ADDRESSING THE MARKETING AND HUMAN RESOURCES PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR A PROSPEROUS FUTURE
Pens to Promotions
Historically people have recorded and conveyed thoughts, feelings and the mundane minutia of everyday life through their use of writing instruments. From the time cave men scratched pictures on the walls of caves with stone- sharpened tools to astronaut’s pens that write in outer space, man has used a writing instrument either crude or refined to communicate.
The earliest means of writing that approached today’s pen and paper was developed by the Greeks, who employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone or ivory, to place marks upon wax-coated tablets. Other cultures developed inks from natural dyes and the Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’. Ink invention paralleled the creation of papyrus and then parchment. Parchment promoted Roman inventors to convert bamboo stems into primitive fountain pens with a nib or point – squeezing the reed forced the fluid to the nib.
The quill pen, made from a bird feather, was introduced around 700 AD and would dominate writing for the longest period of time – over 1,000 years. Left wing feathers, which curved outward and away, were favored by right-handed writers with goose feathers being the most common. Swan feathers were of a premium grade and crow feathers were the best for making fine lines. The average quill pen lasted about a week and was sharpened with a special knife – origin of the term ‘pen knife’.
In 1884 Louis Waterman, inspired to improve early fountain pens after destroying a valuable sales contract with leaky-pen ink, patented the first practical fountain pen. Early inks caused steel nibs to quickly corrode, they were replaced by gold, which proved to be too soft alone. So gold nibs with iridium tips became the standard. Because it took about 4 months to break in a new one, people did not tend to loan their fountain pens to anyone. To this day fountain pens command a special cache as a personal accessory and are often used as an upscale recognition or promotional piece.
But the undisputed king of the promotional world, the number two most utilized promotional item, was about to be invented. In 1938 Laszlo Biro invented the first ballpoint pen after observing how quickly the ink used for newspaper printing dried leaving the paper smudge-free. Because this thicker ink would not flow through a regular pen nib, he fitted his pen with a tiny ball bearing, which rotated picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper. The British Government for the war effort purchased Biro’s patent licensing rights and as they say the rest is history.
In the early 1950s, a French Baron named Bich dropped the h from his name, started a company called BIC® and began selling pens. By the late 1950’s BIC® held 70% of the European market. BIC® went on to purchase Waterman® Pens and today the highly popular modern version of Laszlo Biro’s pen, the BIC Cristal® is a part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MOMA), at the Department of Architecture and Design. In 2005, BIC® sold its hundred billionth ballpoint pen*. (*statistic from www.bicworld.com)
Along the way, the pen became the second most popular type of promotional merchandise. The lowly ballpoint has been molded and shaped in amazing ways by the creative minds of promotional merchandise suppliers. It pulses, attaches to a carabineer, is in a bottle or a penhouse, is a baseball bat, wears a non-profit ribbon and unsnaps to fold flat for mailing. And for those movers and shakers on the run, it even attaches to your cell phone – because while you always have something to write on (even if it is yourself) you always need something to write with!
Whether it is around your neck at work or a trade show, proudly displayed as a remembrance of past accomplishments or events, or given to you at a bank or charity event to sign a check, the pen in all its forms has possibility. So, the next time you set down to map out your marketing strategy, look at the item in your hand and consider contacting a promotional merchandise consultant to make it a part of your campaign.
By: MaryAnne Morrill, Brilliant Publishing
Nine Ways to Fall in Love with Your E-Mail Marketing
When it comes to e-mail marketing, the last thing you need is for your customers to take you for granted. As memories of the holidays fade, it’s time to rekindle the passion between you and your customers. Reigniting this passion is even more critical now that Internet service providers are looking at engagement – open and click-through rates – as a major factor in deliverability. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, following are nine ways to connect with your customers through every stage of the relationship:
• Ask them out. Make sure you have the permission of your customers by using the gold standard of a double opt-in. You wouldn’t show up at a stranger’s door for a date, so don’t show up uninvited in their inbox.
• Flirt a little. When prospective customers opt in, you don’t want to bombard them with too many offers immediately. If you come on too strong, you might scare customers away.
• Wine and dine. Present your best offers early on in the marketing sequence. We all dress up a little more for a first or second date than we do for a 10th date, and the same is true for e-mail marketing. Put your best foot forward by sending your best deals and promotions up front.
• Avoid being clingy. When the infatuation inevitably wanes, position yourself for a long-term relationship by presenting personalized offers, allowing them to adjust mailing frequency to their preferences. Don’t abuse the relationship by being clingy; instead, be reliable yet respectful of their privacy.
• Delight them by doing something special for no reason at all. Your customers know you’re in business to make money, so when you give something to them with no obligation, they will take notice.
• Surprise them with a very personalized offer. The best performing e-mail campaigns are ones that speak directly to your customers’ individual needs. In the consumer space, major online retailers have had great success with e-mails targeted to consumers who abandoned purchases with items in their virtual shopping carts. The best results originate with e-mails featuring the shopping cart item that are sent three to six hours after abandonment. Business-to-business marketers can re-engage by messaging clients who were viewing their whitepaper library but did not download a whitepaper.
• Remember your anniversary. Thank your customers on the one-year or six-month anniversary of their first purchase. Make sure the promo is tailored to their past purchases and is not just a general offer.
• Give them a chance to talk. Create a short, simple survey to let them tell you honestly what they think of your relationship. Do they want more space? Is your merchandise in need of a makeover? Are there things you used to do that they miss? Now’s the time to find out the honest truth. Win them over at the end of the survey by offering them a surprise gift.
• Can we still be friends? If a customer is just not in to you, accept it and let her opt out. Thank her for her business, and avoid burying the opt-out link. On the opt-out page, give her the opportunity to “friend” you on Facebook or follow your Twitter feed. If you end the relationship with class, there may be a second chance down the road.
By: John Murphy, President Reachmail
Rhino-Marketing-Specialties
