When you run a small business, you need to take every opportunity to advertise and get your company’s name out there. You don’t have millions of dollars like the big guys to spend on television spots, prime-real estate billboards or widely-circulated magazines. You need to make every penny count while still being effective.
The good news is that by leveraging the power of promotional giveaways and products, you can have the best of both worlds: cheap and effective advertising. With a few simple products, you can get your brand name out there quickly and for little cost. There are some things you should think about before embarking on a promotional marketing strategy, though, so here are a few tips and the benefits that go along with promotional products.
What is Promotional Advertising?
Promotional advertising is a simple way to get your brand out there. It is an alternative to expensive advertising and even has a better ROI, if you do it correctly.
In it’s simplest terms, promotional advertising is where you put your company name, slogan or logo on a small product and give it to your customers. This has the double benefit of keeping your brand awareness high and rewarding your customers for their business.
There are also many creative ways you can promote the gifts you choose. If you choose to give away, say, tee shirts, then you can offer the promotion when a customer spends a certain amount of money. You could also give away small items like pens or buttons to every customer that walks into your store. Or, you could offer your products for giveaway at local events, like 5K races or parades.
If you do these things correctly, you may see positive reactions within a very short period of time.
What Type of Product Should You Use?
The best part about promotional advertising is that you can use nearly anything you can think of: coffee mugs, lanyards, keyrings: any type of product that doesn’t break the bank and that you can get into the hands of your customers easily is a good start.
The main thing you should focus on is that whichever product you choose is small and useful so that your customers want to keep it. This is because people naturally tend to like things that they can hold in their hand. So if you own a bar, give away bottle openers. If you run an office supply company, pens and small staplers are a great promotion. Free shirts and hats are a great choice for almost any company. Think about what your company represents and then figure out something small that you can give your customers to remind them of you.
Companies like Lanyards USA in Huntington Beach have even more ideas that you can use to impress your customers.
Promotion Products Work
Customers really do love getting things for free, even if they are small items. In fact, sometimes the small items work even better, because they can put them in their wallets or purses instead of the bedside drawer where they forget about them.
According to this website, a survey conducted showed that when asked, 90% of people said that they used a promotional product they received at least once per week and 87% said that they still have a product that was over one year old. This shows that not only do people enjoy useful products, but if they can, they keep them for a long time.
This is great news for your business. If you hit on a good promotion, then every time the customer uses the product, they will see your name or logo. They will constantly be reminded of your goods and services.
Get Creative
While any promotional product can be a hit, sometimes you want to get creative with it.
For example, a toothpaste company once paired up with an ice cream shop to produce popsicles that had a toothbrush-shaped stick. This helped remind people that it’s okay to enjoy snacks as long as you take care of your teeth.
The two companies tied their business concerns to each other and created a promotion that stuck with people. You should take every opportunity to do the same. After all, the more memorable your promotion is, the more likely you will be to get more customers.
Promotional products can be a simple, cheap and effective alternative to large-scale advertising that people will remember.