Welcome Jill and Christine

Dion is excited to announce two new additions to our Marketing and Account Management staff. In Account Management, Jill McGuire joins us as our newest Account Manager. In Marketing, Christine Catarino is joining us as Marketing Director.

Jill has worked in the custom jewelry industry for her entire career. She began her career working in production at Masters of Design, where she learned the many aspects of jewelry design and manufacture. She eventually moved from the production side of the business to the office side. After a brief hiatus to raise her two children, Jill returned to Masters of Design (which was later bought by Herff Jones in 2009) as an Account Manager. Learn more about Jill on our Meet the Team page.

Christine comes to Dion from Southcoast Health, where she was their Digital Marketing Strategist. She has a strong background in digital marketing and brand strategy, having worked in digital marketing positions at Nickelodeon Networks, Hasbro Inc., Beacon Design by Chemart Cos. and Newport Restaurant Group. Christine will be replacing Ann Condon, who is retiring at the end of 2021. Learn more about Christine on our Meet the Team page.

Dive Into Our Monthly Blog Themes

Each month, we take a deep dive into Human Resources related topics with our monthly blog themes. As a corporate award company, we understand the need to value a company’s most expensive resources – their human resources. Our blog explores various human resource management issues, employee motivation and engagement, as well as retention strategies. As a distributor, knowing about these important HR issues will help you connect with your customers and guide them on ways they can boost engagement, motivate their teams, etc.

During October, our blog posts have focused on Team Building. Each week we have looked at a different aspect of this issue, from why some people hate it, to how to team build with a remote workforce, to how to sneak in team building activities without anyone even knowing it!

Check out our upcoming blog posts in November and December. These upcoming monthly blog themes are:

November – Multiple Generations in the Workplace
December – Onboarding and Retention

In October Dion Wears Pink

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, each Friday in October our Dion employees wear their pink. We have been supporting breast cancer awareness for a number of years now, as well as donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation through employee and company donations facilitated by our Wellness Committee.

Every distributor would love to get the “Big Program” but at the same time they shudder at the thought of the work involved once they get it. With E.A. Dion by your side, you can have your cake and eat it too! Dion has handled the unique administrative and fulfillment needs for hundreds of company award programs throughout the years.

Award jewelry programs come in all shapes and sizes. Programs may include:

• Add-a-diamond rings that have to be collected and sent back in for diamond upgrades
• Multiple business locations, or even individual recipients, that require special award packaging and labeling and individual drop shipments
• Multiple jewelry awards that differ by year or award level earned
• Custom reporting, invoicing, shipment tracking, etc. in response to customer request

Are you overwhelmed yet? These may seem like daunting details to overcome, but Dion sees them everyday. We have a variety of systems in place to handle these details efficiently and seamlessly. Because Dion handles the details, distributors can take on programs that otherwise might be too big for them to handle alone.

In the examples below, we show you how Dion has handled some of our unique customers’ administrative needs:

Years of Service Award Program with Multiple Locations, Multiple Award Types and Custom Letter/Packaging

One of our distributors won the service award program business for a major restaurant chain, with locations all across the country and in Canada. The program had many variables and needed a variety of administration, including:

• Monthly printing of individualized award letters (each letter to include the recipient’s anniversary date and specific year of service) to be inserted into a custom award box.

• Award product differing by year of service and requiring different specialty packaging (i.e. award recipients receive a lapel pin at 3 years, a lapel pin and writing pen at 5 years and a lapel pin and instruction card for ordering a merchandise gift at 10 years and above).

• Monthly drop shipments of individually labeled award products to each applicable store location throughout the US and Canada

The distributor did not want to have to handle all these ongoing details for so many locations, so was happy to have Dion take on this responsibility. Now the restaurant chain sends a file to Dion each month with the following month’s award recipients, each recipient’s restaurant location, year of service and anniversary date. Dion takes care of manufacturing the award, custom printing the congratulatory cards, custom packaging and drop shipping the awards to each location, as well as sending out tracking information, invoicing and answering customer questions. The distributor can work on getting the next job, instead of dealing with the day-to-day details of this one.

Add-a-Diamond Award Ring Program Needing Ordering Administration

Another distributor of ours had the opportunity to bid on a substantial performance award add-a-diamond ring program (hundreds of rings) that a home improvement chain was starting as an incentive to their store managers. However, both the distributor and the store did not want to deal with the details of getting ring sizes, determining where to ship the rings, getting them back in future years for diamond add-ons, etc. Dion came up with a custom solution to easily solve all of these challenges – namely www.awards-program.com. The store now sends a list of new ring recipients and those qualified for a diamond upgrade and Dion takes care of the rest.

Awards-Program.com

The center of this solution lies with awards-program.com. Dion mails out congratulatory letters on the store’s company letterhead with a login and password to a unique website address, along with a plastic ring sizer. Ring awardees simply log on to the site and enter their mailing information, ring size and the initials they want on the ring. Dion takes it from there – checking against the main list to verify the awardee is due a ring, manufacturing the ring, invoicing the store, shipping the ring to the recipient, etc. For those due a diamond upgrade, Dion sends out a congratulatory letter and self-mailer packet for the diamond upgrade awardee to mail their ring back in. Dion then adds a diamond to the ring, cleans the ring so that it looks as good as new and mails the ring back to the recipient. This is done for hundreds of ring awardees without the distributor or the store ever having to get involved.

For more information and to walk through a demo of the awards-program.com site simply go to www.awards-program.com. See if awards-program.com and Dion can help you win that ring program you’ve always wanted!

Unique Customer Requested Administrative Services

Dion, unlike the typical supplier/manufacturer, works as a partner with their distributors. Because of our size and years of experience in the custom corporate award jewelry industry, we have the creativity and flexibility to handle some of the most unique and sophisticated customer requests. For a number of safe driving award programs, we have created custom online ordering and manager approval sites to make the process for the company as easy as possible.

Companies have unlimited configurations regarding the way, the where and the when of how they present awards. Dion’s ability to custom label, custom package and custom drop ship can meet the needs of any customer demand. We also will create custom invoices, custom tracking and reporting and any other administrative needs your customer may require. Talk with your Dion Account Manager today about strategies to get that “Big Program,” and avoid all the hassles of the program administration!

For Distributors that are new to custom jewelry, some are surprised by the turn around time to design, tool and manufacture a new program.  With so many products in the industry boasting next-day delivery, why do custom jewelry products take so long?  In this Dion Digest we want to more fully explain what goes into the making of a new custom jewelry piece, give you some tips to help speed up the process as much as possible, and most importantly, WHY IT IS WORTH SELLING these unique products.

Each new year brings with it renewed vigor to meet and exceed your sales goals.  Let Dion help you do just that.  We have a variety of resources to help you with presentations, with end-user friendly customized mailings, and customer specific artwork.  Consider adding these resources to your next meeting or mailing:

As we look ahead to a new year, consider new opportunities that custom jewelry can provide. If you are not currently reaching out to the scholastic market, now may be a great time to do so. Jewelry recognition, has been commonplace in the scholastic arena for many years and is truly a staple in this market.

Custom jewelry recognition in the healthcare industry has been around almost as long as hospitals. Beginning with the nursing pin award at graduation, custom lapel pins and other jewelry awards are bestowed at all levels in the healthcare industry - for new certifications, for years of service, for retirement, for quality care. The list goes on and on.

Throughout 2020, there have been a number of upper management promotions here at Dion.  As the year closes, we announce some retirements.

There are not many things you can depend on regarding your clients. However, one that you can is that they will all have milestone anniversaries to celebrate at some point. Don't let time get away from you. 2021 is arriving soon. Start planning early so you really make the most of the occasion.

Opportunities for custom recognition jewelry for sports team and athletic events are much greater than you might initially think.

Traditional men's accessories, like tie bars and cuff links, remain extremely popular. It seems the classics never go out of style! How might these great accessories be incorporated into a recognition program or promotion?

Custom jewelry recognition in the healthcare industry has been around almost as long as hospitals. Beginning with the nursing pin award at graduation, custom lapel pins and other jewelry awards are bestowed at all levels in the healthcare industry - for new certifications, for years of service, for retirement, for quality care. The list goes on and on.

Length of service awards remain the most widespread employee recognition programs for formal expressions of appreciation and achievement for American corporations and organizations today.

A growing problem many distributors face is customers going online to get what they used to come to you for. Customers can now go online, upload their logo, and get a "custom" product shipped practically overnight.

How can distributors differentiate themselves in this new business landscape? Now more than ever, service and non-traditional offerings are what will make you stand out.

In this "new normal" meeting and exceeding sales goals is that much more difficult. So it is more important than ever to recognize and reward your top sales achievers. However, many of the traditional experiential rewards - like trips and cruises - just don't work anymore. An excellent alternative is custom precious metal jewelry. Karat gold and sterling silver jewelry have high intrinsic value - and become even more valuable in uncertain times. Dion can create some stylish designs for men or women that will wow your clients.

Custom jewelry for associations & organizations is nothing new, but think outside the box of just the traditional membership or officer lapel pin. People who voluntarily join an organization are proud of the organization and of what it stands for. Members want to show off their affiliation and a great way to show this pride is with wearable custom jewelry that travels with them.

As states begin to "reopen," businesses are realizing that going back to the way things were is not happening any time soon. 

In the midst of this coronavirus crisis, there are so many everyday heroes taking care of our sick, bringing us food and needed medical supplies, and keeping our streets clean and safe.  Even in industries not considered essential, loyal employees are keeping the lights on by telecommuting, teaching and working via video, and adjusting to this "new normal" in a myriad of ways.