How will you thank your employees?

This morning I surprised my employees by donning my red apron bright and early and making banana split pancakes for everyone as they arrived.  Whole wheat pancakes adorned with sliced bananas, coconut/pineapple and peach frozen yogurt and topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries.  There is just something special about starting a summer day with ice cream (or a healthy alternative to ice cream).  It was a hit and everyone was thrilled.  We love to surprise our employees – sometimes it’s gifts, sometimes it’s food, sometimes it’s a new shirt to celebrate a great win or a new season.

Showing appreciation to employees leads to higher employee engagement:

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to the organization and its goals, resulting in the use of discretionary effort. - Kevin Kruse, Contributor, Forbes

Employees with high engagement levels care more, are more productive, give better service, and even stay in their jobs longer. All of that leads to happier customers, who want to work with your company and also refer your company to others more often.  It is something that we strive to achieve with every employee.

Labor Day is just around the corner on September 1^st.  What a great time to recognize and thank your employees!  And it is even better when they least expect it. We have so many great ways to thank your employees – great coolers, awesome drinkware they will use every day, lunch boxes, ideas that makes their job easier and apparel that build pride.  Employees are proud of where they work and love to show off their logo’ed attire.  Food is great and employees do love it, but it’s also great when you can pair it with something they use everyday.  Your gift will be a constant reminder that they are appreciated and recognized for their hard work.  It builds pride, teamwork

and a sense of belonging.

We would love to help you put together a great plan to appreciate your employees!  Let us know how we can help.

Make your Advertising Count!

 When you buy advertising do you ask “What’s your cheapest ad?”

“Give me the cheapest Billboard” 

“What time slots offer the cheapest radio/TV spots?

Of course not – you want your advertising to be seen, to be heard, to be remembered.

And yet I still have people ask me – 

“What is the cheapest thing I can give away at a trade show?” 

 “I want to give away pens but I don’t want to pay more than $.25 per pen.”

“Which T-shirt is the cheapest?”

Is that what you really want for your brand?  Do you want a pen that doesn’t write well and gets thrown away?  Or a chip clip that breaks the first time the customer uses it; Or a T-shirt that never sees the light of day or worse yet, becomes a rag for washing the car?

We help customers choose wisely.  There are many great inexpensive items that actually work for you – calendar strips that stay in front of your customer all year, items that change color for that great wow effect, an array of useful kitchen gadgets and inexpensive pens that also incorporate a stylus.  Spending a few dollars more can get you a t-shirt that customers will love and wear often.  And with a great design from our art department, it can become their favorite – advertising for your every time that shirt is worn.  Let us help you choose promotional products that customers want and will use, and these items will go to work for you to remind your customers every day of your great products and services.

Do you own real estate on your customer's desk?

Your customer has a desk that they sit at every day – if they are like many, they probably spend more of their waking time there than anywhere else.  Do you own any of their mind share while they are working?  It’s so easy and they will actually thank you for it.

Promotional products are not just products - they are investments in a relationship with your customers or your employees.  Useful promotional products such as attractive coffee mugs, cool water bottles, as well as staplers, pens, calendars, tech items and fun toys can help you own real estate on your customer’s desk.  Your customer will thank you for your gift.  Choose wisely and they will love it.  And then, they will use them every day.  And when they use them, your company is prominently displayed and they will remember you, and think fondly of you, especially if you chose a great item.  This is not a time for "cheap junk".  This is not about which coffee mug is the least expensive.  This is about buying the best real estate you can and making a great impression.

Promotional products will provide you with all day advertising that your customers won’t forget.  They won’t remember the billboards on the way to work, or the ads they heard on the radio.  But they will remember your kindness and the great and useful gift you gave them – that buys you real estate on their desk – or in their kitchen – or in their car.

How can we help you buy real estate?

What I have learned in 20 years

Twenty years is a long time and yet it goes by so fast when you are busy building a business.  Stowebridge was started by Ron Thomas twenty years ago in the basement of our home.  He is the visionary behind Stowebridge and its success, while I run the day to day operations so he can focus on our customers and future growth.    

Entrepreneurship is exciting and scary and challenging every day.  I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family.  Good news is you get to guide the company to success.  That is also scary and challenging, especially in difficult economic times and especially when you are responsible for other employees and their livelihood.

Entrepreneurship is hard work but rewarding.  Good news – no one tells you what to do.  Bad news – no one tells you what to do.  So given all that, here is a list of what I have learned:

Take care of customers – make sure you exceed their expectations every day.

Remember customers are people and people choose to do business with people, so be the best person you can be.

A customer is more than just a single transaction – don’t let a customer be disappointed and lose a customer for life over one mistake – make it right for the customer.

Employees are your best asset.  They are the people with whom you spend your day; they are the people who help you take care of customers.  Value them and build a team of the best individuals you can find.

Great culture in a company is everything.  It comes from the top and the bottom.  It needs to be lived by every individual in the organization.

Hire smart people.  Fire people who don’t live the culture.

Understand that employees are people too.  They have lives that are filled with ups and downs.  Coach them, be understanding that they have challenges outside the workplace.

Keep learning.  Build a network of smart people who inspire you and challenge you.

Give back to the community – volunteer, share your skills and gifts with others.  Use what you do in your business to make the world a better place.

Take time for yourself.  Make time for friends.  Recharge, Refresh your soul, Breathe some fresh air.