In today’s personalization industry, suppliers and retailers need online tools to meet the expectations of clients who are accustomed to seamless and efficient digital experiences.

Even businesses with successful brick-and-mortar shops stand to boost profits and stay competitive if they have a solid online presence and sell and promote their products in the digital marketplace.

As the holiday season approaches, businesses in a variety of industries gear up for the busiest shopping time of the year. For personalization companies, this season presents an opportunity to attract customers seeking meaningful gifts.

Creating an inviting and efficient showroom or retail store layout is essential for driving sales and enhancing customer experience. Just as grocery stores strategically place items to maximize visibility and prompt the customer to think about various price points, retail shops can benefit from thoughtful organization and creative displays. Below are a few strategies to make all your items shine.

Whether it’s a sustainable plaque, a tech-infused gadget, or a customized desk accessory, functional awards are reshaping the landscape of recognition and leaving a meaningful impression on those being honored. While traditional trophies and plaques maintain their timeless allure, awards that have a use—such as tumblers, USB devices, clocks, and phone cases—have redefined the concept of acknowledgment by seamlessly blending utility with elegance.

For many retailers, marketing can be a challenge and therefore easily avoided. Common reasons to avoid even thinking about marketing may include limited time and money, a lack of understanding of social media or other distribution channels, or even difficulty targeting the right audience.

In-person customer service and relationship-building have been the backbone of the personalization industry for decades—something not likely to change any time soon. Across the board, though, digital tools are helping personalization shops increase sales, find new customers, manage employees and a whole lot more.

With holiday gifts, some people are planners and others, quite frankly, are not. Personalization businesses are familiar with both types. Clearly, most businesses would prefer to create as many personalized gifts as possible—as early as possible—for the early birds who know what they want and are thinking ahead. But businesses can’t afford to turn down last-minute orders, even if it means burning the midnight oil.

It’s always great when a plan comes together.

Nick Blumer got into the personalization business after spending four years in the United States Marine Corps and 16 years in the Air National Guard, as well as performing network security and HIPAA compliance at a nationally recognized healthcare clearinghouse. When the company he was working for was sold and downsized during the pandemic, Blumer built an online company that sold hats, T-shirts, coffee and accessories. One day, his accountant let him know that there was a business for sale in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that might be a great fit for him and his family.

After 35 years in business, I am still as excited as a kid in a candy store when our business gets a new customer. After all, new customers don’t just mean new money. As your relationship grows, new customers can be instrumental in helping you acquire more new customers through their recommendations to family and friends. In turn, those new customers can generate their own new customers.

Weddings are special celebrations. At heart, a wedding is a public demonstration of two people’s commitment to one another. But thanks to thousands of years of storytelling and a few decades’ worth of magazine articles, television shows and social media posts, a couple’s special day can blossom into a festival for family and friends.

Who could forget the classic slogan for Smucker’s: “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good!” I am no expert on jams and jellies, but the Smucker’s brand certainly gives me confidence that I am buying the best.

I often refer to my production equipment as gift-making machines. Every year during the holidays, friends, family and neighbors receive a custom gift from 9th Street Designs. I find making DIY gifts rewarding and certainly less painful than shopping.

Can it really be the fourth quarter already? It seems like yesterday the APA Expo was in Las Vegas, and we were preparing for the busy season, doesn’t it? But before you can blink, the holidays will be here. Ah, the holidays—a time for beloved family traditions. A time for spreading good cheer. A time for gifts—both big and small. And, like it or not, a time for retailers to end the fiscal year on a positive note.

Word of mouth will always be a major aspect of any awards and personalization professional’s marketing toolkit, but if the last year has taught us anything, it’s that getting online is no longer negotiable. Retailers who do not communicate with consumers via social media are missing a huge opportunity to build relationships with new customer groups, capture additional sales, and grow brand recognition. But with everything running a shop requires, adding to it all the Tweets, posts, ads, and more can feel like a full-time job—on top of all the other full-time jobs required to run your business! That’s where social media management tools come in.

This past year, the popular photo sharing social media platform Instagram reached a mighty milestone: There are now more than 1 BILLION people globally using Instagram every day. According to Sprout Social, 63% of U.S. users say they check their Instagram daily, and Instagram users are among the most dedicated (amongst social media platforms) in terms of how frequently they log in.

Social media offers industry retailers a cost-effective way to win over new customers, build loyalty from clients, and market product diversity. Photos and videos that are posted online are ideal for showcasing gifts, apparel, and signage to spread the word that your business offers so much more than your target audience realizes.

Growing, successful awards and personalization businesses are devoting more time to content marketing: the publishing of articles, videos, images, and more to reinforce brand image. Suppliers and retailers are getting and keeping their customers’ attention by providing their customers with more than simple self-promotion. To get new visitors to come see this content and become customers, it’s more important than ever to ensure that content is search engine optimized.

We all know that networking with current and potential customers can add to your sales volume in a big way. We also know that a lot of networking takes place in organized groups at events held after business hours. And we know that networking should be a part of every retailer’s marketing plan. Problem is, if it were easy, we would all be doing it regularly.

Do you have a laser and sublimation equipment? With inspiration and creativity, there is no limit to what you can create using this substrate. The question to ask is whether you can sell the product you’re creating. I’ll get to that. Here are five ideas.

The best way to gain and keep customers is to provide them with value. It’s really pretty simple: If the customer is happy with what they get in return for their money, they consider it value.

As part of the International Awards & Personalization Expo February 7-10, I will present an education session in which I build a live WordPress website in 3 hours. Here, I'm going to go over some of the basics for getting started with WordPress. Those of you who have solid knowledge of CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT can use them to create and edit graphics for use on websites.

Whether you are attending the Awards and Personalization Association's International Awards & Personalization Expo in Las Vegas this month, sitting in the comfort of your store and browsing through industry suppliers' new catalogs, or enjoying a visit from an industry sales representative, one thing is certain–your excitement level is increasing as you view all of the new products available for 2017.

Money talks. The question is what your money is saying to you. For most of us, it says, “Use me to grow the business,” or “Invest me for a more secure future.” But sometimes, in spite of your best intentions, it seems that your hard-earned cash is saying, “Bye-bye!” and being spent almost as quickly as it is made. Been there?