events industries, as well as those who are looking for effective ways of motivating and incentivising their workplace. You can find other helpful articles at The Promotional Gifts Blog.

Bosses will have big decisions to make about how they celebrate the festive season, with many being forced into redundancies and pay freezes. So is Christmas cancelled this year as businesses deal with the aftermath of the recession?

With a slow economy turning it’s treadmill on at 0.5, it is hard for your company to feel energetic. Is growth is going to speed up the momentum any time soon? Staff can feel demotivated, travelling a forward projectile leading to nothing, tired and over-stressed canned in to a numeric plod.

What of the hamster spinning the wheel overseas somewhere prospering, like Norway, or the paranoia that creeps in, as the company offloads another employee and a desk is being cleared?

Well here is a great idea to lift the gloom and get people energetic. Forget about the hamster analogy and think about sitting back and enjoying the cruise, you never know a little gift could be coming your way! Using business gifts to reward hard work and provide a staff incentive is an effective way of maintaining a positive atmosphere in the workplace.

Whilst a financial bonus it might not be, as cut backs to many industries would put a black ruler and a pen through this sign of true courtesy; business gifts can make effective incentives throughout a tough situation. With corporate gifts being a much more cost saving way of showing staff some positive perks, bringing out the gifts to all of your staff, even if you are part of a larger company, is a good way of saying thank you to all of your employees.

Here are a few more tips to maintain a productive office environment:

• Manage a weekly team meeting, to ensure all staff of what’s going on and setting priorities.

• Bright Idea – offering rewards for a great idea. It could be something specific, like questioning how can we reduce company operational costs?

• Team building event ensuring departments work closely together.
Investment in training and qualifications, which you would proudly display on the company’s walls.

• Don’t forget to celebrate significant birthdays and milestones the right way. Business gifts can be used alternatively to cash bonuses, and who doesn't enjoy receiving a nicely wrapped gift?!

• Employees of the Month award. Get a suitable trophy from somewhere such as Corporate Awards, who provide a bespoke corporate awards set that will acknowledge achievement.

• Celebrate Christmas in the office, with staff.

• Say a “thank you” and “well done”: to each other when the big order comes in, or when someone has done something beyond the call of duty. It is often the little things like saying thank you that make a big difference to people's attitude at work.

• Make sure all personnel understand their job roles and responsibilities of one another within the organisation, and there is a sense of mucking-in where needed.

• Promote multi-skilling to your employees. One person who can fulfil a number of different roles will obviously save money on staffing.

• Hold annual appraisals with quarterly reviews, which are booked in advance.

• Circulate your customer testimonials around the office – everyone will benefit by seeing the positive feedback, make them feel that their efforts aren't going to waste.

Simple and affordable measures do have a profound effect on the working environment and will help to improve productivity in the workplace. Ensure effective communication and use business gifts to reward success and you can maintain a happy working atmosphere for everyone.

Business Gifts, Business Gift, Promotional gifts, Promotional Gadgets, Promotional Gadget

Written by Daniel Vince of Corporate Gifts Co, a Business Gifts Specialist Corporation

Business gifts can be used for a wide variety of occasions and it is important to give the most appropriate gifts that are fit for purpose. Whether you are using business gifts as promotional items or corporate incentives, you will need to ensure that your gifts are the right items for the right occasion.

It is the same with any gift giving occasion, whether it's for businesses or personal gifts and getting the balance right is important.

So why is it important in business? Let's look at the reasons why you might give business gifts and how to make sure you strike the right cord every time.

Business Gifts for Marketing

When you are using business gifts for marketing, they will need to have a promotional aspect to them in order to achieve your marketing goals. But be careful not to go over board as your business gifts will still need to be practical or decorative in order to prevent a fate in the bin.

Business gifts such as promotional flash drives will succeed in carrying your promotional message whilst still providing a valuable function, offering a visible and practical platform with which to display your brand. It is this practical aspect that means your business gifts will be used more often and your brand will be displayed to the world as a result.

Business Gifts as Incentives

It is important for staff to feel rewarded and motivated, and business gifts can help to provide a sought after incentive.

Using business gifts to reward hitting targets or as a way of thanking staff on completion of a project is common practice and when using business gifts in this way it requires a slightly different tactic to when using them for promotional purposes.

The business gifts you use should be more executive in nature, with a high perceived value and any branding should be subtle. When using business gifts as incentives you should be aiming for the more exclusive end of the business gifts spectrum, giving staff products that they will be incentivised to work for and grateful to receive.

Business Gifts for Clients

When buying business gifts for clients, there are many different variables to consider. For starters, are you even allowed to send business gifts to a particular client? In some industries, giving gifts to clients is a big no-no, especially in government sectors, so before placing your order and spending your cash, make sure you aren't breaking any rules.

Once you have established that you are allowed to send your clients business gifts, you will need to decide how much you are going to emphasise your promotional ambitions. Of course, you want them to know and remember who it was that sent the gift but you also don't want to appear like you are spamming them with your promotional merchandise.

When giving business gifts to clients, desk items and executive toys with the "fiddle factor" can prove to be extremely effective as they are fun products that will retain a visible place on your client's desk. More over at Christmas, send over some Christmas Gifts to clients who’ve been really good this year!

Whatever your motives for using business gifts, it is important to ensure that you use the most appropriate business gifts to meet your requirements.

1) Your Company
Any marketing campaign must be appropriate to your company, reflecting what it stands for and projecting its values. For example, don’t choose confectionary if you are a health food company – this is an obvious example but reflects many common mistakes that companies can make. Business gifts have gone beyond putting your logo on a generic gift item; it should be an item that reflects the message of your brand.

2) Your Promotional Campaign
Marketing campaigns come in all shapes and sizes, but they should all have specific goals and targets in mind. Your choice of business gifts must be aligned with these goals and targets and be designed to help the campaign succeed in reaching them. Consider whether your business gifts will assist and enhance your campaign and how they can be used to best effect.

3) Target Audience
Profile your target audience and make sure you understand what drives them and pushes their buttons. Your choice of business gift must be appropriate and desirable. Longevity and visibility is the key, so choose a business gift that will stay with recipients for some time and will be something they will use often to get your brand maximum exposure. Also consider whether a personal gift or a workplace gift would be more appropriate.
If you can align these three things; company, campaign, and customer, and provide a strong, positive brand image, then your promotion stands the best chance of achieving success.

Business gifts have come a long way over the past couple of decades and the market is more sophisticated both in terms of what can be supplied but also in the expectations of purchasers. But what can business gifts do to improve the success of a marketing campaign?

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Written by Daniel Vince of Corporate Gifts Co, a Business Gifts Specialist Corporation

Despite talk of a weakened economy and not much money being around, if you’re in business then life has to go on. As is normally the case, marketing departments will take one of the biggest hits when cost cutting measures are announced but expectations do not seem to fall quite as quickly, so for many departments that will mean trying to achieve the same results on a drastically reduced budget.

This can prove problematic if you are trying to get across a distinctive brand image for your company, appealing to a high end target market through your advertising and promotional campaigns. Personalised business gifts have always been an effective way of portraying an executive brand image, so can you still utilise these for your campaign if your budgets have just been slashed?

When it comes to business gifts, it is often not how much the product cost that matters, it is the perceived value that the recipient has of the gift based on the appearance of the item. It should also be something that represents the qualities of the brand and any promotional or advertising activities that are currently being undertaken. Because of this, it is possible for marketing departments to still make the most of the benefits of business gifts despite budget cuts having taken place.

Brand Image

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get across your brand image, even if your target audience is of a more discerning nature. High perceived value is what it is all about so combine this with a relevant product that enhances your brand values. Whether it’s flash drives to develop a modern image or business card holders for a sense of executive style, it is still perfectly possible to use business gifts to get your brand image across to your customers. You might have to make a few sacrifices when it comes to the material that the items are made from or the memory capacity of the flash drives, but ultimately these business gifts will still have the necessary effect in order to enhance your promotional ambitions.

Wow Factor

It’s all about appearances and appearances can be deceptive! If a gift is beautifully presented, personalised and epitomises the company’s brand values then nobody is going to question how much the business gift cost. Fortunately this is all possible without spending a small fortune. Some companies will offer free presentation boxes and affordable gift wrapping services with branding included in the price, so making your business gifts look great should be both effortless and affordable.

We may all be living in a world of austerity but rather than cutting out all expenses it is simply about making those expenses go a lot further. Rather than shelling out on the latest shiny toy, the same results can be achieved with a little thought, some creativity and a lot less cash.

Brand Benefits
Any occasion is a good occasion to boost your brand, and 2012 is full of them. Business gifts can be used to help create a celebratory atmosphere while getting a branded product to those that count.

Using corporate gifts to mark your company anniversary will also bring these benefits to your brand by giving you an opportunity to get your branded gift in front of your customers. Rather than coming across as a blatant promotion, giving your customers gifts to mark your anniversary will show that they are valued and that you are looking to include them in your celebrations.

Building Trust
It might be tempting to keep company celebrations in-house and not involve your customers by giving business gifts but that would be overlooking a great opportunity to build an image of trust around your company.

If you have been around for twenty years then you must be doing something right, and it shows that you are not a company that is there one minute and gone the next. It certainly doesn’t hurt to let your customers know this and it will help to build their perception of you as an established name that can be trusted.

Rewarding Staff
As well as the marketing benefits attached to using business gifts, there are motivational ones too. Giving business gifts to staff is a great way of thanking them for their efforts and shows that you realise it is their efforts that have kept you going for so long.

It is a great way of involving everyone in the company in your celebration and will help to create a great atmosphere in your team.

Company anniversaries are a golden opportunity to market your company and enhance staff morale, and using business gifts can help you to achieve these goals.

When you are looking ahead to your anniversary year, consider how you can use business gifts to maximum effect.