Big or small, all businesses spend a lot of their money on their advertising every year. However, many businesses don’t really manage to reap the benefits of all these promotions. There is one method that gives results quickly and easily, without making a huge dent in your marketing budget. Every business has to promote itself. It’s a rule of the market and everyone accepts this is a fact. If you don’t advertise, you don’t exist, but why do promotional products work?
If a business exists, but nobody has heard of it, can it survive? We all know the answer to that questions. The answer is why the advertising and marketing industry has such a high market value.
Every business owner wants to promote their business, products, or services. This is why every company spends a lot of its hard-earned cash on advertising and marketing. This is why this industry is always growing. With new devices and platforms coming in all the time, the value of the advertising industry will only grow. However, many people often fail to notice one important thing. It’s not all about the value of your promotion. It’s also about psychology and creativity. You can spend millions of dollars on a promotion, and get no feedback and no results, with no return on your investment.
But why does this happen? Because you aren’t hitting the sweet spot of your audience, and because you’re overspending to try and do this. If this is happening to you, maybe it’s time to look into doing something a little different? Something effect, good, but old. Look for something efficient, but cost-effective. It could be time to go old-school and look into promotional products as a way of reaching even more potential customers.
Promotional Products
When it comes to this marketing tactic, everything is simple and straightforward. It has been around ever since people started selling products and services. Back in Ancient Rome, they might not have printed t-shirts to advertise their fruit stands, but they did give people some of their best fruit for free, and if they didn’t like it, they didn’t have to buy it. Of course, since then, promotional products have changed a lot since then, but there are still around, which should tell you how successful they can be.
The fact the promotional products industry, from t-shirts to gold foil bookmarks, has been around for centuries and that the industry is worth over $20 billion today shows you that it is definitely still worthwhile.
Here are the best reasons why promotional products work for your business.
Significantly Increased Brand Recognition
Brand recognition means that customers can immediately identify what your company actually does and is offering them as soon as they encounter it. Just the sight of your logo should be enough for them to remember what you do and what you offer. For example, everybody immediately recognizes the McDonalds or Apple logo, even if they don’t use those brands themselves, because these brands have really focused on building brand recognition.
Those promotional items that you give to your customers will help them to remember your business and recognize what you’re doing. For many businesses, this is more than enough of a reason to give away promotional gifts.
According to research, 89% of people will remember the advertiser for two years after receiving a promotional product, so it’s clearly well worth considering.
If you give away the right product, it will stay with them. It will be in their car, office, or home for a long time. Most people who are given promotional items keep them for a while. It then acts as a constant advert that reminds them of your company whenever they need a tote bag, look for a pen, or use your car air freshener. When they go looking for services, they will remember you. This is your reward. When they need products or services that you provide, those branded mugs, USB sticks, and pens will mean they come to you, rather than your competition.
Effective, Low-Cost Marketing
When it comes to small businesses, spending money on a large advertising campaign that would cover all kinds of media is usually just a dream. However, small businesses don’t need a campaign like this to reach their goals. A low-cost campaign with promotional products can help a startup to get on its feet.
Most promotional printed merchandise manufacturers have very low costs of mass production. This means that the more you order, the less you will pay, but these affordable products can still have an immense impact on the recipients.
Cheap Everyday Exposure
When a company advertises its products and services on social media, TV, or billboards, the advert is in front of your audience’s eyes for only a few seconds. However, if you use promotional gifts that are actually useful, they stay with your audience, in their eye line, most of the time.
If you make trendy promotional shirts, for example, your customers will have that free gift for a long time, walking around with your brand name on them for everyone to see. If you give them branded mugs, they will drink out of them at the desk in the office. If you give them a USB stick that is also a keychain, they will put their keys on it, and remember your brand every time they use their keys or the USB stick. People tend to keep products like this for a couple of years. That’s a two-year commercial that one person sees every single day and that their friends, family, and colleagues see a few times too.
People who receive promotional products tend to remember the name of the advertiser if they got the gift in the last year. In comparison, after seeing a magazine advert, people forget who the advertiser was pretty quickly.
Customer Loyalty
The goal of every business is to build a loyal base of customers. You need people who will remember and recognize your brand when they see it, but that will also come to you for all their needs that are related to your area of business.
Building a good base of loyal customers is what every marketing specialist is trying to do. Promotional products can help you get there quickly.
However, before you run to give out pens, remember that people tend to be loyal to brands that give them high-quality branded promotional merchandise. When you give something of good quality to a first-time customer, they will remember your business as being high-quality too.
Better Than A Business Card
To put it simply, your business card is a way for you to introduce yourself and your business to your potential customers and clients. Promotional products do the same thing, but with much better results.
Business cards still have their place, but if you’re being honest, you know that most of the cards you're given go into your desk drawer never to be seen again. Other people do the same.
When you give away products that are related to your business, you will help people to get to know you and what you do. People who are given good promotional merchandise remember the name of the company who gave it to them.
These items that you give away should always have all your business information on them. Include the logo, a slogan, and images. These don’t have to give out only at events. You can also make them part of a campaign on social media, whether you use hashtags for Instagram, or in Facebook giveaways.
Matt Hoffer is a crypto enthusiast and gamer. When he's not de-constructing the blockchain, you can find him chilling with some lemonade in the shade or playing a round of golf.
