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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Updated: Thursday, November 9, 2023
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As we all know, nutritional labeling can be a nightmare at times for one reason or another. In recent years, RCI member Dietsch Brothers has incorporated QR codes onto some of their smaller products instead of trying to cram all the ingredient information on a tiny packaging space. According to the FDA, if your labeling area is less than twelve square inches you can include a phone number or address to access the nutritional information for that product. On small packages such as chocolate-covered sandwich cookies, four-piece boxes, graham crackers and etc., Dietsch Brothers provides a QR code on the label, along with contact information, so customers can link to the product on their website for consumers to find the nutritional and allergy information. By including QR codes, which most people are familiar with post-COVID, it helps drive traffic to their website and allows the candy maker to share the ingredient information in an easy-to-read format. Setting up QR Codes are Easy
There are two different types of QR codes that should be considered when creating one for packaging. A static QR code cannot be changed, so once setup the URL it is linked to it cannot be changed. If you set up a dynamic QR code, the URL it links to can be modified at any time. A dynamic QR code also allows you to track how many times that code has been scanned. Trusted QR Code Generators Canva | Canva offers a static QR code generator for free and paid users. Customization features are limited to changing the background and foreground colors. QR Tiger |Dietsch Brothers uses QR Tiger to create dynamic QR codes. QR Tiger offers fully customizable QR codes, which includes the ability to incorporate your logo. Monthly rates start at $7/month. QR Tiger also integrates with Canva to import your dynamic codes to be used in your Canva designs. QR codes are an easy and low-cost solution for providing product information for consumers, especially when it comes to small packaging. By incorporating QR codes onto packaging, companies can not only provide product information, but also drive traffic to their website and increase brand recognition. Crave more?Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration. Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.
Tags:
Labeling
Nutrition Labels
QR Codes
Small Packaging
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Looking for ideas to get the creative juices flowing? This week’s tip is to use a mind map to spark creativity!
What is a mind map? It’s a diagram used to visually outline information. Typically it begins with a word, image or phrase in the center and then other ideas and images branch out from the center across the page. One of the key benefits of a mind map is that an idea doesn’t have to be full or complete or even in sentence form in order to be displayed. The idea is that the process of a mind map resembles how your brain actually works!
Tips for an effective mind map:
- Start with a large piece of paper (Give your brain room to think!)
- Use images, not just words
- Vary the size, color and alignment of your images and text
- Keep topics and labels short (Think big picture.)
Mind maps are useful tools for individual creativity and also can help to get creative ideas flowing among a team of people. In your next team brainstorming session, consider using a whiteboard or oversized Post-it to map out ideas as they’re given and see where mind mapping can take you! If you prefer tech tools to paper versions, check out MindMeld or Mindmeister.
P.S. There is still time to register to join us at the RCI Annual Convention & Industry Expo! Register online now to meet fellow confectioners and suppliers June 16-20 in St. Louis.
Tags:
Creativity
Employee Management
Organizing
Owning a Business
Productivity
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Is the technology at your company helping or hindering productivity? This week’s tip is to take some time to perform a technology audit to determine how it is working and also how it can be improved.
Not sure where to start? Unless you have a skilled IT professional on your staff, you will likely need to hire someone to help you through the process and make recommendations that best fit your company size and goals. The following points are from the SCORE website as items to be sure you consider during a technology audit:
· Information Security
· Training your staff so that they’re using technology as efficiently and securely as possible
· Your future needs and what current/developing technologies will help meet them.
· What is not working right now or what could work better?
Be sure to include your staff in the process as they are in the trenches and can provide some great insight as to what is and is not working in terms of technology and processes. While a technology audit is an investment, it has the potential to provide a large return if you take the time to do it well.
Tags:
Employee Management
Owning a Business
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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You’re busy sending out emails to your customer list but are you thinking about how the emails will be viewed depending on elements such as email service providers and screen size? This week’s tip is to take time to optimize your marketing emails for the images you are using.
Next, be sure your images are optimized for web. For example, check to be sure it has the right file size, type and format to avoid your receiver getting upload errors. Your email marketing service provider should provide the guidelines they recommend. For example, no larger than 350KB and no wider than 800 pixels wide is what is recommended by Constant Contact. Anything larger than that and they will likely automatically shrink the image for you which may result in loss of quality.
Additionally, remember that many email programs automatically block images until the receiver chooses to download them. Therefore, it is not recommended that every call to action be included in an image. Instead, utilize both images and text to tell your customers to “Order Online Now” or whatever it is you would like them to do in response to your email.
You are now ready to send effective email marketing messages using photos. If you have additional tips for email marketing, please leave them in the comments below!
Tags:
Marketing
Owning a Business
Photos
Social Media
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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This week’s tip is to take the time to implement a system to back up your company files in more than one location. For example, many companies think that having their files on a server in their facility is secure enough. However, if your office is destroyed by a fire or natural disaster, you will have lost all of that important information. Instead, be sure your files are securely backed up in another location so you can quickly access them in case of emergency.
A number of options are available for backing up your company files. From remote data backup services to storing files on the numerous cloud services available, you will need to find what works best for your company. You may find that it is a combination or hybrid of more than one of the options in order to best meet your information security and data storage needs. Regardless of what you choose, no company should take the risk of having no off-site back up of their files.
Tags:
Employee Management
Organizing
Owning a Business
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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As the holidays get closer, we know that means you are getting busier and busier. Therefore this week’s tip will help you find emails and contacts in your email quickly so you can make the most of your time.
Xobni is a free tool that works with Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Android and iPhone to help users search and discover all of your contacts, including emails and files exchanged. You can instantly view each contact, complete with photo, job title, company details and email history. That’s right; you can get forget about tirelessly searching by keyword or date for a specific email or attachment. With Xobni, it’s easier and quicker than ever.
Watch this quick video for a glimpse into how Xobni works for Outlook or view these videos to see it work within Gmail, Android and iPhone. Download and set-up time is minimal and worth it for the time you will save with this great tool!
Note, Xobni was recently acquired by Yahoo! which means company and service changes are taking place over the next year. At this time, there are still free versions and paid versions available to meet your needs.
Tags:
Organizing
Owning a Business
Productivity
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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As a candy store manager and/or business owner, you have a number of projects on your plate at one time. Therefore, this week’s tip provides some of our favorite tools to manage projects online. One of the benefits of using online tools is that you can access the information from nearly anywhere and team collaboration is amplified. Plus, the online tools below have accompanying smart phone apps, making access even easier.
- Trello – Trello is a simple and visually pleasing way to organize projects. Add images, checklists, due dates, attachments and more to keep your projects organized. You can have multiple boards, or projects, and organize tasks, or cards, within the boards in whatever fashion you choose. Additionally, assign collaborators to tasks to easily track who is responsible for different pieces of the project.
- Freedcamp – Freedcamp provides project templates to help you get started as well as a group wall to communicate with all users within your projects. The system also makes it easy to choose what your employees and clients can see with a fully customizable user permission system. Freedcamp includes a great dashboard providing an overview of projects, important tasks and recent activity.
- Teambox – Teambox has thought of nearly everything when it comes to project management. Keeping track of conversations, workloads, files and notes and documentation are just some of the features. Users may also view a Gantt diagram of a project’s status, share calendars and connect projects via email. Teambox is free for up to five users and utilizes a “pay as you grow” structure for more than five users.
- Evernote – Evernote is essentially an idea board for managing projects. It’s great for visually focused projects. For example, if you’re looking to redo your packaging soon, you may begin collecting photos, links, documents and notes about what you want your new packaging to look like and accomplish. Note that Evernote is great for you to organize projects and ideas, but to collaborate with others, you’ll want to use Evernote Business which is fee-based.
Now, pick one that works for you and have fun project planning and organizing for your company!
If you have additional project management tools you’ve used successfully, please leave us a comment below – we’d love to hear what they are and why they work well for you.
Tags:
Employee Management
Organizing
Owning a Business
Productivity
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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1-800-FLOWERS knew exactly what they were doing when they created their phone number. They created something memorable that connected directly to the products and services they provide: flower delivery.
So, do you know what your phone number spells? We’ve found a cool tool online that will tell you and also may help you create a phone number your customers will have a hard time forgetting.
- Enter your full phone number and see what words and phrases it spells. You’ll see a variety of possible combinations and words. See if any of these could work to your advantage to make your phone number easy to remember.
- Enter the start of a phone number and see what words start with those digits. If you’re just starting out or looking to create a new memorable phone number, you can see what possible combinations you have to work with. If you know that your phone number has to include a certain set of numbers (i.e. area code), see what words start with those digits to get your creativity rolling.
- Enter some letters and see (and even dial) the corresponding number. So you want to create a memorable phone number and you’ve narrowed the key words for your business down to a select few. On phonespell.org you can enter the word or words you want to include and find out what number combinations those create. You can even dial it to see if someone already has that phone number combination.
By creating a memorable phone number, your customers (both current and potential) will always know who to call when they need a chocolate and candy fix!
If you create or already have a memorable phone number, we want to hear about it – leave us a comment below!
Tags:
Customer Service
Marketing
Owning a Business
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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What do your email subscribers receive when they sign up? Is it a standard non-customized message saying “Thanks for signing up? This week’s tip is to take the time to customize a welcome message to remind them why they signed up for your emails in the first place.
After someone signs up for your emails, most email marketing programs have a standard welcome message that can be customized. Take a moment to thank them for signing up, inviting them to connect with you on social media (Facebook, etc.) and including an email coupon. By including a coupon, you’re reminding them that being a subscriber to your email list has value. Have the instructions say to print the email as the coupon and that it expires 30 days from the date it was emailed. By including an expiration date, they will be motivated to return to your store.
RCI Members: Still need to start your email marketing campaign? As a member, you receive a discount for Constant Contact email marketing. For details, visit the RCI website click on Member Programs under the Member Resources tab when signed in as a member.
Tags:
Customer Service
Marketing
Owning a Business
Social Media
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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At Retail Confectioners International, we’re excited to announce the launch of our new website, retailconfectioners.org!
Last week we officially launched the new RCI website. We’ve been hard at work over the last few months completely revamping our website to better meet the needs of our members and provide information to the confectionery industry. With the new drop-down navigation menu and search functions, it’s easier than ever to find the information you need. Plus, we’ve provided easy access to free industry resources, including:
- Classified Ads – see what’s for sale or wanted by chocolate and candy makers
- RCI Events & Education Courses – view a calendar of upcoming events and courses
- Book Recommendations – find a list of books recommended just for chocolate and candy makers
- Chocolate Holidays – discover history and fun facts about popular candy holidays
- Free Industry News – access a list of free industry news resources and links to sign up
- How Chocolate is Made – access information about how chocolate is made, beginning from the bean
We hope you’ll take a minute to visit the RCI website and add it to your list of bookmarked sites to visit often. If you’re not an RCI member, we invite you to click on the Membership tab to learn more about how a membership in RCI can help your business by connecting you to relevant information and fellow confectioners across the globe!
RCI Members: Sign in as a member to the new RCI website and access member-only resources, including an RCI Member Community to engage directly with fellow RCI members. Need your username and password? Just call RCI at 800-545-5381.
P.S. Are you headed to the Philly Candy Show? Be sure to stop by the RCI booth (#512) to meet RCI staff and learn more about RCI membership, events and more.
Tags:
Technology
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