Savvy companies know that promotional items – those little extras they give out to clients, conference attendees, prospects, etc. – can work to boost your business. For a small investment, promotional products can have a strong influence in terms of keeping your business top-of-mind. But those same businesses also know that not all promotional products are created equally. Some will be much more effective than others. Whereas the right product will help with your brand recognition and awareness, the wrong one will end up in the trash, costing you money with no return on your investment. So, how can you be sure you are choosing the right product?
Ask yourself this: Who am I trying to target? This is an important consideration when it comes to choosing the right promotional product for your business. This is important because one of the biggest things to consider when choosing a product is whether it will be something your target audience will find valuable. If you plan to target both potential customers and existing ones, you may want to consider choosing different items for each, for example, because you’ll want to send a different branding message to each. For the prospects, you’ll want something that says, “Come work with us! We’re the best people for the job!” and for your current customers, you’ll want something that says, “We appreciate you.”
If you’ve been in business for awhile, it’s easy to fall into the “same old, same old” routine when it comes to your promotional items. Bear in mind, however, that just because something worked once doesn’t mean it will work forever. Not only do times and customers’ tastes change, if you continue to use the same promotional items over and over again, they will get stale and their impact will be compromised. By changing up your promotional items periodically you can keep your impact fresh.
The key is to choose an item that will be used many times over, for as long as possible. Take for example a pen. How often do you reach for a pen in the run of a day? If that pen is branded with your company’s information, your customers will constantly be reminded of your business and you’ll stay top-of-mind. Similarly, the more visible the product is to onlookers who can see the customer using the product, the more of a ripple effect your promotional efforts will have. For example, if you give out promotional t-shirts, not only will the wearer be reminded of your brand every time he wears it, anyone who sees him wear it will also be reminded of your business.
For maximum impact, it’s important to ensure you aren’t giving something for nothing. For every person who receives a promotional item, be sure you are getting their contact information. This builds your email contact list, which can be extremely useful in increasing your pool of prospective customers. And always – always – ensure you include a “call to action” on your promo items. This can be your contact information, a code, your logo, your URL, etc. There’s no point in inspiring people to want to do business with you if you don’t give them the tools to find you!
Finally, be sure you are offering promotional items that are high quality. No one wants another piece of junk to deal with. Distributing cheaply made, useless products will not only not have the positive impact you are seeking, it could very likely have a negative impact, damaging your company’s reputation.
Companies like ideasources.com specialize in helping companies source the right kind of promotional items for them.
