Summer's end ... gift-giving season begins

Tuesday, September 04, 2007  by Susan Julien-Willson
Category: selling, Ribbon, gifts, retailing, incentives

Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet ... summer is coming to an end, school begins, and the weather is about to change  ... but why be sad? After all, the season of fun and festivity, celebration, appreciation, and gift-giving abounds through October - November -- December. Boss's Day (or is it Boss' Day or Bosses' Day?) ... Sweetest Day ... Halloween ... Thanksgiving ... Christmas. I love this season. There are a hundred reasons to give gifts and many, many people in my life who deserve to be rewarded and recognized and pampered.  I LOVE to give gifts. Special gifts. Gifts that say thank you. Gifts that say I like you just the way you are. Gifts that let others know how much they're valued, appreciated, loved.  Giving gifts is as good as getting gifts, if you ask me. I mean who doesn't give gifts? Who doesn't enjoy getting gifts? The pleasure is in the giving and receiving. (gee, that sounds familiar ... I think it's from the Ribbon Gift & Incentive brand promise.)

Last week, a close friend had a birthday. I gave him several gifts because, well, I tend to do that. Sometimes it's as much about indecisiveness as it is generosity -- or the fear of duplication or disappointment. I want to give the perfect gift ... I don't want it to be a book or a CD the recipient already has, or something that's the wrong color or size, or well, something I like but the recipient thinks is hideous and hides in his closet. Well, I couldn't tell if he liked what I gave him because he's too nice to say otherwise, but I could tell he already had the CD by the expression on his face when he opened it ... not to mention the fact that he told me when I asked him if he already had it! So, now I am thinking ... why didn't I get him a Ribbon Gift Collection? He would have loved Guy Gear or Unique or Delicious.  I mean, really, if I sell Ribbon Gift Collections through ads and articles, if I write about the program in enewsletters and other sales support materials, if I edit the copy for the album items, if I believe in the profit potential of this program for IBOs, if I am thrilled when I am rewarded with a Gift Collection myself,  then why am I not buying and giving Ribbon Collections as gifts? And why am I not suggesting family and friends purchase them to give as gifts, too? I mean, as an IBO, you probably already show, share, and sell Ribbon to family and friends. That's holding a sales conversation. (Really!) That's retailing. (Yes!) That's selling. (You're doing it!) That's actually turning a profit by being in the business of making people happy. (That's fabulous!)

Hmmmm. It's a wonderful thing, especially as we enter the ultimate gift-giving season. Making a profit and making people happy. Tell me, what do you think?

Comments

# Chad said on September 10, 2007 8:01 PM:

Susan,

I noticed on the XSgear.com website as well as on the new simply nutrilte section of Quixtar that they offer Podcasts that give IBOs tips and information on marketing/selling the various lines. Is it possible that something like this can be done for the Ribbon Program that could also highlight IBO success stories in marketing Ribbon to residential as well as commerical clients?

Super idea! I will check into it with  Marketing and IT and see what we can do!  Keep your ideas coming. We love hearing from you. sjw

# Chad said on September 14, 2007 11:26 AM:

Another idea regarding the Ribbon Program to pass on. I remember in the past that if a company ordered X amount of albums, that they could get printed parchment with the company's name on it. Since the advent of the cards, would it possible that the cards themselves could also be branded with the company name since the cards have to be stamped with the redemption number anyway?  Personalization would definitely set us apart even farther and I think a business may be willing to pay a premium for that type of option.

Thanks for the customization idea! I will definitely pass it on to the Ribbon Marketing Team.

# CJ said on October 3, 2007 11:28 AM:

I know this is a blog that is somewhat old, but it's the only one I feel that deals with ideas I have regarding the Ribbon Program. I was reading the Promo Magazine Incentive/Gift Card Newsletter I get on a regular basis and they mentioned that a company is possibly offering an "experiences" gift card that includes "..day of kayaking for the outdoors person, or professional cooking lessons for the cooking enthusiast." (http://promomagazine.com/incentives/news/live_motivation_show_rymax_marketing_gift_card_division_092607/)

I also saw another company called Cloud 9 Living (www.cloud9living.com) that offers something similar.

I guess my overall question is it possible that Ribbon in the near future could offer an experiences gift card/album? I know for the most part the ones that we have closest to that are the travel cards/albums. Just another possible suggestion for the Ribbon Group to think about. Thanks for having an open ear!

CJ-I will pass this on. I know the merchandisers and marketers for Ribbon have been looking into this. Great idea. Keep 'em coming! They are much appreciated. Good way to reward someone who needs to recharge and rejuvenate ... see my blog on 10-3-07. sjw

# CJ said on October 3, 2007 12:48 PM:

Ok, one more for the day and I should be done-LOL! Any talk of a DVD similar to the Artistry/Nutrilite DVDs being done for Ribbon? I have to admit those videos are high powered like a professionally done infomercial for the products-very engaging. Although we have the Ribbon CD, it doesn't have as much power and pizaaz as a professionally done DVD would like the Intensive Repair System DVD. I know the premise is that you can slip the CD into the computer-that's somewhat limiting the ability of the IBO. If an IBO doesn't have a laptop they can use either a portable DVD player or if they are meeting at a prospect's home/office, they can easily slip it into their home DVD player converting most people's big screen TV into a huge monitor. The other option I thought of is making the IBO Websites (especially the Ribbon sites) really "pop" by incorporating the videos from the DVDs for a particular product line or product directly on the websites-especially on the front page and they click it to run if they want to view it-similar to how YouTube works. I'm not a computer geek (thank God for them-LOL!), so it may be a bigger feat than I can imagine.

Please don't stop giving suggestions, CJ. Honestly, that's what this blog is all about ... sharing of ideas, tips, and suggestions. Ok? Are you aware of the Ribbon CD Presentation available online? It's wonderful ... and very popular with IBOs. The product description reads:

This CD-ROM helps you professionally present the Ribbon Gift & Incentive Program to prospective customers in a quick, easy-to-follow format. It features an overview of the Ribbon Program – what it is and how it works – and explains how both customers and businesses can benefit from giving the “Gift of Choice.” A showcase of all the Ribbon Gift Collections – General, Specialty, Vacation – is included in the presentation, too.

Is this what you're talking about or something with more sizzle? Let us know! Thanks, sjw

# CJ said on October 3, 2007 6:53 PM:

Matter of fact I just received the CD in the mail yesterday. Kind of a reincarnation of the previous CDs we got with the other versions of the Gift and Incentive Program in that its more of a fancy powerpoint presentation. If you compare it against the time defiance/intensive repair DVDs that are available through online, the Ribbon CD looks like your reading the comics instead of watching them unfold on the cartoon network. The links to the videos are on the opportunityzone front page. If you get a chance, look at the video on the Ribbon CD and watch it against the other videos. You'll see the difference I'm talking about and you'll see the sizzle those video sell. If you want another comparison point, you can view it against the B2B CD (which I think should be in a DVD format as well)SKU:400062. It's better but outdated also. I think by providing us tools in a more modern format (such as DVD with good production)makes it easier for the IBO to use with clients cause most people have a DVD player in their home connected to their Big Screen TVs which makes an excellent virtual stage for the program to be shown on or if it's a business owner on their or our computer.

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