Benefits of Using promotional products
Promotional products are often overlooked as a way to market your business. Many feel that they appear to be tacky or that they are too complicated to manage or organize when it comes to distribution, at least when it’s compared to the benefits they bring in.
It’s a mistake to think so since there are plenty of good reasons to use promotional products as a way to increase your business visibility and get new customers. Promotional products could be used as a part of a broader strategy and implemented without too much initial costs.
Creating a brand
The goal of the promotional campaign is to create a brand and to make your business noticeable, visible, and therefore recognizable by your customers and those who are to become that. Promotional products can play a big role in that.
That’s because there are easy and simple techniques you could use to make the promotional products brand-ready and to expand that process on adding new products and new channels of promotion. Sometimes that’s as simple as making sure your logo is found on every product and that you keep the same color scheme on all of them.
Going Viral
Promotional products can easily go viral meaning that they are easily transferrable and can be used by many users. That’s a way to get more exposure with just one product and with just one payment. It’s more cost effective but it also means that your product could end up somewhere you didn’t plan it to.
The best way to accomplish this is to use the products that are actually useable and that are of a high quality after repeated use and after being used by a variety of different users.
Lead generation
The goal should be for different marketing venues to complement and support one another. One of the goals for your promotional products campaign should be to create leads meaning to bring people to your site and give them a new venue from which to purchase your products and services.
That can be done simply by adding your website address to the products you’re using to promote the business or it can be done in more interesting and technologically advanced ways. For instance, taking a photo of the product could lead the user to the app or the website.
Brand ambassadors
Everyone who carries your products becomes a brand ambassador. This is especially true if you’re using the products that can be used outside of work and your industry altogether. It’s therefore important to make your brand noticeable on the products but not to make it tacky so that they can actually be used in everyday life.
At the same time, the products you’re using should be of high quality in their own right and most importantly you shouldn’t save on the materials since their longevity also means the longevity of your brand and marketing campaign.
What products to use?
The question than remains what products to use. That’s something that can only be answered by every business on their own since it depends on too many factors at once, such as what kind of business you’re running and how much funds you have available. There are commonly used products: such as mugs, USB drives, umbrellas, t-shirts and so on and there’s nothing wrong with sticking with the basics.
It’s also possible to go all in and invest in clothes and office material that will be used by the employees and by those with whom you share the products, and thus go as broadly as you can.
Downsides?
There are also a few downsides to this tool that you should be aware of as is the case with any other tool, marketing related or otherwise. These are mostly about the managerial and organizational side of using these products as your marketing tool.
You’ll need to make sure that the products are made with the quality you’re happy with and that they are stored and delivered in accordance to these standards as well. That’s something that a small business can’t always handle and that will take a big chunk of your time if you’re a mid-sized business.
Conclusion
Promotional products are a great marketing tools to help you creates and promote your brand. They are less expensive than other methods you could use and they sometimes have a greater reach since they can be used by more people over time and noticed by anyone who comes across them.
Using promotional products also help establish your visual identity and branding overall since that’s what stays memorable from your campaign if it’s used effectively. At the same time, there are additional costs and managerial tasks related to it that you’ll need to undertake.
