With the world of marketing rapidly transitioning to the digital space, many businesses often question the relevance of traditional marketing and promotional tactics.
While digital marketing efforts offer low-cost and highly targeted opportunities to reach your audience, there is still a place for in-person promotional efforts. In fact, 85% of customers end up doing business with a company after receiving a promotional product from them.
The general purpose of promotional products is to strengthen your brand identity amongst a relevant audience. Simple, branded items that your customers find useful will serve as a constant reminder when they are in need of a product or service that your company provides.
The power of promotional products remains strong and can help your brand in a number of ways:
Create awareness
If your business is just starting out and you are looking to generate leads, promotional products are a useful (and affordable) option to consider. 89% of consumers can remember an advertiser who gave them a promotional product, even after a two-year period.
To fully capitalize on the benefit of promotional items generating brand awareness, you must carefully consider which promotional items will be the most useful to your potential customer base. For example, handing out USB drives with your logo to a potential client in the tech industry may seem awkward, being that new cloud services and updated laptops deem USBs obsolete.
Develop customer loyalty
By gifting promotional items (such as t-shirts that your customers can exercise in, or a reusable bag for grocery shopping), you will be showing that you appreciate your customers simply by showing it through a small gesture. Thoughtfulness goes a long way when it comes to customer retention, and promotional items give you the opportunity to get in front of your customers for reasons other than making a sale.
Boost morale in the workplace
Another important purpose of promotional products is to boost morale among your workers. Promotional items are not only valuable to your customers, but they also have a powerful effect on your employees. If your workplace has a culture of empowering and supporting your employees, you should find them eager to represent your brand proudly. Brand loyalty is just as important internally as it is externally.
Promotional products serve as good employee gifts during the holiday season, or as a token of appreciation for years of service. Spending a little extra money on higher quality products like fleeces or bluetooth speakers is a reasonable way to show genuine appreciation to your employees, and what they mean to the success of your organization.
Stand out from your competitors
While you want to provide useful promotional products to your customer, there is no harm in getting creative! Getting your logo in front of your customer base and making it a memorable experience can give you a leg up on the competition. Especially in a world where marketers rely so heavily on growing their digital presence, the in-person approach of gifting promotional “swag” is a unique tactic that can differentiate your business from your competitors.
Cost effective approach
While many people may think that giving away free items is an unnecessary expense, promotional items tend to be a more cost-effective advertising strategy. Forget the thousands of dollars you would have to cough up for billboard space, or the wasted postage of direct mail. Most promo items can be produced in bulk at a relatively low cost, and they require personal interaction to be delivered to the client.
How to use your promotional products effectively
Remember, the promotional items you provide need to be something of value to your target audience. To make your promotional products as effective as possible, keep these factors in mind:
- Set an objective. What are you looking to accomplish by the distribution of your promotional item? Are you cultivating new leads, or simply maintaining your customer stewardship?
- Identify your audience. Who will you be giving the product to, and what do they use in their everyday routine that can positively reinforce our brand?
- Set a budget. Don’t go overboard trying to satisfy your employees to the point where you have to re-evaluate the distribution of holiday bonuses. The use of promotional products is to help grow the business, not strain it.
Why partner with Ditto
Ditto is in the business to enhance your brand with high quality promotional products. As an extension of your marketing team, we take your vision and goals to create a custom solution for your company’s product marketing needs. Get in touch with us today to learn about how we can help you drive brand awareness and help your company stand out.
