In the current downturn, getting your hands on new customers can be time-consuming and expensive at the best of times, so focus on existing customers instead. If you are a smaller business you are suited to building strong relationships, and offer a level of care that larger corporations struggle to achieve.

Happy customers will return to place repeat business. So, the key to business success is increasing customer loyalty and trust without increasing costs.
You could consider sending a handwritten thank-you note or magazine article about your customer’s sector which you might find interesting?
Demonstrating to your customers that you still care about them even after you’ve already got their money, will set you apart from your competitors and create loyalty.
It should be second nature to make sure that your customers are completely happy with your products and service on an ongoing basis.

The Corporate Gifts Co has almost 20 years of experience of helping organisations and companies choose the right corporate gift.
Here are some great ideas from The Corporate Gifts Co – perfect to be sure that customers will feel valued and motivated to do more business with you:

• Alulyte Postcard

• Promotional Memo Pad

• Aluminium Rectangular Compact Mirror

• Star Trophy Award

• Leather Geneva Business Card Holder

• Spinning Clock & Thermometer

• Puzzle Keyring

• Black Leather Wrapped Promotional Pen

• Tower Pen Pot

• Sterling Silver Photoframe

• Sterling Silver Paperweight

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902 to see how The Corporate Gifts Co can add value to your corporate recognition towards customers.

It’s fundamental to the principles of Investors in People UK that everyone has talents. Moreover, everyone within an organisation or company has an important role in play in doing this. That’s the reason why Investors in People adds real value to any company and organisation, especially in today’s economic environment.

A recent survey shows that while many Investors in People organisations were committed to developing talent they were concerned about resources required or unsure about where to begin. Here are five great pieces of advice about talent management from Investors in People that we have found useful:

1. Developing talent doesn’t mean that you need to have a formal structured plan.
Encourage people to see possibilities and give them the confidence to try new things and ideas in a safe environment. It should fall naturally and neatly into your organisation’s way of developing your people

2. Managers have a key role to play in encouraging people to develop.
Encourage people to be inquisitive and contribute new ideas at team meetings or ensure that everyone has a personal development plan which is followed through.

3. People can develop their talents in many ways
Learning from and with others should be a big part of developing talent in your organisation.

4. The role of coaching and mentoring can be invaluable.
Those with experience who can offer guidance, feedback and encouragement to a less experienced employee are a really valuable resource.

5. Developing talent is not just for senior people.
Everyone in your company should be encouraged to develop their own talent and ideas. Everyone should aspire to being a role model to those less experienced. Last but not least, ensure that people at every level are motivated and engaged with the organisation and its goals.

The Corporate Gifts Company has been Investors in People accredited since 2005 and has a great range of corporate gifts – perfect to motivate and to express recognition to your staff and employees.
Here are some great ideas from The Corporate Gifts Company:

• Executive 4GB Silver Plated USB Flash Drive
• Sterling Silver Photoframe
• Brescia Laptop Bag
• Decision Maker Corporate Pen Stand
• Black Leather Desk Pad
• Torch Keyring
• Silver Plated Weather Station
• Silver Plated Star Desk Award Paperweight

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902.

The current economic climate means companies more than ever before are feeling the pressure to re-evaluate expenditure and cut costs and overheads where they can. Whilst reducing employee benefits might be seen as a quick fix, the reality is that in the long term it’s a false economy.

Employees are the lifeblood of any organisation and looking after them and rewarding them is therefore crucial to enable any company or organisation to thrive. This is especially important during times of uncertainty and change, and employee benefits are one tangible way employers can show they care.
A good employer should want to look after their staff and reward them. As a result employees feel valued by the investment made in them and are more motivated to give their best. The health and future success of all organisations depends on its employees – so looking after them should be a top priority.

Using corporate gifts to reward and motivate staff is a tried and tested promotional tool; encouraging motivation and building loyalty. Of course, in times like these it’s hard to resist the temptation to cut back on business incentives, but corporate gifts can provide returns for in excess of their relatively low cost; a budget of £5, £10 or £20 spent on each member of staff will create much more then £20’s worth of increased productivity, increased morale and increased loyalty.

The Corporate Gifts Company has over 500 desirable and high perceived value premium incentives. Here is a selection of our best selling items:

1. Pocket Notebook & Pen

2. Promotional Memo Pad

3. Chrome Puzzle Globe

4. Star Desk Award Paperweight

5. Silver Plated Classic City Business Card Holder

6. Georgian Travel Alarm Clock

7. Spinning Keyring

8. Sterling Silver Photoframe

9. Executive 4GB Silver Plated USB Flash Drive

10. Floating Desk Pen

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902 to see how The Corporate Gifts Co can add value to your premium incentives and staff motivation.

The UK offers a rich diversity of venues for those lucky enough to be tasked with organising a meeting, conference, or corporate business event. In the UK, there are around 3,500 different venues to choose from: city centre or airport hotels, country house hotels, purpose-built conference centres, management training centres, college and university venues, and the various unusual and themed venues which range from tourist attractions to stately homes to theme parks, sports stadia, steam trains, and even a lighthouse or two. While over half of all venues are hotels, a significant and growing proportion are comprised of other types of venue (see chart below).
• Academic venues (9%)
• Conference and training centres (6%)
• Hotels (53%)
• Multi-purpose venues (12%)
• Purpose built convention and exhibition centres (2%)

In addition to the impressive array of venues, the UK has a number of other strengths in terms of its conference facilities and services. For example, the creativity and professionalism event management agencies and event production companies in the UK, probably the best in the world, its wonderful heritage and culture, the beauty and variety of its natural environment – all within a small geographical area, the English language – now the accepted world business language for many conferences worldwide, and the rapidly growing output of graduates in conference and event management and business tourism from over 50 UK universities.
Corporate gifts and premium incentives are an essential part of the marketing mix when organising a successful conference. The Corporate Gifts Company specialise in premium incentives for the conference market; from desk items, pens and business cards holders, to premium leather, keyrings and sterling silver corporate gifts.

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902

Marketing budgets are traditionally the first thing to be cut by businesses in a recession – which perhaps goes some way to explaining why so go bust. In challenging times, it’s even more important to maintain good communication with your customers. This is the time your marketing can be more targeted and successful. Your competitors may be cutting their marketing agent, the bolder companies can take this opportunity to stand out, get noticed and win new customers.

Before embarking on a marketing project, it should be part of a wider, long-term strategy to be properly effective. It’s essential to have a strategy that co-ordinates activity, continuously identifies customer need and sets in place measurable outcomes.
It is understood to costs five times more to win a customer than it does to keep an existing one so, looking after your client base is essential.
The key to good marketing in a recession is to measure constantly. Companies should be developing targeted messages and offers for sections of their customer base that they know from experience will respond well.

Targeted corporate gifts have been shown to be extremely cost effective. The Corporate Gifts Company has almost 20 years of experience in providing business gifts and promotional items that, when used effectively, are highly targeted and measurable. Our state of the art computer diamond engraving can add value to your corporate gift with an engraved logo, promotional message or even individual names or initials can be added at very little extra cost. We can also print and emboss leather – our new range of premium leather can be engraved, printed or embossed.
So the message is; don’t’ forget to market your company (it can be a false economy) and look for cost effective ways to promote your organisation.
Ask our expert sales team today on: 0845 430 2902 how to make corporate gifts and promotional items work for your company.

It’s the little luxuries that keep us going in the credit crunch, according to the lipstick index, a financial barometer used to gauge consumer confidence. It shows that despite dwindling budgets, women continue to spend on affordable luxuries like lipstick.
Since the credit crunch began, reports have shown that sales of designer lipsticks from prestige brands such as Chanel, Lancôme and Estée Lauder have risen by over 20%. An Estée Lauder spokesman commented: “We’ve learned from the index that lipstick offers an easy pick-me-up at an otherwise dreary time”.
So what does this mean if you’re considering whether to spend your valuable marketing budget on corporate gifts or promotional items. Well, we think that in these economically challenged times, staff and customers will appreciate a well chosen luxury corporate gift with a high perceived value to add a little luxury into what is obviously a challenging work environment. So here are our top 10 luxury business incentives with the highest perceived value for the best value for money:

1. Aluminium Oval Compact Mirror – Perfect to put in your handbag.

2. Star Trophy Award – Ideal to express recognition.

3. Star Desk Award Paperweight – Perfect to be a veritable star at work.

4. Cufflinks – perfect for an elegant shirt – great as a personal gift.

5. Silver Plated New Yorker Business Card Holder – perfect to keep those business cards in pristine condition.

6. Silver Plated Carmen Lipstick Case – An elegant and sophisticated way to tidy up your lipstick.

7. Silver Plated Zepplin Atomiser – Practical and chic product.

8. Silver Plated Crystal Jewellery Box – Very stylish with crystals – ideal to put your jewelleries.

9. Silver Plated Crystal Dice Keyring – Very original and chic keyring.

10. Sterling Silver Heart Charm Toggle Bracelet – A tiffany styled sterling silver heart charm bracelet – very chic and elegant.

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902 to see The Corporate Gifts Co’s beautiful range of luxuries products.

The first impression is decisive. Indeed, just one glance inside any office is enough to draw conclusions about the office inhabitant’s personality. Whether the desk is covered in mountains of paper or pens are neatly tidied away neatly in the designer pen pot, whether the windows are decorated with flowers and plants or the walls are painted in cold and sterile colours, or whether the wall calendar sports Grand Prix racing cars or recipes and diets – every bit of evidence speaks for itself.
People personalise everything, especially the room they work in – they individualise and customize it and establish their own personality. The office furnishings and these impressions also send out signals to customers and visitors are lasting and can affect long term relationships.

Office accessories and desk items are therefore not only useful, but also lifestyle objects. This makes their advertising potential doubly important. They are used frequently, so the advertising message is constantly in the customer’s field of vision. Also, office accessories emotionally upgrade messages in the same way that the recipient upgrades his office. Of course the promotional product should be appropriate and desirable.
The Corporate Gifts Company’s versatile, design-oriented range of promotional desk items and office accessories means that the right product can be found to meet all tastes and budgets.

Here are some great desk and office items from The Corporate Gifts Co:

• Silver Plated Lunar Post It Holder – Very practical and stylish desk memo pad.

• Silver Plated Boomerang Letter Opener – Ideal to open letter with style.

• Silver Plated Classic Letter Opener – Very stylish and design letter opener.

• Chrome Puzzle Globe – Very original promotional award.

• Silver Plated Star Desk Award Paperweight – Beautiful design to make your desk more attractive.

• Tower Pen Pot – Very practical – Perfect for any sort of desk.

• Silver Plated Galileo Desk Pad – Perfect item for incorporate your promotional message or logo.

• Silver Plated Star Trophy Award – Perfect to express recognition.

• Cube Puzzle Paperweight Award – Innovative and unusual item.

• Stellar Calculator – Made with solid metal matt silver, this calculator would be perfect for your desk.

• Silver Plated Weather Station – With these three functions: clock, thermometer, and hygrometer, this product is perfect to put on your desk.

• Silver Plated World Timer – Work out the time around the world.

• Decision Maker Pen Stand – Innovative and very ingenious product.

• City Desk Set – Always useful and practical item – modern design.

• Sterling Silver Paperweight – Simple Silver Paperweight – ideal to incorporate your promotional message or logo.

• Silver Plated Shark Letter Opener – With an original design – perfect for your office.

• Sterling Silver Letter Opener – Very practical and elegant item.

• Memo Pad – Practical and cost effective product.

Visit our website: http://www.corporate-gifts-co.com/ to see The Corporate Gifts Co’s beautiful range of promotional desk and office items.
Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902.

Photo frame sales have never been so good. Far from photos being stored electronically and subsequently forgotten about, more people than ever want to display them in beautiful photoframes to celebrate a host of special occasions (and special people) in their lives. This is true on the high street and also in the business to business sector.

A few years ago, who would have thought that the evolution of digital photography would have had such a big impact on the photo frame market? With a quick “click” of a mobile phone or camera, everyone can take great photos, with every event or special occasion caught on camera (digitally now, of course).

So interest in photographs and photography has been boosted by the advent of the digital camera, and made all the more accessible.
Photoframes are a great corporate gift or promotional desk item. Logos can be displayed discreetly and it will stay visible on the desk or at home indefinitely – promotional golddust!
But where photoframes are really popular is when they are used in conjunction with corporate events and conferences. The digital age allows a group photograph or action shot of the event to be taken, printed and then presented to the participants later that day in a beautiful silver plated photo frame that has been engraved with the corporate logo or promotional message.

The Corporate Gifts Company has a beautiful range of photo frames such as;

• Silver Plated Classic Single Frame – A very elegant way to frame your photo – classical style.

• Black Single Frame – Modern and innovate perfect for beautify your favourite photos. Engrave through the black coating to expose the silver finish underneath – very effective.

• Sterling Silver Photoframe – Beautiful mini double photo frame in sterling silver – ideal for any sort of desk.

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902 to see The Corporate Gifts Co’s range of ideal photo frames for your corporate events.

The best managed companies and organisations will keep staff morale high during the economic downturn by capturing hearts and minds. There are seven core actions that will help companies achieve this motivation nirvana:

• Communicate Direction – provide clarity of strategy – use good communication to make sure your staff know where they’re going and give them the confidence that the leadership in the company are in place.

• Instil trust and confidence in your most committed and focused employees – who will also provide confidence for other employees.

• Address core concerns – communicate to each individual what’s expected of them, how they should behave and what they need to achieve.

• Put staff in positions suited to their particular skills and ambitions – give them time and support to succeed.

• Act quickly – inactivity creates a vacuum, leaving your staff worried and unfortunately free to draw their own (often incorrect) conclusions.

• Keep investing in R&D – innovation is even more important now in the credit crunch than ever before.

• Reward positive behaviour – it’s important that when staff perform and are adding value to the organisation that this is recognised and communicated throughout the company. This will reinforce good practice and motivate other staff.

Introduce a reward or motivation scheme, or recognise staff with individual awards.

The Corporate Gifts Co can supply single engraved items, awards and plaques for recognition or general promotional gifts for schemes or programmes.

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902

Networking – it must rival “liaise” as one of the most irritating business buzz words. Although the world itself might be enough to send a cold shiver down your spine, networking is all about promoting effective communication.
Organised events can have a real impact on winning new customers, building partnerships and gaining inspiration for innovate ways to grow your business. Yet there’s still a lot of latent inhibition surrounding the whole concept of networking. Fear of socialising in a business context is much more common that you might think. The underlying challenges people face include shyness, fear of rejection, saying something stupid, wasting time and money and a lack of confidence with senior people and strangers, underpinned by people thinking networking involves selling your products and services. You should network in a style and approach that is right for you. You must feel good about networking or you won’t get the most out of it.

The typical network event revolves around the exchange of business cards, and like shoes (according to my Grandmother) you can tell a lot about a person by their business card. It’s amazing how many business cards are given out dirty and dog-eared.

The Corporate Gifts Co has a great collection of business card case designed to keep your business cards in pristine condition – and you’ll look the part too!

The Corporate Gifts Co Cardcase Collection:

 
1. CDC01/CH Classic Chrome City Business Card Holder – Modern and elegant promotional card holder.

2. CDC01/SP Silver Plated Classic City Business Card Holder – Classical and simple card holder – perfect to promote your company.

3. CDC02 Silver Plated Amsterdam Business Card Holder – Designer and innovative card holder.

4. CDC04 Silver Plated New Yorker Business Card Holder – Very stylish business card holder.

5. CDC08 Leather Geneva Business Card Holder – In leather and silver plate – product of quality.

6. CDC07 Expo Leather Cardcase & Strap – Great to use at exhibitions and promote your company.

7. STG03 Sterling Silver Business Card Holder – Superb executive business card holder in solid silver.

8. CDC10 Detroit Aluminium Business Card Case – Simple and classically designed aluminium business card holder.

9. CDC11 Madrid Aluminium Business Card Case – Stylish and very modern business card holder.

10.  CDC12 Barcelona Black Cardcase – Very elegant promotional black business card holder.

 
You can incorporate your promotional logo or message on these business card holders with a discreet and elegant engraving – perfect to promote your company with class.

Call our sales team today on: 0845 430 2902 to see how The Corporate Gifts Co can add value to your promotional networking.