Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Happy Holidays from Logo'd Gear!

Happy holidays everyone! We hope you enjoyed our December series on branding. We look forward to working with you next year and providing you with quality service for your promotional needs! Logo’d Gear thanks you for your business and we look forward with you toward a prosperous 2011!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Business Branding: Saying it With Gratitude

Say Thank You.

It seems rather obvious, doesn’t it? Yet, how many times have you been sincerely and memorably thanked for your business? I bet you still remember the personal note, the perfectly timed gift, the letter of appreciation sent to your manager for your efforts. Personal message of thanks stand out. Impersonal holiday cards get thrown out January 1st. Promotional items with a personal touch get kept – and used throughout the year. Sincerely showing your thanks is memorable.

Take the time now to associate gratitude with your brand. Thank your customers and potential customers for the time they’ve spent with you. Consider sending a promotional item that will express your values – perhaps it’s an eco-friendly item or maybe it’s a portable USB drive. Maybe this year it’s just a hand-written note of thanks. Whatever you choose, you are building your brand. Make it a good one!

Located in Charlotte, NC, Logo’d Gear is the region’s premier provider of promotional products, branded apparel, tradeshow items, business gifts, and other related products. In addition to complete embroidery and screen printing capabilities, Logo’d Gear also offers online company stores and fulfillment services. Visit our website now at http://www.logodgear.com to see our extensive online catalog or call (704) 334-9333 to immediately speak with one of our branding specialists!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Practical steps to Branding Your Company

So far we’ve talked a lot about the emotional impact of branding. What practical steps can you take to identify your brand with your company?

This is where building a visual image of your brand comes in. No doubt you already have a logo. Although one of the most important items for your business, you will need more than just a logo to build your visual image.
  • Do you have a tag line? Is it short and clever enough to be memorable? Logo’d Gear uses Stay in Front of Your Customers! It’s succinct and describes what we believe, what we do, and what we help you to do.

  • Choose specific colors. FedEx is one of my favorite examples of this. The FedEx logo is the same on every product they sell, but Federal Express has chosen specific colors to represent specific products. For example, FedEx ground is green. FedEx critical is blue (code blue, anyone?). Once you choose a color scheme, keep it consistent. Use it in everything you do.
  • Make it easy to recognize your company and your brand. Use your company name and tagline on everything you do, from emails to letterhead. Make sure your web site, social media tags and phone number are on everything that goes out.
  • Order promotional products that promote your brand. Order logo’d bulk items like ink pens, post-it notes, notepads, coffee mugs, water bottles, or apparel and use them. Make sure these promotional items have your logo and tagline and are in the specific colors you’ve chosen. Give them away freely to your employees and potential clients.
Located in Charlotte, NC, Logo’d Gear is the region’s premier provider of promotional products, branded apparel, tradeshow items, business gifts, and other related products. In addition to complete embroidery and screen printing capabilities, Logo’d Gear also offers online company stores and fulfillment services. Visit our website now at http://www.logodgear.com to see our extensive online catalog or call (704) 334-9333 to immediately speak with one of our branding specialists!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Three Ways Effective Branding Impacts Sales Figures

Let’s take a look at the benefits of branding. A brand can impact your sales in 3 dramatic ways.


Word of mouth spreads easier and farther.

A strong brand converts inquiries into clients. Remember that saying “No one ever got fired for choosing IBM”? A branded service simple makes more sales; the trust factor is already there.

The sales cycle is shorter and faster.

Here’s an example: Logo’d Gear has a terrific reputation for providing quality promotional items in North Carolina. When a business needs a series of promotional items for a marketing campaign prior to a trade show, they might call us and one of our national competitors. When we get the business, it’s usually because (1) we had a strong recommendation, (2) that implicit promise of quality and delivery already starts the foundation of trust between our new potential client and our customer service personnel and (3) one phone call can close the sale.

Our brand for delivering quality promotional products on time and done right helps us stand out as more than just another branding company – it helps us Stay in Front of our Customers.

Located in Charlotte, NC, Logo’d Gear is the region’s premier provider of promotional products, branded apparel, tradeshow items, business gifts, and other related products. In addition to complete embroidery and screen printing capabilities, Logo’d Gear also offers online company stores and fulfillment services. Visit our website now at http://www.logodgear.com to see our extensive online catalog or call (704) 334-9333 to immediately speak with one of our branding specialists!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

What is the Heart of Your Brand?

I’ve often heard it said that a brand is nothing more than a logo or the name of your company. “Branding” your company, your product, or your service really involves so much more. In Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith writes about “The Heart of a Brand”. He makes the point that the heart of a service brand and the key to long-term success is the integrity of the people behind the brand. It is the closest thing to a guarantee that your customer has. In other words:
  • A service is a promise, and building a brand builds your promise.
  • Invest in and religiously preach integrity. It is the heart of your brand.
Logo’d Gear sells promotional products. How do we stand out from all of the other promotional providers out there? We stand out because we have thought long and hard about our brand. Think about your experience with us:

We offer personal service. It’s important to use to “get it right” which means talking to you directly – not an automated customer service line.

We offer options because we understand that “one size doesn’t fit all”. This means we give our clients the option, for example, of setting up their own ‘customer store’ if that’s how they prefer to shop.

We have a strong sense of community service. We give back and we participate in our local community – not because we make money from it (we don’t!), but because it’s the right thing to do.

That last phrase really sums it up for the team at Logo’d Gear. We stay in front of our customers because it’s important for us to do the right thing.

It’s hard to put that kind of a brand on a coffee mug. Yet, when you see a coffee mug, a water bottle, pens – anything with our logo on it – we want the promise of our brand to be what you see when you see our promotional items. We want you to feel confident that when you buy your tradeshow items from us or outfit your team in our polo shirts, that we will deliver quality products on time, and done right.

Located in Charlotte, NC, Logo’d Gear is the region’s premier provider of promotional products, branded apparel, tradeshow items, business gifts, and other related products. In addition to complete embroidery and screen printing capabilities, Logo’d Gear also offers online company stores and fulfillment services. Visit our website now at http://www.logodgear.com to see our extensive online catalog or call (704) 334-9333 to immediately speak with one of our branding specialists!