If you are associated with a non-profit, Pop Up Stores are a great opportunity for you to consider to expand your brand. There has been a number of stories lately about Pop Up Stores selling all types of merchandise appearing out of nowhere and then disappearing. To be clear, I am not talking about Pop Up Stores who have a physical location, however, I have seen businesses alert the public they will be at a certain physical location on a particular day and time. No, I am talking about creating your own Pop Up Store on line. There are online stores that pop up for a specified time period, say two weeks and then they are gone. They offer something special or other incentive for people to go to the non-profits website and make a purchase. Now, why would a non-profit be interested in a pop up store? Here is why all non-profits should consider this opportunity.... At no or very limited cost to the Non-Profit, they can expand their brand, relate to their targeted audience, create awareness for their cause, pass on their message, have fun and encourage conversation on what they do. In many instances supporters are already requesting from the Non-Profit the desire for items with their brand displayed to wear or share or give away as gifts. The bottom line is, the non-profit is expanding their brand, creating excitement with the target audience, getting their cause talked about with little or no effort or cost on their end. It is a win. So what needs to be done. First work with a promotions professional who can help with the selection of items to offer. This is really important. You want quality, not cheap, items that people will truly want to own and be proud to own. Initially, it would be only 2, 3 or 4 items depending upon the size of the non-profit. Something like a couple of styles of wearables, (upscale t-shirts, jackets, hat), water bottle, or tote bag. Next, is coming up with a design and message that is catchy and people would want to have and share. To promote the pop up store, the non-profit adds a page to their website offering these exclusive items. If the non-profit takes donations on line, they already have the ability to receive payment On the back end the non-profit has two options. Either box and ship the items themselves which could take a lot of time they may not have or the second option have someone else take on the job of shipping out the items and the promotions professional could help with that. I recommend the box or envelop that will be used to ship the requested items also include a thank you note of appreciation and any other message they want the recipient to have. At this point, the non-profit has not spent any money except for possibly the design of the web page which promotes the exclusive items that are available to all supporters. The promotional items are not ordered until the Pop Up Store goes down, say after two weeks. They now know how many items to order and have the money to pay for them and the shipping and handling costs. All this happens around the non-profit organization and all they have to do is create the call to action emails to all of their supporters to inform them of this great opportunity. Non-profits are looking for ways to extend their message, get their brand in front of as many people as possible and to say thank you to everyone who assists them. The Pop Up Store does all this and more. If you are interested and would like more information on pop up stores, reach out to me to get more of the details.
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The gift giving season is only 35 days away. No you are thinking, it was just summer a few days ago. However, all is not lost. There are still opportunities for you to say thank you and show your appreciation to staff and valued clients. That does not mean you can wait until after Thanksgiving, you need to begin right now.
SO WHAT IS AVAIABLE Your in luck... most items should still be available with the following cautions. You may have to select colors that are in stock and quantities could be limited. Popular items could be sold out. You need to decide are you giving out individual gifts or a single gift for the whole office. Here are some ideas: FOOD GIFTS: This is the direction most people take if they are giving a gift so the whole office can enjoy the delicious treats. Most suppliers do not bake or create their food until orders start coming in. This is to insure their freshness. Chocolates, truffles, cookies, popcorn are still available. Cheese, salami, nuts, candies of all sorts are ready to ship. Towers of all sizes and other festive decorative boxes filled with a wide assortment of goodies make a big impact when delievered. We can personalize some of these gifts in the chocolate or on the cheese cutting board for example. Decorative ribbons can have your company name emblazoned on them. Don't forget the gift basket, and during this season suppliers are swamped and options become limited closer to the holidays. WEARABLES: A nice gift for customers and employees is a embroidered wearable item. Fleece jackets, scarfs/gloves, upscale polo shirts are two examples. Something casual and comfortable for people to wear on their off time. In this same area how about a nice throw blanket to keep warm this winter. Socks are very popular right now in many different styles. They are great team builder and can be used during the year at future events. TECHNOLOGY: Very popular and people can always use these items. Power banks to keep tablets and phones powered. Earphones of all types including blue tooth ear bugs. Speakers of all styles are appreciated as they sound better than the phone and some tablets don't have speakers. Connecting cables of all sorts are needed by everyone. OTHER IDEAS: Holiday Ornaments. Padfolios, Briefcases. Duffel bags and other travel items. You can create all sorts of gift sets: Two tumblers in a gift box. A very nice journal with an attractive pen placed together in a two piece box. Engraved bottles of wines look great and are keepsakes after the wine has been drunk. Crystal glasses of all sizes and shapes subtly engraved are welcome gifts. Never overlook a very nice pen or pen and pencil set. People keep the really nice pens for years. Coaster sets either engraved in leather or printed tile sets are appreciated. Clocks, upscale mugs and tumblers, wrist watches, kitchen items such as knives and BBQ sets are options as well. As you can see, the list can be endless, the key is who is your client and what may they appreciate. One client gave out camping chairs that the recipients enjoyed receiving, which shows anything is possible. CONSIDERATIONS: Production times for specific items will take you down to the wire if you need a specific date or if you are mailing gifts on to your customers. If you wait too long, two or three days of shipping costs might be your only options to have items arrive on time. Quantities can be come an issue, large and small orders have challenges. If you need ideas, give me a call. We can discuss quantities and budgets and quickly assist you in narrowing down ideas and insuring your gifts arrive on time. Happy Holidays! |
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