Needless to say, promotional products have been used for a very long time to promote businesses. They are a great way to increase brand awareness and potentially generate leads. However, there are still those who believe promoting a business in this way is ‘old school’ and useless in today’s world of marketing, however this couldn’t be more wrong.
So let’s take a look at some of the reasons why using promotional products can help your business.
Cost Effective
Most forms of advertising in marketing are going to be an expensive investment. Radio and print ads, billboards etc. are all going to have a significant impact on your bottom line. There aren’t many cheaper advertising alternatives that are going to be as cheap as distributing promotional products to your target audience. The good news is that you could only have to pay a small amount to do this, but it will all depend on the type of product you use. But let’s be honest for a moment – we have all received promotional items at some point in our life. Also, at some point, they have proved useful to us whilst also acting as a reminder of the company that gave them to us.
They Get Our Attention
As previously mentioned, because these items are usually cheap to purchase and distribute, you’re able to give them away at events and shows for nothing. It’s no secret the word ‘free’ is the most powerful word when it comes to marketing. There’s not a single person out there who doesn’t love something for free and they will jump at every chance they get to get something for nothing. All of a sudden you will find that people are taking an interest in your business based on the notion you gave them a free item. Furthermore, it gives you an opportunity to have a direct conversation with a prospective customer which adds a real personal element to the engagement.
Longevity
Unlike the more expensive forms of advertising previously mentioned in this article, promotional products will always stay in our minds for a longer because they are much more tangible than a TV advert for example. A TV advert will only exist for a certain period of time, whilst a promotional item will be in our minds for quite some time if we use it over a long period of time. Pens, t shirts and notepads are good examples of this.
Ask yourself this question – how many times have you found a pen or notepad sitting at the bottom of your draw when you were in desperate need of either or both? I’m guessing probably a number of times. Furthermore, these items will almost always hold more value to the recipient than what you bought them for. Even items such as USB sticks and bags come in handy at some point or another which will set off a recall of the business that gave them to you.
Brand Recognition
It’s a simple equation – the more you see something, the more likely you are going to remember it. If you are using a particular item, such as a pen and a notepad, on a regular basis, then you will probably find that your business is going to be burnt into the memory of the person who is using it.
A previous study has shown that 88% of people using a particular company’s product featuring their name and logo were able to recall it. Further to this, around 85% of people did business with the company in question after receiving an item from item. As you can see from these numbers, distributing promotional products is a powerful form of marketing.
Repeat Use
As long as the item you have sent out is deemed useful by those people you have sent it out to, there is every chance it will be given to that person’s friends and family. This significantly increases the reach of your advertising campaign. As has been mentioned a few times in this article, the reach power of promotional products cannot be matched by any other form of advertising.
Finally, it doesn’t matter what sort of promotional products you are trying to distribute. If it is done correctly you will find it can be a very effective marketing tool to use when trying to promote your business’ service and products. What has been discussed in this article are just some of the reasons why using pens, t-shirts, USB sticks and bags are a cost effective way to promote your business.
Regardless of which promotional products you are trying to distribute, if done correctly you will find they can be a very effective tool to use when trying to promoting your services and/or products. The above reasons are just some of the many reasons why using items such as pens, t-shirts etc. to promote your business is a low cost and highly effective way of advertising.
