CANE RIVER PECAN COMPANY

How Connecting with the Community Can Help Your Business

In the age of social media, online advertising campaigns and relentless notifications, small-business owners can often overlook the real-world connections that play an integral role in the long-term success of their company.

While they don’t offer the instant gratification of a social media reaction, real-world connections over the long run can help your company in a dramatic way. Public appearances, participation in community events and the cultivation of personal relationships can all give your company a competitive advantage.

There are plenty of tried-and-true methods to increase your company’s community outreach and visibility — and they don’t necessarily cost a lot of money.

For example, consider sponsoring or coaching a children’s sports team, teaming up with a nonprofit organization for a fundraiser or renting a popular venue for an evening and inviting all of your clients or neighbors to a private party.

Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, which provides executive leadership and business etiquette training, suggests hosting quarterly dinners with six to 12 clients or other business owners, where conversations don’t necessarily have to focus on business. Those connections can pay off down the road in unexpected ways. “Entrepreneurs and business owners are eager to meet and mastermind with smart, like-minded people who are also in search of reciprocal, long-lasting relationships,” she says.

Michelle Christie, an online visibility coach and social media expert who helps clients position their businesses to generate visibility, says volunteering is one of the easiest and most cost-effective community outreach techniques. It’s also a great way to make a meaningful positive impact on your community. “Getting all employees together once a month to do some Saturday morning cleaning in a community park will improve a company’s reputation and the look of the local greenery,” Christie says. “Make some company T-shirts for your employees to wear and you’re all set.”

For more tips on how to strengthen your businesses’ ties to your community, download our ebook, How Small-Town Values Can Transform Networking Skills.

Find Your Tribe: How Connecting with Others Can Help Your Company Thrive

If your small business is growing more slowly than you’d like, it might be time to jumpstart things with a healthy dose of old-fashioned small-town networking. While online connections are helpful for most businesses in the modern age, taking time to build real-world relationships is just as important for long-term success.

Two of the easiest ways to connect with potential clients in your community are to join a civic club or your local chamber of commerce.

Tom Egelhoff, an independent business consultant and author of “How To Market, Advertise and Promote Your Business Or Service In A Small Town,” is a big fan of the power of civic clubs to help business leaders to develop connections. Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Club offer the opportunity to have a positive impact on your community while simultaneously expanding your personal and professional network.

Egelhoff suggests exploring the various groups available in your community to see which ones match up best with your interests and values. “Once you get to know people, you can ask them for referrals because they know you in a non-business setting,” he says. “Once they know you and the kind of person you are they are a lot more receptive to recommending you to their friends and colleagues.”

Your local chamber of commerce is another opportunity to create connections. In addition to lobbying for business-friendly public policies, these organizations hold regular events that facilitate connections between companies — and they can help you develop powerful relationships that are often difficult to cultivate on your own.

When you join, make sure you get a copy of the Chamber Directory; take a moment to review it and identify those companies or people you feel are your highest-value targets. “This will help you focus your attention and efforts on the right members, accelerating your chances to maximize your attendance at chamber functions,” says Chassity McComack, executive director of the River Region Chamber of Commerce.

Terry Dugas, marketing and public relations manager for the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, says chamber membership can be a key component in an overall strategy to build stronger ties with the community, especially if it’s combined with a wider plan to connect with other business owners and residents. “The main thing is making yourself accessible to the people you want to patronize your business,” Dugas says. “That means getting involved in your community — not only when it benefits you financially — as a way to get your face out there. It always benefits you to just get out there and start shaking hands.”

For more tips on how to strengthen your businesses’ connections to your community, download our ebook, How Small-Town Values Can Transform Your Networking Skills.

Own the Spotlight: How to Best Position Your Brand for Success

In business, being a small fish in a big pond can be tough. Being a big fish in a big pond can be tough, too. The fact is, today’s markets are so heavily saturated with options that standing out becomes a central issue for most businesses. Floundering with low sales, business owners often make the mistake of trying to appeal to everyone. So, what can brands do to set themselves apart from their competitors?

The real answer lies in positioning. Consumers flock to brands they identify or connect with in some way. To create this connection, we have to narrow our marketing focus and hone in on every front. Through these deliberate efforts, any company can set themselves apart from the masses and gain a loyal following to boot.

HOW TO POSITION YOUR BRAND

Evaluate Your Brand’s Current Image

Begin by analyzing your brand’s current position. You may be surprised to find that, through no conscious effort, you did in fact accidentally target certain groups. Maybe your brand isn’t positioned at all. Either way, the key is to find out where you stand.

A good way to gauge your brand’s current position is through social listening. Tap into social networks to see who is saying what about your company. This will give you a good idea of where you stand. Another option? Simply ask people what they think about your brand. This can be offered on your site, delivered to email lists or used during checkout.

Identify Your Direct Competitors

The next step you may have already completed (or at least have an idea about). Who are your direct competitors? Indirect competitors? Where do they market to? How do they advertise? What’s their brand voice like? Essentially, you are completing Step One again, but for those who compete for your customers.

Carve Your Niche

Once you’ve identified your own image and those of your competitors, it’s time to get down to business. With your competitors’ positions in mind, you must now carve your own spot in the market. For instance, if Company A is targeting teens and young adults and Company B is targeting retirees, focusing on the unclaimed middle ground may be in your company’s best interest.

But what if you and your competitors target the same age groups? How can you differentiate your targeting from theirs? By focusing on other specific elements like geographic location or ethnicity, you can zero in on a niche audience, even within the same age demographic.

Again, the key is to distance yourself from your competition. Depending on what your product or service is, the audience available may already be narrow. Always ask: How can we further diversify?

Evaluate Your Sales Cycle

Your sales cycle is integral to the ebb and flow of your business’ finances. Now that you’ve identified a potential direction to shift your focus, you must determine how this will impact your cycle. How will it change with a shift in audience? How will your new buyer personas fit in? These questions are important to answer as they will determine how and when you advertise or promote services.

Remember, specificity is key. Earning loyal, long-standing customers is more valuable and cost effective than attempting to catch your competitor’s target audience.

WE CAN HELP

Once you’ve repositioned, the real work can begin. If your business is looking to create relationships in a new market, visit our website for custom corporate gifting options or contact one of our gifting specialists for tasty, tailored solutions.

For more information on the sales cycle and how your corporate gifting efforts fit in, download our free Sales Cycle infographic today!

National Pecan Month: Promote Your Business Through National Celebrations

April is here, which means National Pecan Month is in full swing. As such, it’s obviously a very important time for us nut lovers at Cane River Pecan Company. The month itself presents the perfect opportunity to celebrate and help others discover what we already know: Pecans are awesome!

It’s also a great time to return to our roots and remember why we do what we do everyday. In business, it’s easy to get lost in logistics. We can get mixed up in the daily shuffle and lose sight of what makes our brands unique and appealing to consumers. Reminding ourselves of this and sharing it with others is a fantastic way to get noticed and be remembered.

If you’re looking to increase your own brand awareness, here are a few kernels of advice to chew on:

1. Celebrate Your Ideals

Every brand or company has at least one occasion that strongly resonates with its culture. Find a national month or day that celebrates something important to your brand and make it count. From health and education to social issues or environmental concerns, national months and days are earmarked for nearly every product, profession or cause.

Without pecans, our company would be nothing. We built a brand and lifestyle around them, providing only the best for our customers. So for us, celebrating National Pecan Month was a no-brainer. It’s a fun way to spread our love of pecans and pick up a few new fans along the way!

2. Connect with Others

Keep it simple, and make it genuine. People can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. If you stay true to your brand, the right people will pay attention. This is prime territory for strengthening connections—those between you and your customers and those binding you and your employees.

If done right, everyone will anticipate your yearly event, quickly making it a tradition. By making your celebration memorable and manageable, you’ll own the fundamentals of your brand and what it stands for.

3. Carve Your Own Niche

What if no one has established a national day or month to acknowledge what you do? Someone needs to be first. Why shouldn’t it be you? Thanks to the Internet and the influence of social media, believers initiate movements every day. More importantly, when it’s good, audiences respond!

Opt for memorable yet manageable. Not everyone has the employee base or logistical resources to sustain a month-long extravaganza — especially if it’s your first time. Instead, go for reasonable. Launch a kick-off event, and build to a satisfying finish. If you can’t afford a month initiative, pick a day, and make it count.

Stay Invested

Claim your month, and join us in celebrating ours. At Cane River Pecan Company, we’re firm believers in all things pecan. Years ago, we committed ourselves to providing the absolute best pecans — ones worthy of being the centerpiece in client gifts. One taste is all you need to understand why we’re so passionate about what we do.

So, in the spirit of National Pecan Month, we’re offering 25% off the golden standard: our gourmet, select natural pecans. Get your pecan on today by visiting our website or calling 1.800.293.8710 to speak to one of our gifting pros.

Gift Outside of the Box This Year

End-of-the-year holidays represent the big-bang corporate gifting finish to another work year. So, why—as we anticipate a bright new year—do we let the other 260 or so workdays drift, becoming stale and flat? This year, for your employees, trade trite desk trinkets and lukewarm gimmicks for some outside-of-the-box gifting ideas that will keep your corporate family charged and motivated all 365 days.

1. Surprise Parties

Ice cream or cake, popcorn or sushi—everyone loves a little time to put everything on hold, indulge a bit and bond. Making it unexpected or just because amps the emotional impact.

2. Life-Event Parties

Birthdays, weddings, new babies, anniversaries, buying a home, starting or expanding a business and promotions are a few of the most common milestones that mark each person’s unique journey.

3. Tickets to Local Events

Venues range from minor league baseball games, theatrical performances and movies to festivals, home and garden tours, and haunted ghost treks. Plus, you’re supporting fellow businesses and the local economy.

4. Box Subscriptions

A hot new trend, monthly box subscriptions are available for everything from socks and chocolate to jewelry and power supplements. Employees can pick their favorite box for a monthly surprise.

5. Additional Vacation Days

When a team pulls off the impossible, reward them with an additional vacation day or 8 hours of annual leave. Acknowledge that long hours deserve time off.

6. Reserved Parking and Car Detailing

Earning a choice parking spot is nice, but ensuring that the wheels occupying it are squeaky clean speaks volumes about your regard for your employees and your company’s values.

7. Desktop Sweets

How nice is it to find a candy kiss, wrapper of pecans or warm cookies on your desk for no reason at all? Someone took the time to place it there—just for you.

8. Lunch Extension Passes

Everyone appreciates a free pass on a hectic day fraught with personal errands limited to business hours. Reward exceptional work with an extra lunchtime hour that just might save someone’s day.

9. Team or Group Gifts

Present teams with an outing gift card or budgeted amount that lets them select the reward, time and venue. They can pick anything from an afternoon bowling to a new piece of office equipment.

10. Surprise Gifter

One small, distinct, anonymous present to one person each day until everyone has been gifted is the idea. Because no one ever knows who will be next—or learns the giver’s identity—it’s a forever mystery.

11. Field Trips

Arrange a visit to one of your vendors, customers or any other off-site location. It’s a fun way of switching up the pace while expanding big-picture awareness and institutional knowledge.

12. Goody Trophies

It all starts with a vase-like trophy that gets filled with goodies specific to the recipient’s tastes. The recipient gets to keep it for a week, but then gets the honor of choosing the next recipient.

13. Continuing Education Classes

Offer full or partial reimbursement or payment for skill classes, which could range from professional certifications to art classes to personal finance instruction.

14. Gas Cards and Transportation Vouchers

Gas cards are great gift options for anyone with a vehicle. Likewise, transit or taxi cards are a nice thank you for extra effort or inconvenient hours. For really special occasions, don’t forget limos.

15. Hobby Gift Certificates

Sponsor a hobby or interest week, complete with a gift certificate prize to help support the recipient’s habit. Professional development with a personal twist aids team-building and talent-spotting.

We hope you’ve gained some inspiring ideas that you can tweak and twist. It’s all about boosting employee satisfaction, vendor investment and customer loyalty. Keeping the atmosphere positive results in the best gifts of all—something to hope for and a reason for everyone to show up and give their best. If you’d like more ideas or assistance with your corporate gifting strategy, call Cane River Pecan company at 1.800.293.8710, or visit our website. We have options for every occasion, every budget, every day and every reason.

Want to learn more about effective corporate gifting? Explore the origins and techniques of this southern practice by downloading our complete guide below!

Seasons Greetings From the CNO

Now that the holidays are in full swing, I’ve taken the time to sit down and consider the essence of this time of year. What is it, exactly, that makes us feel all warm and cozy inside (other than that cup of hot chocolate or bowl gumbo)? What’s the glue that holds the fabric of this season together? The answer, I’ve come to find, is actually pretty simple: Relationships! Spending time with the people you love is, without a doubt, the absolute cornerstone of Christmas.

As a business owner, my next questions to ponder were obviously: What are the elements of a strong relationship and how can businesses incorporate them successfully?

First off, relationship building is a tactic that you discover as you get older; It’s also something that develops as your business matures. One day, you will literally look up and realize that, if you have been in a certain industry for a long time (say 15-20 years), the relationships are what matter most. You’ll find that these connections have actually been the key to most of your success. Strong business relationships are essential to the growth of your company. This applies not only to clients, but to valued vendors and committed employees as well.

So, now we know that relationships are important, but how do we go about creating them? What is the secret ingredient to awesome relationships? I would say that open, consistent communication ranks pretty high. Not only is it important to communicate, but the ability to do it honestly and with a lot of decency is crucial to your relationship’s success.

Next in line would have to be your ability and willingness to show gratitude. Whether it be your best friend Tom, your great aunt Sue or Tina from Account Service, everyone enjoys a little appreciation. Trust me, it doesn’t go unnoticed!

At Cane River Pecan Company, we are in the corporate gift business. We strongly believe that a thoughtful and well-timed gift makes a difference in building business relationships. We are not only advocates of corporate gifting, but we practice it as well. There have been many times that we have taken the time to send a gift from our company to another business to show our appreciation. More times than not, a gift hits the mark in the manner of which it was meant – to express our sincere appreciation for a relationship gone well.

Good relationships also depend on loyalty. In business, your word or “promise” is paramount to your company’s success. Do what you say you are going to do – start there. It doesn’t matter if you are dealing with a customer, vendor or employee; they want to know that you are good for your word. It matters in the long run and will play a role in your professional and personal success. Over time, you will begin to notice that trust builds up and becomes the foundation of every business relationship that is constructed.

So, with all things considered, you’re now ready to rock the relationship game in 2017.

Go forth and prosper!

The Ultimate Holiday Checklist for Businesses

For businesses, the activities you sponsor or participate in during the holidays reveal your company’s values and vision – perhaps more so than at any other time of the year. Through your holiday activities, you can control whether clients, vendors, employees and partners perceive your business as a scrooge or saint.

If you want to convey the latter, we have the ultimate holiday event checklist for you. So, use this year’s season of celebration to set the tone for a brilliant new year of success for your business:

1. Throw an office holiday party.

The best parties suit the personalities and interests of the people attending and include everyone who makes your business a success. You can host a celebration on company time or the company dime, but make it something that will bring everyone together for a successful coming year. More importantly, choose a venue that will let people be themselves and enjoy one another.

2. Set an example with corporate gifting.

In the season of giving, client gifts, vendor gifts and employee gifts may be more important and message-laden than you think. A vast gulf exists between frugality – the wise use of resources – and stinginess – a reluctance to give. Gifts should be frugal but never stingy.

3. Sponsor a company charity event or drive.

Nothing makes us feel luckier or richer than being able to help those in need. Every little bit counts, and those bits can add up to quite a lot for a worthy cause. Whether it’s collecting coats or raising money for cancer research, it gives your whole team something positive to share and a meaningful way to give back to the community.

4. Organize some friendly in-house holiday competition.

Doors, hallways, windows, desks, cubicles and open office spaces are all prime decorating territory. Make the competition individualized, group-based or both. You could even have an elf on the shelf competition, traditional or giant. Just be sure to keep it fun and celebratory, respectful of all faiths and traditions.

5. Incorporate dress-up days for fun or competition.

Give people a safe environment to reveal who they really are, and share some chuckles, too. Have a color day so employees can display team loyalties, for example. Let teams or departments choose and dress for a theme; you may have everything from eight tiny reindeer to the Island of Misfit Toys. Dress up days are a guaranteed, well-remembered morale booster.

6. Create “holiday favorites” playlists.

Everyone has a favorite piece of music that says, “The holidays have arrived!” If music is an element of your workday – in the office, on hold or at gatherings – ask employees what they’d like to hear, and compile a company playlist. By sharing on social media, this can be a great way to build company culture and reach your brand’s online audience.

Delivering Your Holiday Message With Cane River Pecan Company

Cane River Pecan Company offers expertise dedicated to tasteful corporate gifting. Our gifting specialists can help you design the kinds of client gifts that you’d be proud to give – and just as happy to receive. Call us at 800.293.8710, or contact us online, and let us help you ring in a successful and memorable new year.

Want to learn more about how to select amazing corporate gifts for the holidays and beyond? Download our full guide below!

Common Mistakes in Corporate Gifting – and How to Avoid Them

A bad corporate gift can potentially be worse than no gift at all. More than just a waste of money, you might even lose business — and that definitely isn’t the goal!

Here are three of the most common mistakes we see people make with corporate gifting, along with some helpful tips on how to steer clear of them:

Making It All About You

Bad corporate gifts are often all about the sender. They usually feature obnoxiously prominent branding and serve as little more than clutter for the recipient.

Instead, your gift should ultimately be about the recipient. Choose something that you think they will enjoy receiving, and let those warm, fuzzy feelings serve as your brand affinity.

Careless Overspending

Bad corporate gifts often come with shockingly high price tags.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking more money automatically equals a better gift, says Sharon-Frances Moore, a business etiquette expert and founder of New York City-based Shances. “A $300 gift might not be as good as a $100 gift that’s well thought out.”

Then there’s the gift that costs so much that the recipient can’t even accept it due to ethical limits set by their employer or the law, if they work for their government.

You’ve got to be careful how much you spend and what you send. Make sure it’s appropriate.

Sending Offensive Items

Some corporate gifts that may seem generous can actually be offensive to some recipients — and that was definitely not your intention!

If you’re sending drinks or food as a gift and you don’t know your audience well, it’s usually best to avoid pork or alcohol, Moore says.

Holidays can also be tricky. Some people will welcome a Merry Christmas greeting, while others might prefer a Happy Holidays. If you don’t know for certain what your recipients would prefer, go for the more neutral “holiday” gift, Moore says.

You won’t always be able to please everyone, but this at least lowers your odds of inadvertently upsetting someone.
Want to learn more about how to select amazing corporate gifts? Download our full guide below!

Why Food Makes a Great Corporate Gift

Food and beverages are the most popular gifts for customers or prospective clients, according to the Advertising Specialty Institute’s annual survey.

The nice thing about sending food is that it gets consumed, and you can send the same gift year after year. Sure, you could send an umbrella with your logo on it. But, in reality, you can only do that once!

When it’s one good thing that they can’t get anywhere else, like pecans from Louisiana or citrus from Florida, the client starts to crave it and look forward to receiving it each year.

Matt Colvin, a partner in Zollinger & Colvin Wealth Management Group of Raymond James in Baton Rouge, Louisiana says his firm prefers sending food because people are less likely to perceive it as unwanted clutter. “With food, they can experience the gift and enjoy it and remember it and talk about it,” he says.

If your clients are scattered in multiple locations, send something that focuses on the place you’re from, says Sharon-Frances Moore, a business etiquette expert and founder of New York City-based firm Shances . “Something personal where you’re from says this is the best of what I have from my area.”

Colvin’s firm used to send a dessert tray from a Chicago-based company to its clients every year for Christmas. After 20 years, Colvin changed things up and sent tins of treats from our pecan company.

“We never received a thank you after 20 years, then the first year we sent out pecans from Cane River Pecan Company, we got thank-you notes and thank-you calls,” Colvin says. “The response from the clients was overwhelming.”
Want to learn more about how to select amazing corporate gifts? Download our full guide below!

Brand Building for the Corporate Gifter

A great corporate gift delights your customers and reinforces your company’s values. A veggie-burger producer most likely isn’t going to send steaks to its customers, and you shouldn’t send a gift that’s at odds with your brand either.

Here’s how to ensure you deliver the right message with your next corporate gift.

Apply Your Logo Tastefully

The most obvious way to brand your gifts is to include your logo, but you need to do it properly.

Your branding should be subtle, says Sharon-Frances Moore, a business etiquette expert and founder of New York City-based Shances. Aim to leave a subliminal impression by applying your logo tastefully on something the recipient will keep. For example, if you’re sending food, have it packaged in a reusable tin that’s nice enough to keep; your logo on it will be a constant reminder of your company.

Continue reading Brand Building for the Corporate Gifter