The Power of Promotional Products
When it comes to marketing, top of mind today is how to master social media and online marketing. Sometimes however, business owners forget about traditional marketing methods, such as promotional products. With summer now upon us - the season of outdoor events, festivals, and sponsorships—now is a good time to take advantage of the power of promo items to spread the word about your business.
Promotional Items are Effective
The effectiveness of promotional products can be traced to centuries old cultural norms around the rule of reciprocity. “If you give something, the recipient is honor bound to give something back.”[1] It’s human nature! If you give someone something for free, they are more inclined to purchase something from you.
Employ promotional products as a thank you for new and established followers and especially for those who share positive feedback about your business. Show them you are genuinely grateful for their business and support, and they will reciprocate.
How will you use your promotional items?
As with all marketing efforts, you will want to consider your budget, what you want to use the promotional items for and what you are trying to achieve.
For example, you may want to hand them out for free at an event and hope that other people will see it and spread the word about your business. In this case, you are probably looking for something relatively inexpensive.
Perhaps you would like to provide them as an incentive for taking some action, such as signing up for an email list, providing contact information, or purchasing X amount of product? You are likely looking for a mid-range item.
Or, maybe you will be sending the product as a thank-you to clients at holiday time, in which case you would like something a little more expensive.
Regardless, employ the rule of reciprocity and try and go one step beyond just giving something away, and incorporate a call to action with the product. Get something back in return – a visit to your webpage, a “like” in your social media, a testimonial of your services, or a subscription to your newsletter.
What products do I select?
You want people to keep and use your promotional product(s), so make sure they’re useful. Things people frequently lose, forget, or use and need more of are perennially popular. Pens, USB sticks, reusable grocery bags, lip balm, note pads, and sticky notes aren’t exactly “sexy” promos, but they’re all proven winners.
Consider seasonally appropriate products, too. For example, for summer, promotional products such as beach towels or blankets, inexpensive sunglasses, sun visors, stadium seat cushions, coolers or picnic totes, and insulated drink tumblers are all great ideas for summer items that will get used year after year.
While some promo products (pens, T-shirts) never go out of style, the popularity of others changes with the times. Remember mouse pads? Right now, some of the most popular promo products include selfie sticks, phone chargers and other smartphone accessories such as pop sockets. Beer, wine, and cocktail glasses and accessories are other popular items.
Remember your Audience and your Brand
You are handing out promotional products so that your audience can relate to your product and brand. Make sure the product fits your audience and your brand. If you own a law firm, you probably don’t want to give away selfie sticks. If you own a sporting goods store that sponsors the local Little League team, engraved beer mugs aren’t the best bet for your image (even though the kids’ parents might enjoy them). On the other hand, selfie sticks could be perfect for a business that caters to teenagers, while engraved beer mugs would be a great giveaway for a beer distributor.
Make it relevant.
Products should be relevant to your business, relevant to the situation where they’re given away, or both. One reason so many companies give out tote bags at trade shows is that attendees collect so much literature, making tote bags very relevant to the situation. Handing out inexpensive sunglasses at a beachside fun run would serve the same purpose. As for products that are relevant to your business, an auto dealer could give out keychains or tire pressure gauges with its logo; a nail salon could give away nail files with its logo; a camping supply store could give away mini-flashlights with its logo.[2]
Trust an Expert
Don’t randomly search the web for items you personally like. Trust a promotional products advisor to guide you based on your budget, your business, your brand and your target audience. At Promo Stuff 4 You, we have many years of knowledge and hundreds of customer experiences from which to draw. Call or email us for a free consultation and let’s get your promotional products working for you!
[1] https://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/the-surprising-power-of-promotional-products/
[2] https://www.sba.gov/blogs/harness-power-promotional-products
