Promotional items: Was "calendars"

[Clyde Hollinger]

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Friends,

I will start out this day by being a wet blanket.  :-(  Here are the
reasons I would not consider giving calendars to my clients.

1.  I receive too many calendars already, so most of them end up in the
wastebasket the same day I receive them.  If I gave calendars to my
clients, there's a high probability my calendars would be treated in the
same way.

2.  I prefer a gift I can give all year long, so I can leave one when I
service the piano.

3.  Calendars require a mailing, at least for anyone who has the kind of
on-location business I do, and at just the time when I already struggle
to keep from getting too busy.

4.  Most of them cost too much for the impact made.

The only time in my business that I tried to give "appreciate your
business" gifts was about two years ago, when I gave out pens.  Now how
unimaginative is that?!  The one I received as a sample looked good and
wrote great, but when I received my order there were problems.  Some
didn't write well, and some didn't write at all.  Some would not retract
properly.  I had to test every single one.  A distributor of such pens
may think, "Well, what did you expect for such a great price?  90% were
okay, weren't they?"  Maybe so, but if I give a client a pen that
doesn't work or write properly, then 100% of the pen(s) that client
received would leave a negative impact, don't you think?

I would favor giving something to that I am quite certain wouldn't just
end up in the round file, can be given all year long and doesn't cost
too much.  After all, every penny spent comes directly off my bottom
line.  At the moment I could see giving sticky note pads, but I haven't
taken the time to look for a manufacturer of imprinted notes.

Have others used promotional items?  What were they and how were they
received?

Regards,
Clyde Hollinger, RPT
Lititz, PA, USA

Ed Carwithen wrote:

> I just got in on this thread, but so far I haven't seen anyone suggest
> that the piano photos for a wonderful calandar already exist in the
> photos on the covers of the PTG Journal.  Look no further... Ed
> Carwithen

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