Saymore Trophy Blog

Tis the season! Well, here we are again, another year is almost complete and the holidays are here. We have all experienced the credit crunch and are all affected one way or another. It is during these difficult times that we tend to cut back, but we also spend more time thinking about that special gift. In years past, we may fill the stockings with lots of extras and buy a few too many gifts. During these difficult times you may think a business like ours may suffer from such a bad economy. But that is not necessarily the case. Like I already mentioned, people tend to spend extra time on special gifts. Also, we are in the forfront of offering reasonably priced personalized gifts.

Too often we are caught off guard by other engraving and gift companies. They sell you on a product and then add on all those extras. By the time you are done, that $45 clock is now $90.00.  We take pride in offering products at reasonable prices – with engraving included on most products. Why don’t we include engraving on all products? Well, in some rare cases we have decided that certain products are either not able to be engraved, or engraving is not necessary. You might still wonder what we can offer someone who is on a budget. Well, we have plenty of gifts available that can be purchased for under $20 – including engraving!

One of our most affordable and popular personalized gifts are engraved bookmarks. We also offer an assortment of personalized Christmas Tree Ornaments. And don’t forget, you don’t have to buy something from us to have it personalized. Have you purchased a new MP3 player for the one you loved? Bring it in and we will be happy to engrave initials or a special message, all for one low price.

Personalization adds a special touch that is unsurpassed. We are engraving experts and have engraved on numerous difficult items. There have been very few times in which we could not engrave a carry in item. So, this holiday season please help stimulate the economy by supporting your local businesses. We truly appreciate any orders during these economic times, and in return we will help you present that special message to the one you love.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Gregory Slossar, Owner
Saymore Trophy Company
Recognizing You Since 1959!

Shop Online!

www.SaymoreTrophy.com

Awards - Banners - Engraving - Signs - Trophies

Popularity: 57% [?]

My employees always seem to have a good laugh when they see me doing something new at the shop. I often hear “Here he goes again,” or “Now what are you doing?” Well, success does not come with being content. Sitting back or relaxing is fine to do, as long as you are thinking about your game plan. I believe businesses are succesful when they are always revaluating their product lines, their displays, their processing methods, their stock, their organization, and their advertising program.

Currently, I am in the process of changing our website for the fifth time in four years. I also have changed my showroom about five times too. Why all the changes? Well, I have not been satisfied. Just like in life, we are all working towards a better life, and in business it is no different. A stagnant business is a dying business. You must keep the business fresh and always new and when you reach the point when you just don’t care anymore, well that is the time you get out.

Many people make the mistake of building up their business, getting it right where they want it, and then ride it out. The problem is, there are many bumpy roads that are not able to be seen. If we do not stay engaged in our business, we lose sight. We start losing touch of where the industry is heading, what the latest technologies are, and what new products are being offered by your competitors. It is our job as business owners to consistently drive our business towards future success. Yes, we also have to spend those profits. Not only to make more money, but to help build that concrete foundation, for the concrete is always getting cracks.

So, in a nutshell, this helps explain our new website design. Is it perfect? Are we content? No. And I am glad, for complete happiness is not healthy for business.

Sincerely,

Gregory Slossar, Owner
Saymore Trophy Company
Recognizing You Since 1959!

Shop Online!

www.SaymoreTrophy.com

Awards - Banners - Engraving - Signs - Trophies

Popularity: 52% [?]

We have all heard of that old adage, “You’ve Got To Spend Money To Make Money.” but businesses often cut back during hard economical times. Once profits diminish, and the outlook is bleak, businesses stop spending on what they consider to be non-essential spending. The problem is, this non-essential spending tends to be a blanket covering everything but rent and utilities.

There are many ways a business can advertise and cutting back on any advertising dollars can be risky. Business signage is relatively inexpensive and can offer an advertising boost without monthly payment commitments. When we talk about business signage we are not just talking about a new replacement sign for your business. Many times, businesses can help adveritse their business by introducing additional signage, such as A-Frame signs, Promotional banners, Showroom Signs, or site signs.

Recently, I had my barn painted and when I asked about his usage of site signs (signs that contractors stick into the yard after the work is done) he replied that he had a pretty good customer base and stays fairly busy. This is the common mistake many businesses make – We stay busy, we never needed to advertise before, maybe we will some other day. Yet, simple signage is very affordable, which allows for constant change according to the business climate.

Full color printed banners can run between $50 and $300 dending on the size and really is such a low cost when compared to other forms of advertising. I don’t know the exact numbers, but the thought goes that the cost to gain a new customer compared to selling more to existing customers is extremely high. For example, I can spend $100 in my showroom and in return gain $1000 in sales; however, I can spend $1000 on a new customer campaign and gain $100 in sales. Now, I am not saying you should not actively seek new customers, but during a downturn economy, don’t be afraid to spend a little money to achieve additional sales.

One final example is of a businessman who has refused to advertise, grow his business into the new digital age, or update his showroom with new products.  He is still in business but is suffering greatly. His reduced sales caused him to cut back from his already cut back approach to business. Customers want to use credit cards, but are not accepted. Also, customers too feel the affects of a downturn economy and will shop around even though they have been customers with this business for many years. The downward spiral has begun and with no funds to turn the businesss around your survival is based soley on the generosity and loyalty of your customers.  Developing a loyal customer base can not start today to handle tomorrow; instead, starting today will handle the next economical downturn many years from now.

Sincerely,

Gregory Slossar, Owner
Saymore Trophy Company
Recognizing You Since 1959!

Shop Online!

www.SaymoreTrophy.com

Awards - Banners - Engraving - Signs - Trophies

Popularity: 67% [?]

Wow, November is half over and the holidays are right around the corner. We have new products for the wine enthusiast – from wine tools to wine bottle holders.

Personalized Wine Bottle Holder and Tools

Be sure to visit our website to view all of new gifts and personalized products.

Sincerely,

Gregory Slossar, Owner
Saymore Trophy Company
Recognizing You Since 1959!

Shop Online!

www.SaymoreTrophy.com

Awards - Banners - Engraving - Signs - Trophies

Popularity: 36% [?]

More than ever, businesses find themselves in a position to recognize those employees who strive for excellence. In this downturn economy, employees find themselves burdened with additional work and responsibilities. Employees may feel powerless with very little job openings. This feeling of being stuck does little good for businesses as they try to survive. There may be little room for additional funding for employees, such as raises or benefits; however, businesses can help regain their employees happiness and motivation through employee recognition programs.

Companies like Saymore trophy are in the business of recognizing others. Like other businesses, we too feel the effects of the economy. Businesses are cutting back anywhere they believe is not business essential. We continue to work with businesses to offer affordable employee recognition programs. We often cut costs in areas that have less of an impact on the final award. We must remember that it is more about the recognition than the actual award; however, a simple certificate may come across as a bit too cheap in the employees mind.

Personalized engraving has value automatically built in. Employees do not have to receive a fancy award, for the engraving is what counts. We have had businesses bring in their own products that they manufacture and we engraved it with their logo and a special message. These awards are both economical and thoughtful, and many times the employees appreciate something that has meaning to the workplace than just another trinket.

We have also found companies combining their award program with a perpetual plaque program. Perpetual plaques allow companies to update the names of the monthly award winner. Perpetual plaques also allow companies to extend the cost of the plaque over a year, since the engraving is done monthly.

In an effort to help businesses establish an employee recognition program, as well as help grow our business, Saymore Trophy has been offering affordable special employee recognition programs. Businesses interested in such a program should contact us.

Sincerely,

Gregory Slossar, Owner
Saymore Trophy Company
Recognizing You Since 1959!

Shop Online!

www.SaymoreTrophy.com

Awards - Banners - Engraving - Signs - Trophies

Popularity: 92% [?]

First, I would like to thank all of our customers who have supported us over the last 50 years. Yes, we have been in business since 1959. We started in Laconia, New Hampshire. You are welcome to read our HISTORY. Over the last fifty years there has been many ups and downs. As I complete my fourth year of ownership I am proud to see how far we have come.  I believe our success comes from providing our customers the products they want at affordable prices that make sense. In this industry it is very easy to charge for every aspect of a job – the set up fee, the engraving fee, the graphic fee, the logo fee, the rush fee, etc… I am proud to stand by my decision to offer customers simplified pricing.

Much More Than Just trophies – “What’s in a name?” When you have a name for 50 years it could be business suicide to change it; however, the name Saymore trophy also limits our products mentally. Who would ever think of visiting a trophy shop for rubber stamps or signage? If you need a tradeshow booth graphic would you consider Saymore Trophy? Probably not, but you should. Our business evolves and grows and we do offer products you many not consider. We also offer thousands of gift items, from clocks to plaques to gavels to wedding gifts. We even engrave wine bottles!

As with any well oiled machine, there are so many activities happening in the background to help provide our customers their custom engraved products. We have a new showroom, a new website with online shopping, additional employees including a sales force, and a whole line of new equipment. You see, I believe my constant investment in Saymore Trophy is an investment in our customers, for our customers invest in us. Our customer deserve only the best at the best price.

So, in closing, thank you all again. We are positioning ourselves so we will be even better tomorrow.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Welcome to Web 2.0. Here we will discuss trophies and more at Saymore! Why blog? What do we have to say? Well, we have lots of plans with our blog. Our customers may not realize that their local trophy shop – Saymore Trophy Company – are experts in the industry. We don’t often toot our own horn, but in this case we will! Did you know that we have relationships with many other trophy and sign shops throughout New England and the country? We perform expert engraving services for other trophy and engraving shops. Jewelry shops often turn to us for their engraving. Now, we don’t expect customers to drop their relationships with other trophy shops or jewelry stores for their engraving just so they can deal with the source. In these situations we prefer to be behind the curtain.

Since we do help so many other shops, we  plan on blogging about tips and tricks. Our customers may be interested to, but I must admit that none of it will be glamourous; furthermore, I imagine a lot of technical terms and industry lingo.

Well, here we go. Help welcome us to Web 2.0!

Sincerely,

Gregory Slossar, Owner
Saymore Trophy Company
Recognizing You Since 1959!

Shop Online!

www.SaymoreTrophy.com

Awards - Banners - Engraving - Signs - Trophies

Popularity: 56% [?]