A Post-it note or post-it, is a piece of stationery with a strip of unique low tack adhesive that enables the post-it notes to be easily attached and removed without leaving marks or residue, hence the actual name post sticky note. They are called many names: post-it’s, post-it notes, sticky notes, stickies, postit, sticky pads, desktop post it notes, postits, and many others. Custom post-it notes are available in many shapes, colors, and sizes. Post-it note is frequently used as a generic term for any such product.

Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M in the United States, developed a low-tack, reusable adhesive in 1968.

For five years, Silver promoted his invention within the company without much success. In 1974, a colleague of his, Arthur Fry, who sang in a church choir in North St. Paul, Minnesota, was frustrated that his bookmarks kept falling out of his hymnal. He had attended one of Silver’s seminars, and, while listening to a sermon in church, he came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmarks. The post it note was launched in 1977. By 1980 post-its were sold nationwide, and a year later post it notes were launched in Canada and Europe.

Little did Dr. Silver know how far his invention would come. Today post it notes have many uses. With the ability to create custom printed post it notes online the uses around the office and at home are almost endless. Personalized post Its will go a long way to promote your business, no one throws away these precious sticky pads with your phone number, internet and e-mail address on them. Post it pads make a great tradeshow handout or sales call leave-behind and are among the world’s most-useful and appreciated premiums. Custom printed post-its with your logo or message on every page, these little sticky note “billboards” can carry your message to many potential customers. Post its are not throwaways, they are a practical memo taking office supply that will “stick” to your clients desk.

Personalized Post it note Usage Trends:
With the ease of creating custom post it notes online we have seen uses for post its from industries such as:

Real Estate -First Home Gift, Realtor Desktop Note, as Business Cards, or Home Owner Checklist.
Medical - While You Were Out Notes, Prescription Pads, Surgery Checklist, Routing Slips.
Pharmaceutical - Sales Call Leave Behinds, Memos, as Business Cards, Labeling.
Travel - Travel Reminders, Info Request Forms, Promotion.
Automotive - Advertisements, Coupons, Action Checklists, Quality Control Checklists.

The list is endless, but one thing is for sure, printed post it notes are a successful, inexpensive business marketing and branding product that should not be overlooked.

* Remind customers and prospects about the benefits of your product or service
* Establish and maintain your distinct identity
* Enhance your reputation
* Encourage existing customers to buy more of what you sell
* Attract new customers and replace lost ones
* Slowly build sales to boost your bottom line
* Promote your business to customers, investors and others

What Advertising Cannot Do For Your Business

* Create an instant customer base
* Cause an immediate sharp increase in sales
* Solve cash flow or profit problems
* Substitute for poor or indifferent customer service
* Sell useless or unwanted products or services

Two Important Virtues

* You have complete control. Unlike public relations efforts, you determine exactly where, when and how often your message will appear, how it will look, and what it will say. You can target your audience more readily and aim at very specific geographic areas.
* You can be consistent, presenting your company’s image and sales message repeatedly to build awareness and trust. A distinctive identity will eventually become clearly associated with your company, like McDonald’s golden arches. Customers will recognize you quickly and easily – in ads, mailers, packaging or signs – if you present yourself consistently.

What Are Advertising’s Drawbacks?

* It takes planning. Advertising works best and costs least when planned and prepared in advance. For example, you’ll pay less per ad in newspapers and magazines by agreeing to run several ads over time rather than deciding issue by issue. Likewise, you can save money by preparing a number of ads at once.
* It takes time and persistence. The effectiveness of your advertising improves gradually over time, because customers don’t see every one of your ads.
You must repeatedly remind prospects and customers about the benefits of doing business with you. The long-term effort triggers recognition and helps special offers or direct marketing pay off.

Photographs bring realism and authenticity to your marketing material. Photos offer a few things that other kinds of illustrations and artwork can’t match. The most obvious is that photos seem real they offer concrete visual proof to back up your text. This is why newspapers and magazines use photos for hard news stories, but use illustrations for more abstract articles. Numerous studies show that readers are more likely to believe a story, statistic, advertising claim, or other assertion if it features a photo. A good photograph captures our attention, conveys emotion, and tells a story.

Photos can also evoke a greater sense of urgency and drama from readers than illustrations can. If you try to recall the most important events of the last 50 years, odds are you associate the events you remember with photos you’ve seen. Black-and-white photos are generally considered to be more authentic or “real” than color photos.

Half the battle of producing professional, attractive layouts with photos is making sure you choose the best shots available. You don’t have to be a shutterbug to know that not all photos are created equal. A good photograph stands apart from the rest because it both feels right and looks good. It captures our attention, conveys emotion, and tells a story. Photographers must expose and print the photograph properly, meeting basic standards of clarity and quality. A combination of the artistic and technical produces a winning photo.

1. A location close to an entrance is perhaps the best booth space, but they typically tend to be booked faster than most others for obvious reasons
2. A corner location is also ideal as you get traffic from two or four different directions. These two are generally among the first booked.
3. A location close to a washroom or entertainment area can be strategic as while you may not garner traffic on the way to these facilities, prospects are more relaxed when headed in the other direction.
4. In the event that you can not get a space close to an entrance, on a corner or near an entertainment or washroom facility, a location close to a Marquis name who is not a direct competitor. They will tend to have a larger both and draw more audience share, providing an opportunity to capture prospects on the way in, or out.

Give Yourself Enough Time. Planning for a trade show display, particularly in a small company can be one of those things that slips under the radar. Remember you are representing your company in an industry forum, perhaps more than any other time, this is when to put your best foot forward.

1. If you lack either time or internal resources, outsource to a professional. Whether you build a booth or simply rent one, a full-service trade show display company can be your best friend. Good full-service trade show display companies are aware of the pitfalls and the opportunities and will guide you accordingly.
2. Understand that a trade show is a sales opportunity and set goals and objectives based on your investment. Whether in new accounts or new leads set an objective and plan accordingly. An attendee list is the best way to start prospecting.
3. Prepare your display materials. Your display company can again be your best friend here as they can assist in preparing the materials that fit with your overall image and can ensure you have all the materials you typically require.

Staff According To Your Needs. Whether for a new product launch, or for lead generation, the worst mistake you can make is not staffing accordingly.

1. A new product launch is feature and benefits rich and as such should be handled by marketing staff.
2. For lead generation, business development staff should be front line managing the booth.

Promotions & Giveaways. Promotions and giveaways are ideal, however, there are only so many mints and pens any one individual wants.

1. Choose a promotional item that is unique or at a minimum, useful. Custom Post-it notes are nice and for technology, thumb drives, computer lamps or USP ports remain popular.

Get A Name. The most important thing you can do at a trade show is data capture. Get a name.

1. For consumers, contest entries or sweepstakes are ideal for database capture however ensure they do not require much more information than a name, an email and a phone number. For associates and peers, a business card draw can be an effective tool.

With these simple tips, you have the start for your trade show. A simple trade show checklist also helps.
About the Author Make your next trade show appearance a success by using a display stand to present your materials to the public. Trade show displays are compact, light and pocket book friendly!

Use the following tips as you prepare your press release:

Determine the relevance of your news:

• Does it relate to the community, a hot issue, or a prominent person?
• Timeliness: Does your news relate to a holiday, an event, or a time of the year?
• Uniqueness: Is there any part of your news that is unusual or thought provoking?
• Readability: Will people want to read about your news?
• Don’t compete with big news stories or the holidays: For example, it may be best to wait until January for news that is not in some way related to the holidays.

Create a template for your press releases to save yourself time later. Keep in mind the following tips when creating your release:

• Include a release date if the news is time sensitive. “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” works well for most releases.
• List a contact name and phone number.
• Use a strong headline (sometimes called a slug line) to call attention to your news. The headline should be only one line, all capital letters.
• The lead paragraph should tell your story in a nutshell, limited to three sentences.
• In the next two paragraphs, use quotes from spokespeople.
• Keep your language simple.
• If you are rusty on punctuation for quotations, brush up before preparing the release.
• Limit the release to one double-spaced page.
• End the release with “###” or “-end-”
• Include a black-and-white photo whenever possible. A photo can greatly enhance your chance at publication.
• When distributing your release, consider your media and select carefully. Don’t waste your time on media that aren’t a good fit for your news.
• Decide on fax, email, or mail.
• In some cases, you will want to follow up your release with a short phone call, especially if the release is about an event.

For further information you can visit our list of Free Press Release Distribution Sources.

Business Promotion

You need sales marketing promotion to attract new customers and hold present ones, to counteract competition, and to take advantage of opportunities revealed by your market research. Your promotional activities may include any or all of the following: advertising, publicity, public relations activities, special sales, (clearances, closeouts, Valentines Day, etc.), contests, promotional items, displays of products or printed marketing materials on the business premises and at any trade shows. Full color promotional flyers combined with email marketing strategies are a great way to announce a grand opening. This is a perfect example of a sales promotion activity. Promotion requires ongoing planning and execution to accomplish the following:

• Establishment of clear policies, such as those outlining pricing procedures, returns and adjustment rules, policies regarding the servicing of product, salesperson compensation, and salesperson market responsibilities

• Creation of a company image emphasizing the competitive distinctions of the company, such as better quality, faster service, lower prices, or convenience

Marketing Strategies

Plan your company marketing and promotional strategies at the beginning of each business year and revise them during the year. Base your advertising strategies on market opportunities indicated by reliable market research, telling you what to promote, where to promote, and when to promote. Determining what to promote by considering where the best profit opportunities lie and noting which market areas hold the greatest promise for development. Your promotion may also depend on products you want to move out of stock. A build-up of one product in inventory may indicate a need for a special clearance to reduce stock to normal levels. If your analysis of company sales shows that normal sales efforts are not penetrating certain areas, you may have to plan a special promotion to target market and open up those areas.