A good marketing campaign has several layers. First, it is noticeable. Second, it lasts beyond the initial costs of advertising. And, lastly, it gives people a positive feeling about your company.
While many business owners try to figure out how to penetrate their target audience between print, Internet, and television ads, more creative entrepreneurs are thinking 3-dimensionally with promotional products so that they can not only reach out to customers, but also so they can stay with them, and possibly be promoted by proxy.
Types of Promotional Items
The most common kind of promotional item you can find is a pen. Companies have pens made usually for as little $0.15 each, allowing them to give them out freely to customers when they come in. It is inexpensive and easy for everyone.
The problem with pens, however, is that customers are so bombarded with advertising through the day that this item may as well not have your logo or phone number. The average customer is blind to it and as this item is lost, it is truly of no consequence to them.
This is why it is better to spend the extra money to have calendars or mugs made. Calendars are referenced for important events and reminders. When your customers get their morning cup of coffee they see your business logo. When they look up their next doctor’s appointment, they may also remember that they may need your services as well.
A mug also allows you to reach the next generation. As the child of your customer drinks from the mug you gave his parents when he was just a small boy, he becomes so familiar with your business that he is much more likely to be a customer when he is older as a result.
Now that we know the kind of promotional products out there, it is important to know why they are important.
Why use Promotional Products?
Along with reminding people you are in business, these items give people a good feeling about you and your company. People like free stuff and if you don’t give it to them, they will get it elsewhere.
“Joe” is a great example of this. He owns an auto body shop specializing in fast oil changes. One year Joe had water bottles made up because he was sponsoring a local 5k. When the race was over he had about a dozen water bottles left over, so he gave them to the first customers he saw that Monday. It might sound silly, but they were very excited to get them.
The next year he had another idea: to make travel mugs. He had 1,000 of them made for $5.50 each, and put up a sign that said, “Any customer serviced before 9am gets a free travel mug.” He had so much early morning business that month that he soon had to put up a sign that said, “Sorry. We are out of travel mugs.”
Promotional Products Spark Your Marketing Creativity
Just like with Joe and his auto shop, business owners who think in terms of giving to their customers spark creativity that allows them to think, ‘what would I like from a business I use?’
In answering this question, more value can be provided to customers. When customers receive increased value – be it a coffee cup, a calendar, or beer koozies – they are reminded in a positive way of the great service they had previously received. This brings repeat
business and a handsome return on the original investment made into a deeply penetrating form of advertising.
Author: Brenda Panin is a passionate blogger and a regular contributor to several blogs. Follow her on Google+