Last Sunday I was invited to watch the New York Giants play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a suite at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The suite level of this stadium is an area that few fans ever get to see because it is exclusive and largely caters to corporate sponsors and big money donors.

You’re probably more likely to see people dressed in suits and ties than football jerseys in the suite area because many of the people are there to network and talk business – not necessarily watch the game. Resourceful salespeople are always looking for opportunities that often go unnoticed and the smart ones make the most of every advantage they can find - places like this are where they thrive.

When I was walking through the lobby of one of the suites, I turned around and saw this fantastic floral design that was prominently showcased for everyone to see. Of course, I immediately started searching for a tag because I wanted to see if I knew which shop delivered those beautiful flowers.

My jaw dropped open when I discovered that there was no tag at all - I simply couldn’t believe it! Some local shop was fortunate enough to be able to prominently display their gorgeous flowers in one of the most prestigious locations in the entire city – a place crawling with VIPs and influential business executives – and they didn’t even bother attaching a tag to let all these people know where they can get their own flowers from the same florist the Buccaneers chose when they wanted to impress people.

Advertising isn’t cheap and there are no shortages of advertisers willing to spend crazy amounts of money to secure a product placement like that, but this florist failed to take advantage of this FREE opportunity to brand their product and promote their business.

As small business owners, most of us simply don’t have the resources (or the budget) to spend a ton of money on advertising, so we have to look for other ways to promote ourselves besides simply writing a check to a marketing company. Your logo should be EVERYWHERE! Nothing should ever leave your shop without your logo on it somewhere, and when it does, your logo should be all over the delivery van and all over the driver. If you are proud of the products you produce, then why keep it a secret? Let everyone know where they can get some of those beautiful flowers!

Do you need help with your branding or marketing campaigns? Bloomerang Solutions is here to help! From custom-built websites to location management to Google advertising and everything in between, we’re ready to make your business bloom! Give us a call today at (941) 809-5000 or drop us a line below.