Promotional product marketing is one of the oldest marketing strategies there is, and that’s for a good reason: it’s still one of the most effective!
Marketing moves forward at an astounding rate (doesn’t everything?), with new strategies emerging every other day. For small businesses making their first steps into the confusing world of marketing, this can be difficult to adapt to.
Luckily, promotional product marketing is still one of the most popular and easy ways of marketing. Why? It’s easy to implement into your business and incredibly effective. Studies show promotional products are still one of the most effective ways of boosting brand exposure, and ultimately increasing sales.
So, what are the benefits of promotional products for small businesses?
It might feel like somewhat of a risk investing in merchandise, but it’s actually one of the cheapest marketing strategies out there! Which is always good for small businesses and start-ups. Provided you know your target market inside and out, there shouldn’t be any reason a promotional campaign wouldn’t work in your favour, and pay dividends from a financial perspective.
Promotional gifts are kept for a long period of time which helps with branding
It’s a fact that when customers receive promotional products, they keep them for a long time. In fact, studies have shown that many people keep promotional products for an average of one year or longer. I’m sure you yourself may have promotional gifts lying around on your desk (or kitchen cupboards) from many eons ago. This is great because it increases the brand awareness of not only the person using the promotional item, but also those who are in contact with the recipient or see them using the product!
Promotional products improve customers’ opinion of your company and they are more likely to buy
Who doesn’t like free things? People don’t mind getting a gift with a brand name or logo on it and accept it as part of the exchange (your gift for their email address or business card for example). Once they keep the promotional product and use it, they become more and more familiar with your company name and therefore are much more likely to purchase from you again. Promotional merchandise helps people to remember your company and the products or service you offer, because they will be constantly using it!
They are a cool alternative to business cards
Business cards will always be an incredibly valuable business staple, that’s obvious. But promotional products are a fun, creative way to showcase your contact information. Instead of just leaving a potential customer with your business card, for example, consider leaving behind your business card AND another tangible, branded product. If somebody constantly has your pen in their hand with your business information on it, it’s going to be imprinted in their memory!
By creating a batch of branded products and giving them to potential consumers (and also existing customers), you are effectively investing in a long-term marketing strategy that will reap excellent ROI over time, which is definitely something to keep in mind when coming up with your marketing strategy!
