Companies worldwide have been trusting promotional products as a good marketing tool. The belief rests on the fantastic return on investment that promotional products offer and the high recall value they have for a brand. Let us try to understand what is it that clicks when you receive a freebie?
What is a promotional product?
A promotional product is a free item of use given to customers to positively influence their perception of the company and their buying decisions. Companies put their brand name and logo on a promotional product. The product becomes a medium of advertising for them.
As per studies, writing instruments are the most popular promotional products that customers like to receive. They offer the best cost per impression to the companies. Other interesting promotional products that are a favourite of marketers and customers alike are t-shirts, calendars, bags, caps etc.
How to make the most of promo-products?
The big question to ask before any promotional product campaign is – will your customers use your promotional product or throw it in a trashcan? Statistics suggest that people typically own a promotional product for several months. Some items like calendars stay with them for around a year. People also sometimes pass-on the product to others after use.
The usage value, the choice of product, the functionality and so many other factors are critical when choosing the right advertisement specialities. Here are a few tips that can help you make sure that your next promotional product reaches the right target audience and stays with your customers for long.
- Define clear objectives: Planning is extremely critical for any marketing campaign. You invest so much of money in procuring bulk quantities of promo-products. You obviously want to make the most of every penny spent. Have clear objectives to what you want to achieve through all the effort you are going to put in. What is it that you want — create brand awareness, you want to convert prospects or want a specific call to action? Every single objective can be full-filled with a well-planned promotional campaign.
- Depute a person who takes ownership: Ownership is the key here. There are several examples where companies have ordered huge quantities of advertising specialities and then they just lie in cartons in a storeroom. There has to be a person or a team who is responsible to execute the campaign on the ground and ensure each item reaches its destined customer.
- Keep it accessible: Now that you have ordered the best products, have a team in place to execute your campaign, it is now very important to make these products easily accessible to the team. Partner with an organisation that takes the burden of storage, packing and shipment away from you. The promotional items have to be stored well to avoid damage, they have to be packed before events and sent to the desired venue. Only if this is executed with ease, the sales team can access and distribute the products.
- Plan your order: A lot of companies just decide to order in bulk to negotiate a per piece cost. Do you really need so many of the items? Decide carefully whom you want to give the products to, where and how you are going to distribute them. Plan your order well before placing orders.
- Choose a relevant product: Your product is central to the entire campaign. Functionality and usability of the product will decide the success of your campaign. For eg, gifting a seeded pencil in an organic fest is a great idea. It presents your company as environmentally responsible and also is appropriate for an audience who are environmentally conscious. You can read more about such products in our blog on sustainable promotional products.
- Select the right vendor and supplier: A good vendor is a very critical piece of your marketing pie. Work with someone who not just ensures good quality and service but can also be trusted for a long term engagement and collaboration. A reputed vendor not just supplies advertisement specialities but also gives you insight on what is trending in the market and what the competitors are up to.
At A1 Promotional Products, we understand the importance of planning a successful promotional campaign. Our team ensures you get a maximum return on your investments with us. We offer a wide range of items to choose from and we have you covered for all your marketing campaigns. If you are looking for someone you can trust and collaborate for a great marketing campaign, we are just a call away.
