Tag >> A Game We all used to play and today's Marketing Frenzy

Now in business for 10 years, I have had to reorder my business cards a number of times over the years. Earlier this year, my provider suggested that I add a QR Code or TAG to my cards.

Using the cameras on Smartphones, (after loading the simple software on the phone) simply take a picture and a couple keystrokes and your phone is launching to a website, digital video or wherever the tag holder has directed the TAG to go.

Silly me, I thought OK, this looks like a pretty good idea, but the last thing I want to do is get out there in the business world with something so new, that it will take a lot of explaining to just help people understand what it is.

Flash Forward 6 months, and sure enough, the excitement of QR Codes and TAGS are starting to be seen all over.

As more of my business associates begin using TAGS and of course a number of my friends at Microsoft begin to highlight their use more often, it's become evident. TAGS are here to stay.

In our Promotional Marketing Industry, look for Suppliers to be inserting them into Catalogs. Some will include one, the forward thinking ones, will be adding multiple ones throughout their catalogs and onto their fliers and e-fliers also. Come the Trade Show season soon, we will be seeing these in trade show booths, and highlighting new products etc.

Once people find out how easy they are to use, to be able to gather additional information, in digital form, be it web pages, facebook pages, or linking directly to YouTube or company videos, we will find them more in use.

OK Folks TAG you're it. Time to go out and use this technology to better your business!

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Managing using "Manageable" Blocks of Time for Success

Time. It seems like so many folks have or have had opinions on what are the best ways for us to go through each day, or order to be more productive, more balanced and or a more effective leader.

From The 4 Hour work Week, to the The One-Minute Manager and a number of others.

Working through your time into manageable blocks that can be impactful for yourself or your organization can help

Denis Shackel suggests in a book titled the same . . . that Leaders can make the Impossible, Possible by working through challenges Five Seconds at a Time

In an overview of the book:

When a tragic mountain-climbing accident left business professor Denis Shackel stranded on Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand, he turned to the leaderships principles that he'd been teaching for years to survive the longest night of his life.

Alone, with temperatures plunging to -30 degrees Celsius, Shackel first broke the night into five thousand five-second intervals. He decided to deal with only one interval at a time -- a strategy based on his knowledge that effective leaders break big challenges into smaller, more manageable ones. Then, stepping back to see the bigger picture, he relied on vision, intuition, and faith to keep him alive. Shackel emerged from this harrowing experience having cemented his belief that the principles fundamental to leadership are also key to tackling any challenge.

Are you setting aside a whole day for a specific task?

Or into intervals that are more manageable?

There are a number of other great points in his book including:

** Treating delays as "found" time.

** Establishing Trust with and Delegating to others

** Understanding your Strengths, concentrating on them and outsourcing / delegating others.

Today's post is brought to you by Howard Miller Promotional Products and Corporate Gifts

As the Fall Gift and Recognition season is here, look to Howard Miller for your Sales Incentives, Key Account Gifting and Employee Recognition needs.

Finding your Blue Ocean

It's been a couple of years since I first was introduced to Blue Ocean Strategy and it's principles continue to be seen from day to day. Part of the Strategy, suggests that you as a individual in your Personal Brand, or your firm as a company, create value proposition that is very different than the competition. What you bring to your industry or customers that is so unique that you begin to leave the competition "in the dust" or playing in that other "red" ocean where everyone is biting off small pieces of the same pie.

Having the opportunity to spend some time this week at Insead University, which is where the two authors of the Blue Ocean Strategy collaborated for their research, I am amazed at how the "Strategy" has turned into a whole educational practice here at one of the top Graduate Business Schools in the World and via corporate training programs that can develop simulations for an individual company or group.

Continual reminders of Blue Ocean Strategy:

** Create uncontested market space

** Make the Competition irrelevant

** Create and Capture new demand

** Break the Value-Cost trade off

** Align the whole system of a firm's activities with it's strategic choice of differentiation and low cost

In Today's World . . . Businesses need "Fans & Advocates" .vs just customers.

As you go forward in your business, what are you doing to turn your customers into raving Fans?

Rebuilding Together - WD-40 helping find the Tradesperson of the Year

With the Kickoff of the Football Season, WD-40, along with other promotion partners are kicking off the Rebuilding Together Tradesperson of the Year campaign.

Those that may know someone in the trades, are welcome to nominate them to win a chance for a trip to the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas Texas.

This program has so many good things going for it. Recognizing people who give back to their communities, while they go about the hard work it is to get business and industry back on track during our economic recovery.

Incentives West and our Supplier Partner Natural Trends are happy to be partnered with WD-40 and are looking forward to how folks in our Promotional Marketing industry will be promoting this event and helping to get tradespeople the recognition they deserve for all that they do.

For more information on the Program visit : Rebuilding Together Tradesperson of the Year

Get Noticed: Good Info from PR Pro Lisa Horn

Check out this presentation from Lisa Horn or Spark. Great information for Suppliers or anyone that needs to build their visibility platforms. THANKS LISA!

Get Noticed: Good Info from Lisa Horn

View more presentations from Lisa Horn.

Paying it Forward

Throughout our lives there are moments when we all have relied on the help of others to get us through certain situations.

Many of us have donated some time, energy or other resources with our families, workplaces, faith groups and neighbors to help to make others lives a little better through volunteerism. The concept of "Paying it Forward" is instilled in many of us from what seems to always come back to us via the good feelings and sense of contribution, when you help out others.

Over the last few weeks, I've floated the idea of coming up with a specific day in the year, where individuals can get together with their neighbors, friends, families, suppliers or customers in their communities and find ways to help out. The response has been amazing. Not only have folks offered up their commitment to set aside a day, but many are asking how they can help further . . how they can have their companies or organizations involved . . and how they are planning on including even more people from beyond our industry to get out and help.

We've select Saturday November 6th as our first annual Promotional Professionals Pay if Forward Day.

We have a Facebook Fan Page for now at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Promotional-Professionals-Pay-it-Forward-Day/138625939511482?ref=ts

Look for more information there, here and via many of the other organizations that have offered up to help get the word out.

For those of you that would like to assist even further, please leave a comment here on this blog post.

Thank you to everyone for what they do to make their communities a better place!

In John Medina's New York Time's Bestselling Book BRAIN RULES. . . He regularly discusses the stimulation of multiple senses, in order to make a memorable experience even more memorable.

Think about it, how many senses are in play when you are out at that favorite club of yours? The Sights, Sounds, Touches, Tastes, and yes, Smells.

When you are sitting and sipping your favorite coffee at your favorite local Barista's . . .

Customers are always looking for proven products that help them in their branding, recognition and trade show events to help them stand out.

Incentives West and our team of Supplier Partners have products that engage the recipients.

Handstands with their pleasant smells for the car and aroma therapy A-Roma Stress Balls

Natural Trends, with their pleasing smells and touch of their Sanitizer and lotions

Outdoor Caps w/ their feel of their quality caps and the new "Hi Beam" cap w/ light in visor.

Howard Miller with their clean lines and quality of sight of their clocks / timepieces

HPC with their comfortable writing instruments

Harry & David to Quality Premium Food gifts fill the tastebuds.

Visit our Website at http://www.incentiveswest.com or right here at our FB Fan Page for more information. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Incentives-West/233241735227?ref=mf