Can't see this e-mail? Click here.

 

We've all done it before. We've waited until the final days or even hours before Christmas to rush to the store for a gift. And what do we find when we get there? Stressed out shoppers just like us. Cranky store clerks who would rather be home spending time with their families. Picked-over merchandise - all the good items are long gone. So we wind up grabbing a Chia Pet and a multi-pack of ChapStick. Not exactly the gift we were hoping to give.

Last minute marketing can leave us with the same bad experience. When we wait until the season is upon us, it is too late to get quality service and quality production at reasonable prices. Realizing in late November that we need to do something to boost business for Christmas is not effective marketing. It doesn't leave time for adequate planning and implementation. Instead we hit the panic button and throw money at any solution we can find. And the results are about as exciting as finding that ChapStick in your stocking on Christmas morning.

Let Global Marketing Solutions help you stop the last minute madness. We can help you create a marketing plan that will keep you on track throughout the year. We can show you how to plan for the unexpected, how to have contingency plans ready for the events like storms or bad economic news that can wreak havoc. When you have a solid marketing plan in place, you can create more effective, more affordable campaigns.

 
 

Hot Holiday Ideas
We like gifts that are unexpected and unique. Here are a few that made our short list this year.

Bellingrath Gardens Celebrates Twelve Years of Magic Christmas in Lights
In the summer of 1996, a small group of determined employees and managers gathered in the café at Bellingrath Gardens. The challenge before them was to find a way to breathe life into the normally slow winter season. Since the Gardens opened in 1932 the spring season had always been a favorite with

tourists coming from hundreds of miles away to enjoy the explosion of azaleas. The summer and fall months held their own, but the cold winter months just didn't draw the crowds to view the poinsettias, ornamental cabbage and kale and pansies.

The team decided to create a holiday light show that would appeal to the local market. With a Herculean effort they built displays, strung more than one million lights, decorated every nook and welcomed guests to the first Magic Christmas in Lights just a few months later. Now the holiday extravaganza is celebrating its twelfth year and continues to provide a needed boost to the winter season.

It's a lesson we can all learn from. We can take a look at our business and find ways to reinvent ourselves, to reposition our products in new and exciting ways.

Business Assistance
Too busy running your business today to plan for tomorrow?

Is your business planning for its future? Do you need to make changes, but can't get away from the daily priorities to tackle the big issues?   Global Marketing Solutions offers recommendations and program development in

    
  • Strategic Planning
  • Reorganization
  • Project Management
  • Employee Motivation
  • Incentive and Reward Programs

We'll audit your current operation then review your goals for the future and timelines for meeting them. With your input, we'll recommend programs and projects to move you toward those goals successfully and profitably.

 

  
  Cookie Cutter Week

The first week in December is Cookie Cutter Week. The Cookie Cutter approach is a bad idea for marketing efforts, but a great idea for the kitchen this holiday season. Celebrate all month long by gathering friends and family together for a day of cookie making.

Click here for our favorite cookie recipes.

Thanks for spending time with our newsletter. We welcome your comments and ideas.
April W. Boone             April@GMStheBest.biz
John Boone                  John@GMStheBest.biz
Laura McGill               Laura@GMStheBest.biz