15 Reasons to Reward Employees and Customers

Lapel pins are a great way to reward people.  They may be little, but receiving lapel pins feels like a lot of recognition.  When you recognize and reward employees and customers, you promote a positive, productive, and innovative business climate.  It’s a proven fact that motivated employees and happy customers are critical to a company’s bottom line. By recognizing their dedication, commitment and initiative, you boost their morale, increase productivity, build enthusiasm and create powerful profits.  Here are 15 great ways to use lapel pins and other promotional products to reward your employees and your best customers:

You can reward:

1.  Employees ‘caught’ giving outstanding customer service to your customers

2.  Employees who come up with the best cost-saving ideas

3.  Salespeople who meet or exceed their sales goals

4.  Employees (or even customers!) who come up with the best name for a new product or service

5.  Employees who achieve a year (or 5 or 10 or more) of service with your company

6.  Salespeople who make the most cold calls in a day

7.  Managers who inspire their teams to achieve new heights in their respective departments

8.  Customers who give the most or the best referrals

9.  Customers who give good suggestions

10. Employees who refer or recruit new employees to your company

11. Employees who contribute to workplace safety

12. Employees who complete additional training to enhance their knowledge of your industry or product line

13. Employee of the Month or Employee of the Year

14. Employees who receive praise from customers

15. Customers who buy from your frequently or spend lots of money on your products or services

If you need to thank someone for excellence in one of the categories above, then contact us for creative ideas on products and pins that will be the perfect reward or motivational tool for your organization!

The CSI Lapel Pin

When it comes to television and film, it’s all about the details.  The same can be said when it comes to solving a crime.  If you’re a fan of CSI: New York, you’ve probably noticed a small pin all the regulars began wearing on their lapels at the start of the sixth season.

According to producer (and former NYPD detective) Bill Clark, the pin is a small circle with the letters DB which stand for “Detective Bureau”. The small pins are given out by the Chief of Detectives.  There are lapel pins for each department, OCCB (Organized Crime Control Bureau), Bomb Squad, DEA (Druge Enforcement Agency) etc. 

It’s just one more way that lapel pins show up in our daily lives and popular culture!

How to Make a Lapel Pin

Ever wonder how custom lapel pins are made?  You’ll be surprised at all of the work (much of it done by hand!) that goes into making these miniature pieces of wearable art….

A Brief History of Lapel Pins

The earliest lapel pins were made as adornment, rather than statements and are difficult to distinguish from pins or brooches. Lapel pins, however, are typically smaller in size than decorative pins and brooches, usually measuring no higher than one inch.

During the American Civil War, lapel pins were introduced to the armed forces. They were worn by a soldier to distinguish which unit he was fighting in, and to encourage a sense of loyalty and camaraderie within the unit.

But by World War I, the significance of the lapel pin had changed. Instead of being given to all soldiers as a way to differentiate units, lapel pins were awarded to select individuals to distinguish them for exemplary service in the field. Using lapel pins as an award for service is still a common practice in all branches of the armed forces today.

Inspired by their military use, politicians and patriotic citizens started wearing pins to show support for their country. Wearing patriotic lapel pins is a global tradition that extends from the United States to China to Russia.

Later, other groups began using lapel pins. Civic organizations, religious groups, fraternities and sororities, for example, often wear membership pins to their meetings and events. Lapel pins are also used by schools, sports teams, charities, and businesses to promote loyalty and rapport. Colored ribbon lapel pins are also a popular way to raise awareness for causes like breast cancer, child abuse and domestic violence.

For more on the history of lapel pins, read this article from ehow.com .

20 Reasons for Lapel Pins

I love lapel pins because they an unobtrusive and tasteful way to make a statement about your beliefs, affiliations, and values.

These hard-working little metal billboards are one of the most low-cost, yet effective ways to deliver a message. They’re also excellent conversation starters, instant builders of camaraderie, and strong visual messages.

Looking for a reason to wear a lapel pin? I’ve got plenty for you.

You can wear a lapel pin to:

20. Dress Up or Decorate Your Lapel
19. Brag About Receiving Special Employee Recognition or a Prestigious Award
18. Identify Your Membership in a Fraternity or a Sorority
17. Demonstrate Your Affiliation with a Professional Organization
16. Support a Charity or a Cause
15. Cheer for a Sports Team
14. Show Your Holiday Spirit
13. Commemorate an Anniversary
12. Celebrate Your First Parachute Jump, Kayaking Adventure, or Yoga Retreat
11. Show That You’ve Joined a Club
10. Break the Ice at a Networking Event
9. Promote Your Business
8. Create Awareness About Breast Cancer, AIDS, Autism, etc.
7. Prove That You’ve Been to a Museum, the Hard Rock Café, Disneyworld, etc.
6. Encourage Pin Collectors and Traders to Trade with You
5. Promote a Sale, a Special Promotion, or an Upcoming Event
4. Identify Yourself as a Conference or Trade Show Attendee
3. Show Your Loyalty to a Branch of the Military or a Civic Organization
2 Advertise Your Interests, Hobbies, and Beliefs
1. Show Your Patriotism

So what are you waiting for? Give me a call and we’ll help you design your own personal lapel pin billboard today!

The Bumble Bee Lapel Pin

Did you know that Mary Kay Ash, creator of Mary Kay Cosmetics, always wore a bumble bee lapel pin? Her signature lapel pin was a symbol for her achievements and the accomplishments of all of the women who made up her sales force.

Mary Kay used to tell the story of how scientists had proven that based on their anatomical construction, there are many reasons why bumbles should not be able to fly. Their bodies, for example, are too large in proportion to their wings. Yet, fly they do!

Mary Kay wanted to create a company that could offer women unlimited opportunities for personal and financial success. Many naysayers thought her ideas were too idealistic and that they would never work.

In 1963, at the age of 45, and with only $5,000 in savings, she opened her dream cosmetics business with her son Richard Rogers.  She had used furniture, homemade drapes and a single metal shelf from Sears to furnish her small Dallas storefront.

Her initial team of salespeople, or beauty consultants, as she called them, made nearly $200,000 in profits in their first year of operation. Today there are more than 1.7 million Mary Kay salespeople around the world, generating billions of dollars in sales.

Cue the bumblebee lapel pin. Mary Kay said, The bumble bee is “just like our women, who didn’t know they could fly to the top, but they did.” In 1970, at an annual seminar, Mary Kay started awarding the diamond bumblebee pin  to her top-performing sales consultants, telling the can-do story of the humble bumble bee. Her lapel pin message: If the bumble bee can fly, you can too!

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.” - Mary Kay Ash