USimprints: The Blog

Warm, Fuzzy & Cozy | A Few of My Favorite Things

by Shari on January 6, 2012 in Promotional Products, Seasonal

We’re all familiar with that catchy classical song in the Sound of Music when Maria sings about her love for things such as ‘raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens’. These are the things she selects to fill her mind with when times are bad.

I grew up in hot and sunny Arizona, and so winter in the south is a bit more chilling than what I am used to. I’m the person that crosses my fingers every year and hopes that the Groundhog does not see his shadow. No doubt that Maria and I have different views on what are considered to be ‘bad times’.

Over the years I have learned the fine art of layering clothing and the importance of warming up your car 20 minutes before you leave the house. I have also discovered ‘a few of my favorite things’, which make the cold weather a bit more tolerable.

#1. My Travel Mug full of hot coffee that makes me warm, I rarely leave home without it.

#2. Fleece Glove, Hat and Scarf Set. I love the feel of the fuzzy fleece and how easily everything packs into the drawstring pouch.

#3. A Luxury Plush Blanket – this blanket is amazingly cozy and cuddly soft! I know, you probably thought I would have put down a Snuggle Me Blanket and honestly if I owned one I might be typing a different story.

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“A Snowball Fight Breaks Out… And Winter has finally begun”

by Natalie on December 22, 2011 in Ideas & Inspiration, Seasonal

Today is officially the first day of winter! Here in Tennessee it has felt like winter off and on for a while now. In the past week we have had a snow shower followed by temperatures in the 60s. Being that I have from Texas, I am bracing myself for a much colder winter than what I am accustomed to. I do, however, love this season (at least for a little while).

Winter means ice scrapers to help get myself out of the driveway safely, travel mugs to help thaw myself out while running errands, the obvious sweatshirt and jacket apparel, lip balm to keep my lips from drying out, sweatshirt blanket to keep myself warm at the office or any outdoor event I might be attending, lots of hand sanitizer to keep from getting the flu, and maybe even a pedometer to try to shed off a few holiday pounds I know I might be gaining at the moment as I eat this Christmas cookie.

Winter, to me, is a time to spend surrounded by the people that I love whether it’s at home, in a cozy coffee shop, or a weekend trip to the mountains or even to the beach. Winter is the end of an old year and the fresh start of another. It’s the start of something new whether its new beginnings, new ideas, plans or goals for a new year. It gives a chance to take a deep breath of crisp air, and enjoy the moment because before we know it the holidays will have passed and spring will be awaiting us!

Stay cozy my friends. Happy Winter!

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“Maybe it’s much too early in the game…”| Promotional Products for a fun-filled New Year’s Eve

by Natalie on December 13, 2011 in Seasonal

Even though Christmas is still nearly two weeks away, I am already looking into the (near) future and trying to figure out my New Year’s Eve plans. Last year I (like so many people across the country) had a little New Years party. We set up a Times Square backdrop for a photo booth that was a huge hit! Naturally, everyone wore party hats, and we ate and played a few games then danced the night away into the new year! I am still finding star confetti all over my house!

This year we are planning on having another New Year’s bash, and figured I would let you in on a few of my favorite New Years products…

View our entire New Year’s category here.

“So let’s give it up for the New Year…”

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Tis the Season to Spruce Up Your Gift List

by Natalie on December 7, 2011 in Unique Packaging

It’s that time of year again! Time for gingerbread houses, tree trimming, snowman building, and of course gift giving! Are you tired of giving the unexciting, zero effort gift card or boring old package?

Here are two of my favorite spruced up gifts for this holiday season. They are perfect for your employees, family members, friends, colleagues, teachers, etc.

1. The Sweatshirt Blanket

This promotional blanket is made out of cotton/poly sweatshirt material, and is perfect for cold days at the office, holiday traveling by car or plane, or to bundle up with at your teams playoff game!

Just tie with pretty ribbon and attach a gift tag, and you are ready to go!

2. Ghiradelli Gift Set

This gift set comes in a beautiful gold box complete with a leather wrapped thermos, 5 Ghiradelli cocoa packets and 5 chocolates!

On a long day of running last minute holiday errands, why not bring this convenient customized thermos along filled with your favorite Christmas blend or hot chocolate!

Since the box is already lovely, all you need is some pretty ribbon and another gift tag!

Teacher Appreciation Week 2012 | Customized Gift Ideas

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What is customer service, anyway?

by Shari on November 29, 2011 in Business Sense, Uncategorized

Years ago a friend of mine worked as a customer service rep for a major financial institution. She was on the inbound call team answering call after call, with each caller having a different issue that needed resolution. Her company had just gone through a major merger, so needless to say that there were a lot of issues to resolve. She would tell me that at times it was hard to recognize each caller as a person with a real issue and not just think of them as another call to get through.

Back in those days if you would have asked me what I thought customer service was, I would have told you a person in a call center who answers the phone and hopefully or maybe resolves your issue. Thankfully times have really changed. Customers are fed up with bad service and have demanded change. Thanks to Social Media and modern technology, gone are the days when a complaint goes unheard.

A few months ago several of us in the office were turned on to a book called The Thank You Economy. It really got us thinking about how we interact with our customers. One of the first things we realized was that we needed to be communicating with our customers shortly after they received their order to make sure they experienced great service and that they were happy with the product they ordered. Thankfully implementing this simple yet important process has helped us both improve how we serve customers and also resolve issues on orders.

We realize that there is always room for improvement. Our goal is to find the areas that need improving while learning through our mistakes. Sometimes it’s realizing that a phone call to personally apologize might be better received than an email, or when to right a wrong, when it’s not necessarily a mistake that you made. Our motto is to treat customers the way we want to be treated.

And so I leave with you my personal belief that customer service is not a department, it’s an attitude!

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Don’t Be Dull This Holiday! My Favorite 2011 Corporate Gifts at Usimprints.com

by Wade Benz on November 8, 2011 in Promotional Products

What better way to show your appreciation to your customers or to your team members (I hate the word employees) than with unique branded corporate gifts this 2011 Holiday Season. My wife is already playing Christmas music! I can’t believe it is less than 60 days away, so get a head start with ordering your gifts. Forget about boring items that will just get tossed or re-gifted to a crazy relative. Customize gifts that are unique and will get used. I have put together a list of our favorites from USimprints.com.

1. Custom Acrylic Double Wall Tumblers

These drinkware items made popular by Starbucks, are still my absolute favorite, I use mine everyday! The tumblers don’t cause those ugly rings on your desk or table, they keep drinks cooler, and don’t sweat. There are even new double wall tumblers that are stainless steel this season. These acrylic tumblers are a must have.

Promotional Double Wall Acrylic Tumblers

Custom Acrylic Tumblers with Straw

2. Promotional iPad Covers

I am a huge Apple fan, and I know with the passing of Steve Jobs, their revolutionary products will be even bigger this holiday season. So many people already have an iPad, or will be getting one, so why not give them an imprinted case. We have several options of these promotional and custom iPad covers in leather, neoprene, or polycarbonate.

Custom Imprinted iPad Covers

3. Polypropylene Insulated Grocery Tote

These totes were made popular a few years ago, but the new insulated grocery totes can keep your grocery, tailgate, or picnic items cooler for longer. So if you are making a grocery trip and can’t get home quickly, these could save your milk, eggs, and meat from getting spoiled! Check out all of our promotional tote bags!

Custom Insulated Grocery Tote

4. Promotional Folding Chairs

One of my other favorite giveaway is a custom promotional chair. These are great outdoor gifts to give out, and are perfect for sporting events, concerts, and picnics. It is also a great place to imprint a logo since it has a large imprint area. We have a large selection of colors and styles for these camp style chairs.

Custom Folding Chairs

Those are jsut four of my top picks for corporate giveaways this holiday season. Don’t forget to save $50 on your next order of $500 or more of gifts with code “Fall50″. Seasons greetings my friends!

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Scientific Calculators for Students in Need | Cause to Promote

by Shari on November 4, 2011 in Cause to Promote, Uncategorized

We are so excited to have chosen Cedar Ridge High School for our November recipient for Cause to Promote! Kelly Wedding (a teacher at Cedar Ridge High School) wrote in a couple of months ago inquiring about any misprinted calculators that might be given as a donation. We did not have any to send her, but encouraged her to apply for Cause to Promote.

On her application Kelly wrote that Cedar Ridge High School would like to provide regular or scientific calculators to their high school students who cannot afford them. Cedar Ridge HS serves a population that is about 60% minority and about 60% economically disadvantaged. The $6 scientific calculator the kids need for physics or chemistry is beyond their budget.

Kelly explains that Cedar Ridge High School plans on putting calculators in the hands of students, so they can keep them and use them at home, instead of sharing the few that are allotted to the classroom. This would allow students to get homework done, improve grades, and improve their attitudes about their upper level classes.

I had the opportunity to speak with Kelly on the phone earlier this week and she shared a story about one of the kids who did not get his homework done. She asked him why he did not complete it and he stated “I don’t know” she asked him again and then realized that his clothes were old and he looked as if he was hungry. She said a $6 calculator seems like no big deal to most people, but when you don’t even have money to buy food, it is a big deal. I did my best to stay composed on the phone as I fought back the tears.

To end this blog on a higher note, Kelly did share with me about the excitement that the kids had when they found out they were going to have their own scientific calculators to take home! The quote below is on the signature of Kelly’s email. It is something we should all keep in mind, always.

“Be kinder and more polite than necessary. You don’t know what battles the other person faces and what a difference your interaction makes.”

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Five Fabulous Traveling Products

by Christine Mayhaus on November 2, 2011 in Uncategorized

It’s hard to pack light when traveling…. at least for me. I usually travel with a couple large suitcases, a large purse, a bag of snacks, and an extra bag full of shoes. To the disappointment of my husband and any others that travel with me, I’ve given up trying to pack less, but it would be nice to at least figure out how to pack so that I was more organized. After traveling quite a bit this past month for weddings and events out of state, I have come up with a list of five products that will help with all of our packing problems (well, a few of them at least), and maybe have you thinking about exchanging a pair of shoes for some of these travel essentials….

1. Sling Backpack. All of those large purses pulling you down can be hard on your back! Switch your purse out for a sling backpack, and suddenly you are comfortable and ready to go!

2. Lip Balm. Don’t let chapped lips slow you down! Climate change can be an issue when traveling, but be prepared!

3. Travel Toothbrush. Packing with plastic baggies can be annoying…and after brushing, the toothbrush can cause the bag to be slimy and gross. Keep it clean with a travel toothbrush case that easily covers the brush!

4. Hand Sanitizer with Carabiner. Instead of digging through bags, purses, and whatever else you have after using those nasty airport bathrooms, just use this nifty carabiner to clip the sanitizer to the outside of your bag!

5. Pill Box. Nausea, headaches, and stomachaches – call me Debbie Downer, but these can all be a part of traveling. Don’t pack a ton of meds; just pack what you need in this cute little pill box. It even has separate compartments!

So there it is – five products I recommend not leaving home without. You may still need several suitcases, and your flight might still get delayed, but now you’re organized and ready for anything!

Safe Travels,
Christine

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I wear my sunglasses at night | Custom Wedding Favor Idea

by Natalie on October 25, 2011 in Events & Promotions

There are several ingredients in the recipe for a killer wedding reception. Prior to two months ago, I wasn’t exactly sure what this entailed. A great venue seemed important, as well as an amazing DJ or band, and of course we knew our guest list was essential.

We were looking for something else that was unique and fun to pass out to our guests. We decided to order neon imprinted sunglasses for all of our guests with our logo on the left arm, and they were a huge hit. Originally, we were just going to pass them out to all of our friends the day before the wedding since we were getting married at the beach, but decided to hold back most of them and get our wedding planner to pass them out on the dance floor.

One of the greatest memories from our wedding was the moment I looked around and 80% of the people were wearing our custom sunglasses on the dance floor. Some people decided that the shades were a little dark for night time, and proceeded to pop the lens out… an even better idea!

I would recommend to anyone planning a wedding to invest in personalized sunglasses as props for t their guests. They were also used in the photo booth, and on the beach all week.

Basket full of sunglasses