People are known to shop on impulse- buying an item just because it is on sale, or purchasing something because it looks great in the store. When shopping for promotional items, you really can't succumb to impulses. Instead, you must carefully decide on an item that will help meet your objectives.
A career school admissions representative who worked with the high school market once wanted to buy magnets to give to people. Although magnets were in the budget, they would not really do the job of spreading the word among other high school students, as the magnets would be at home on the fridge where maybe a handful of other students would see. A better idea was to give out day planners (only to enrolled students) that they could carry to school everyday where hundreds of classmates could see. "Oh- that's where I'm going to school after graduation?" they would say when asked about the school's name on the planner. Rachel, the rep, was hurt that the magnets she liked did not get ordered. But, Rachel does not have a marketing background and she didn't understand that these items served another purpose.
So, when ordering your items before you even browse the pages of catalogs or websites, you want to have some objectives in mind. You would not want to invest money in an item that doesn't match the tactic. Think about these:
-Do you want to stimulate trade show traffic?
-Do you want to use these as sales aids?
-Are these going to be premiums?
-Are you introducing a new product/service?
-Do you want to thank current customers?
-Are these for an event giveaway?
-Are these to motivate employees?
-Are you trying to gain back lost business?
-Are you trying to improve customer service?
-Are these going to be used as gifts?
-Are you using them to supplement a direct mail campaign?
These are just a few questions you will want to ask yourself. If you are looking to supplement a general direct mail campaign, you will want to keep postage costs in mind. Perhaps mailing a magnet, sticker, pocket calendar, pen or pencil would be something good to use. You would not want to mail a t-shirt or mug- that would be very pricey for the response rate of direct mail! If you are doing a campaign to target past customers or are just doing a smaller-gauge mailing, perhaps something a little bigger would work.
On the flipside, if you are looking at motivating employees, thanking customers, buying gifts or building premiums chances are you will want to budget more money per item. However, there is likely to be fewer items ordered. I don't think a pen would be ample to thank someone for years of service! Items for these categories would fall under desk supplies, plaques, acrylic awards, clocks, engraved items and more.
If you are using these items or sales purposes, perhaps if you have traveling sales people, you will want something that will be left behind to keep your name top of mind. Things like a note cube or coffee mug are things that can sit on a decision-makers desk for a long time.
If you are looking to promote your business at an event, such as a concert or festival, passing out t-shirts could be a great idea. You can easily tie t-shirts up in knots and throw them to the crowds. Lower ticket items for events could be things like pens, pencils, keychains, magnets, calendars, tape measures and more.
Finally, cost is something to keep in mind too. You don't want to spend the same amount on a prospect as you would on a loyal customer. Use this as a suggestion:
Under $5- Prospect
$5-$25- Reward
Over $25- Loyalty
The important thing here is that promotional items should not be ordered just because you like it. The item should clearly be in the plan to help meet your business objectives.
Cindy Carrera is a freelance creative author who's written numerous articles about PR including: business promotional items, custom promotional products and wholesale promotional items.
Are you looking for a natural way to market your... Read More
Think about all those Cracker Jacks you ate as a... Read More
Have you ever gone to a networking function and seen... Read More
Dear Friend:Don't do it.Don't start your fundraising letters with "Dear... Read More
I love my dentist! When is the last time you... Read More
It used to be you that if you had a... Read More
There are many psychological reasons why people will buy from... Read More
My mother used to tell me, tongue in cheek, that... Read More
Many artists create art but when it comes to marketing... Read More
Every business and professional practice MUST be in the public... Read More
It's where your employees are in a 'special place' when... Read More
Who says scientists can't market? Here are 10 easy marketing... Read More
Popular TV Series Provides a Powerful Marketing LessonSmall Business owners... Read More
What is a Marketing Plan? Marketing is to do with... Read More
The buzzword these days is "relationship" marketing. Just what is... Read More
Second in a series of three articles:What if you could... Read More
When it comes to your marketing message, the little things... Read More
As a small business how do you compete with the... Read More
It seems nowadays every marketing guru and their brother-in-law has... Read More
If ever there was a lazy way to easy profits... Read More
The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many... Read More
In a crowded marketplace of ideas, it is important for... Read More
Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting... Read More
Looking for the magic formula or the whiz-bang approach that... Read More
A well-designed chart can be one of the most persuasive... Read More
The profits of a business are totally dependent on marketing.... Read More
The key to great exhibiting is marketing. But marketing is... Read More
Little Kids Ask Until They Get What They Want.Mom, Mom,... Read More
According to military historian David Chandler the campaigns of Napoleon... Read More
How does a marketing plan relate to an organization's communications... Read More
CD Business cards allows any type of business that dynamic... Read More
In the world of business, marketing is often conveyed as... Read More
Developing the questionnaire is undoubtedly the most important part of... Read More
Turning a modest $100,000 annual turnover into $1,191,817 may sound... Read More
"My clients can't afford higher rates."When more than 330 business... Read More
I don't know about you, but I secretly love watching... Read More
Most marketers believe that anything is achievable if you are... Read More
Are you spending more time trying to get new clients... Read More
Several years ago, "networking" was the hot buzzword. Everyone was... Read More
Donors read postscripts. This is a sad but important reality... Read More
Do you own a small business? Do you wish to... Read More
Almost everyone who dreams of starting their own business is... Read More
Unless your company has absolutely no competition now or in... Read More
To tell you the truth (and about 53% of this... Read More
Develop These Six Critical Marketing Traits...And Success Will Surely Follow.If... Read More
Behold! He with the light cometh!He shall light thy darkest... Read More
What Stands Between You and Writing an Artist Statement or... Read More
How to Tie a Tie and How To Kiss -... Read More
Are your products or services geared towards only one target... Read More
What we now call "marketing" began long before the name... Read More
What makes one logo better than another?Simplicity.A good logo works... Read More
Do you want to be quoted by the national press... Read More
Can we imagine a place in the world today without... Read More
If you want to uncover a little secret about how... Read More
Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to... Read More
If you sell a technical product or service, you probably... Read More
Many businesses today overlook the importance of business cards as... Read More
In just one month three California vineyards have introduced new... Read More
You can use great design and copy to get a... Read More
Online Communities are all over the Internet and attract lots... Read More
What effect are the baby boomers having on the economy... Read More
Staying ahead of the marketing curve seems to be a... Read More
If you want to learn how effective Niche Marketing can... Read More
One of the easiest, if not the easiest, ways of... Read More
You're probably familiar with e-mail signature (or "sig") files -... Read More
How many times have you heard the same sound bites... Read More
Marketing |