JH Specialty is no stranger to Counselor Magazine's Best Places to Work. For the fifth year in a row, JH Specialty, Inc., a full-service marketing and communications firm based in Fort Wayne, has been included in Counselor Magazine's list of the "Best Places to Work." This year, JH Specialty ranks number 8 out of the 85 U.S. companies earning honors. This is the first time JH Specialty has cracked the top 10; however, the company has always been a strong contender.  

More than 300 companies completed the initial nomination process. Ultimately, 150 companies were chosen to have their employees' participate in the in-depth survey. The survey focused on 10 different areas of the workplace experience: team effectiveness, employee loyalty, alignment with goals, trust between coworkers, recognition of employees, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued, satisfaction with current role and satisfaction with company benefits.

In surveying more than 4,000 employees, the feedback was clear, "the key to creating a great workplace culture is to ensure that everybody in the office is as informed as possible," and communication flows freely (2012 Best Places to Work).

JH Specialty has created a fun, yet hard-working team atmosphere in which team members are empowered through knowledge and communication. JH Specialty develops a strong team atmosphere by encouraging the development of commodore between employees through hosting new employee parties every few months. Team members get to know one another over food and drink. The company even hosts its own hot wing eating challenge.

JH Specialty makes it known that the company cares about its employees. As part of the employee review process, managers use what the company refers to as a roadmap of each employee to understand the individual's personal goals and points of motivation.

"We've grown our team and business substantially over the last year. Our previous successes and our future depend on communication and the happiness of our team, says founder and CEO, John Henry III. They are the people who make the difference in our business every single day. Being recognized as one of the top Best Places to Work in 2012 is a great honor and we are proud to be number eight this year."

To learn more about Counselor Magazine and review the published article, please visit this link: 2012 Best Places to Work

About JH Specialty

JH Specialty, Inc. provides a practical solution to all your marketing needs. It is a full-service marketing communications company based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded by John Henry III in 1998, the company specializes in the utilization of technology in web-based marketing applications including, social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, promotional product fulfillment, website design, and web development. JH Specialty provides marketing solutions for a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to Mom and Pop shops across the United States.

Hello,

My name is Synthea and I love my family, coffee, UofM football (GO BLUE) and working at JH Specialty. 

I started working here in January of 2011.  I had a great interview with John, Patrick and Jamie and was immediately excited about the prospect of becoming a team member of such a young, fun and technologically savvy company.  The new beautiful building as a potential working environment was just icing on the cake. 

I work as a Project Manager, assisting JH Specialty’s Account Management team in their sales.  I enjoy my job because each day and each hour I am doing something different, from editing and working on blog posts, using my creative side in determining artwork for promotional products and apparel orders, to managing websites and printing projects.  I am the type of person who takes pleasure in a fast-paced and vastly diverse working environment – I am not sure I could build widgets for a living. 

One of the projects that I welcome working on is an apparel order.  They can be tricky, because there are so many options and fine points to work out with our customers.  What exact color and style of shirt, does the color of the garment match or clash with the thread or silkscreen colors, does the color combination of the imprint and the apparel item reinforce the branding of the company, where does the customer want the shirt branded – left chest, full chest, back centered, sleeves, below back caller, is it for a special event?   There are literally hundreds of thousands of options and I honestly enjoy helping each of our customers work through this puzzle of apparel and come out the other end with a product that they are proud of and will wear for years to come.

In my future here at JH, I look forward to growing my knowledge of social media and the technological side of marketing and advertising as I work alongside our knowledgeable staff.  We are very fortunate that our work environment is fun, exciting, stimulating and most of all that we are like a growing family – always excited to see what the next member will bring to the table! 

In order to connect with today's consumer, you need to stop pushing your message out and start pulling your customers in. The rules of marketing have changed and they key to winning is to use this change to your advantage.

We've all wondered how to get our company one the front page of Google and we keep hearing that blogs and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are so important to the success of our business but no one ever really tells us why. Why are these avenues so important? Here's why.

Consumers are no longer searching for products, services or information, rather it finds them. Erik Qualman, author of the book Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, described the changing market place perfectly:

'In 1992, James Carville coined the phrase "It's the economy, stupid' … Nearly two decades later we are taking liberty with Carville's famous quote by adjusting it to: 'It's a people-driven economy, stupid.' …Today, we are in the early stages of yet another far-reaching revolution. This revolution is being driven by people and enabled by social media. …Although only a slight modification of words, it's a drastic adjustment in philosophy and in how people are changing and will continue to evolve in the coming years.

Take hold of the social media and digital marketing frenzy, it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. The best part about digital marketing, the company with the deepest pockets, doesn't always win. With social media, don't be afraid to take chances. You know the saying, "If 'Plan A' didn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters. Stay Cool," could not be truer with social media. Not everything you put out is going to go viral instantly – keep trying, being creative and mixing things up, something has to stick.

Are you ready to join the revolution and get found by your customers? Start with social media and digital based marketing. 

You can purchase Qualman's book here. 

Business cards were once a traditional way for communication between commerce and consumer. It provided a way to get your business noticed. Since then, the business world has evolved. The economy that was once based on supply and demand has developed into an economy of abundance and endless choice. The audience is demanding now more than ever and wants information served on a silver platter and someone is willing to give it to them.

Consider the business magnet your silver platter. Business card magnets bridge the gap between brand and business through innovation. Visibility, usefulness, and economical design are several benefits the promotional magnet provides for your modern marketing campaign.

The aim of any promotion is to increase consumers' interest in your business. Your business cards should be an extension of this philosophy and incorporated into the promotional strategy. Business card magnets make this goal possible. Consumers will never drop a promotional magnet into a desk drawer or stash it on a shelf. Instead, the magnet will be hung on the nearest refrigerator, desk filing cabinet, etc. People perceive magnets as a special, useful gift. The value of using business magnets results in your contact information being kept around and viewed numerous more times than the traditional business card.

It's a general fact that people will always use tools that are useful to them. Business card man gets add usefulness to the recipient other than providing your organization's information. A magnet will be viewed by everyone whether it's in the office or at home to hold important documents. Not only will the intended document be viewed, your contact information and brand will be viewed as well.

The bottom line is business card magnets are gaining popularity because they work and do not hurt the bottom line. Magnets are economical to give away and are useful enough to get results. Business magnets are a great way to give businesses, large and small, the competitive advantage needed.

Companies need to take it to the next level in order to captivate and connect with their innovative and time starved audience. The business card magnet provides just that they are looking for. Information served to them in an appealing and efficient way.

Fourcolormagnets.com has a collection of useful business related magnets which is only a simple click of your mouse away. The staff at FourColorMagnets.com is ready to earn your business by providing superb service and free artwork with every order. To learn more aboutbusiness magnets, especially business card magnets please visit: FourColorMagnets.com.

Imagine... by the time you're done reading this you will be a more effective marketer, all because you learned two very important words and the specific reasons why those words are so crucial.

Actually, both of the effective marketing words can be found in the preceding sentence. Can you spot them?

The first important word is you. Did you find the opening sentence compelling? I'm guessing you said yes. That's why you clicked on the link, are currently reading the post and wanting to know more. Your consumers want to know more as well. They want to know the benefits they will receive from your product or service compared to your competition. It's all about the consumer. What are you providing your customers that your competitors are failing to give them? What about your product is better or different? Tell them; they want to know.

Were you able to pick up on the second most important word?

The word is because. Why is the word because so important? The most effective transition when giving a reason is to use the word because.Specificity is crucial in persuading consumers. One of the best ways to influence a consumer is through reasoning. Give the consumer a reason as to why your product or service is better or provides the most benefit.

So now that you know the two most important words to use when reaching out to customers,  try it for yourself in your next advertising campaign. And remember, you learned your best marketing trick from JH Specialty, Inc.

I graduated from Indiana University with a degree in information technology about a year ago. While I was worried about not finding a full-time position directly out of school, I knew I needed to further my professional skills in order to achieve the career goals I had set for myself. About that same time, I was lucky enough to cross paths with another I.U. grad, John Henry, CEO of JH Specialty. He offered me a part time internship at JH Specialty. I was honored and happily accepted the position.

While I knew this opportunity would prove to be challenging, I also knew how valuable the opportunity was and the immense knowledge I would gain from working at the digital marketing company. It was the perfect spot for an information technology grad.

Upon starting out, I was involved with search engine optimization, also known as SEO. I quickly realized the benefits of SEO and how it presents businesses, both large and small, the opportunity to be found via search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing.  In my professional opinion, SEO is one of the most valuable assets any company can utilize in regards to online marketing.

As I continued learning about SEO, I was also sharpening my developmental skills and learning from some of the best developers in Northern Indiana. This was a priceless opportunity and lead to a full time position, as I started full time at JH Specialty in March of 2012.

Not only has working at JH Specialty been an invaluable decision for my professional development, it has also been a great work environment and place to grow. JH Specialty has been voted One of the Best Places to Work four years in a row. After just a few weeks of starting my internship, I understood why. The JH Specialty team, while extremely dedicated to the work that we do as well as professionalism, also knows how to have a good time. what other place allows Nerf Gun fights in the office! Not to mention, JH Specialty's game room consisting of a ping-pong table, Xbox 360 and Wii. JH Specialty even caters in lunch for the entire office to enjoy every other week. JH Specialty seems to have it all and is by far, a great place to work!

I don't know of another team that is so drives, knowledgeable, experience and so fun to be a part of. I love coming to work everyday, which is something few people can truly say. JH Specialty, simply put, is one of the best places to work in the Midwest. Our team continues to grow as demand increases for digital marketing solutions. Check out JH Specialty, Inc., a partner you can rely on, and see how JH can help market your business today!

Andrew Stephens, Development

Promotional Products can give your business the edge over competitors and keep you in the forefront of consumers' minds. Every business should take advantage of these seven promotional products. 

Let's face it; consumers today are bombarded with advertising and marketing from virtually every angle. From billboards to television, print media radio, and the internet, people are constantly flooded with ads. As a result. consumers have learned to tune out just about all of it. It's tough for a business to break through all of the advertising clutter in a way that gets the consumers attention and gets their advertising message across to potential buyers. The following seven promotional products are an effective way to do just that. 

The aim of any promotion is to increase consumers' interest in your business. your business card should be an extension of this philosophy and incorporated into the promotional strategy. business card magnets and marketing magnets make this goal possible. Give a business card magnet to your business contacts and a marketing magnet to potential customers. The magnet will be hung on the nearest refrigerator, desk or filing cabinet, not dropped in a drawer to be forgotten like many other promotional brochures or flyers. People perceive magnets as a special, useful gift. the value of using business magnets results in your contact information being kept and viewed countless times after the initial interaction.

Utilizing a can coolie as a promotional product is a great way to create a springtime marketing buzz. It is the most effective promotional item you can buy in the hot summer months. the koozie is always a hit at any golf course, barbecue, sporting event, or trip to the beach. Why not play into this and gain priceless public exposure? Since so many people love and use coolies, your custom designed can coolie will be shown off all summer long, resulting in maximum exposure for your company. Giving your potential customer a can coolie is giving them a useful gift, meaning your brand will be thought of in a good light. A custom designed coolie us the most effective promotional item for the spring and summer. 

Everyone uses cups. Stadium cups are a practical solution for your beverage holding needs at any launch event, gathering, or tradeshow. The stadium cup is a practical promotional product, they get used daily. The good thing about personalized cups and mugs is they make a great souvenir, meaning consumers keep your branded stadium cups. The plastic cups are especially popular in households with children. Plastic cups are used in a variety of ways, for their common use of drinking, as well as impromptu storage for small toys, crayons, pencils, markers, as well as snacks for children.

Create a memorable promotional with branded seat cushions. Seat cushions are seen at most sporting events, whether it be a little league, high school and even professional sporting events, there is something about a cold, or sizzling hot, depending on the temperature, aluminum bench that just does not sound appealing for the next three hours. By giving your consumers a branded foam seat cushion, they will carry it to every sporting event they attend. This means that your company will receive maximum exposure and create goodwill with consumers. A seat cushion is an effective promotional tool for all year round. no matter what the sport, the cushion will get used and your logo will be displayed for other fans to see. 

Thunderstix are a hugely popular spirit item used at many sporting events. The inflatable sticks create quite the bang. Thunderstix are a great way to sponsor an athletic event of any other kind of event where a buzz needs to be created. The promotional noise makers have a large imprint area in which your brand information and logo will be displayed for all to see. 

Answer the everlasting paper or plastic question with reusable, imprinted totes. The grocery tots promotes your business and brand as well as your eco-conscious attitude. As society becomes more and more environmentally conscious, consumers are looking for solutions. Why not give your consumer a reason to stop searching and use your branded grocery tote. While grocery totes are often used to promote grocery stores themselves, they can also be used as promotional merchandise by any company of any industry. the advertising a company will receive from recipients' future use of their customer reusable grocery bag will far outweigh the initial cost of purchasing them.

Promotional products have a wide variety of benefits for businesses including sales, increased product referrals, improved customer image as well as continual advertisement for the company. The most important thing to remember when selecting a promotional item, make it useful to the consumer otherwise your message will not reach your audience. Promotional products are a great way to break through the advertising clutter and create name recognition and goodwill with your potential customers.

Your Promo People, a division of JH Specialty, Inc. provides a practical solution to all your promotional needs. It is a full-service marketing communications company based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded by John Henry III in 1998, the company specializes in the utilization of technology in social media marketing applications including, digital marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, events and promotional products fulfillment, website design, and web development. JH Specialty provides marketing solutions for a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to Mom and Pop shops across the United States.

A public relations and marketing strategy is crucial for every business no matter what its goal. Gaining awareness for a company can be a difficult task if you do not know where to begin. Often, a company will burn through their original marketing dollars in a hurry, being left with limited options as to how to continue reaching consumers and gain attention. The good news is that even if most of the marketing dollars have been spent, there are still a few good ways to gain attention without breaking the bank. Here are some strategies to implement in order to generate company brand awareness.

Spend time on market research. The first mistake companies make is that they try to market to everyone. In order to successful market the company, a target market needs to be identified. Use social media sites to gather market research information as they provide a great platform to interact with consumers. Once a target market is identified, it is easier and less expensive to market to this core group because it is smaller and focused.

In order to get the attention of consumers, focus on the benefits the company provides to the end user. Let the consumer know why they need this product and how it will benefit their everyday life; will it save them time, make a task easier, etc.

Reach out to current customer and let them know they are valued by using promotional products. The aim of any promotion is to increase consumers' interest.  One way of exciting and enticing existing customers to spread the word is by giving them a token of appreciation, a custom promotional product. For example, give existing consumers a useful promotional magnet, or a reusable imprinted grocery tote. With promotional gifts, the options are endless and the products are easy on the bottom line. Promotional products are a great way to break through the advertising clutter, create name recognition and good will with your potential customers.

Marketing dollars have to be carefully allocated where they will bring the most return. If the majority of the marketing dollars have been misplaced, think about these tips to increase the effectiveness of the current marketing strategy.

As our society is becoming more digital based and driven by technology, it is necessary for our clients to have a predominant presence on the Internet. Corporate website development is essential in today's electronic world but often times a website is not as effective as it should be. Ask yourself: are you getting everything you can out of your website or Is Your Website Working Against You?

Of course your website is incredibly clear and easy to use... to the person who created it. While you totally understand that "the magic center" link is where someone goes to purchase your services, your potential clients may be left confused and scratching their heads. 

One of the most effective ways to gain insight to problems on your website is to observe someone actually using it. I can promise you will be surprised at where they go and the conclusions that they jump to. Make sure to take off your defensive armor because I have to warn you, this can be an uncomfortable exercise. 

This week I want you to find a local friend or family member and ask them to use your website. The less familiar they are with your site and your business in general, the better. Ask them to perform specific tasks and speak aloud their thought process as they do it. Instruct them to do whatever you would want a customer to do on your site. Do not give them any hints! The whole idea is to see if your website is easy enough to use to complete the task without guidance. Some examples of tasks your volunteer could preform include:

• What service do I provide? 
• What is my phone number?
• Sign up for my newsletter.
• Find the most popular product we sell.
• Make an appointment for a free consultation or get a free online quote.

You can also have them look through each page of your site and give their feedback on what they understand and what they find confusing. Again, remember, defenses must be down, this is valuable information and insight they are providing that will help your business better reach its target audience. 

The more beneficial a visitors' time on your site; the more likely they will be to convert to a customer. They will also be more inclined to pass on the details of your business service because they understand it. Continuing to add high quality content will enable your search engine rankings to improve as well as branding, an increase in sales, and improved customer loyalty. 

So I ask you, Is Your Website Working Against You?

Chances are you might be reading this post on a mobile or tablet device. If so, you are part of a larger group that is changing the way designers and developers think about building the web. The explosion of smart phone adoption has been an unique challenge for many web designers and developers. When and how to develop mobile sites is an evolving process that we continue to explore here at JH Specialty, Inc. 

One of the solutions to tackling mobile design is developing your website with a responsive design approach. I've been reading Responsive Web Design by Ethan Macrotte to learn how we begin to implement this process into our normal project pipeline. Many analysts expect that mobile and tablet devices will be the go-to device for web access. Is your site prepared for this transition?

 The web, more so now than ever, is an inconsistent experience throughout multiple devices and browsers. To help insure a better and more consistent experience, many designers are looking towards responsive design approaches to help create a similar experience between desktop, mobile and tablet browsing. 

What is Responsive Design?

Macrotte describes responsive design as a consistent approach where we "treat [both desktop and mobile device] as facets of the same experience... craft sites that are not only flexible, but can adapt to the media that renders them." Simply put, design your site so that it creates a similar experience on your mobile devices as it would on a desktop. 

To help designers and developers create responsive designs, Macrotte suggests that we begin to examine three key components: flexibility, grid-base layouts, media queries, flexible images and media. 

To tackle these components, designers must design with a MOBILE FIRST mentality. We must discover the more critical concepts and informative of the design. Working with clients, we try to discover the hierarchy of their message. What is the call to action – is it to promote a marketing message? Is the purpose to have people join an online newsletter? Is it about getting customers to buy a particular product? 

These types of questions lead us to discover the "truly critical aspects of our designs" and help create the foundation of a website that elegantly delivers the client's main message. Designing for mobile first allows us to concentrate on the best part of a website and helps eliminate unnecessary information.

Designer Luke Wroblewski, makes a strong case for mobile first design, "If you design mobile first, you create agreement on what matters most. You can then apply the same rationale to the desktop or laptop version of the website. We agreed that this was the most important set of features and content for our customers and business - why should that change with more screen space?"

Luke makes a great point. Why do we spend so much time designing elements for the desktop web space; just to fill it up? By establishing the mindset of mobile first we can build the foundations for more richer and important content. Mobile first doesn't necessarily mean less information; it just allows us to focus on the information that is most critical. 

As a designer, it is my role to help set the tone and hierarchy of how we visually build our digital spaces. This new responsive approach, with mobile first mentality, will allow us to create flexible and dynamic sites across multiple web platforms.

Cheers,

Michael Vaughn Green, Director of Digital Design

You can purchase an e-book version of Responsive Web Design here.