How To Effectively Use Promotional Products

One of the best ways to let people know about your business are different promotional products. They are rather cheap, especially considering the fact that you’ll usually be ordering larger quantities, and apart from bearing your company’s logo, phone number and website URL, they are a nice way to show your friendly, or even quirky side.

It is a well established fact that people love receiving gifts, even if it’s just a pen or a nice calendar. Even though everyone is aware of the fact that you are only handing them out as a part of a promotional strategy, there is still something friendly and outgoing about the gesture, and a well placed gift can bring you a number of new customers by exposing your brand to people who would otherwise never hear of it. The strategy is so popular that it is estimated that the sales of these products reached $18.5 billion in 2011. However, there are some things that you need to know beforehand if you decide to take this approach to marketing your business.

By Howard Lake under CC BY-SA 2.0

The big problem with promotional products is that most people today do not know much about how to use them effectively. We need to all understand the fact that just some of the items you find would stand out as being appropriate for the business that you try to promote. SO many managers and marketers make the mistake of choosing items that do not actually relate to the main service or product that is promoted. We even see situations in which managers use promotional products that stand out as being opposite to company values, which is a huge mistake that can easily lead to a loss of reputation.

Never blindly use the promotional items that you find on the internet or in local stores without actually understanding what would work best. Try to figure out what your audience wants and then stay focused on what would help you to promote your business and increase sales. This is the one thing that you have to do and the one thing that so many end up failing at. Have patience and consider the facts that are written below. They will help you to properly choose promotional products and then figure out what exactly you need to purchase. The items that you use will have a huge impact on the success you manage to achieve.

Consider the types of promotional products

First of all, you need to consider the types of custom promotional items that you’ll be giving out. Most businesses go with pens or key-chains, but that isn’t to say that originality and uniqueness is not as encouraged in this area of marketing just as much as it is in the others. If possible try to make the product relevant to what you are doing, and potentially even lower the costs of the campaign by using something that you are making yourself.

If, however, you decide on the more common approach of buying the products from one of the numerous suppliers, make sure that you negotiate a deal that will be as beneficial as possibleand make sure that your campaign doesn’t cost you more than it’s worth. Joining one of the trade associations, such as PPAI, ASI or SAGE will ensure that you always have a clear overview of the best available prices and most reliable vendors. This also gives you access to best plansand programs for this type of marketing, which could save you a lot of time and money that you would otherwise spend in the trial and error process.

Trade associations

Another thing that you could gain from joining a trade association is access to convenient trade credit. You should make sure that, whenever possible, you have the option of paying for your promotional products with at least a thirty day delay, which is more or less the common practice with a number of vendors. This allows for better cash flow manipulation and gives you the much needed breathing room if you are a startup company with a tight budget.

Start your promotional products campaign

Finally, make sure that you start your promotional products campaign before your competitors do, but still not early enough for it to be totally out of place. Plan for holidays and significant events in advance, so as to make sure that you are prepared and that you are not ordering your Christmas themed promotional products in December.