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Monday
May 11, 2009 Cut Costs on Credit Card ProcessingFiled under: Education, Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits Do you know what you are paying in credit card processing fees for your customer orders? I can tell you most distributors, suppliers and decorators significantly underestimate the rate they are paying associated with accepting credit cards. Your monthly merchant account statement will have a rate posted on the front page. However, hidden additional fees are typically on the back pages. Hidden fees can be confusing and may not even be posted as a percentage. When you add the posted rate and the hidden fees, the effective rate can very easily double and even triple. The ASI Merchant Account Program, provided by Access Group, can help you understand your current costs by providing a FREE, no-obligation savings comparison that will identify your current rate and all of the additional hidden fees. The program typically saves members on average 30%, and can be as much as 50%. Take a minute now to complete the savings comparison form. Also, see how the ASI member program stacks up against other programs and how it provides you with the most value – click here for an analysis. Especially in times like these, I encourage you to take a serious look at this ASI member benefit and see how much you might be able to save automatically on something you’re probably doing everyday in the course of your business. For more member benefits from ASI, click here. – Cathy Martino is affiliate relations manager for ASI. Email her here.
Tuesday
May 5, 2009 New Virtual Trade Show for our IndustryFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI May 20 is a special date on the ASI calendar – our virtual trade show for the industry featuring Dard Products, Maple Ridge Farms, Prime Resources, and other top suppliers. This all-day, real-time event is the perfect alternative in challenging times for distributors, suppliers and decorators to connect, network and sell – without packing a single suitcase – and will feature a variety of top suppliers. And, it’s free for distributors.
A virtual trade show isn’t a substitute for face-to-face meetings at bricks and mortar trade shows (ASI Chicago is coming up fast in July), but we’re thrilled to provide an additional way to bring people together. Today it’s more important than ever for salespeople and suppliers to find each other, find the right products, and sell. And for many sales staff who often can’t travel to industry shows, there’s no more productive outlet than this show. Click here for a video message from me with more information.
More details are provided in the press release, available here. And if May 20 is already booked on your calendar, don’t worry. The show will be available anytime for six months following the live event. Registration for the ASI Virtual Trade Show is available to distributors for free – and with an added bonus. At registration, distributors will receive a free download of ASI’s new Distributor Success System – worth over $180 – with tips and proven strategies to spur business. Visit asicentral.com/vts to register. Let me know what you think about the trade show by posting a comment now or by emailing me here.
Monday
April 27, 2009 The ASI Store is open for business 24×7Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI In today’s fast-paced marketplace, 24×7 is the new 9-5. So it’s no wonder online sales are growing at four times the rate of offline and businesses need to offer around-the-clock convenience. ASI is responding with the opening of the ASI Store, a new online shopping site available to distributors, suppliers and decorators. With the click of a mouse, ASI members can buy products and services, including the ESP Online business tool, customized LogoMall company websites, ASI catalogs and subscriptions to Counselor, Successful Promotions, Advantages, Stitches and Wearables magazines. Still thinking of becoming a member? Your can apply and pay online with a credit card, and it’s secure. It doesn’t matter if you’re halfway across the world on business, waiting for an early morning flight or awake and ready to roar at 4:00 a.m. We’ll continue to expand in coming months, adding more award-winning products and services from ASI. As always, we’ll continue to offer personalized service through our account executives, but for those times outside of normal business hours or across time zones, the ASI Store is always open. Take a look around and let me know what you think by posting a comment now or emailing me here.
Friday
April 24, 2009 First Qtr ’09 Sales Off 17.6%Filed under: Community, Industry Initiatives Today we announced that first quarter 2009 sales were off 17.6%. And, in 2008, overall advertising specialty industry sales reached $19.8 billion, up 1.2 percent over 2007, as estimated in the January 20, 2009 edition of PromoGram from Counselor magazine. For the press release, click here. The exclusive ASI first quarter sales report showed that the year-over-year decline represented a decrease of $700 million in ad specialty sales compared to first quarter 2008. Less than a quarter of distributors (24%) reported an increase in sales in the early months of 2009. Only two quarters ago, 40% had reported an increase in sales. For the full year 2008, spending on advertising specialties, or promotional products – items and incentives branded with a company logo or marketing message – was 3% greater than radio advertising*, $12.8 billion greater than outdoor display ads** and ahead of the 2.6% estimated decline in overall U.S. advertising for 2008*** (Radio Advertising Bureau, Outdoor Advertising Association of America and The Nielsen Company are the sources). The industry increase also matched the 1.1 percent growth rate for the United States GDP for the same period.
We invest $1.3 million each year to educate suppliers and distributors on how to market themselves more efficiently, network more effectively and reach qualified business partners, and an exclusive ASI impressions study is available here that provides ROI figures that prove the value of advertising specialties in marketing campaigns. Industry companies are optimistic about 2009, but continue to watch several factors impacting the industry: 1) Volatile economic conditions in North America. 2) Increasing demand for “green” products, despite the recession. 3) Continuing fluctuations of prices for materials used in manufacturing. To learn more about the quarterly sales analysis, click here.
Tuesday
April 14, 2009 Research for Awards & Engraving ProsFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Media Coverage, News About ASI, Research I was recently asked by Recognition Review, published by the Awards and Recognition Association, about what research, trends and information awards and engraving professionals can use to expand their promotional products business and to service current clients asking for them.
Promotional products provide a high ROI for marketers, and companies need them now more than ever to help them grab market share from their competitors. *************** According to the annual industry sales estimate from ASI, promotional products sales topped $19.6 billion in 2007, and we’re projecting the industry to be up slightly from that for 2008. ASI released a new study that indicates that over 80% of recipients who receive a promotional product remember the brand on the item. That’s powerful advertising and high recall for your marketing investment. The study is available free at asicentral.com/study and you can use it to educate your clients about the value of promotional products in their marketing. The study also found that about 81% of recipients keep an item because they consider it to be useful. So choose items for your clients that customers find valuable everyday. The return on your promotional products investment is stellar. Promotional products provide an estimated average cost-per-impression that is a fraction of a penny ($.004), which is lower than TV ads, radio ads or newspaper ads. The annual State of the Industry report, published by ASI’s Counselor magazine, indicates that the top five most popular advertising specialty categories are:
And the top end-user markets are:
In addition, your creativity is the limit. At the ASI Show in New York, one of five national promotional products trade shows we host throughout the year, I found iPod carriers, customized LED name badges, rubber calculators that you can roll up, and other innovative tech items to be in demand with clients. Watch a video with some of the products here. There are many more product ideas for businesses in videos from our national trade shows, available anytime and posted at asicentral.com.
Friday
March 27, 2009 Counselor Wins Third Neal Award, Stitches NominatedFiled under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties
The Neal Awards are considered to be the Pulitzer Prize of the business press and Counselor was selected as a winner for “best news coverage.” The winning series of news articles was written by editor Andy Cohen, an eight-time Neal Award-winner, whose guidance helped Counselor take home its first Neal in 2007. For the press release, click here. I believe this recognition reflects our strong commitment to independence, objectivity and overall excellence that readers rely on each month to help them grow their business and make smarter, better decisions. Also, Stitches magazine from ASI, serving embroiderers and equipment manufacturers, was a finalist for its first Neal Award. Nicole Rollender is the magazine’s editor, and the nomination was for an ongoing feature series called “Business Spotlight: The Next Level.” While it didn’t win, it competed with well-known national publishers, including Hearst, publisher of O, The Oprah Magazine. All told, ASI’s magazines have won nine nationally-recognized writing, reporting and design awards, including its three Jesse H. Neal Awards. I couldn’t be more proud of our entire editorial staff and many of our 26,000 members, who contribute and help make Counselor and all of our publications some of the best in North America. For more about the Neal Awards, click here. Also, a reminder that American Business Media, host of the Neal Awards, has extended its deadline for the upcoming “sales promotion awards” to March 30 and is looking for more entries to round out the competition. The awards honor promotional and collateral materials and more information is here. Tell me about your latest accomplishment. Post a comment now or email me by clicking here.
Monday
March 23, 2009 Now’s Your Time to Advertise and Get the Word outFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties
In fact, Counselor was ranked No. 1 in ad pages for 2008 among all business-to-business magazines, which just goes to prove what I’ve been saying all along – suppliers know that advertising works and now’s the time to ramp it up and reach the right qualified distributors. Read the press release here. A recent article in min’s b2b, a publication that tracks the magazine industry, also noted that Advantages magazine ranked No. 3. Together with Counselor, the two books accounted for 15% of all ad pages among the top 25 business-to-business publications in the nation. The article also ranked magazines in the advertising/marketing/sales management category for North America, where Advantages, Counselor and Successful Promotions comprised 29% of all ad pages and Successful Promotions posted the highest percentage increase versus the prior year. Competing industry publications accounted for only 18% of ad pages. I believe the rankings help get the word out that the advertising specialty industry is important and vibrant. What are you doing to get the word out about your business right now? Post a comment now or email me at tim.andrews@asicentral.com. |
Following is what I shared with them, which might be helpful to you in convincing your clients to increase their spending on ad specialties – particularly in these challenging economic times. 
