The MoonDog Blog

John Jantsch, respected small business marketing expert and author of the the Duct Tape Marketing system likes to say that marketing is simply getting customers with a need to: Know, Like and Trust you.

I think that’s a great way to think about marketing. It’s succinct and easy to understand. It’s also an easy way to describe how using custom logo apparel and promotional products can help any businesses build Know, Like and Trust.

Here’s how.

Say a kitchen remodeling contractor decides to man a booth at a local home remodeling expo in order to drum up new business. It’s important to capture customer interest quickly at this type of event as most people will only give a quick glance as they walk by a booth to determine interest. First impressions matter.

Logo apparel can help the contractor make a good first impression. Having employees man the booth who look sharp, knowledgeable and professional can go a long way towards establishing an initial “Trust”. Enough trust that people are at least willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and a moment of their time.

An expo can be a great way to get noticed and to meet potential customers but rarely will a customer actually make a large purchase for something like a kitchen remodel on first contact. It’s critical that before a customer walks away you give them a way to remember your business.

That’s where promotional products can help.

The remodeling contractor could give away a nice eco-friendly shopping bag discreetly imprinted with their logo and contact information to potential/qualified customers. I’m not talking about the cheap polypropylene kind of bag, I’m talking about a reusable fabric bag that is well made, stylish and likely to become that customers favorite shopping bag. The point is you want the bag to get used and you want the client to “Like” you for giving them such a wonderful gift.

Inside the logo shopping bag the contractor could stuff additional marketing materials such as a description of their services, referrals and photos from past jobs, business cards and an offer of some sort. It’s important that the offer be compelling enough that the client is likely to be pass it on to a friend or family member if the contractors service is not something they’re currently interested in. For instance it could be an offer for a $250 gift card to local grocery store when a remodel is complete for any job over $5,000. It ties in nicely with the shopping bag theme and is of sufficient value that it’s likely to get passed on to someone else who may have a need. The marketing materials help build “Know” and “Trust” and the offer again re-enforces the “Like”.

Every time that customer uses their favorite shopping bag they will think of the contractor. It acts as a constant reminder and will make it easy for the customer to find the contractors contact information when needed. If they like and trust the contractor they will be ready, willing and able to make a referral.

Hopefully this post will spark some ideas for you and your business. Combining imprinted products with creative marketing techniques is certainly a winning strategy.

If you’d like to learn more about small business marketing check out the Duct Tape Marketing website. John Jantsch is very generous with his marketing expertise and provides many useful resources for little or no money.

MoonDog Embroidery has moved to a new location near downtown Bothell. We really needed more production space than we had at our shop in Country Village and we wanted to be in a location that was more convenient for our customers.

We are still on the same road only closer to downtown Bothell and our shop is right on the street now (we’re still working on signage). Look for us directly across from the 76 Service Station near Pop Keeney field.

Our new address is:

MoonDog Embroidery
18724 Bothell Way NE
Bothell, WA 98011

We look forward to serving you in our new location for years to come. That’s code for it’s a lot of work to move!

Starting November 1st every item on your order counts towards your quantity discount total. Mix and match styles, sizes and colors, they all count towards your discount total. Depending on the total number of items on your order you can save between 5 and 25 percent.

Unlike other shops that require you purchase 24 or more pieces of a single style before any discounting occurs we make our quantity discount levels easy to obtain. Our discounts start with as few as 6 items in any combination of style, size or color.

Bring the kids to Country Village on Halloween for Trick-Or-Treating between 4 and 6pm.

There are a number of activities happening in the village throughout the day and all of the shops will be giving out candy starting at 4pm. In addition to candy for the kids we will also be giving out coupons to parents for big savings during the month of November.

MoonDog Embroidery is excited to again lend our support to the Northshore School District “Backpack For Kids” campaign July 16th to August 10th.

In addition to making a donation of new backpacks ourselves we are encouraging our customers to participate by offering several matching incentives and by being a designated donation site.

Throughout the campaign MoonDog Embroidery will match every backpack purchased in our store with a donated backpack. Customers who purchase a backpack from us to donate to the campaign will also receive a free backpack ornament.

There will be a special backpack display in our store so that customers can checkout and purchase some of our most popular styles. Customers are also free to select backpacks from our online catalog .

A large drop-off box will be setup in front of our cash wrap counter and local residents are encouraged to bring in new unused donations of backpacks and school supplies.

The Northshore School District serves a student population of approximately 20,000 students in the Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville communities. In the 2008-2009 school year more than 12% of the students qualified for free or reduced cost lunches. These are students from families that frequently cannot afford the basic school supplies their children need to succeed.

In it’s tenth annual “Backpacks for Kids” drive businesses and individuals in these communities donate time, money and supplies with a goal of providing 700 children with new backpacks filled with basic school supplies.

For complete event details please see the Northshore School District website.