Are You Stopping Short of the Sale?

When speaking about promotional products people describe them in many terms; tchotchke, trinkets & trash, ad specialities, or promotional items. And most of those don’t do justice to the industry.  Too many people the names used indicates the item may be worthless or a throw away item. 

As I always like to remind people, promotional products are the one form of advertising that people say “thank you” for. I find it amazing that not everyone understands how important promotional products are to their overall marketing program.

Don’t Give them a Throw Away Item

I’m sure like me, you’ve had people ask for a throw away item for a trade show. I typically tell them to just give me the money and pretend they did something. That usually wakes them up for a deeper discussion on how better to spend their marketing dollars.

Consider your client’s desk; do they have pens, a coffee mug, stress reliever, power bank, adhesive notes, notebook or other office item with a logo on it? What about their car? Do they use a car charger, auto-mount or tumbler for the morning coffee? What about on the weekends? Are they wearing a logo’d T-shirt or carrying a logo’d duffle bag to the gym or tote to the grocery store? I bet they are. And each time they do they are providing an advertising impression for that logo to everyone that sees them.

It’s something to remind people of now and again.

Inexpensive Luxury Item

Unfortunately, the reality of many budgets is they are looking for champagne style products on a beer budget. I had one client this week ask us to find them an inexpensive luxury item. That’s a new one for me! They had a low budget under $2.00 and wanted to leave a luxury impression. We understood the event arena they were going to was quite upscale, but it was a challenge. We ended up with an aroma therapy spray. Not quite sure how luxurious it really is but they did feel it left the right impression.

Another term we hear quite often is cheap and cheerful. They want something that will grab attention and be kept, but again with a small ticket price. While there are still some interesting options under $1.00 I do like to discuss with clients why they are giving something out and the impression it will leave.

Cheap, Cheerful and Useful

Just this week we had a new client (a non-profit organization) request some ideas that were cheap and cheerful. They wanted to spend under $1.00. Their concentration is at education events geared towards teachers and administrators. They said they were surprisingly “the best kept secret” in town. Since their budget was low, they had given out inexpensive pens (and they didn’t always work) in the past.

I did stay within their budget parameters but also included a few items that were just slightly above that I felt would help them better tell their story. For instance, the pen was a three-sided pen that could have a different message on all three sides. I also suggested an adhesive notepad, a large magnet clip and a small notebook. All of which could have more of a message about who they were and what they did. 

Don’t Just Provide What’s Asked For

Now, I don’t know who they were using before, but they indicated they had never gotten alternative suggestions before. And they were thrilled. They had always thought that an adhesive pad or a notebook was way out of their budget and in reality it wasn’t. So now we are crafting a better message. We’re going to let their secret out!

And, right before the holidays we got a call from a client I had been wooing for months. They are quite large and of course had told me in the past they were happy with who they had on their vendor roster. And given the size of this company I would assume their roster is quite large.

Well, they were looking for a specific tote bag and I can only assume their existing vendors had told them they couldn’t get it. So, she was shopping around. Well, there was a good reason they couldn’t get it. It had been discontinued. But instead of offering an alternative, their existing vendor just said they couldn’t get in time for their event. They didn’t even say it was discontinued!

Be Responsive

On the other hand, when we saw it was out of stock, we immediately started to search for a comparable alternative. And found one. Albeit a bit more expensive but the look was similar. The client wrote how impressed and pleased she was that we provided an alternative suggestion. And we got the order!

Now we are on their vendor list and have had meetings with 2 of their buyers and have another meeting scheduled to review some spec samples in a couple of weeks. I truly believe they are going to be a very good client for us moving forward. 

And, I think it’s because we were persistent in trying to break into them for about 8 months with unique and custom designed virtuals sent as part of our continuing campaign to get in the door. Plus, when we did get in the door, we were quick to respond.

When I met my new client’s boss at the first meeting (he’s the VP of Purchasing) he told me that she had indicated to him how impressed she was with our professionalism and responsiveness.

Don’t Make them Chase You

I am always amazed when I hear that. I’ve heard from clients over the years that they have to chase after quotes, call and email repeatedly before they get an answer. I know we are all busy, but if that’s you, your clients may be stolen away if you don’t start paying attention. 

One of my account managers has increased her business with a large client because she is there for them when they want her. She’s been told that they like she has a support system, while one of their other vendors seems to be a lone wolf because when he’s out of town, nothing happens.

So, sometimes just answering the phone or email quickly may get you a big opportunity or just keep your client very happy. But don’t stop there going beyond in helping them understand our promotional marketing can grow their business might just grow yours!

 Danette Gossett is the founder of Gossett Marketing, co-founder of Promotions Rescource LLC and co-author of the best-selling book “Transform” with Brian Tracy. Danette utilizes her more than 30 years of advertising agency and corporate marketing experience to develop effective promotional campaigns and products for her clients. Visit GossettMktg.com or SalesPromo.org and follow us on twitter @MarketngTidbits.