Counselor magazine, the Advertising Specialty Institute's flagship publication, announced last week that it has named Kevin Lyons-Tarr, president of 4imprint (asi/197045), as its Person of the Year for 2012. Honored for leading his company to great success over the past few years – including growth of 18% last year and more than 30% over the past four years – Counselor also cited Lyons-Tarr’s forward-thinking web-based strategy as inspiration for why it named him Person of the Year.

Also honored at the Counselor Awards banquet, held at Cipriani in midtown New York City, were Ash City’s (asi/37143) Garry Hurvitz for International Person of the Year, Activate’s (asi/141964) Fred Parker for Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year, BamBams’(asi/38228) Dan Taylor for Supplier Entrepreneur of the Year, Overture’s Heather Sanderson (asi/288473) for Distributor Woman of Distinction and Leed’s (asi/66887) Sharon Willochell for Supplier Woman of Distinction.

The occasion was also marked by the initial unveiling of Counselor’s 2012 Top 40. On the supplier side, Broder Bros. (asi/42090) takes over the top spot on the list, after an increase of more than 30% in sales last year. Click here to view the supplier Top 40 list. And, for distributors, Staples Promotional Products (asi/120601) remains the largest company in the industry, with BDA (asi/137616) and Proforma (asi/300094) rounding out the top three spots on the list. Click here to see the complete 2012 Top 40 distributor rankings.

Go to www.CounselorMag.com to read about all the award winners.

On the year anniversary of the tornado that caused death and destruction in Joplin, MO, FedEx Corp and the American Red Cross will host a virtual rountable to share insights and answer questions on how small businessess can prepare for a natural disaster.

The May 22 event will feature experts from FedEx, the Red Cross and the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce (JACC). It will be hosted on the FedEx Facebook page at http://facebook.com/fedex . While participants will connect virtually, the experts will gather in Joplin at 11:30 a.m. CDT.

The roundtable comes in the wake of a survey that revealed an alarming number of small businesses have not taken steps to prepare for disasters that are prone to happen in their areas. Commissioned by FedEx and the Red Cross, the survey found that 51% of small businesses have not practiced evacuations or other emergency drills, while 47% have not communicated employee roles in the event of a disaster.

Further, while 40% of small businesses do not believe they could fully recover within six months if their business was completely destroyed in a disaster, fewer than one third (29%)of those surveyed are prepared if a disaster disrupts their business for just one month. "Many small businesses put off disaster preparation because of concerns about lack of resources or expertise," said Rose Flenorl, manager, Global Citizenship, FedEx Services. "But some simple, inexpensive steps can go a long way toward helping businesses be prepared if disaster strikes.”

Talk to the owner of a successful small business, and chances are he or she will tell you a key reason their company is thriving is great customer service. John Tschohl, an international service strategist and speaker who founded the Minneanpolis-based Service Quality Institute, says there are six basic principles of customer service that, if mastered, will put you on the road to success.

Feel good about yourself: “We tend to live in a negative world and to think negatively,” says Tschohl. “It’s critical that you feel good about yourself, that you are confident, enthusiastic, and positive. Each of us is responsible for how we feel about ourselves. You must believe in yourself, concentrate on your strengths, and recognize the importance of your role. Use affirmations and visualization. Read books on self-improvement and strive to be the best you can be. See yourself as you can be, not as you are.”

Be courteous: It takes no more time to be nice and polite than it does to be rude,” says Tschohl. “Every customer wants to feel important to you and your organization. Treat them with courtesy and respect. When you do, they will return to you time and time again.”

Give positive communication: Says Tschohl: “Smile, call customers by name, and give specific, genuine, sincere, and timely feedback. When you communicate positively, you form a connection with the customer that says, ‘I am pleased that you patronize my organization, I value you, and I am here to ensure your needs are met.’“

Perform for the customer: “Customers have the right to demand performance,” says Tschohl. “They aren’t interested in your problems and excuses; they want you to take care of them. You can be polite and courteous but, if you don’t do what you say you will do, you will not meet the standards of good customer service. If you say you’ll call a customer on Tuesday, do it. If you say you’ll ship the product on Friday, do it. Do what you say you will do—and do it with speed and accuracy. If you ship a product when you say you will, but you ship the wrong product, you’ve taken a giant step backward.”

Listen carefully: Tschohl says: “Few employees do this well. If you don’t listen to what the customer is telling you, you cannot give that customer what he needs. Listen to the customer, then clarify what he has said by repeating it. For example: ‘Ted, let me repeat what you said so I’m sure I’m on the right track.’ Ask questions, get involved, and show that you care.”

Learn and grow in your job: “If a customer asks you to explain the difference between product A and product B, she’s asking you to provide more than the difference in price,” says Tschohl. “Study your organization’s products and services—as well as those of your competitors—so that you can provide your customers with the information they need to make a purchase decision.”

Sharing "5 Powerful Online Marketing Tactics That Generate Results," Kathleen Booth of Quintain Marketing (asi/303131)advised distributors and decorators how to best use some powerful online strategies to build their brands, and their sales. "Everything starts online today," Booth said at The ASI Show New York this week. "If you think about how people make buying decisions, it all starts online." With tools like Google and other search and review sites, so much of the buying decision-making process is completed before a customer ever initiates direct contact. Thus, it's essential that a company has a strong online presence.

One of the most important and least understood methods of generating results is inbound marketing, she said. Studies show that more than 85% of hits to an average website are generated through free channels such as organic searches and social media sites. But, only about 15% of hits are from paid advertising. Yet, most companies focus their spending on advertising. The key, she said, is to create better content for your website to drive those "free" clicks. "To succeed at inbound marketing, you really need to create your website as a hub of information," she said.

Other tools she discussed were using contests and online ads together to drive traffic to your site, creating videos to build your company's brand, blogging to showcase your company's personality and using online magazines to give your blog a professional feel.

This week, at the ASI Show New York, Kathleen Booth addressed a group of ad specialty distributors eager to grow their businesses in an education session titled "Build a Hard-Hitting Marketing Plan Today." Booth, who owns Annapolis-based distributor firm Quintain Marketing (asi/303131), provided helpful tips ranging from envisioning broad end-goals to implementing and fine-tuning specific steps. "Business goals have to be SMART," she said, explaining that the acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound.

First, a businessperson must define his or her overarching goals; next, one or more strategies must be assigned to each goal, describing how it will be achieved. The third step is to specify actions, or tactics, that will be taken for each strategy, and finally, KPIs (key performance indicators) need to be put in place to objectively measure each goal's success.

"The marketing landscape is completely different than it was five years ago," Booth said. "We've made it harder and harder to be reached by advertisers" with innovations like DVR, no-call lists and so on. But the good news is that new media outlets such as social networks and blogs are often less expensive, easier to measure and more effective than traditional methods. The key is to reach out to potential customers without intruding on their lives.

Top 40 distributor InnerWorkings (asi/168860) announced last week that it had record revenue results in the first quarter of 2012. In the three months that ended March 31, 2012, InnerWorkings realized sales of $188.5 million, a 30% increase over the same period in 2011. The Chicago-based company also reported net income of $3.7 million in the quarter, a 32% increase over last year's first quarter net income of $2.8 million.

"Our business momentum continues to grow, as we delivered record revenue for the sixth consecutive quarter, were awarded what we expect to be our two largest ever enterprise contracts and raised our revenue guidance for the year," said Eric Belcher, CEO of InnerWorkings and a member of Counselor's Power 50. "The investments we are making to win large global print management contracts and gain share in the middle market are driving the innovation curve in our industry."

In its first-quarter public filing, InnerWorkings (NASDAQ: INWK) also raised its full-year 2012 revenue guidance to between $780 million and $810 million from its previous guidance between $770 million and $800 million. In the ad specialty market, InnerWorkings reported North American revenues of $105.3 million for full-year 2011, an 18% increase over 2010.

Buoyed by better sales and profits, optimism among small business owners increased in April, according to a just-released survey.

The National Federation of Small Business reported this week that its optimism index rose 2 points last month to 94.5. After a dip in March, the index is back to its February level.

William Dunkelberg, the federation’s chief economist, reported that plans to hire increased in April, as did sales and profits. Still, Dunkelberg called the 94.5 reading weak, and said many business owners are still wary about their prospects because of downbeat economic news coming from Washington and Europe, where a debt crisis shows no signs of abating.

“Most likely there will be only small improvements on Main Street in optimism or hiring and spending this year,” Dunkelberg says.

The survey was compiled from 1,817 small businesses that belong to the National Federation of Small Business.

Cyber crooks are using the Better Business Bureau’s good name to target American small businesses with a new email phishing scam that infects company computers with malware that hunts for bank account numbers and passwords – all in an attempt to steal money from firms.

A plumbing company in Monroe, LA recently fell victim to the scam. The trouble began when the business received an email that purported to be from the BBB. The email claimed that someone had filed a compliant against the company with the Better Business Bureau. Unfortunately, the email was a fake that downloaded viruses onto two of the company’s computers. Luckily, the computers were wiped clean before the malware infection could steal any banking information.

The Better Business Bureau says that the phishing emails use the BBB’s name and logo to give the appearance of a newly filed compliant. Thus posed, the email attempts to trick business owners into opening a link or attachment, supposedly to view the complaint. However, clicking the link or attachment downloads malware onto computers.

If you receive an email that looks suspicious, the BBB recommends that you:

Do NOT click on any links or attachments.

Read the email carefully for signs that it may be fake (for example, misspellings, grammar, generic greetings such as “Dear member” instead of a name, etc.)

Be wary of any urgent instructions to take specified action such as “Click on the link or your account will be closed.”

Hover your mouse over links without clicking to see if the address is truly from bbb.org.

Delete the email from your computer completely (be sure to empty your “trash can” or “recycling bin,” as well).

Run anti-virus software updates frequently and do a full system scan. If you are not certain whether the complaint is legitimate, contact your local BBB (www.bbb.org/find).

Forward the email to phishing@council.bbb.org so that our security team can track the perpetrators. If you receive a “bounce” message, there is no need to resubmit.

Gildan Activewear Inc. yesterday signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the holdings of Anvil, parent company of Anvil Knitwear (asi/36350). The deal is for a total purchase price of $88 million. Anthony Corsano, president and CEO of Anvil, will now become a member of Gildan's senior management team. Corsano will join Gildan's Branded Apparel division and focus on the continuing development of Anvil's strategy to grow its business of providing high-volume quality products for non-retailer brands.

"We believe that the acquisition of Anvil and the combination of the compatible cultures and strengths of our two companies will position Gildan to further enhance our product offering for our printwear customers and build further on our leadership position in this market,” said Glenn Chamandy, president and CEO of Gildan, in a statement. "In addition, the projected economic returns from the acquisition are highly attractive and are expected to create further value for our shareholders."

Gildan says it expects to generate significant synergies as a result of this deal, especially with its ability to integrate Anvil's production for the printwear market into Gildan's manufacturing model. The acquisition will be financed using Gildan's bank credit facility, and Gildan will not assume any of Anvil's currently outstanding debt. For its fiscal year ended January 28, 2012, Anvil generated EBITDA of approximately $17 million on sales revenues in excess of $200 million. Gildan has annual revenues of nearly $2 billion.

The companies expect the deal to close by the end of May.

American Apparel (asi/35297) says it had a strong April. The Los Angeles-based clothier reported Thursday that total net sales tallied $47.9 million, 6% better than April 2011. Last month, wholesale net sales rose 4% and comparable store/online sales increased 10%.

“April represents our eleventh consecutive month of comparable sales increases," said Dov Charney, Chairman and CEO. "Despite a forward shift of the Easter holiday, we continued to see growth in our core businesses, particularly our core knits business in the retail channel.”

The Counsleor magazine Top 40 supplier’s wholesale business has sped along at a brisk pace in recent months as well. Wholesale net sales were reportedly up 23% in January, 21% in February, and 9% in March. Comparable retail and online sales increased 15% in January, 11% in February, and 21% in March.

"We have significantly improved store sales productivity which is currently running in the month of April an annual run rate of $1,460,000 in sales per average store,” says Charney. “We have plans in place to achieve productivity beyond our historic high of $1,610,000. Incremental sales will drive additional fixed cost leverage and should significantly improve EBITDA."

American Apparel will release its first quarter 2012 earnings results on Thursday, May 10, 2012, after the market close.

Employment in the private sector increased by 119,000 jobs from March to April, according to the ADP National Employment Report. The survey, created by the payroll processing firm Automatic Data Processing Inc., said nonfarm small businesses added 58,000 jobs, while medium-sized firms bolstered ranks by 57,000. Large busineses – those with more than 499 employees -- added only 4,000 positions.

"Monthly employment gains averaged just over 200,000 during the first quarter of this year," said Carlos Rodriguez, President and CEO of ADP. "This month's modest increase of 119,000 jobs appears consistent with the first-quarter Gross Domestic Product growth of 2.2 percent. We hope future rates of job creation will be more aggressive and sustained.”

All the job gains came in the service-producing sector, with finacial services notably adding 13,000 jobs from March to April. Nonetheless, manufacturing employment declined by 5,000, the first monthly decrease since Septemember 2011. Construction employment also dipped by 5,000, the first time in seven months that the sector shed jobs.

While 119,000 positions were added, the tally belies the fact that job growth slowed from the month before. From February to March, 201,000 positions were created at nonfarm private businesses, ADP says. "While April's increase was the twenty-seventh consecutive monthly advance, it nonetheless reflected a deceleration in the recent pace of hiring,” said Joel Prakken, Chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC. "There is some evidence that unusually warm weather boosted employment during the winter months, with a 'payback' now coming due. The modest rise in private employment suggests that the national unemployment rate probably did not decline in April unless there was a notable decline in the labor force."

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release an official report on public and private employment in America on Friday.

Small businesses in the United States report that the difficult credit and loan environment that has enveloped them for the past few years is beginning to ease. According to a new survey from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), only 4% of small business owners say credit and financing is their number-one challenge this year. Nearly a quarter of survey respondents (22%) said that poor sales is their top business problem right now and another 20% cited excessive regulation as their company’s biggest concern.

Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist for NFIB, said that the results of the survey show that small business owners are increasingly being able to focus on their day-to-day business operations, as opposed to finding ways to improve cash flow and their financial backing. Further, the easing of the credit markets opens up opportunities for companies to acquire capital that allows them to keep up with growth.

"Credit is going to be easier to get, interest rates are going to be low, so don't be afraid to go out and ask your bank for a loan," Dunkelberg said. He also urged business owners to shop around for the best rates. "There are 6,000 independent banks out there," Dunkelberg said. "If one can't help you, there's probably someone out there who can, so give it a shot."

Two independent surveys by payroll processing firms suggest that small business hiring is weakening. Intuit reported that companies with fewer than 20 employees added 40,000 new jobs in April, down significantly from the 75,000 positions created in March. Seperately, SurePayroll, Inc. reported that hiring dropped .1% in April.

The tepid showing in spring's first full month followed a March in which nonfarm employment increased 120,000, the least amount in five months. Analysts have said that the paltry payroll numbers in March were the whirlwind of a warm winter in which hiring was surprisingly robust. Payroll growth had averaged 246,000 a month between December and February.

While SurePayroll reported that pay at small businesses decreased .3%, Intuit’s survey showed wages for small busineses increased 0.1% -- $3 – to $2,680. The average workweek for small business employees slipped .14%, Intuit said.

Year-over-year, nationwide hiring at small businesses decreased 1.4% and paychecks dropped 1.3%, SurePayroll reported. Regionally speaking, the South bucked the negative trend, with hiring there up nearly 2% and paychecks improved .4%, according to SurePayroll. The West has had the steepest hiring decline at 5.1%. While the federal government says the jobless rate has dropped to 8.2%, some analysts contend that's largely due to unemployed people giving up the search for work.

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release an official report on farm and nonfarm employment in the United States. A Reuters survey indicates that report will show that payrolls increased by 170,000, though the prediction could be overly optimistic.

Exclusive new research from ASI shows that advertising specialty distributors increased their revenues in the first quarter of 2012 by 6.7%, when compared to the same time period in 2011. ASI’s Quarterly Sales Report, measuring sales results of industry distributors from January 1 through March 31, reveals that distributors in the promotional products market increased their overall revenues by $247 million in the first quarter. The Q1 gains marked the ninth straight quarterly increase – in fact, the last time the industry’s distributors faced decreasing sales was in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Further, the distributors surveyed – which included a cross-section of companies from all sizes – also have positive outlooks for full-year 2012. More than three-quarters (78%) of all distributors feel sales for 2012 will be higher than sales in 2011, with even more large companies expecting gains – in fact, 83% of distributors with more than $1 million in sales say they’re forecasting revenue growth for the remainder of 2012, when compared to full-year 2011.

In contrast to previous quarters, though, small distributors (annual revenue less than $250,000) showed impressive gains in the first quarter of 2012. These firms increased their sales by 6.8% in Q1, after gains of less than 3.5% for each of the previous four quarters. Mid-sized distributors (revenues between $250,000 and $1 million) increased their revenues by 6.2% in Q1 2012 and large distributors (sales more than $1 million) grew by 7.1%.

The second quarter Sales Report will be published in July.

The American housing market is continuing to shows of life. Demand for new U.S. homes exceeded expectations in March, a sign that falling unemployment and low borrowing costs are helping to fuel house purchases.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported this week that houses sold at an annual rate of 328,000, beating a median estimate forecast of 319,000 from economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. March’s stronger-than-anticipated showing followed a solid February in which houses sold at a 353,000 annual rate – the most robust reading since April 2010. “Housing is going to gradually dig out of this deep hole because the job market is going to be firming,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc., told Bloomberg News.

While home values will still decline some, this year could see prices hit bottom, suggesting a rebound could soon be in the cards. A separate report from the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed that home prices in 20 cities dropped at a slower pace in the year ended in February, indicating the real-estate market is progressing toward stabilization. The index of property values fell 3.5%, the smallest 12-month drop since February last year. Additionally, the gauge ticked up from the prior month for the first time since April 2011.