Planning, Stress and Productivity - How to get the best outof your gifting supplier?

Planning is not just about your core business, but also other aspects that affect operations. It is statistically well known that when the human brain is under stress that intelligence levels drop. That is why often after an argument people often think of the things that they “should have” said when they had the chance. So how does this translate into planning for your corporate gifts? Well, if you leave your gifts until the last minute then you add a whole bunch of pressure to the gifting company and the staff who are working on your job. You may love the idea that your corporate gifting company has responded well to pressurised deadlines. But the more often you fall back on this strategy the higher the chance is that the supplier will crack under the pressure. We often get clients who say that they have moved to our corporate gifting service because the previous supplier let them down. But all relationships are two sided, so when planning gifting ask yourself 1. Is your corporate gifting deadline is realistic. 2. Is your corporate gifting budget realistic? 3. If there is a delay between getting the quotation and ordering, check on stock availability. People order everyday and your gifting company will not reserve stock for you until it has been paid for? 4. Have you communicated your brief clearly? We once received a brief where the client wanted a print that was larger than the actual gift. 5. Are you supplying your corporate gifting company with the tools to assist them in helping you? 6. Are you coordinating with your other departments involved, like finance or Human Resources, so that they know the requirements and deadline of the job? Planning properly can go a long way in making sure you get the best service from your corporate gifting company and will greatly minimise your stress as well. If you are looking for corporate gifts, visit our website www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

What are my Favorite End of the Year Corporate Gifts

If I consider the gifts that I have received before there are some corporate gifts which are a firm favorite for me.

I never tire of cooler bags as corporate gifts. They tend to reach an expiry date within a few years, so we have all sorts. When we go to our Weekend seminars I pack a small cooler lunch bag for each of our delegates. So I love to have them in different colours so that no one accidently takes my biltong or chocolate.

When driving to my parents in Port Elizabeth I used to pack one big cooler bag with snacks etc. But then reaching back between sleeping kids does not work, so now there is one for my husband and I and one for the kids. There is less digging for things and the children have more control of their own cooler bag.
But this year I saw the car travel cooler/warmer and I am in love. Less stopping for cool drinks, everything stays at the temperature. I really like that idea for end of the year corporate gifts.

Last year one of our clients ordered beaded wine glasses. I added a few of them for myself. They are a nice fun idea and perfect for the summer braais around the house with friends.

Outdoor chairs may seem like a cliché. But outdoor chairs do not last forever. We had a some great study ones, but with repeated use we needed to get new ones. If someone were to give a picnic set it would need to have a minimum of 4 place settings. I am not in the mood to carry a number of picnic sets because there are not enough plates etc for my family. Currently our holidays are for four. My husband and I ammend the two children. Now we are going to have to upgrade as there will be five of us.

Of course for me personally spa gifts are always a great idea. I like ones with pretty neutral colours so that they can fit into any bathroom.

Bath towels never go to waste, but if they must be branded then choose a colour on colour logo, so that they are more likely to be used. Knee blankets are also a really great idea. Particularly if you have a number of friends round for a Braai and the evening starts to take on a chill and no one else wants to go inside then the guests feeling the cold will welcome something to take the edge of the chill. This is a great corporate gift.

If you are going to do coffee mugs, add a bit of festivity and add some chocolate or nougat to them. If it is nougat, don’t expect to last long in our family, so you would have to send a bumper pack with mine.

Those are just some of my favorite gifts, but there are so many more that you can choose from, so visit our site www.belleregalo.co.za to view some more ideas.

How to Choose an End of the Year Gift

Around this time of the year, people start looking at end of the year gifts.
What are some of the things that you have to bear in mind for the end of the year gifts?

1. Who are you clients?If you client is a CEO who is office bound most of the days you may want to give an end of the year gift that has a relaxing element to it. Great end of the year gifts, may include a stainless steel Braai set, books,
If your client is a secretary, you may want to consider a more personal end of the year gifts, like a pamper set, teas set

2. Affordability of the end of the year gift.
Consider what you can afford for end of the year gifts. It is better to short list your client list so that you can spend a bit more on top level clients than do a blanket gift for all clients regardless of their spend.
You could for top end clients buy a mini fridge cooler/warmer and for your lower level clients and personalised coffee mug as an end of the year gift.

3. Look at the life long value of the client.
For clients who have or are capable of spending a lot with you consider how much that clients will be worth to your company between 1 to 5 years from now. Don’t give out a cheap pen as an end of the year corporate gift when they are actually worth a waterman pen end of the year corporate gift.

4. How appropriate is the end of the year gift?For conferences it is normal to give our pens, folders etc, but for a year end gift if you are going to do a folder, make it a genuine leather folder or a leather luggage item. If your client is into waste management or any other environmental service consider giving them eco friendly gifts as corporate gifts.
If your client is in advertising or design or even Public relations, well then you had better do your homework before you send out an end of the year gift.

5. Are there religious implications for the end of the year gift.
If your client’s religion prohibits alcohol, don’t give them custom wine as you may end up offending your client. Also if you do give out drinking glasses, make sure that you know if there are religious preferences before giving out wine glasses as end of the year corporate gifts.

Choose Umbrellas for the Cold and Wet Months

Umbrellas make an elegant corporate gift, be it door gift for a party, or likewise. Silk Screen printing can also be incorporated together to promote your companies image.

Advertising umbrellas are seen everywhere in the world: trade shows, events of charity in the open air, on the golf course and each main street. Promo umbrellas are by no means a new idea, but have you ever wondered where they came from? You consider perhaps with these top promotional gifts for your company or your organization.

A great idea is to have umbrellas at your receptions and have a security guard escort your clients to their car on rainy days.

Why Wear Beanies?

Be aware that you lose more heat through your head than any other body part.
This can be very deceptive. Your head never feels cold. Why? Because your body sends more heat to your head than any other body part to protect it.

Keeping your brain warm is so critical that your body will sacrifice any other body part before it will let the brain get cold.

Just because your head does not feel cold does not mean you are not losing heat off the top of your head. Remember this forever! You will not feel yourself losing heat off the top of your head, but you are! In this beanies are very helpful in preserving the heat of your head.

The reason your feet and hands are cold is because you are losing heat in the head area. Why? Because hands and feet are low priority and your head is top priority.
This is the body's system for rationing its limited heat supply. Because your head is given top priority when it comes to heat supply, it never feels cold even though it is in fact a giant heat dissipation module.

Remember! Your head leaks heat. Plug the leak. Wear a knitted beanie or a fleece beanie. Beanies really help you to keep warm.

If you will prioritize keeping your head warm, you will have won half the battle in keeping your body warm.

Belle Regalo offers a range of promotional beanies. Beanies are great promotional item giveaways. Embroidered beanies can be personalized with your custom logo imprint. These are great winter giveaways to keep your employees and customers warm.
For more information about beanies contact Belle Regalo by visiting our website or e-mailing us on info@belleregalo.co.za

Embroidering Jackets

Great jackets to brand are those which have zip away linings.

This means that embroidery machines can get into the lining of the jacket and supply an embroidered jacket that does not have the inside of the embroidery scratching you or the clothing that you are wearing under the jacket.

How to Choose Corporate Clothing

First impressions are lasting impressions. To create a good impression in front of client or boss, corporate clothes are one of the important factors. Therefore, in the corporate world, corporate clothing must choose very carefully. Thus, many large corporate firms give more priority to corporate clothes. Hence, to fulfil the demands, many corporate clothing suppliers have emerged.

Following are some tips which can be helpful in choosing corporate clothes from a corporate clothing supplier:

1) Choose a brand.
Selecting a good brand can become a plus point for the company. The Barron brand is terrific bard for corporate clothing where variety and stock availability are important. To ensure that the staff should look like a team, then provide them with corporate clothes, which will make them look professional and help them to work as a team. There are many brands in the market that are professional corporate clothing supplier and are experienced in supplying corporate clothes.

2) Brand it
Time for personalizing the corporate clothes occurs, when you are done with selecting the brand. Choose good and appropriate corporate colours, so that it can reflect on the company uniforms. This is important because good corporate colours will help a business owner in making business logo on the uniform. This will make the staff to look as a team and a professional worker.

Embroidery is generally a more durable and prestigious type of branding. For promotional items you can silkscreen, but for uniforms rather choose embroidery.

3) Offer variety
To change the mood of the team, offer some exciting events, couple of times in a year. Also provide or allow wearing casual corporate work wear that are attractive in colours and styles. Embroidering the company's logo on the corporate work wear will enhance the spirit of the team in work days as well as in fun days.
If the budget of the company is quiet good enough to order some more accessories after ordering corporate clothes, then it's better to order some gloves, jackets or some Friday casual clothes etc. for the employees of the company.

5) Preserve the pride
Make the staff proud by making them wear corporate clothes. There are many corporate clothing suppliers who provide a good varieties and help in the selection of company's uniforms. The suppliers also design the logos of the company with a good combination and mixture of corporate colours.