Using Promotional Products Right to Promote Your Business

“Anything that is worth doing is worth doing right!”  That goes for marketing and promoting your company as well.  Traditional forms of advertising, brochures, flyers and the like, are so commonplace that business' that promote in this fashion are viewed as ordinary and average.  With the proliferation of the internet and its growing appeal, businesses need to find more creative means to meet, greet and make an impression on existing and potential clients – especially now given the pandemic. 

Long gone are the days of a firm handshake and a gentleman’s deal where once the client relationship was developed you pretty much had the client for life.  Nowadays, we have come to realize, and for some it has been a rude awakening, we need to earn the right to do business with our clients daily.  The competition is fierce and it’s imperative to survive, that unique, creative methods of advertising and marketing are implemented and honed daily.

            Enter promotional products, a sleeper if you will.  Many consider the use of promotional products for marketing to be frivolous and a waste of money.  And quite honestly, the way most end users utilize promotional products they are exactly that, a waste. Consider the many ways promotional products can effectively promote your company: introducing a new product or service, exhibiting at a trade show or saying thank you to a client for their business, promotional products can serve as an effective tool to meeting all of your marketing objectives.  Make no mistake, I am not saying that promotional products are the end all to all your marketing efforts, but if done in concert with other forms of advertising media the mix can be highly effective. 

            Here are a few reasons why you should be using promotional products to promote your business:

1.     It’s different, unique and creative – if used correctly

2.     It’s trackable and measurable

3.     It keeps your name in front of your client.

4.     It's tangible and cost effective

            Think of the possibilities!  With over 700,000+ different products that can be imprinted in a variety of ways, there is sure to be some item or group of items that will meet your marketing objective.  With this wide scope of products available knowing which products to choose can be difficult.  It is important to layout a foundation of what you’re trying to accomplish, and it is imperative to be specific.  For instance, if you are going to launch a new product or service, you need to have specific objectives.  Saying ‘I want to increase sales’ is not enough, more specifically you need to say, ‘I want to increase sales by X percentage’, or ‘I want to generate three-hundred sales appointments via ZOOM© in the first quarter’.  Your plan needs to be written down, so you have a road map to guide you.  This doesn’t mean you can’t take a detour along the way, slow down or stop for a while, but a well-laid out strategy will give you the focus and direction you need to accomplish your objectives.   No one sets out to fail but many, many do.  Remember the old saying in business; “Business’ don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.”

Another important factor in selecting the proper promotional product is to use something of value or perceived value.  My brother was a print broker and promotional products sales rep in Myrtle Beach, SC; and I believe he coined it the best when he works with his clients.  Many ask the same question, “What is the best product to use?"  His reply, “…if you see NO value in the product you are giving away to your clients, how can you expect them to see value in it either”.  That statement could not be more accurate.

Before you rush out to buy some “stuff” think about how you would feel if you received a similar item.  Does the item you’re proposing to use satisfy your objective?  What does it say about your company?  Does it promote an image of quality or does it give off an air of “cheap”?  I remember a client coming to me and requested pens to use as a trade show promotion.  After asking her why she wanted to use pens her response was she needed something “cheap” to give away.  After further discussion I found the majority of the people passing through the trade show were upper level management in the cable television arena.  Her objective was to draw and capture these people in her booth.  How could one do that with a forty-cent pen? One couldn't!

We eventually found an item that would have a high-perceived value that absolutely met their marketing objectives.  In fact, the client reported that it was her best trade show ever, as far as accumulating “qualified” leads for their business. 

Utilizing promotional products doesn’t stop with items, there is creative packaging. Let’s say you're promoting that you now offer custom packaging as a service to your clients.  You may want to consider sending a mini teddy bear with a printed T-shirt bearing your company name inside of a blow-up balloon with a message on the balloon “We now do custom packaging…call XYZ company for details.”

Questions have been asked as to whether or not the company name, logo or phone numbers should be put on every item?  That would need to be determined on a case by case basis.  Depending on what your objectives are at the time, will determine how a product or products are to be decorated.

Many companies contact me to do the creative work and promotional products for their companies. These same people have expressed to me “they do not have the time or expertise to sit and drum up these ideas.”  This is where you come in, by differentiating yourself as creative promotional products distributor, you set the bar as an expert.  This level of professionalism gives you an advantage to create high-impact programs which will get the needed response to your and your clients marketing objectives.  If you are currently selling promotional products, it’s imperative to set that standard very high, to be different.  You want people to know you are the creative person they want to partner with.  Sending a coffee mug or pen is not enough, it must go beyond the norm to be noticed. 

When developing marketing solutions utilizing promotional products remember these points:

·        Write out your plan, and be specific about your goals and objectives,

·        Know the audience,

·        Make sure it is something of value, or perceived value,

·        Develop creative copy to drive and connect the program,

·        Give it a purpose, make it resonate,

·        Create meaningful engagement, make it stick,

·        Be different, creative, and exciting,

·        Utilize packaging,

·        Have a plan of follow-up

Using promotional products in conjunction with your other methods of promotion will balance out and maximize your marketing efforts.  Make the most of your dollars for the maximum return.  You’ll be glad you did.

Continued good selling!