Promotional Product Dos and Don'ts

Custom promotional products offer a limitless array of possibilities. But just because you can put your logo on almost anything, doesn't mean you should. Nor  does it mean that that patricular promotional item is right for your business, or your audience. Whether you're a promotional product newbie or you're just looking for a refresher course, here's a few dos and don'ts for using promotional products for your business.

• Don't Forgo Quality over Quantity: Just because you can get 100,000 pieces of product X for the same cost as 75,000 pieces of product Y, doesn't mean X is the better investment. Your gift needs to be a quality item that the recipient will hold on to for a long time. The higher the quality the more likely they are to use it. Which can mean years of brand exposure for your business.
• Do Understand Your Audience: Think about your customers (or potential customers) and choose a product based on what they like. Do you cater to families? Are most of your customers women? After you've got a thorough outline of who your audience is, choose a product that is right for this audience. This will mean most of your products will go to those most likely to turn in to customers, and not to the ones just looking for freebies.
• Don't go For Apparel That Isn't One Size Fits All: That's part of the problem of giving away products like t-shirts. Usually all the Larges dissapear almost immediately, then you're stuck with a bunch of extra smalls of XXLs that no one wants.
• Do Consider Child Safe Gifts: Speaking of knowing your audience- If you're catering to families make sure your custom gifts aren't a choking hazard or something where a kid could hurt themselves. First and foremost it's the right thing to do and secondly, it's bad press that no one wants for their business.
• Don't Get Too Specific: You want to cater to your audience, but you also don't want to alienate certain segments of that audience. For instance, If you're giving out promo items in December, don't focus on just 1 holiday. I would recommend trying to avoid things that exclude based on religion, political beliefs or ethnicities (unless your business exclusively targets one of these groups, then by all means).
• Do Stay Within Your Budget: Promotional products are one of the most affordable ways you can create brand awareness, but you want to make sure that you stay within your budget. Start by first setting the budget, then from there create your campaign.
• Don't Forget Your Contact Info: The entire reason why you're creating promotional products is to generate more business! And yet I've actually seen promotional products that forget to include the company's website and/or phone number. Remember to give the recipient every opportunity to contact you.

5 Must Have Promotional Products for Summer 2013

Despite the rainy weather we've been getting lately, Summer is just about here! With the season officially kicking off in about 1 week, you need to make sure that your business is prepared. There's a whole slew of great Summer promotional items that will help you bring in new customers all Summer long. Check out our top picks below:

Sunscreen Spray Pump

 

 

Everyone needs sunscreen this Summer. Now just imagine a whole beach of people reaching for a bottle with your name on it!

 

 

 

 

Custom Sunglasses

Our site has a huge collection of styles for just about everybody. The best part is that sunglasses can be used almost year round, which means added exposure for your brand.

 

 

Stand Up Cooler Bag

This handy cooler bag is the perfect tailgating accessory. As a slightly more upscale product, this is great as a reward for loyal customers or as an incentive for your sales team.

 

 

 

Stianless Steel Water Bottle

A high quality stainless water bottle is great for hiking, camping or just a day at the beach.

 

 

 

Handheld Fan

Convenient and fun handheld are a must have Summer accessory and can be custom branded to feature your logo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



4 Ways Promotional Items can Benefit Small Businesses

Marketing on a budget is never easy. And if there's one thing I know small business owners love to do, it's save money. But with marketing, you need to spend money to make money. So therein lies the problem for small business owners. As long as you need to spend money in order to increase business and bring in more customers, you want to make sure that you're maximizing your dollar and getting the best return on investment possible. With that in mind, I put together a short list of a few of the ways that promotional items can benefit small businesses.

1. An Fun Alternative to a Business Card: A business owner always needs a business card. But sometimes, something unexpected can really do the trick. Promotional items serve the same purpose as a business card, but are generally much more exciting. Besides, most people take a business card and stick it in a drawer. Where as a promotional items will be out and used frequently.
2. Reach Huge Number at a Low Cost: As I said at the top, saving money is very important. And what's important to keep in mind is that promotional items are often times seen by dozens of people. And a large number of promotional items cost as little as $1 or less per piece. Not only will many people see your promotional item, people will often times keep them for years, and they have no trouble recalling your business name!
3. Promo Items are Tactile: There's something about being able to physically hold an item that allows you to connect with that brand. It's an advantage that promotional products have over just about every type of marketing.
4. Increase Brand Recognition: While the utlimate goal of any business is to increase revenue, focusing on brand recognition is a great way to get in to the front of the minds of customers. Perhaps they may not need your product or service at this very moment, but if they do so in the near future, you want to make sure you are the first thing that comes to mind. By giving away promotional products related to your brand, you can do just that.

4 Unexpected Ways to use Promotional Products

The top reason why business owners purchase promotional products? To Generate new customers. It's understandable why this is the default setting for a campaign. New customers are the lifeblood of any business. But there are many, often overlooked uses for promotional items.  The only limit to using promotional items is your imagination. Here's just a  few of the different ways your branded gifts:

• Customer Appreciation Gifts: Everyone knows it's much more expensive to create a new customer than keep an existing one. A customized gift to loyal customers is an excellent way to make sure that they are happy, and remain a customer for years to come. Even if you can only afford to do this for the customers that have been with your company the longest,
• Upsell Customers: Upselling customers on higher quantities, or cross selling with related products is a great way to increase your average value per transaction. Tossing in a promotional product that is in some way related to your product is a cost effective way to increase your revenue.
• Incentives for Your Sales Team: Sometimes a promotional item is a perfect way to help your sales team reach their goals. Premium promotional items such as computer tablets or a gold club are great for energizing your sales team for one big push.
• Contests: Speaking of premium promotional items, something like a branded computer tablet is a great way to motivate your customers to enter a contest. If you've got a big following in social media, try using your followers to help spread the word about your brand, with the one lucky one winning the prize. Plus since it's a branded item, you'll get additional exposure as that fan proudly shows off their prize!

Remember- When it comes to promotional items- Don't limit yourself. Handing out gifts to prospective clients is just one of the ways they can benefit your business!