Getting the Maximum Marketing Mileage Out of Your Nametag

As a small business owner, you must always explore creative ways to promote your products or services. One of the most effective yet underappreciated tools you can use to keep your company "on stage" is your nametag. Especially when you attend meetings, events or if you're out in the field representing your company, your nametag is your best friend. Not only will it remind people of your name (who will forget your name 10 seconds after they shake your hand anyway), but it will advertise your business.

Think of your nametag as your own personal billboard. And with that in mind, follow these steps get the maximum marketing mileage out of your nametag.

Create a Custom Nametag
If you're a small business owner or entrepreneur and you don't have your own custom nametag, you are missing out. Imagine you attend your Chamber of Commerce meeting and you get stuck wearing the obligatory, computerized, faded-font, barely-sticks-onto-my-lapel Avery piece of junk. You will not stand out. You will not promote your business. And other members will not know who you are or how you can give them value. Try this: at your next meeting, sit by someone in real estate ? those people know how to wear nametags!

If you want a professional nametag that will effectively brand you and your business, consider a small investment in custom engraving. I once started a conversation and made friends with a lady at a meeting of the National Speaker's Association because she had the biggest, most beautiful?nametag?that I had ever seen! She then told me the name of the St. Peters company who customized her nametag ? and I drove out to their shop that day! For more information, go to Incredible Engravings at www.engravings.com.

Stay "On Duty" All the Time
What frustrates you more? Someone whose name you've forgotten or someone whose nametag isn't available to help you remember their name? People have a tendency to remove their nametags when they eat, smoke, use the bathroom, go to break out sessions or attend pre/post show activities. Don't. Leave your nametag on for the entire meeting. You never know when there will be a new member in attendance who doesn't know who you are. Remember, as the great sales trainer Jeffery Gitomer says, "It's not who you know, it's who knows you."

Think of yourself as a taxi driver. If you cruise down the street and you want to attract customers, don't shut off your "on duty" lights. Be available at all times for the people who need your services. Because you never know around which corner your next customer will be standing!

Your Nametag is Your Brand
All billboards for McDonald's have similar components: the golden arches, the food, the lifestyle images, the slogans, etc. They are consistent because effective advertising campaigns coordinate their branding efforts between mediums. Therefore, since your nametag is just like your own billboard, the font, color, logo and company information that appears on your nametag should be consistent with the existing brand of your business. As a result, when people meet you, look into your eyes and then look at your nametag, everything will synergize together as one valuable entity.

A great example of someone who uses a nametag as a branding tool is my friend Tom Terrific. Tom is a speaker, trainer and coach whose company is called "Terrific Presentations." Not only do his name, company and programming revolve around the word "terrific," but his nametag simply says, "Tom Terrific." And nobody ever seems to forget Tom. Why? Because he's terrific ? and he has the nametag to prove it!

Be an Ambassador
Your nametag will immediately identify you as an ambassador of your company. As such, it will hold you accountable for your behavior while you wear it. Your nametag is like a logo shirt ? it should be the personification of your company's culture. So wear it proudly. It will help you maintain a consistency between your performance and the mission of your business.

My friend Bob, who is a Financial Representative for Northwestern Mutual, wears his shiny, sleek, silver nametag on the lapel of his elegant suit every day. It looks professional and meticulous. And just like his nametag, Bob is professional and meticulous. Bob is elegant. Now that is an example of how to be an ambassador.

Silly Is As Silly Does
I know, I know - nametags are silly and annoying. They ruin your clothes. They diminish your anonymity. They draw unwanted attention to certain areas of your body.

But, what if you wore a beautiful, customized nametag that differentiated you?

What if?your nametag offered a small amount of personal information that made you more approachable?

And what if everyone knew you and how you could help them?

Then, the only people who would look silly would be those who weren't connecting and engaging with each other ? the people who weren't getting the maximum marketing mileage out of their nametags.

© 2005 All Rights Reserved.

Scott Ginsberg is a professional speaker, "The World's Foremost Expert on Nametags" and the author of HELLO my name is Scott and The Power of Approachability. He helps people MAXIMIZE their approachability and become UNFORGETTABLE communicators - one conversation at a time. For more information contact Front Porch Productions at http://www.hellomynameisscott.com.

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Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:05:30 GMT McCain takes stage, turns down heat - Boston Globe The Gazette (Montreal) McCain takes stage, turns down heat Boston Globe - 1 hour ago By Joanna Weiss For a man at the top of a presidential ticket, John McCain had an unusual task last night: to remind the nation that he was the star of his own show. Palin Assails Critics and Electrifies Party New York Times GOP welcomes McCain with enthusiasm Milwaukee Journal Sentinel CBS News - Kansas City Star - ABC News - TIME all 1,387 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:20:31 GMT Data on defective genes make tailored remedies possible - Baltimore Sun Voice of America Data on defective genes make tailored remedies possible Baltimore Sun - 41 minutes ago By Frank D. Roylance Researchers cataloging the genetic codes of deadly human brain and pancreatic cancers say they have found several dozen defective genes that appear to work in concert to set off the tumor growth that eventually kills their victims. In Long-Awaited Maps of Cancer, The Breakthrough Is the Problem Wall Street Journal What You Need to Know About Mapping the Cancer Genome U.S. News & World Report Reuters - The Associated Press - Bloomberg - Science Daily (press release) all 209 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:24:12 GMT Rice set for historic Libya visit - BBC News RTE.ie Rice set for historic Libya visit BBC News - 3 hours ago US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to begin a historic visit to Libya as part of a North African tour. She is expected to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of the trip, which will also include visits to Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Rice set to begin historic Libya visit AFP Rice set to make history in Libya The Associated Press Aljazeera.net - International Herald Tribune - WZTV - Bloomberg all 425 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:41:55 GMT '1967 lines not up for discussion' - Jerusalem Post Sydney Morning Herald '1967 lines not up for discussion' Jerusalem Post - 32 minutes ago By JPOST.COM STAFF The July 4, 1967 lines are not up for discussion and are the very foundations from which direct talks between Israel and Syria will start, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Friday. Video: Sarkozy in Syria : the press is divided france24english Syrian sets terms of role on peace Philadelphia Inquirer New York Times - Boston Globe - International Herald Tribune - Voice of America all 1,039 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:32:39 GMT Boeing Workers Are on the Brink - BusinessWeek Wall Street Journal Boeing Workers Are on the Brink BusinessWeek - 1 hour ago Despite being offered a relatively generous package by management, Boeing machinists are ready to go on strike. Here's why by Joseph Weber When a stunning 87% of Boeing machinists voted on Sept. Motown Blues for Boeing? Wall Street Journal Boeing, machinists union meet with mediator The Associated Press Seattle Times - Bloomberg - Reuters - Chicago Tribune all 1,406 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:54:59 GMT Schwarzenegger: Palin delivered 'fantastic' speech - San Jose Mercury News KGET 17 Schwarzenegger: Palin delivered 'fantastic' speech San Jose Mercury News - 1 hour ago AP SACRAMENTO—Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday said Sarah Palin hit a home run with her acceptance speech for the Republican vice presidential nomination. Video: Governor To Californians: Bug Lawmakers About Budget kcratv California nears record in spending plan stalemate Sacramento Bee San Gabriel Valley Tribune - Los Angeles Times - New York Times - City Watch all 302 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:14:17 GMT Wal-Mart acting on shifts in consumer spending - BusinessWeek Los Angeles Times Wal-Mart acting on shifts in consumer spending BusinessWeek - 3 hours ago By CHUCK BARTELS If the mood on Wall Street is grim, then consumers must be feeling even more bleak, right? Fuel prices remain high, inflation has hit food prices hard and consumer confidence is down. August another disappointing month for retailers Los Angeles Times Lower-cost stores gain from US shoppers' thriftiness Financial Times Forbes - The Associated Press - Wall Street Journal all 673 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:48:39 GMT Datafeeds For Blogs Amazon RSS

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