"It think it's immortal. When e-cards came out, everyone said they were going to be the death of the greetings card business. But people prefer something physical," Prince told the BBC.

Businesses can distribute calendars as promotional marketing products to customers. The branded gifts are used all year, so the advertisements will effectively last longer than many marketing messages.

Choosing decorations
Small business owners can give away promotional wall calendars that customers can use as decorations in their homes. Companies can find unique calendars for their clients so that their gifts command attention.

You can find calendars that feature photographs of famous locations and artwork. Customers are more likely to notice your advertisements when they're attached to beautiful pictures, and every page has a different image, so consumers will regularly see your logos.

Calendars can also be used to increase business every month. Consider including coupons on each page so that your customers must return to your business to take advantage of special deals.

On the go
Businesses can also distribute pocket calendars to employees who frequently travel or work remotely. The small schedules can help staffers stay organized even while they're not in the office.

Companies can make the calendars more personal by adding employees' names to the covers. Staffers want to be rewarded for their efforts, and receiving a customized calendar can motivate them to keep up their hard work. Associates appreciate when their managers recognize excellent work, so the gifts can also boost morale.

In the office
Desk planners are excellent gifts for on-site employees and business clients. It's difficult to stay organized and maintain daily schedules, but desk calendars can help recipients track all of their deadlines and tasks. The promotional items can be particularly effective for business-to-business (B2B) vendors. Workers will use the planners every day and see promotional content, which increases brand recognition.

Businesses must start preparing their 2013 marketing strategies. Calendars can help companies start off on the right foot and contribute to unprecedented levels of success during the new year.

The post Get organized for the new year with promotional calendars appeared first on Small Business Marketing Blog.

January doesn't have large holidays like Thanksgiving, but there are still celebratory days that you can include with your advertising efforts. Capitalizing on these days can help you start the year off right and build momentum for the next 11 months.

New Year's Day
A good start can help lead to a strong finish. New Year's Day is a popular holiday, and businesses can participate by holding events to attract consumers who aren't working. Unique promotional products can act as incentives for customers who weren't planning on going out to start the new year.

Small businesses can offer promotional wall calendars to their patrons who come visit on January 1. Bankrate recently recommended that consumers wait until January to buy their calendars, and local establishments can reward this patience with free gifts.

Clients appreciate being given functional products for free, so the branded calendars should increase your customers' satisfaction. You can also use the promotional products to increase monthly business by including coupons on every page.

Business-to-business vendors can use similar giveaways and distribute personalized calendars and desk planners. Employees and companies want to stay organized during the new year, and establishments that help with that goal will reinforce their relationships.

National Handwriting Day
Since 1977, January 23 has been National Handwriting Day. The Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) chose the date because it is John Hancock's birthday. The day is meant to celebrate traditional handwriting, even as typing becomes more popular.

Businesses can celebrate National Handwriting Day by distributing promotional pens and notepads to customers. Parents and teachers can use the items to help their children practice handwriting.

Advertising on pens helps businesses by putting marketing materials directly in front of consumers. Customers frequently need to write notes and are exposed to brands every time they use pens. The American Marketing Association's (AMA) Baltimore Chapter notes that recipients frequently share small gifts, so businesses that distribute pens are advertising to large groups, not just individuals.

While January may not be as hectic as the holiday season, it's still an important time for businesses. 

The post Potential promotional opportunity days in January appeared first on Small Business Marketing Blog.

For small business-to-business companies, giving away functional office gifts could be the key to raising visibility among potential clients. Associates are busy and may have a difficult time staying on schedule. Instead of scrambling to find one on sale in January, employees typically appreciate having a desk planner well before a new year begins.

For consumers who are constantly on the go, a pocket calendar may be more useful. A business owner could emblazon an establishment's logo on every page to create brand constant exposure.

Calendars are an inexpensive marketing tool compared to other platforms such as commercials or print advertisements. These functional giveaways serve as a long-lasting campaign, so business owners will likely see a higher return on their marketing dollar. Potential clients will not only be exposed regularly to the company's brand image, but may even be grateful to receive such a useful gift. 

The post Getting a jump on next year’s marketing appeared first on Small Business Marketing Blog.

Partners can keep their associates on schedule and make sure nothing is overlooked with promotional items. If the entire staff was given a desk planner, every important project and its due date could be listed. The attorneys would be able to see what needs to be focused on and would not have to scramble because they forgot that an important deadline was approaching.

Pocket planners would make sure that the entire firm has access to its schedule when out of the office. If a lawyer has to leave and meet with a client, he or she won't have to remember that there is an important hearing an hour later.

All the attorneys in a firm would appreciate functional gifts that make their jobs more manageable. Managing partners can make sure the entire office is running smoothly and that no job is left unfinished with promotional calendars. 

The post Keeping a law firm on schedule appeared first on Small Business Marketing Blog.

The nice thing about a promotional calendar is that not only will a consumer see it every day, others will also be able to view it regularly as well. Each month provides a new opportunity to advertise the business logo and another of its products or services, or else a company can have the same image every month to reinforce the same corporate message.

Corporations that want to create a unified culture within the workplace can also take the first step with corporate gifts of wall calendars. These will present a consistent vision of employee loyalty throughout the office as each desk will have some business message present in an aesthetic way.

A different advantage

Since a company can totally layout its own calendar design, the options are only limited to what the organization can come up with. A Gather article pointed out that businesses can use these as a way of drawing attention to a specific day or series of events important to the company even without accompanying it with an image, making broader array of planners more appealing for use.

Having a date-keeping tool readily on hand will make consumers and employees associate the business with timeliness and organization, qualities that should be part of the corporate culture and are easily boosted with promotional planners. These can be handed out as workplace incentives or given to existing customers. Businesses can also give them away at conference or public events to draw new clientele and raise awareness of the establishment.

Many design options

Many different aspects can be customized with wall calendars, meaning every part of the consumer experience has the ability to be engineered by careful corporate design choices. Color, images, size and branding choices will affect the way a customer and employee use the item on a regular basis.

Promotional Merchandise Online wrote that balancing these decorating options with the overall function of the item give the promotional calendar the best impact in terms of a giveaway at any event. Viewers both within the organization as well as casual viewers should be able to get some part of the brand's impact just by looking at a well-designed calendar or planner. The company can also specify certain dates, highlighting calls to action when certain events the issuing organization feels are important and can help drive business should be looming. Accountants might consider tax season a prime time to put reminders on their promotional calendars for clients to contact them for assistance, for instance.

Melodika wrote in a recent article that these calendars, apart from being functional, also come in a variety of viewing designs that can make them more appealing to different audiences. Tear away pages, stand-up features and interesting shapes can all make a promotional calendar really stand out on a client's desk or in an employee's work station. These tools are versatile, affordable and will have staying power with recipients who turn to them to plan their everyday and upcoming activities.

The post Make your business part of every day with wall calendars appeared first on Small Business Marketing Blog.

As tradeshow giveaways, make custom coffee mugs that have lists of fun trivia on them. The mugs should have a series of questions with the answers on the bottom or the opposite side. Have the subject matter vary, from history to pop culture, so everyone can get involved. An example of a good question would be, "What NBA player has scored the most points in a single game?" On the other side of the mug it would read, "Wilt Chamberlin scored 100 points on a game played against New York March 2, 1962."  Your clients will get a kick out of quizzing each other as they take a break with a cup of coffee.

Personalized calendars can also be the source of smiles and entertainment. For each page of the calendar, put a riddle or a joke. The April joke, which would play on the theme of the month's rainy weather, would be, "What runs but never walks?" The answer: water!

To test someone's skills of logic, math or vocabulary, give away notepads that have challenging puzzles. The cover of the notebook would have your company's logo and on the inside there would be a word search, while the last page could have a challenging Suduko puzzle.The corporate gifts that you give out do not have to have anything written on them, but they can be included in fun gift packages, or come with printouts that have things like word searches or mazes on them.

Custom flash drives are also a great arena for more fun activities. While customers might ultimately use them to store their files, you can have them come with fun downloadable games, goofy pictures or more puzzles, riddles and jokes.

By associating your brand with fun and entertainment, you demonstrate a dynamic ability to mix business with pleasure. This will eliminate any impersonal facade, and it will enhance your reputation for approachability and openness, which translates into being an enterprise that has good customer service.

The post Inspire fun at the office with promo items appeared first on Small Business Marketing Blog.