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Promotional products come in many shapes and sizes, including mugs, pens, tote bags, and USB drives. One popular promotional item is apparel. From hats and corporate jackets to t-shirts and sweatshirts, you can put your name and logo on virtually any type of clothing, and you can give them away to employees, loyal clients, or prospects.

If you’re still giving away promotional corporate apparel you designed years ago, however, you might want to consider if it’s time to buy new stock. Here’s why.

1. Your Logo, Brand Colours, or Corporate Name Has Changed

Many companies rebrand for a variety of reasons, whether it’s due to a shifting customer base, an evolving mission statement, or an expansion into new products or services. If your brand’s logo, colours, or name has changed due to a rebranding effort, it’s definitely time to buy new inventory of your promotional apparel. For your promo products to be effective, they might accurately convey your company’s image and keep your brand top of mind. This isn’t possible if your apparel is vastly different from the brand you’re not representing.

2. Your Fabric Is Uncomfortable

When you first purchased your stock of corporate apparel, you might have gone with a basic fabric option such as polyester. Perhaps you were trying to stay within budget or maybe you simply didn’t know about the different options available to you. Regardless, the fabric you may have chosen for your shirts or sweaters years ago may be too uncomfortable for your employees or customers to ever wear them. If this is the case, your promo items will fail to be effective.

Fabrics today are more durable and soft. Consider purchasing new apparel in a poly-blend, such as nylon, spandex, and polyester, to increase comfort and provide greater flexibility and movement. Find more online resources at the Brandability website.

3. The Cut Is Cookie-Cutter

It can be difficult to purchase promotional apparel when you’re trying to please everyone. As a result of these efforts, you may have purchased one cut, such as a straight box-cut t-shirt. Unfortunately, this makes it less likely that people will wear your apparel. If the cut is out of style or doesn’t fit well, it’s time for another order of apparel. Try polos instead, which are more figure flattering.

4. You’re Running Out of Sizes

If, after several months or years, you’re only left with 500 XL shirts and no other sizes, it’s time for a re-order. Your employees, customers, and prospects come in all sizes, so you should have apparel available in multiple sizes to meet all their needs, from XS to XXL.

5. The Colour Is Out of Date

Colours that might have been in style back in the day when you purchased your inventory of apparel might be out of style now. Colours are often trendy, and you might have bought into the latest fad at the time, such as bright colours. As time goes on, though, these colours can fall out of favour. You can consider purchasing new apparel in the latest Pantone colours or go for neutrals for a classic look that won’t fade anytime soon.

Real estate agents need to maintain a very good rapport with their clients. Due to the nature of their services, it’s very important for real estate agents to keep the needs and preferences of their clients in mind when certain properties become available. However, maintaining solid relationships with so many prospective clients is rarely easy. Instead, professional real estate agents prefer using a CRM system to manage their relationships. CRM stands for customer relationship management, and dedicated software programs can help you grow your business and your rapport with clients considerably. CRM for real estate agents has become a virtual necessity now. Here are some key advantages that you get for using a CRM software program.

1. Information is Organized

The real estate industry is information-heavy, so many agents who do not rely on software programs often need to make mental notes and keep everything in their heads. However, a professional real estate agent must always have multiple lead generation streams. With the help of a CRM, you can easily organize all of the information in one place. Different tidbits of information connected from multiple lead generation streams can be organized and neatly placed in a single place that is accessible from any device, be it a laptop, tablet, or a mobile phone.

2. Make Responses Right Away

You don’t need to put the client on hold while you check your files and evaluate the information before you give an appropriate response. With the help of a CRM, you will be able to respond immediately. Particularly when someone asks you a question online, you should have a prompt answer right away. You need to be able to make responses as quickly as possible, and a CRM system allows you to do just that. It helps you set up an auto-response system to target customers.

3. Follow Up With Past Clients

One of the keys to being a good real estate agent is consistently following up with past clients. According to a study, almost 88 percent of people said that they would use their past agent only. Granted, most people don’t buy a new home every few years. But, if you continue following up with past clients, you could get lucky!

4. Personalize Your Services

Instead of sending an auto-response to each client, wouldn’t it be better if you personalize your services for every individual lead? CRM helps you do just that, by asking them about their requirements and then providing them with a tailored response. A good source of information is the Ixact Real Estate CRM website, which has more insights and resources available online.

5. Automate Workflow and Tasks

CRM systems also allow you to designate roles to other members of the team and automate different tasks, such as setting up the paperwork, meeting up with new clients, and even remembering dates for different clients. Whether you want to set up an open house or have different appointments, you can simply designate roles for each member of the team and automate menial tasks that would otherwise take you a long time to tackle by yourself.

Promotional products have become more and more popular in the past few years. Reward your employees with branded products and you’ll increase their loyalty and productivity levels. Here are some reasons why you should consider giving away branded gifts for employee appreciation.

1. Increase Productivity

It is well-known that rewarding employees with gifts to show appreciation for their efforts will result in increased productivity. Furthermore, it helps them work efficiently and become more proactive on the job.

If companies imbibe the culture of rewarding and praising employees for their efforts, then virtually all members of staff will buckle down and work harder to receive such recognition. If you want to learn more, you may find more information at Brandability.

2. Job Satisfaction

Giving away promotional products to recognize the efforts of an employee is an indication that their contribution is valuable to the company. In other words, it demonstrates that their hard work didn’t go unnoticed. This, in turn, makes the individual put in more effort to improve the previous year’s performance.

3. Positive Work Environment

Once an employee is happy and fulfilled, they become motivated to do more. Rewarding an employee increases the positive feeling they have towards the company. Treating your staff with respects will drive them to deliver an outstanding job in return. This sense of happiness in the workplace can also be felt across the business.

You will create a positive work environment that will make your competitors envious of your business.

4. Retention

Employees who feel unappreciated may start looking elsewhere for a job.

Finding new employees to fill the vacant spaces will not only take time but also result in higher hiring and training costs. Staff retention should be a priority. Giving away branded products to employees offers them a sense of appreciation that may convince them to stay with your company for the long term.

5. Increase Loyalty

Creating a positive work environment for employees and rewarding their efforts with gifts will increase loyalty. A small token of appreciation can go a long way to making employees feel an emotional bond with your brand.

6. Raise Brand Awareness

One of the best ways to raise brand awareness is by giving away promotional gifts to not only your customers but your staff members as well. It’s a great way to get your company’s name out there. This is particularly true of giving branded products to sales reps and employees who communicate with clients and prospects frequently.

7. Encourage Team Spirit

Consider giving away branded products during team retreats and team-building activities. Rewards and gratitude that recognizes teamwork will improve team spirit. This way, you’re encouraging your staff members to be good team players. It encourages them to work alongside each other to achieve a set goal.

Also, giving employees the chance to nominate one another for recognition will go a long way in building a healthy work environment as it is an indication that they value each other’s opinion.

Giving away promotional products to employees is a simple and effective way to raise brand awareness and increase worker productivity.

Allowing garbage to pile up within your business environment does not speak well of your brand’s image. To this end, many businesses are now turning to commercial trash compactors to deal with the unwanted trash.

1. Reduces Cost of Operation

Waste management costs will impact a business’s overall operational costs of. With a trash compactor, you can compress the garbage, thus reducing their volume and size. Now, you don’t have to worry about hiring extra personnel to empty bins. Another way it cuts operational costs for your business is that it eliminates the need for garbage bags and bins, allowing you to save more.

2. Increases Efficiency

A trash compactor makes waste management easier, simpler and less stressful. Gone are the days when you have to leave pressing jobs to check if the trash bins are full, so you can replace them with new garbage bags. Trash compactors are easy to use and maintain, leading to greater efficiency.

3. Improves Aesthetic Value

Long before now, virtually all businesses used trash cans and bins. Each day, waste materials would enter the trash bins, resulting in a pile up. And, in some cases, the waste would begin to overflow.

Another key point to note is that traditional waste management requires a place to store full garbage bags. This is not the case with trash compactors. Not only do these machines guarantee an efficient waste management system, but they help keep your business environment clean and tidy at all times. This, in turn, improves the aesthetic value of your business. You may find more information at Rotobale Compaction Solutions and their online resources.

4. Safer Work Environment

A poor waste management system can cost your business. It can cause serious accidents in the workplace. For instance, spills could result in a slip and fall, leaving your workers or visitors with severe injuries. This may lead to a lawsuit, with an individual filing a claim for compensation against you. Plus, stored garbage bags produce bad odours, which may impact the health of your workers.

Purchasing a trash compactor will not only help you avoid compensation costs associated with lawsuits for slip and fall accidents and expenses for treating sick employees, but also ensure you adhere strictly to safety regulations.

5. Go Green

The world we live in is going green, and most people prefer doing business with companies that are eco-friendly. What better way to enhance your green efforts than by buying a trash compactor? This is one of the best ways to protect the environment.

Both your employees and customers will take note of these impressive changes and help spread the word about your efforts to make the world greener.

6. Varied Options

There is an array of trash compactors suitable for your unique business environment. Some of the options available include indoor and outdoor compactors, stationary compactors, liquid-tight compactors and many more. Regardless of the unique needs of your business, there is a trash compactor for you.

Make sure your business environment is clean and sanitized. Get a trash compactor and enhance the public image of your brand.

Being a real estate agent can be a very satisfying and lucrative career path. You need to be able to make good decisions in order to close sales consistently. Many people are making good use of certain types of software to make their lives much easier. CRM for real estate is an incredibly effective way for agents to keep all of their client information straight in their heads.

This type of software will record a lot of important data for you. You’ll be able to keep track of different details about your clients, and you’ll also have a much easier time staying connected with them. If you’re new to the idea of using this type of software, then you should definitely take a look at these five ways you can use CRM to your advantage. It will help you to get the most out of this experience and you’ll have more success because of it.

1. It Can Help with Your Marketing

Every real estate agent knows that marketing is an essential component for maintaining a successful business. You need to be able to get your name out there and drum up new business. You can perform all of your marketing tasks inside of CRM software. It will make sending out emails or postcards a lot simpler than it otherwise would be.

Streamlining the process is something you will be doing a lot of with this type of software. It takes things that you could do outside of the software and makes them much easier and quicker to perform. You’ll find that keeping your marketing very sharp and on point is a breeze when you use CRM for real estate.

2. Save Yourself Time by Avoiding Aspects of Paperwork

Certain parts of doing paperwork can be avoided or shortened through the use of this type of software. It can automatically fill out many forms for you because it has all of your client’s information stored in the database. This can really save you a ton of time at the end of the day. Being able to fill out some forms within a few minutes versus spending an hour or more to manually enter information is a big deal.

3. Eliminate Clutter

You won’t need to keep your office space cluttered when you have Ixact Real Estate CRM software to rely on. This software will allow you to keep all of your information in an electronic database. You won’t really need physical notes or journals when you have this type of resource available. It’s significantly more convenient to keep all of your information in one place electronically than it is to have separate physical files to keep track of.

4. Allows for Precise Note-taking

You will be able to take the best notes about each of your clients and the different houses you’re showing by using this software. You can add little notes whenever you need to while inside of the software. Certain types of programs may even have functions to automatically save a record of your conversations with clients. This can be convenient when you need to remember little details about their lives or specific things they’re looking for.

Overall, this is just going to allow you to be much more organized. You’ll have the best notes possible and they will all be located in one place where you won’t lose them. You’ll never have to go into a meeting or a showing without feeling fully prepared.

5. Set Up Automatic Emails

Your CRM software can even be set up to automatically send out emails. This way you won’t feel like you’re making a mistake by forgetting to keep in touch with someone. The software is able to send out messages at regular intervals, making each of your clients feel like great attention is being paid to their needs. This is an essential function of the software and is something you should make good use of.

Talk to any business owner these days and they’ll tell you the same thing: it’s hard to get an edge over the competition. From digital marketing, to mobile apps, to promotional products, there are many ways your business can generate leads and stand out from the rest. But which investments are worth it? Read on for the 4 best ways your business can get an edge over the competition in 2018.

1. Invest in high-quality promotional products.

While promotional products used to be considered a temporary item that people would use a few times and then throw out, these days, companies are making promotional products intended to last a long time. Companies now have the option of partnering with well-known brands to produce branded promotional products that customers will enjoy using.

It may be tempting to cut costs on promotional products by choosing one of the cheapest options, but experience shows that investing in a higher-quality product can really boost your bottom line. It’s something to consider if you’re a small business owner looking to get an edge.

2. Invest in a digital marketing strategist.

Online marketing is the way of the future, but it’s not always easy to do a good job of it yourself. You can hire a digital marketer to audit your business’s online presence and come up with a strategy to boost your traffic.

There are many tools a digital marketer has at their disposal, including Google AdWords, Search Engine Optimization, and social media marketing. Each of these skills requires a lot of specialized knowledge to execute properly. For many business owners, learning these skills from scratch is just not feasible. For these people, it’s worthwhile to hire a pro who can give your business a boost. Because you don’t have to hire them full-time, the initial investment is quite low relative to bringing somebody on board.

3. Create a mobile app.

Many brands these days are creating mobile apps to boost brand awareness, collect e-commerce sales, and give customers valuable information. You may think your business is not suited to the mobile app market, but you’d be surprised at the possibilities. If you’re considering investing in a mobile app for your business, you can consult with a mobile app developer to see if they think it’s a good idea.

4. Sell on Amazon.

Have you ever noticed that big, established brands are setting up shop on Amazon? That’s because it’s the biggest e-commerce platform in the world. Many people these days don’t even bother looking anywhere else for their e-commerce needs, so you’ll want to be accessible through the Amazon platform.

Selling on Amazon is actually quite easy, but if technology is not your forte, you can hire an expert to take care of your business’s Amazon presence. In any case, you’re sure to see increased sales if you put your products on Amazon.

When choosing to rent an apartment, you will have to decide if you want your apartment furnished or unfurnished. You should be able to find both for rent, however you will want to make a decision about which is more suited to your needs as a renter. There are many reasons why you may choose not go with a furnished apartment, however there are also a great many reasons why a furnished apartment may be perfect for you.

1. If you can’t buy your own furniture

If you do not own your own furniture and especially if you do not have the means to purchase new furniture, you will be in luck – you won’t have to purchase any furniture at all. Your apartment should come with the basic furniture needs: a fridge, stove, bed, dresser and/or closet, couch(es) and/or chair(s), a dining room table and dining chairs. You should either have in-suite laundry or laundry in the building. You should never be required to purchase any type of furniture that would be necessary for living. Any furniture you should buy would be out of want, not out of need, which means if you do not have the cash on hand to buy it, you will still be able to live comfortably.

2. If you aren’t staying long

If you aren’t spending a lot of time in your apartment, or if you are only planning to stay there for a short period of time, renting a furnished apartment will be perfect for you. It doesn’t make sense to invest in a houseful of stuff you’re only going to have to move it all or get rid of it all within a very short period of time.

3. If you don’t want a tough moving day

One great thing about renting a furnished apartment is that all of the heavy stuff that is really tough to move is pretty much already there. This saves you from having to hire someone to move heavy items or from having to bribe your friends with pizza and beer to give you a hand. In the end, it saves you money and hassle and makes your moving day a little smoother and a little quicker. Renting a furnished apartment also decreases the volume of things you need to move.

4. If you don’t want to have to decorate

If you want your place to look put together, but don’t want to have to expend the energy in finding furniture and décor for your place, renting a furnished apartment will remove all of that responsibility from your shoulders. It means you’ll get that real home-like feeling with a furnished and decorated house, without the expenses or stress of having to do it all yourself. Not all furnished apartments Calgary come fully decorated, however if decorating really isn’t something you’re good at, you can find one that’s already done up for you.

5. If you want options

Saying an apartment is furnished is actually a really loose term. A furnished apartment can mean that the apartment is furnished with the biggest appliances and most important things, but leaves space for you to bring your own if you want to. This gives you a bit more space to do your own decorating and organizing. If that’s not your preference then you can also find furnished apartments that come with everything, including art on the walls and small decorative pieces. Some furnished apartments do not include such things as dishes and cutlery, while others do. There are many options when it comes to finding a furnished apartment, and there really is one for you no matter what your preferences and needs are.

Most people these days care a lot about the environment, and doing their part to reduce the impact of our human activities on the climate. If you’re a small business owner, the decisions you make can make a big impact on the environment around us. From encouraging recycling, to using a trash compactor, to reducing water waste, your business can become more eco-friendly using these 5 tips.

1. Encourage recycling among employees and customers.

If you run a business that gives customers packaging, such as a fast food restaurant, you should offer eco-friendly ways of disposing this packaging. You’ll also want to make it easy for customers, perhaps labelling your garbage cans with images of which packaging can go where.

This prevents accidental disposal of non-recyclable products with recyclable products, making the recycling process more efficient. Talk to your employees about sorting trash, and explain how their actions can affect the environment.

2. Use eco-friendly packaging.

Many online retailers these days ship packages out to customers. This can create a lot of waste. It’s worthwhile to research eco-friendly packaging options, such as sealed air for cushioning instead of styrofoam pellets. You’ll also want to make sure you’re using the smallest box that fits the item, not only for the environment but also to save you money.

If you’re in the food industry, look into compostable disposable food packaging and cutlery. Having compostable bowls can encourage customers to use compost bins, because they won’t have to scrape the food. The key is to make it easy on the customer.

3. Invest in a trash compactor.

Trash compactors are used to push air and wasted space out of waste products and to package them into the smallest size available. There are so many reasons that using a trash compactor is an eco-friendly decision.

First, it means your trash will take up less space in the landfill. That’s always a bonus. Second, it means you’ll need fewer truckloads to haul your trash to the landfill, reducing fuel emissions and saving you money on garbage disposal. And finally, it reduces the number of trash bags needed to seal up the trash.

4. Avoid water waste.

If your business uses water, it’s a good idea to talk to your employees about water waste. Not only does this benefit the environment, it can reduce your water bill, too. You’ll want to make sure employees understand not to leave taps running, and to use the minimum amount of water required to get the job done.

Even if your business doesn’t use water (for example, you’re a printing company), employees can avoid wasting water in the washrooms.

5. Encourage composting.

While composting is often thought of as most important in the food industry, you can also encourage your employees to compost their lunches, even if you don’t handle food at your business.

Composting is a great way to make use of food scraps, and many municipalities offer “green bin” programs where they will do the composting for you. If you have an office garden, you can use your compost to fertilize it regularly.

Whether you are operating a business or looking for ways to improve your home’s disposal systems, there are a handful of ways to be more environmentally conscious or just make things more efficient. A trash compactor is an excellent way to achieve both outcomes. They come in different sizes, so whether you need an industrial-sized trash compactor for your business or a small one that fits under the kitchen counter, the results are essentially the same.

1. You Can Save Money

Depending on how you dispose of your trash currently, you could potentially save money by investing in a trash compactor. This may result in reduced trips to the landfill or waste management facility. You can potentially save productivity by reducing the amount of work required or distance travelled to take out the trash, as well. Either way, you are reducing the amount of time being given to trash disposal.

Additionally, the price you pay for garbage collection could be dramatically reduced with the installation of a trash compactor.

2. You Will Save Space

You aren’t spending as much time messing with the trash because it’s being compacted, which means it takes significantly longer to become full. You can also find another use for the space being taken up by your dumpster or original trash can.

3. Trash Compactors Are Available in Different Styles

You can find a trash compactor that’s suitable for your specific purposes. For businesses, this might mean a high-volume, industrial-sized trash compactor that sits indoors or outdoors. Businesses that produce large amounts of waste would need something to handle the flow of garbage properly.

Your home, however, wouldn’t require something so massive, and you can find trash compactors that hide away neatly beneath the cabinet. You can have all of the benefits of a trash compactor without needing to make any additional accommodations.

4. Improving the Visuals

This is especially important for a business where the presence of open garbage bins may be a turn off for customers. When you install a trash compactor, you are ensuring the trash itself is completely out of sight to all customers and passerby. You are also eliminating smells and any unwanted visuals that may arise due to the open trash bins.

5. Reducing Risks

There are a handful of risks associated with basic, open trash bins, and some of them could pose some real problems for your home or business. Open trash bins open up the opportunity for pests to wander around the property, which is an issue for homes and businesses alike. Open trash bins may also draw in unwanted human visitors, as well. Getting a compactor system will deter those looking to dig through the trash or to dump their own trash into your bin.

When you invest in a trash compactor, you eliminate all worries because you essentially eliminate the need for an outdoor trash bin altogether. It’s no wonder that these are so prevalent.