Insider Exclusive: 10 Ways to Boost the Use of Your Promotional Products
Choosing a promotional product is not a passive business activity. It is something that deserves much of your time and energy as it can bring limitless rewards and benefits that your business will enjoy for years to come. That is if it is done well. To help you do it excellently --- planning and all --- we talked to experts and asked for insider marketing tips. You should take note of these tips as they will prevent you from wasting time, money, and effort. Read on, learn, and take notes.
To get the most out of your promotional products, marketing experts advise you to do the following:
Tip #1: Choose wisely You can’t just choose a random promotional product. It has to be something that connects with your customers. To come up with one, it’s imperative that you get to know your customers. How old are they? What are their common interests? |
Are they part of a particular group? A promotional product should feel personal and relatable. It has to be something that your customers will truly get to use and enjoy. Don’t give away shirts or pens just because they're the ones that are most used to promote their brand. Pick one that not only speaks of your brand and speaks to your customers as well.
Tip #2: Don’t aim for cheap
Aiming for an affordable promotional item is ideal but centering your plan on it is a form of self-sabotage. A budget should never play front and center when you’re deciding on giveaway items. Spending less won’t always equate to marketing success. Take this for example, if you need to choose between two pens, choose the one with more ink. It can be more expensive but it will deliver a better return on investment as it will be used by your customer for a longer time. Don’t fall for the “budget trap.” Learn how to think in a flexible way. If you’re looking for a custom branded backpack supplier in Perth, look for one that can provide bags with high-quality materials. It will be a waste of time if you’d opt for cheap suppliers that will only provide low-quality bags. Keep in mind that such bags, or any promotional giveaway for that matter, will always reflect on your brand.
Tip #3: Target customers
Know who to give your promotional products to. It will be a total waste of time if you’d choose to randomly give away your promotional items on a given day. It will also be a waste of your money and effort. You should know who to give your promotional items to. Give them to people who you know will likely avail of your products or services. Giving away should not feel like taking a shot in the dark. It has to be intentional. It has to be to people who you know will appreciate and actually consume your products and services.
Tip #4: Integrate with other marketing platforms
Don’t stick to one marketing platform. Find a way to use two or three marketing platforms at the same time. It is now very easy to do this by simply using social media. You can have users post your promotional giveaways on their social media in exchange for coupons or discounts. Such will effortlessly increase online engagement and online brand awareness.
Tip #5: Aim to be seen
Opt for products that will be seen and used by many on a daily basis. Avoid products that only tend to get stocked or hidden in people’s drawers. Practical products like pens, umbrellas, shirts, hats, and face masks are ones that are used on a daily basis. Such can be seen an unlimited amount of times as long as they are used by your customers.
Tip #2: Don’t aim for cheap
Aiming for an affordable promotional item is ideal but centering your plan on it is a form of self-sabotage. A budget should never play front and center when you’re deciding on giveaway items. Spending less won’t always equate to marketing success. Take this for example, if you need to choose between two pens, choose the one with more ink. It can be more expensive but it will deliver a better return on investment as it will be used by your customer for a longer time. Don’t fall for the “budget trap.” Learn how to think in a flexible way. If you’re looking for a custom branded backpack supplier in Perth, look for one that can provide bags with high-quality materials. It will be a waste of time if you’d opt for cheap suppliers that will only provide low-quality bags. Keep in mind that such bags, or any promotional giveaway for that matter, will always reflect on your brand.
Tip #3: Target customers
Know who to give your promotional products to. It will be a total waste of time if you’d choose to randomly give away your promotional items on a given day. It will also be a waste of your money and effort. You should know who to give your promotional items to. Give them to people who you know will likely avail of your products or services. Giving away should not feel like taking a shot in the dark. It has to be intentional. It has to be to people who you know will appreciate and actually consume your products and services.
Tip #4: Integrate with other marketing platforms
Don’t stick to one marketing platform. Find a way to use two or three marketing platforms at the same time. It is now very easy to do this by simply using social media. You can have users post your promotional giveaways on their social media in exchange for coupons or discounts. Such will effortlessly increase online engagement and online brand awareness.
Tip #5: Aim to be seen
Opt for products that will be seen and used by many on a daily basis. Avoid products that only tend to get stocked or hidden in people’s drawers. Practical products like pens, umbrellas, shirts, hats, and face masks are ones that are used on a daily basis. Such can be seen an unlimited amount of times as long as they are used by your customers.
Tip #6: Have a purpose
Have a goal. All your planning, money, time, and energy will be futile if you have no end goal in mind. You need to ask this yourself before you even begin with planning --- what do I hope to achieve? Knowing your goals will make choosing and deciding significantly easier for you. It would be easier for you to choose items and decide on matters if you have a target in mind. |
You’d easily know how to go about it if it’s clear to you if you’re after increasing employee satisfaction or improving brand awareness. Know what is important and pour all your energy into prioritizing it.
Tip #7: Aim for measurable results
Your goals should be as specific as possible. Having a general goal is as good as not having a goal at all. Be precise with the results that you want. The following are good examples of specific goal setting:
Tip #8: Test, test, test
Be sensitive and intuitive. Always evaluate if a giveaway item is working as it should. Ask your customers if they actually like your giveaway. Ask them if there are things that they wish you could improve on. You will be shocked at how extremely rewarding giving your customers what they want can be --- morally and financially.
Tip #9: Choose matching decorations
Be intentional with your design. If you want to look sophisticated and sleek, opt for promotional items with minimalist aesthetics. If you want your giveaway and your brand to pop, choose designs with bright and bold colors. Your aesthetic of choice should always clearly reflect the values of your brand.
Tip #10: Always aim for fun!
If anything is no longer fun, stop doing it! This equally applies to planning for promotional giveaways. Planning for it should excite you and evoke joy. If it doesn’t then there is something wrong. Do it with glee and passion or not at all. If it’s boring you, then it’s clear that you need to do something differently. Energy is contagious. If you plan with an aim for fun, your customers will feel the joy and excitement the very moment that they receive your giveaway. This is for certain.
Tip #7: Aim for measurable results
Your goals should be as specific as possible. Having a general goal is as good as not having a goal at all. Be precise with the results that you want. The following are good examples of specific goal setting:
- Aim to have ten additional returning customers
- Aim to have a hundred more website visits
- Aim to have a hundred more followers on your social media profiles
Tip #8: Test, test, test
Be sensitive and intuitive. Always evaluate if a giveaway item is working as it should. Ask your customers if they actually like your giveaway. Ask them if there are things that they wish you could improve on. You will be shocked at how extremely rewarding giving your customers what they want can be --- morally and financially.
Tip #9: Choose matching decorations
Be intentional with your design. If you want to look sophisticated and sleek, opt for promotional items with minimalist aesthetics. If you want your giveaway and your brand to pop, choose designs with bright and bold colors. Your aesthetic of choice should always clearly reflect the values of your brand.
Tip #10: Always aim for fun!
If anything is no longer fun, stop doing it! This equally applies to planning for promotional giveaways. Planning for it should excite you and evoke joy. If it doesn’t then there is something wrong. Do it with glee and passion or not at all. If it’s boring you, then it’s clear that you need to do something differently. Energy is contagious. If you plan with an aim for fun, your customers will feel the joy and excitement the very moment that they receive your giveaway. This is for certain.