In former times there were only diskettes for data communication. Not a long time after that CD-ROMs began to float the market. Today you are spoilt for choice. Beside CDs there are Micro SD cards, extern harddrives and USB Memory Sticks, too. The latter is used principally. But how come? Which conveniences do USB Flash Drives have? And what are the disadvantage? There are a lot of different causes, why the USB Memory Stick become such famous. The size is certainly one of the best reasons. USB-sticks have continuously become smaller and smaller. Meanwhile there are USB Memory Sticks with up to 32GB store. Another point is, that nearly every computer has got his own USB slot. The price is on top of that. An USB-stick still costs between 60 and 70 , but there are VIM Flash memory sticks on the market with 16 GB storage for about 18 euros or less. In addition USB Sticks are cleverly joined with other gimmicks and widgets nowadays. A few examples for that are the digital cameras, MP3-players, Swiss army knives, radios or dictation machines with integrated USB Memory Sticks.

Advertising with USB Memory Sticks

The small price and their popularity are points, why the USB Stick becomes famous as a promotional gift. Theres also the possibility of printing the USB Memory Stick with advertising or save the congruent promotion material on it. Theres even the chance of installing a block to make deleting impossible. Its important that not the whole stick is full with your advertisement, to use the stick as a normal storage. But so everyone plugging the stick can read the promotion material.

Do you want to attract new customers while building greater loyalty among your current customers? Include your customers in your marketing and promotions. By creating greater awareness of your customers (and their businesses) you may help to build their businesses and increase their demand for your products and services. Whether or not using customers in your marketing causes them to buy more from you, your willingness to showcase them will cause them to feel more attachment to you and will encourage them to remain customers for a long time to come. Here are a few ways you can make this work for you.

Ask your customers to share their success stories and get their permission to use them. How have they benefitted from their association with you? Have them share their stories on audio or video or in print and use them in your marketing. In their ads, Sterling Bank in Houston has their small business customers tell how they grew their businesses with the help of their Sterling bankers. It sends a great message about the bank, and increases awareness of the featured businesses.

Tell your customers’ stories in your newsletter. If you publish a print or online newsletter, include profiles of your customers and tell how you worked with them to help them succeed. Or, use the stories in your print ads. A photo of a happy customer accompanied by the story of what you did for them is very persuasive.

Audio and video recordings of customer stories can be incorporated into your television and radio advertising. Hearing customers in their own words is a powerful way to communicate the benefits of doing business with you, and your customers will appreciate the visibility they get when they are featured in your ads. You can also use streaming audio and video files at your web site.

Feature links to your customers’ web sites from yours. It doesn’t cost anything to add a few links, and customers will appreciate the extra visibility. It may also help improve the search engine rankings, not only for your customers’ web sites, but for yours as well.

Make connections between customers. Do you have customers who could benefit from knowing other customers? Perhaps you could make referrals to bring them together. Or, host a networking event where they can get to know each other.

Include customers in your publicity. The media like to have multiple sources for stories, perhaps to back up what you are saying or to provide another point of view. In one case, I was able to get a client included in a story and she was able to get one of her clients into the story, too! Your clients will not only appreciate that you got them publicity, they will be impressed with your media “pull.”

Promoting your customers as well as yourself is a great win-win for your business. Look for opportunities to create a greater bond between yourself and your customers by including them in your marketing and promotions.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker can help you attract customers and make yourself famous with inexpensive and free marketing ideas. Get free marketing tips, articles and more at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.

You might just use your logo on your own computer in Microsoft Publisher, or you hired a designer to create your logo that will be deployed across your web site, apparel, brochures, banners, advertisements and more. In either case, I promise you that taking a moment to internalize this article before you really settle on a logo will save you loads of time, money aggravation in the long run.

Knowing a little about logos ahead of time will save a lot down the road.

There are essentially two main categories that logos, and for that matter, graphics
can be designed in: raster and vector. Both have pros and cons,
and you’ll ideally know what format the logo is going to be in before it’s created
for you. Having the logo designed in the right format will allow you to easily
transfer it to a t-shirt, a business card, a trade show banner, whatever you
want - this format is called vector.

In order to get the most out of your logo, you’ll want to ensure that
it’s designed in a vector format. Vector logos and graphics are comprised
not of tiny pixels like raster graphics but mathematical equations. Logos designed
in vector format can be enlarged to banner size and beyond. As the graphic enlarges
the mathematical equations and relations change and the logo never experiences
loss of quality or degradation. This means your logo will always look crisp
and clear.

I know, who cares?

Well, if you or someone you hire creates your original logo in a raster format,
you may run into problems down the line. Take for example, Mindi, she’s a good
friend and client who had a designer create some DVD cover art for her a while
back. In the process the artist quickly created a sort of a logo for her and
slapped it on the DVD cover. The logo was designed in a raster format.

On the DVDs her logo looked fine, so Mindi didn’t think anything of it. Recently
she made a decision to have a trade show banner created and wanted to use the
same logo. That’s where things got complicated. Mindi’s logo was created in
a raster format, and when you enlarge it to banner size it doesn’t look so good.
In fact, it looked “fuzzy” or “jagged” - not the professional image she was
shooting for.

Mindi was faced with a difficult decision because her logo was not created
correctly in vector format. She could just not use the logo or have
the logo recreated in vector form, which will cost her some time and money.
Either way, the decision was not a fun one.

If you intend on using your logo for more than just business cards you print
out on your computer you want to ensure you know your logo is being created
in vector format so you can avoid the quandary Mindi found herself in. So remember,
even if your logo looks good on the computer screen it may not look as good
when printed, this is especially true when printing a logo in what they call
“large format” printing (banners, etc.).

The best way to ensure your logo will look good on whatever you place it on
is to work with an experienced, savvy graphic designer. He
or she will create your logo so you can use it, your staff can use it, and it
will be welcomed and accepted by any printing professional. You will have the
peace of mind knowing your logo will look outstanding whether
it’s on a business card or a banner. If you have any questions about your logo
or feedback about this article, give me a call at 480-391-0704, or email me
at comments@candographics.com. I would be happy to talk to you about your logo
and how to get the most out of it.

Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”

He is an atypical designer with a passion for marketing as well as design. Jeremy infuses solid marketing expertise into design projects that he guarantees to bring satisfaction and results. Clients often remark that he brings a terrific enthusiasm and a “can do” attitude to each project. In 1st quarter 2006, he will introduce his first book aimed at helping aspiring artists run a more profitable and more enjoyable design business called, “Being a Starving Artist Sucks”.

Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com