West Bloomfield, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/13/2015 --Detroit, MI- Valerie Hayman Sklar, owner, of Corporate Specialties with offices in West Bloomfield and Detroit won two bronze awards at the 2015 Technology Award Competition sponsored by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) held January 13, 2015 at the House of Blues in conjunction with The PPAI Expo in Las Vegas.

PPAI recognized Corporate Specialties for its leadership in technological achievement in a variety of applications, awarding the company the 2015 PPAI Technology Award for bronze technology for two blogs (www.corpspecblog.com and theaptboutiqueblog.com).

"Corporate Specialties separates itself from its competition by investing in new technology and utilizing time-saving, mobile applications and digital content to meet the needs of its customers," said Paul Bellantone, CAE, president and CEO at PPAI.

Hayman Sklar was presented both bronze 2015 PPAI Technology Awards having been selected by a panel of industry professionals and independent, outside marketing and advertising professionals.

Hayman Sklar has also been awarded by her industry in the past for the Velocity Award which recognizes one of the fastest Growing Owners by their percentage of business growth.

While Hayman Sklar admits good luck played a part, much of the sales increase came from both direct mail and email marketing campaigns. But she attributes the majority of her success to making a philosophical change to the way she approaches her business.

"I switched from working in the business to working on the business," she said. "I began really looking at the big picture and spent more time streamlining processes to improve customer service. Each person buys differently, so I incorporated as many touch points as possible—from regular updates on specials to sending birthday gifts. Consistently being in contact along with a personal touch has made all the difference."

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About Corporate Specialties:
Founded by Valerie Hayman Sklar in 1997, Corporate Specialties has been developing comprehensive marketing programs that incorporate promotional products that not only delight target audiences but also get results—from customer loyalty programs and tradeshow campaigns to employee incentives and business gifts.

As a promotional marketing brain trust, Corporate Specialties has become the go-to resource for business owners, corporate marketers, meeting and event planners, and HR pros who need distinctive, memorable merchandise programs—not promotional clutter. Like Corporate Specialties on Facebook at http://facebook.com/Corporate.Specialties.LLC and follow it on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CorpSpecialties. For more information, visit http://corporatespecialties.com and read the blog at http://corpspecblog.com.

About PPAI
Founded in 1903, the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) is the world's largest and oldest not-for-profit association serving more than 10,800 corporate members of the $19.8 billion promotional products industry which is comprised of more than 33,800 businesses and a workforce of nearly 500,000 professionals. PPAI represents the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocates on its behalf.