Why and How Promotional Products Really Work
No matter the state of the economy, business owners want to promote their company as effectively as possible. Sometimes, companies can afford to make riskier advertising decisions by using a shot-gun approach, which will reach more people with one message, but it is typically more expensive, and businesses would need a lot of sales to gain a positive ROI (rate on investment). Make sure that you are reaching your target market with a targeted solution.
I’m not saying that all shot-gun approaches are poor. Each business has a unique market, and shot-gun advertising is a good approach for a lot of businesses. However, one way to make sure that your advertising money is being used as effectively as possible is to use a targeted method of advertising. Promotional products have been proven to be successful over and over again.
By using promotional products, businesses can make sure they are still thanking, motivating and rewarding the people that mean most to the company: prospects, customers, and employees. Promotional products target exactly the message you want to be said. This can be done my imprinting a slogan, website, and/or your logo on any promotional product. This message will be delivered only to the people you want to be receiving your message. No more shot-gun approaches that gambles reaching your target audience.
So, how do promotional products really work? They work by saying ‘Thank You!’ by four different ways. First, promotional products keep existing customers happy. This will solidify the relationship you already have created with them. Secondly, promo products will develop new business with existing customers. The existing customers will feel appreciated and be more likely to buy more products than they already are doing. Thirdly, promotional items attracts new customers. There are multiple ways that promotional products can be used to get new customers, but a couple popular ones are, sending a unique gift in the mail to a targeted mailing list, or handing out promotional products at a trade show or other event. Lastly, promotional products will motivate employees to work more productively. Even if a businesses’ employees are working hard, they need to be thanked.
Forgetting to say ‘thank you’ can be very simple for a company, but it can really go a long way to a customer, prospect or employee. The message of a thank you can go further when a business shows that they mean it by giving a gift or sending a card. Successful companies have a consistent program where they thank their employees for their patronage. For example, some businesses may give away a free reusable shopping bag when a customer spends over $100 at their store. Another good example would be to send a ‘thank you’ note to ever first-time customer.
Promotional items do not have to be expensive. Many products can be purchased for under $1. What it really comes down to is this: make sure that your marketing is doing something that is predictable. Do not rely on shot-gun advertising approaches alone. You cannot afford to miss the targeted marketing approaches that your competitors are already implementing. And if you are already using promotional products, continue using them. Think of unique ways to promote your business with an imprinted promotional product. Thank, motivate and reward; that’s the key to targeted advertising.