The use of promotion codes - Trophies2go

From my perspective, the economy is soft and money is a bit tighter for all of us.  I have pondered the use of promotion codes in the past.  Sure, I want more business, but is it the right thing to do?  Our product costs have increased substantially over the past few years as have rent, utilities, and labor costs.  We have increased prices a little, but not enough to keep pace with the expenses.  So now I am faced with another question: do I raise prices again and then try to use other sales tactics, such as discount or promotion codes?

As a consumer, I hate the tactics of some businesses (like furniture companies or mattress companies) that mark up products half of the year, only to significantly discount them the other half.  I am sure that works for them, but does anyone who buys awards and trophies want their supplier to apply such a tactic?  My gut says “no” – I think that most people expect to receive great products, service and prices every day of the year.

I value the internet as a great source of knowledge for the consumer.  I also feel it serves as a tool for customers to ensure they are getting a good deal.  My blog serves as an outlet for me to share my thoughts/ideas and as a way for me to test business strategies.  In the interest of testing out the use of promotion codes in my trophy & awards business, I am going to offer a promotion code good for 10% off.  Use the code: awardsgurutest08 , on the last page of the checkout, from now until August 31st, 2008 as a gesture of goodwill to see how good we are at what we do.  I am not going to raise prices and then give you a discount - this is off of our great everyday prices.  I hope that we will beat your expectations of what an online trophy & awards supplier should be.  Make sure to check out our extensive line of acrylic awards, plaques, crystal awards as well as our sports trophies!

Thanks for being a reader of my blog!  Your readership and support is appreciated!

Does your company need help? The Awards Guru can provide solutions!

I am looking for people to help.  If your company has problems with the following, I may be able to assist:

Motivation

Sales

Employee retention

Feeling appreciated

Job satisfaction

All you need to do is send an email to me (jeff@trophies2go.com) - please provide me with a brief description of your problem.  What you will get in return is not a sales job; I pledge to listen (or read) your concerns, gain background information by asking you a series of questions and then offering potential solutions.  Free advice from someone with 15 years of experience?  Yes…that is what I am willing to offer.

The T-Ball Coach – Kelly Conlon

This is a real story from Lakewood, Washington.  The scenario is a t-ball team without a willing volunteer to be coach.  Stepping up to the plate: Kelly Conlon.  While Kelly has a busy work life, multiple kids and stressors that most of us face, his t-ball team was without a coach/mentor to his child and 13 other 5-6 year olds.  Instead of pointing to the other parents and asking them to take on the role, Kelly raised his hand and said, “I will do it.”  That leap of faith is inspiration for this article.  The rest of the story is typical of many t-ball teams around the county; kids not knowing the sport, not having developed skills and not having the attention span to make it through a game.

 

Well, I just attended the team’s last game, and am I impressed!  The kids knew their positions, abided by the rules and had fun, too!  Since I am in the business of recognition, I want to highlight Kelly’s delivery of the end of the year trophies.  While most of the youth trophy presentations I have seen have been a spectacle for both the parents and children, Kelly focused on just the kids.  He got down on one knee and spoke loud enough to be heard by all, yet he spoke directly to each child.  He highlighted 2-3 positive attributes each child learned or possessed throughout the season and presented them with a small trophy and certificate from the league.

While I feel the trophy and certificate are long-lasting symbols of the child’s accomplishment, the words that were spoken are perhaps more important.  Each child left with a sense of accomplishment and pride that serve as a foundation for future achievements.  They know they can finish something.  They know they can be a part of a team.  They know that as an individual, they were a significant part of a team.

 

In speaking to Kelly after the game, he felt honored to teach the kids.  He felt like he witnessed growth in their teamwork, physical skills and in their attitude.  If you ask him if he received enough recognition for teaching them, he would say that he didn’t need any because the joy he received was greater than what he put into it.

 

This story is repeated by the hundreds each sports season around the county.  My hat is off to Kelly and the rest of the parents who accept the challenge of teaching our children structure, responsibility and rules.  These people are to be commended for giving more than their share of effort.

Great Job!

Exposed! How merchants carry the load in fraud protection.

Passion runs deep for entrepreneurs.  I am no exception…especially when I feel I have been a victim of crime.  Although internet fraud is a crime, it is hard to trace and hard to prosecute.  This article is not aimed at the crook who steals from merchants, but more at the dysfunctional system that is in place to process transactions.  Is this system more at fault than the person who fraudulently uses a credit card?  You can decide.  Here is my latest story.

In June, we received an order for 15-20 plaques – including shipping the total for the order was $450ish.  The billing address and shipping address did not match, but the last name did.  This is a common occurrence for us.  The engraving information was odd, so per our protocol, I called the issuing card company to verify the legitimacy of the card.  The fraud department of the card company verified the address and was dumbfounded when I asked to call the cardholder to ask them if they placed the order.  Nobody answered the cardholder’s phone (if they even made the call) and the fraud department told me that the transaction was fine and to go ahead and ship their order and charge their card.  Needless to say, 3 weeks later, we received a ‘chargeback’ or notice that the cardholder was disputing the charge.  I called the fraud department back and confronted them on why they said the charge was OK.  Their response was vague and they told me their responsibility was to protect the cardholder.

So who is protecting the merchant?

After realizing I would get nowhere with the cardholder’s credit card processor, I called my own processor.  These are the people who we pay 2-3% of each transaction.  I thought there would be some sort of process that if the merchant checked and double checked the authenticity of the credit card, there would be some sort of backup insurance to protect the merchant.  Although very friendly and understanding, the conversation yielded the end result that they have no liability either.

So I ask the question, who is holding the liability?

Is it the cardholder?  No…no matter what they do, they dispute the charge and don’t have to pay.

Is it Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover? No, they simply process the transaction and play middle man in disputes.

My logic brings me to this conclusion…The cardholder passes blame to the credit card company.  They pass blame onto the merchant.  The merchant gets screwed.

 

In closing, I would like to give a giant, you are a loser shout out to the person who used Ms. Crawford’s credit card.  This person signed for the package at the address of 3279 BELLE GROVE, Memphis, TN, 38115.  The Miss Black Continental Newcomer or Mr. Black Continental Newcomer organization should be ashamed there are people out there using stolen cards to promote your group.

What is meaningful recognition?

Our company is about providing meaningful recognition. Often I am faced with the question of “what EXACTLY IS meaningful recognition.” For me, it is the expression of a heartfelt acknowledgement of what someone else has done. While we can only scratch the surface of telling the countless stories that define the term, I am going to start a series of posts that begin to shed light on the importance of meaningful recognition. I welcome your thoughts and feedback in this section. While I attempt to focus on a few of the stories I see, please feel free to share your stories as well.

What is the difference between informal and formal recognition?

Recognition is important in the workplace as well as in the home.  It can come in different forms and can be applied at different times.  One of my favorite reasons for using recognition is motivation.

At home, I use recognition to motivate my children and use it to acknowledge and appreciate my wife.  The easiest way is to use informal day-to-day recognition.  Although sometimes I fall short, words of affirmation are a great motivator in keeping the family functioning.  Simple things like thanking my wife for cooking dinner, taking care of the yard or running errands in support of the family unit really charge her up and help motivate her to continue on…just surviving in today’s busy society can be a challenge - verbalizing to your spouse can affect the happiness of the family!  Same for the kids.  My oldest daughter is very smart and sensitive.  By praising her with atta-boys (or atta-girls), her spirit seems to be lifted.  In turn, she then seems receptive and motivated to doing homework and chores.  She also seems excited and energized to be a part of the family.

We also have a somewhat hokey family tradition.  We have a family ‘trophy’ comprised of a horse and 2 dogs that is titled ‘The Anderson Family Trophy’.  Each night (well, almost each night) the person who has the trophy recognizes another family member who did exceptionally well that day.  At dinner, the presenter gives the trophy to the winner and shares with the family why they deserve the award.  For us, it ends up pretty evenly distributed (as to not hurt anyone’s feelings), but the result is amazing.  We all feel like we are a part of a positive family.  This formal recognition is a great way to celebrate the accomplishments of the day.

In the workplace, informal recognition takes on the same tone.  Words of affirmation - to everyone - seems like it boosts morale and makes the job at hand more fun.  Although my co-workers may not realize this, but my day-to-day informal recognition includes a simple ‘Thanks’ when someone leaves.  It may be pretty simple to deliver, but I really think that acknowledging someone for putting in a solid days work is crucial to happiness.  I am very grateful when each of my co-workers spends a day out of their life with me.  Sure they get paid, but they could get paid anywhere, yet they choose to spend it at my company and help in our quest to provide recognition to others.  Other simple ways to informally recognize can include notes, cards, and thanks in the presence of others.

Symbols of formal recognition are what we provide.   I feel this is as important as informal recognition as it provides a sense of permanency to the accomplishment.  For kids, a simple trophy not only helps celebrate the completion of the season, but also motivates them to try harder next time and provides a feeling of ‘that was cool, I can’t wait until next season’.  For adults in the workplace, formal recognition is more complex.  Formal recognition is (and should be) thought out in advance.  Strategy, measurement and delivery of formal recognition should be pre-planned and aligned with the goals of the program.  Some of the most successful sales, service or training recognition programs we see are created with longevity in mind.  These programs have management buy-in, are taken very seriously, and are flexible enough to change.  The results of a successful formal recognition program are people who genuinely want to contribute to their company.  I feel that is a tremendous tool for any leader of a company or organization to understand and use.

As always, your thoughts and questions are welcome.  We at trophies2go.com are here to assist in whatever way possible…

Doing right by the Planet - Our partnership with PSE and Light Doctor

As promised, we are acting on our environmental stewardship.  The latest item now complete is our lighting retrofit.  We partnered with the Light Doctor (Mountlake Terrace, WA) and Puget Sound Energy to dramatically cut our lighting cost to our 5000 square foot facility.  I am hopeful that our energy usage from lighting will be cut by 2/3!  That is right; our energy use from lighting will be 1/3 of what it was just a few days ago!  Talk about a decrease in carbon footprint!

Initially, both myself and landlord were concerned about the color and amount of light that we would get out of the change, but check out the pictures below.  They are taken without a flash and are unedited.

Display area before                                                           Display area after

 

Conference room before                            Conference room after

 

I want to personally thank Willy of the Light Doctor for his patience and great service as well as Lee from Puget Sound Energy for his commitment to the environment and financial subsidy to make this project happen.

I think we have significantly improved our lighting, saved energy, and helped the environment at the same time.  To me, that is part of what being the leader of meaningful recognition is all about!

“Using Awards as a Motivator” – some thoughts on validation and pride in the workplace

I don’t know if you’d agree with me, but I think no matter how modest a person may be, inside every person is a yearning to be recognized…to be validated.  This is only natural.  We all feel insecurities, often unconsciously, and when someone validates us as a person or recognizes something we have done that is of worth to us, we feel that it was worth our efforts.   In a sense, it is when we are validated or affirmed by other people that we feel that life is indeed worth living. 

It is the same principle in the workplace.  Being validated is very important for employees to feel that they are valuable, that their contribution has meaning to the company, and that without their efforts, things wouldn’t work.  They need to feel and know that they are needed. It is the sense of pride that drives people to do better.

Warning – deep thought on pride, here.

Friedrich Nietzsche considers pride as a master set of values which acknowledges the good and the noble, and rejects the weak and insipid.  Without pride, a person will lack self-esteem—one the greatest driving forces of motivation.   Pride, the emotion of having a strong sense of self-respect and having belief in one’s abilities and capabilities, drives people to do better.  It is the emotion that gives people the strength to pursue something grand, brilliant, exceptional, even feats that are seemingly impossible. 

 

How do you motivate people?  By instilling pride in them.  How do you do that?   When you make an incentive the primary goal, the challenge also ends in the attainment of the incentive – you achieve the goal of being rewarded with the money, the gadget, the trip, etc.  These are all temporary motivators that fail to provide a deeper sense of fulfillment.  A better long-term motivator is giving recognition awards (of course in the form of plaques, acrylic awards or crystal awards provided by Trophies2go.com) or other gifts that honors or signifies performance.  In this case, the feat and the recognition are more important than the item itself.  The recognition award becomes the symbol of the achievement, and it also becomes a vehicle for re-experiencing the achievement.  When receiving an award, the motivation doesn’t end with the acceptance of the award.  The award will also instill pride and self-esteem, giving the person more reasons to do better, and to pursue higher goals.

‘Tooting the Horn’ of the Awards Guru, now a CRP!

I am usually the last person to self-promote, give myself praise, or anything to that effect.  Believe it or not, it is really quite hard to give myself acknowledgement or recognition for what I do in the world.  I much rather give it to others, in particular my staff, family, friends or customers.  For this article, though, I will break that practice for a few minutes.

I recently completed the RPI (Recognition Professionals International) certification program that allows me to put the initials CRP after my name.  It means Certified Recognition Professional.  Even though the funny side of me wants to find out a cleaver way to drop an A in CRP, I haven’t figured out something suitable…yet.

Besides learning principles, disciplines and best practices, I learned a lot about the rewards and recognition industry.  I am fascinated by how certain businesses apply recognition to a corporate culture and yield tremendous results.  I am also fascinated why, despite a mountain of evidence and ease of application, that more managers and c-level executives are not begging to implement change in their business.  Over the last 4 days (plus several from last year, too), I saw practitioners who were supported by their management and those that weren’t.  Consistently, those who were supported from the CEO on down not only loved their job, but came through with the best effort and results for their company.

I also gained friendships from my fellow classmates that will enrich my life.  Besides the important stuff (food, drinks and laughter), I know feel like I have a support group that will help me when I run into difficulties.  Thanks as well to the RPI staff, instructors, other CRP graduates, and even the staff at the Newport Beach Marriott Resort and Spa.  All of you did a great job in putting together a world-class event.

If your job puts you in the world of practicing recognition or being a resource provider to businesses, please consider the CRP certification program.

If you are looking to partner with an awards supplier who knows far more than the norm, I am your man!  As far as I can tell, I am the first and only retail awards supplier member to become a CRP designee.  My co-workers also know their stuff, too :-).  We are ready to give our best - to serve you with knowledge, tools and products that assist with your recognition needs.

What is the ‘Awards Guru’ doing to change?

Don’t you love referring to yourself in the 3rd person?  As you can image, the ‘Awards Guru’ name is a title - it is not meant to pump up my ego or to make myself look more important to others.  To me, it keeps me centered on the fact that, yes, I am in the awards industry, and yes, I do know quite a bit about awards and recogntion.  Everything?  Not by a long-shot!

To share what is going on in my life to improve my knowledge base, here are a couple of groups that I am involved with:

recognition.org - I am completing my certification in April to be a CRP (Certified Recognition Professional).  I feel this is a great foundation of understanding the essentials of awards programs and their benefits.

ara.org - I am volunteering to be on the education committee for the Awards and Recognition Association.  I feel like there is improvement that can occur in this organization.  My strongest passion is around improving the education of awards and recognition vendors.

Entrepreneurs Association (EO) - Seattle - I will be serving on the EO Seattle board from July 1, 2008 for a 2 year term.  For me, the EO organization fuels my entrepreneurial spirit and helps me maintain a decent work/life balance.

 The new trophies.org.  Ever heard of social entrepreneurship?  Look for good things to come from the new and improved trophies.org in the future!

Hopefully through my energy, desire and expanding knowledge, I will be a voice of positive change for the recognition industry.  I feel like the journey is just beginning…