Posts Tagged ‘Engraved Gifts’


SQUEEZE THE LEMON, GROW THE PIE – PART 2

 Friday, October 9th, 2009

Well, I hope you enjoyed the first part where we talked about squeezing the lemon. Of course, it’s rare that a sequal ever lives up to the original – but I’ll give it a go.

So this time we’re going to consider the pie; how to grow the pie, specifically. The first part talked about the lemon as your customer base, and the anology of squeezing the lemon was how to get the most juice (business) out of those lemons and not let the lemon shrivel up in the fridge.

So, squeezing the lemon was all about getting the most from your existing customers in a more direct and short term way, and growing the pie is about maximising profit and creating value for both customers and suppliers as part of a longer term strategy. This is done by;

  • Differentiation – what makes you different/better than your customers? Look at; product, pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, selling, core competencies, competitive advantage, USP’s
  • Added Value – what aspect of your product/service adds real value for the customer?
  • Value Chain – monitor and feedback performance up stream and downstream to continually improve.

The key elements of growing the pie are;

  • Constantly strive to deliver value for the customer by improving your overall proposition.
  • Understand the supply and value chains and learn how to leverage key aspects to create added value and differentiation.
  • Change the mindset of both your company and your customer base. This is more important than immediate short term gains.

So what does The Corporate Gifts Company do to grow it’s pie? Good question, and a challenging one too.  Well, we talk to our customers constantly about how they find our service and product, what they liked and what they didn’t like; we encourage testimonials (good or bad) and we have used that feedback over the past 18 years to hone our service and quality levels so that we give our customers exactly what is most important to them; reliable service, consistent quality (we have the international quality standard ISO9000), appropriate and quality promotional branding, and responsible business practices (see our CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility – policy.

Thanks to The Cranfield School of Management’s BGP (Business Growth Development) programme for inspiration.


SQUEEZE THE LEMON, GROW THE PIE – PART 1

 Friday, October 2nd, 2009

At the world famous Cranfield School of Management’s Business Growth Development programme they spend a lot of time talking about a couple of tasty food analogies; “Squeezing the Lemon” and “Growing the Pie”. As part of the marketing part of the programme these two ideas are at the heart of the growth of any business. So what’s the story behind these culinary concepts for success? Let’s start with the lemon.

The lemon signifies your customer base, and who amongst us can put hand on heart say we get the most out of all our customers? Do we sell as much as we can, are there other products or services we can sell to them, do we sell to all divisions and departments of our customers’ businesses? No, well that’s actually the story for most companies and to add even more zest to the analogy think of your average customer like this; if we’re using a lemon at home more often than not we cut into it and squeeze out what we need and then stick it in the fridge – great, the poached salmon tastes great. The problem is when we go to use the lemon again (sometimes after weeks sitting lonely and forgotten next to the eggs) it’s wrinkled and dried and all that juice has been wasted.

And that’s what happens to new customers; we fail to squeeze the maximum amount of business out of them. After the initial order is won, we don’t pay them enough attention until eventually they go and find another supplier. And if you didn’t know already, it costs up to seven times more to aquire a new customer than look after an existing one. So the moral of the analogy is; get squeezing - before your lemons dry up or someone else does it for you.

Of course, in the light of the above blog, it would be remiss of me not to mention that The Corporate Gifts Company supply a comprehensive selection of promotional items and advdertising merchandise that are perfect for communicating with your customers in a tangible and cost effective way. Whether you want to reinforce your brand values with items such as business card cases or clocks, or say thank you to key customers with an appropriate promotional desk item or personal accessory, The Corporate Gifts Company can help you squeeze your lemons.

Look out for “Growing The Pie” next week!


NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH

 Monday, September 28th, 2009

The Corporate Gifts Company are delighted to launch our new website.

The new design features a fresh clean look with easier navigation and useability.

More importantly, there are some fantastic new benefits for our customers;

1. Prices have been reduced significantly across the board.

2. Prices now include Engraving and Set Up (so no extras for branding)

3. All orders are now inclusive of standard UK freight/carriage.

4. We are offering a free pre-production sample on every order, so you can be confident your logo or promotional message will be just as you require it before we go to production.

5. We are guaranteeing 7 day turnaround on branded items from stock – so that you can be confident your promotional items will get to you on time.

FIVE good reasons to chooseThe Corporate Gifts Company for your business gifts this Christmas.

The new webiste also incorporates our new items for Autumn 2009 (perfect timing for the Christmas executive gifts, staff gifts and customer thank yous) with exciting items such as the spinning propeller letter opener and the F1 car paper clip dispenser. (see all our new products here ).

Call our sales team today on 0845 430 2902.


Engraved Gifts Ideas

 Thursday, July 9th, 2009

The Engraved Gifts Ideas is a website which allows you to personalise your gifts with a discreet and elegant engraving. It is the best way to do an original present.

Moreover, this website is very easy to use and practical thanks to these categories such as; “For Her”, “For Him”, “Wedding”, “For Kids” … you can be sure to find the gift you need very quickly for all the occasions you’ll ever need!

And thanks to the organization of this website, you can easily find information about wholesale, delivery, the terms & conditions for sale… ideal to do business in complete safety.

Here are some great examples of engraved gifts:

Engraved Puzzle Perpetual Calendar and Photoframe

Engraved Silver Plated Heart Keyring

Engraved Silver Plated Yoyo

Engraved Silver Plated Three City Clock

You can contact The Engraved Gift Ideas by phone on: 01789 262 900 or by e-mail by completing the request from.


When I’m 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70

 Friday, May 15th, 2009

From 2010, women in the UK will see their pensionable age rise from 60 year on year until they reach their male counterparts at 65. And with talk of raising the pension age to 70 to help pay for thr country’s dire financial predicament our perceptions of when and how we will retire are challenged now like never before.
So is this a good or bad thing? Well I guess that depends on whether you want to retire or would prefer to continue working – and there seems plenty of people that fall into both categories. At the moment employers can legally force a worker to retire at pensionable age whether they want to stop working or not. Surely a more flexible system should be employed to ensure those that want to work can, and those that want to retire can do so at an appropriate age.
Experience and years of service can be incredibly useful to any company or organisation and in today’s fast moving celebrity culture, the value of a steady and experienced hand is too often highly undervalued.
Staff who retire after giving years of service should be recognised and rewarded when it’s time for them to retire. This sends a positive message to the workforce that hard work and loyalty are valued and recognised in your organisation.
Our sister website www.engravedgiftideas.com specialises in individually engraved quality silver plated and sterling silver gifts perfect for retirement presents. With fast and reliable turnaround, a free personalised gift tag, and free P&P, the website is packed with great ideas and gifts.
But it’s not just retirement presents that can reinforce this message and build loyalty; long service gifts and long service schemes are also fantastic motivational tools in the workplace.
Simple and cost effective lapel pins or cufflinks are a great visable method of recognising long service. Celebrate 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years service with a graded corporate gift scheme incorporating gifts such as clocks and sterling silver. And for that finishing touch add personalised engraving and gift packaging.
Call our sales team today on 0845 430 2902 to find out how we can help you achieve your corporate long service scheme.


“Let’s talk about text… baby”

 Friday, January 16th, 2009

Specifically fonts… If your engraving requires a special font to fit in with a logo or corporate branding guidelines. Don’t worry we can always help.

We have an extensive library of different fonts that our expert in-house engravers can access to fit with your specific requirement. If we don’t have the specific font that needs to be engraved we can redraw the logo in a vectorised format.

As a general requirement for artwork which is to be engraved, the rules is that the better the artwork is the better the engraving will be. And simpler is almost always better.

Formats… Our image format requirement is that the images need to be vectorised and preferably one of the following formats: ai, eps, pdf.

If you don’t have a logo we again can help you by getting our graphic design department to create one for you FREE of charge, as long as an order for engraved gifts is being placed. Simply contact Dan for help.


SO WHAT IS ENGRAVING FOR PROMOTIONAL ITEMS?

 Friday, December 5th, 2008

I’m sure most of you will have an idea of what engraving is, but I guess the majority will probably think of the little chap at the Open Golf Championship hand engraving the winners name at the last minute, or maybe the guy in the shoe repair shop who has a 50 year old manual engraving machine in the corner of his shop.

Times have moved on, but people still equate engraving with quality, and moreover the overall quality of the item or gift. So when buying promotional items, what does engraving mean in terms of reproducing your corporate logo?

There are many types of “marking” methods for advertising gifts, cheaper promo items tend to be printed as this is very cost effective. Leather can be embossed or blocked. Glass can be engraved or sand blasted. Etc, etc, etc. When it comes to metal items the most common method of branding is either diamond or laser engraving.

Here at the Corporate Gift Company we use diamond engraving. Laser engraving is particularly good in some circumstances and it’s resolution is particularly good on fine detail. As it actually burns the surface of the metal, however, it can effect can look “burnt” and a bit yellowy. Even when it is good it looks like a grey print. In which case, why not print it instead? Print is associated with promo giveaways, so if you are paying £20 for a promotional clock or desk item, why would you choose a branding method that cheapens the product. After all, a promotional product is all about perception and impact, so it is important to enhance the perceived value of your corporate gift, not lessen it.

At the Corporate Gifts Company we have 10 state of the art computerised diamond engraving machines to give you the quality and turnaround times necessary to make your promotion a success. Logos are plotted, vectorised and digitised using specialist software and the item is then engraved reproducing your logo as you’ve never seen it before. But even though the engraving machines are computerised, it still uses a diamond tip to mark the surface of the metal, giving the logo a shimmer that no other marking method can match, enhancing and increasing the perceived value of your corporate incentive.

Of course it’s a matter of personal taste, but 20 years of experience tells us that if you want to make the biggest impact with your executive gift, then diamond engraving is the best choice.

Call our sales team today on 0845 430 9202 to find out how we can translate your logo for maximum promotional impact.


Single Engraved Corproate Gifts

 Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

The Corporate Gifts Single Engraved Range

The corporate gifts co has always been happy to get specific prices to suit people’s needs. Don’t be worried if you don’t have a company or you want a single engraved gift to give someone for there birthday or some sort of special day.

Most clients will always expect something that has some class and style but your company could give something even more with these single engraved gifts if you know that it is your client’s birthday or a special occasion then you could give them a personalized gift with an appropriate message on.

All of the single gifts bought from Engraved Gift Ideas can be engraved with your corporate gifts message or logo to make sure your company or family receives a gift with true quality and style.

Engraved gifts have always been thought of as a high classed gift which can help your company stand out from others. Single engraved gifts are perfect for things like wedding gifts, christening gifts and a various range of other gifts.

With new gifts arriving for every occasion single engraved gifts really are the most stylish and modern gifts you can give.

The single engraved gift range grows by the day with new products and gifts to suit every special occasion.


What the CorporateGiftsCo Offer

 Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

What Corporate Gifts Company Offer!

Corporate Gifts Co offer a wide range of silver plated and stainless steel gifts for engraving. These high quality gifts are bought in from the East. We have a specialist relationship not only with our suppliers but also with our team.

We have a small team but offer every service in house allowing quick turn around times. The corporate gifts company has always been proud of the work it does but now it is even more due to the quick turn around times and in house engraving we can get your products to you in a matter of days (subject to stock).

We offer a wide range of corporate and promotional gifts which can all be engraved for maximum affect for your promotional campaign. We offer a wide range of stock which will be shown below!

As you can see we offer a wide range of products all of which can be engraved to your requirements! We also can source any gift imaginable which is yet another great reason to shop with the corporate gifts company.

Send your prmotional enquiry over to the Corporate Gifts Company today and see what we can offer you.


Engraved Gifts Ideas

 Monday, April 14th, 2008

Single Engraved Gifts Now even easier to buy!

The Corporate Gifts Company have always wanted to help every single range of customers from trade to business and now even single clients.

This is why we have created a brand new website allowing people to order that extra special gift for a loved one.

Engraving a personal gift has always been a popular way to show affection and love but now you can engrave any item for even cheaper than ever before.

We now offer a unique website which can cater for your single engraved gift allowing you to give an extra special gift.

The corporate gifts company believe in helping each and every person within the promotional market.
Visit Engraved Gift Ideas today for a wide range of products ready to be engraved with your promotional message or personal touch.

Visit Engraved Gift Ideas Today.