8 HOT tips to improve your logo branded apparel ROI!

Are you giving your clients what they want? If not, you are throwing your marketing dollars away and will be a victim in this economy. People want functional, eco-friendly, comfortable and trendy. So what does that consist of for 2009?


1. V-necks for men and women are hot! Comfort and appeal is the key to this style. For a more upscale look put an oxford dress shirt with it. The V-neck style can be worn day or night from the gym to the board room.


2. Performance wear...you can't go wrong! Whether for the gym, the golf course or the tradeshow floor you'll always be in style and comfortable in performance wear. Wrinkle resistant, stain resistant and moisture wicking fabrics just to name a few help you perform and look great doing it.


3. Sustainable apparel will keep our planet healthy for generations to come! Organic fabrics, recycled and reused materials and environmentally responsible manufacturing is a win-win for everyone. They feel great too.


4. Tailored shirts & jackets. Ladies want to look like ladies in their clothing and prefer a coordinating women's style to the men's instead of unisex, one cut fits both sexes approach.


5. Plaid, plaid and more plaid! Whether it's just a hint of plaid or a full garment, plaid is a hit in 2009. A touch of classy and subdued plaid will be worn amongst the trendiest consumers. Great for accessories too.


6. New printing techniques are abundant. With screen printing new techniques are being created to give a leather look. Glitter that doesn't rub off is popular with the ladies. Foil transfers have been around, but they are pricey a solution has been created called foil ink. Great look without the high price! A new technique called discharge ink is coming out now. Like the sublimation technique you really can't feel the imprint This technique is a water based ink that takes the dye out of the garment. Laser etching on denim and micro fiber actually burns the image into the apparel. You need to see this in person. It's very HOT! Definitely giving your clients something to talk about.


7. Where to imprint? As always left chest is the most popular especially in the corporate world. High end/upscale apparel keeps it's classy appeal by embroidering tone on tone. Ladies prefer a subtle left sleeve imprint over the left chest. To appeal to the younger markets all over prints, shoulder to chest prints and large front prints are very HOT! Instead of just putting your logo on the left chest add visual appeal by adding graphics around it.




8. The 2009 color pallet for men is neutral tones such as black, khaki, blue and of course olive. Ladies should expect to see more colors with greens, subdued oranges, plums, darker yellows and brighter blues. The colors shown are the 2009 pallet. As summer approaches expect the shades shown to get brighter. Once fall appears they will darken.



To be successful this year you must be creative and focus on what your clients want. What will give you the most impressions, what imprint will entice your consumer to wear your advertising? A logo alone doesn't do it anymore. Graphics are hot and consumers want retail appeal. Give it to them. It doesn't cost anything additional, but your ROI will be greatly improved.




Promotions that get results!
Shana Anderson
Complete Workplace, Inc.
Milpitas, Ca

Success secrets for 2009!

With the downturn of the economy many businesses feel it's time to tighten their belts and focus on surviving instead of what keeps them in business. Businesses are closing every day. With these 4 easy steps you can ensure a successful new year.


#1-Plan your work and work your plan. Take time to plot out your marketing plan for the entire year. Include tradeshows, e-mail blasts, direct mail, etc. How often do you want to "touch" your clients? Can you work time in monthly to personally "touch" each of them? If not focus on your top 20%. Acknowledge their birthdays, send articles that pertain to their business. After each order and every referral send them a thank you card/gift. Ask yourself, what can you do to keep a personal relationship with your clients so they stay loyal to you. Are you using social networks for your clients to keep in touch with you? Make your list reasonable. Doing too much can give you paralysis.


#2-Make a list of 5-7 things that you will NOT do this year. These are items that aren't productive or work against your goals. Such as cleaning your office during normal business hours. Wasting time and energy on projects that produce small or no results. This list is as important as #1 above.

#3-Follow-up! It's important to keep your client abreast of the status of their order. If it is supposed to ship on Monday. Contact them on Monday afternoon and let them know it did with the expected arrival date and tracking number. Within 1-2 days of it's arrival contact your client and confirm that it was received and that they are happy with it. If they aren't do what it takes to fix the problem. Ensuring their satisfaction keeps them as your client! Fall in love with your clients and they will fall in love with you.

#4-Motivate your TEAM! Make sure your employees are on the same team. Getting them to buy into your vision is the only way your company can survive. Your employees are the only people who are more important than your customers. Take time to recognize the employees who make a difference to your company. Reward them. Up their benefit package, give them a bonus, a gift, an extra day off. So many possibilites that don't have to break the bank.

Implement these ideas a little and you will gain a little, implement them a lot and you will gain a lot. If you decide not to implement them at all you will get nothing.

Happy promoting,
Shana Anderson
Complete Workplace, Inc.
Promoting your business is our business!
www.CompleteWorkplace.com