Mike’s Hard Lemonade has a terrific tagline: If You’re Gonna Be Original…You Can Count On Being Copied! And copied they have been.
It’s the same in business. Just when you’re rolling along with a new product, a new marketing campaign or a new sales strategy….BOOM! Someone else is all over your bandwagon. I know “they” say the sincerest form of flattery is imitation, but honestly, WHO in their right mind wants to have to keep staying ahead of the pack?!?!? Flattered? Nope. Forget “hard lemonade”; it’s “hard work”, annoying and frustrating.
And necessary. If you want to be successful, you have to keep clearing a new path. Which brings me to one of the most frequently asked questions we get when I’m talking with a prospect about a strategic gift program: Is it on your website?
Many designs ARE on there. We display gifts at lots of prices for many occasions and holidays. BUT we don’t ever claim that the site is exhaustive for several key reasons.
- We bring in new items weekly. To provide something “new and different” for repeat shoppers, we are constantly sourcing new products from all over the country to stay ahead of the pack.
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We market differently for different companies in the same industry. To always offer unique marketing campaigns, we NEVER send the same gift for one financial planner, for example, that we would for anther financial planner. It sure would be easier, but to be effective we guarantee customized.
- If an idea has been used and DID get copied by others, we design a new one. For example, years ago we sent gifts made in actual construction work boots with a solid chocolate foot sticking out of it ”to get a foot in the door.” Once others started copying it, we stopped. We have a dozen OTHER items that use the same tagline, but we discontinued the boots.
- Maybe the most important reason though is to prevent it from being copied. If we keep it close to our vest just a wee bit longer…if we hang onto the exclusivity for another few weeks or months…then our clients shine THAT much longer. And then when we find out others are mimicking us again, it’s time for a new idea.
But not to worry! Our supply is endless. So when you need a new idea to go after prospective clients, give us a call. We will ALWAYS be the original and we’ll always be copied. Maybe that’s why Mike’s is my favorite summertime drink. I can relate.
