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Wednesday
November 4, 2009

Social Media Contest for ESP Online for Macs

Filed under: Community, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI

I’m the chief technology officer for ASI and I’m also a Mac user, so I’m especially excited that we’re developing ESP Online for Macs that will be available soon to the advertising specialty industry.

To be among the first to be notified when the new ESP Online for Macs is available, register here.  And we’re starting the celebration early by giving away a $250 American Express gift card – good as cash – in a drawing among users who engage with us in social media.  Just share your comments about the new ESP Online for Macs, or any other ASI product if you’re not a Mac user.  Tell us what you think. 

Enter the contest three ways:

—  Post a comment right here on Tim’s blog about the new ESP Online for Macs or any other ASI product.  You might tell us how we’re helping, or what you’d like us to start providing.

—  Visit ASI’s Facebook page here and become a fan – click the icon at the top with the plus sign that says “Become a fan.” 

—  Go to Tim’s Twitter page here, and become a follower by clicking the “Follow” button.

If you’re already a fan of ASI’s Facebook or a follower on Tim’s Twitter – or both – you’re automatically entered.  You can still post a comment here on the blog for an extra entry.  If you don’t have these accounts, visit the sites through the links above to get your free account.

The new ESP Online for Macs will run right on your operating system – no Windows required and no third-party software needed (like Parallels). 

If you don’t use ESP Online and you have a Mac, using ESP will change the way you do business.  It allows suppliers to feature their products for distributors, and allows distributors to quickly search and find the best promotional products for their end-buyer clients among nearly every product in the industry.

Watch these sites for more information about ESP Online for Macs, and let me hear from you.  Enter the contest – it’s open now through November 30, 2009 (rules). 

— Keith

Keith Tuskey is the chief technology officer for ASI.

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Wednesday
November 4, 2009

ESP Online for Macs: The Revolution

Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI

You wanted it, and you got it.  ESP Online for Macs will be here in early 2010. 

That means anyone using a Mac – including myself since I just switched from a PC – will now be able to run ESP directly on their computers.  No other installations or third-party programs are needed, and no additional cost. 

If you want to be among the first to receive ESP Online for Macs, register now at asicentral.com/macintosh. 

Now, that’s revolutionary. 

The development of ESP Online for Macs has been underway for several months and you’ll get your first look with a demo at the upcoming ASI Show Orlando (Sunday, January 3 – Tuesday, January 5, 2010). 

To read the press release with more details,  click here.

ESP Online is of course the industry’s leading sourcing and marketing program with 2.5 million promotional product searches conducted in a typical month.  About 32,000 distributors use ESP today to access products from 3,500 reputable ASI suppliers and market their products to end-buyers.

In addition, the program allows suppliers to view products (without pricing) from all suppliers included in ESP Online, to help them benchmark their offerings versus the competition.  Suppliers can also view all ASI Supplier Ratings, to learn more about the positions of other suppliers within the system.

For your chance at $250, participate in the ESP social media contest underway now in the very next post after this from our CTO Keith Tuskey. 

I’d love to hear about your ESP experiences, so post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Tuesday
November 3, 2009

Power Summit Video About Economy

Filed under: Community, Education, Industry Initiatives, Members, Research

Everyone gathered at the 2009 Power Summit in California has seen, heard and learned a lot already at numerous sessions, speeches and networking opportunities.

Click here for a video outlining these key insights from our sessions:

  • Exclusive session with economics expert Roger Farmer. This last year was really about a lack of confidence, which means companies lacked any real decision-making about purchases. Going forward, inflation is possible, which would affect prices of raw goods from China.  But, as jobs start to recover, wages will go higher. He predicts it’ll take about five years for unemployment to drop back down from 10% to about 5-6%.
  • What’s working and what’s not.  Executives in this session said communication was most important right now, with clients and employees alike. Have a baseline plan that outlines how to get more revenue and how to cut costs appropriately.  And just because the economy is down doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recognize and reward your staff. 
  • U.S.-made products versus importing. Know where your products come from.  If clients ask you where the product was made, you need to know, and you need to know if it’s safe. Interestingly, price is not the sole factor in a purchase.  Safety and the manufacturing source are very important.

Click here for the video. 

What are your thoughts? Post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Monday
November 2, 2009

Help shape the future – join a new ASI advisory board

Filed under: Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI

The secret to serving customers well is relatively simple:  Listen, and then take action on what you’ve heard.  Every day, ASI listens to members’ needs via emails, phone calls and conversations. 

Over the past few years we’ve also enjoyed great feedback through our editorial and ASI Show advisory boards, which help us make tough decisions while providing significant insights from multiple perspectives. 

Now, ASI is going one step further and establishing four new advisory boards where we will share information, discuss pressing industry issues and receive guidance from each other.  The four boards are:

  • ASI Advisory Board
  • Technology and Operations Advisory Board
  • Marketing, Public Relations and Industry Research Advisory Board
  • Safety and Legislative Advisory Board

I’m thrilled to be involved in these boards and work directly with each board chairperson.  Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, will chair the ASI Advisory Board and the other three boards will be chaired by one of the ASI members serving on each board. 

Board member positions are not honorary.  We expect everyone to be involved and prepared for each meeting, and board members will have the opportunity – through our discussions and meetings – to shape the industry and in some cases ASI’s role in the marketplace.

I’ve had the pleasure of serving on several boards, including for-profit, non-profit and advisory.  Each experience has been personally and professionally rewarding, allowing me to gain new experience while benefiting the organizations by sharing my knowledge and insights.  I’ve developed lifelong relationships that have increased revenue in my own organization. 

The more energy I’ve put into a board, the more everyone benefits.  So the cliché rings true: You get what you give.  No matter who you are, no matter what size your company is and no matter how long you’ve been in the industry, I encourage you to consider serving. 

To nominate yourself or someone you know, complete the online form by clicking here, or send me an email at dale.denham@asicentral.com.

The nominating committee will select the final ballot from the nominations and present it to ASI members for an online vote in December.  Final board members will be announced in January.

Details about each of the boards are available in the press release here.

— Dale

Dale Denham is senior vice president of ASI.

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Monday
November 2, 2009

2009 Power Summit Happening Now

Filed under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI

The ASI Power Summit 2009 at La Costa Resort and Spa near San Diego is underway.

In the last 24 hours, we’ve enjoyed a speed networking event, a keynote speech by Hollywood marketing wiz Gordon Paddison and an interview with economics expert Roger Farmer, which yielded some fascinating answers.

Check out the photos we’ve posted so far by clicking here.  Much more news is coming through our editorial channels soon, so stay tuned!

If you’re here with us in California, I’d love to know what you think so far, so post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Friday
October 23, 2009

ProfitMaker Speeds Your Monthly Close

Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI

In today’s fast-paced marketplace, anything that speeds and simplifies business is a huge plus, which is why I’m excited about the new automated features in ProfitMaker that make running a business as easy as one, two, three.

ProfitMaker, the premier order management and accounting system, now allows distributors to schedule month-end reports to run automatically.  Users can choose to start the processing immediately or at a specific day and time, and reports will be stored in a corresponding and easily-accessible directory.   

The new enhancements also include:

  • Payments using credit cards: distributors and suppliers can order a payment to a credit card company, while simultaneously removing the open invoice for the related vendor being paid by the credit card. No paper involved.
  • Automated email alerts: distributors and suppliers can setup email alerts for key events in ProfitMaker to provide information to decision-makers when they need it. Examples include alerts for order follow-up, past-due invoices from customers and reorder notices.
  • Vendor document folders: documents, graphics files and scanned correspondence for each vendor (or item) can be stored in one document folder and accessed anytime within the order entry graphics tab.

According to David Wirth, president and chief operations officer of ASI Computer Systems, ProfitMaker gives distributors, suppliers and decorators more time for selling since it cuts time spent on order management and office tasks.

For more details, please read the press release here.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with ProfitMaker, so post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Wednesday
October 7, 2009

Suppliers can now View all Suppliers’ Products in ESP Online

Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI

If you’re a supplier – check this out.  We’ve made some changes to ESP Online and I think you’ll love them:

—  You can now view products (without pricing) from all suppliers in ESP Online, to help you benchmark your offerings versus the competition.  If your product lineup is ahead of the curve, now you know.  If it’s behind, now you know, and you can adjust your marketing accordingly.

—  In addition, you can also view all ASI Supplier Ratings, so you see where you stand among other suppliers in the system.

Take advantage of the new enhancements today and improve your business so you can sell more.

The latest upgrade is being delivered automatically to current users and will be completed over the next several weeks.

To learn more about ESP Online and for a free demo, click here.   To read the press release, click here.  I’d like to hear about your recent experiences with ESP Online, so post a comment or email me here.  I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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