The Gift That Keeps Giving

The real value in promotional products isn't just in that first gift giving opportunity. If anything, the value comes in those dozens of impressions your product receives later. The person who receives the gift will usually show it off, or use it in a very public way (like a t-shirt, or using a tote bag at the grocery store). Certainly this doesn't apply to all promotional gifts, as some are only used once, but these gifts can also benefit from word of mouth. If the gift is good enough, the recipient will talk about it, and most of the time they will remember your brand.

But does this influence what promotional products businesses buy? Let's take a look at some statistics and find out:

The top 5 most popular promotional gifts are:

• T-shirts: 31%
• Pens: 10%
• Tote Bags: 7%
• Mugs: 6%
• Keychains: 6%

(statistics from Advertising Speciality Institute Council)

So what do these gifts tell us about how businesses use promotional items? T-shirts, are by far the most popular product, and they're extremely beneficial as the recipient will hopefully wear it many times (and be seen wearing it). Pens and mugs are often shared, or are frequently used at work, again resulting in dozens of impressions. While keychains may not be as popular, the number of impressions is still high (every time you start your car, enter or leave your home etc.), which is how it makes the top five.

So we know what businesses are buying, but how many impressions do these products actually receive? Let's take a look at another chart from the Advertising Speciality Institute Council:

 

Interestingly, tote bags have a significantly higher impressions count than all other form advertising (the chart takes other media such as radio and TV in to account as well), and strangely tote bags only account for 7% of all promotional product sales. Now, this may be because not all business owners feel that tote bags are appropriate for their business, whereas t-shirts are more universal. Both number of impressions and relevance to your brand are factors to be considered while choosing your promotional product.

Some Stats and Some Advice on Promotional Product Marketing

I recently came across and article from NYtimes.com, all about the surprising power of promotional products. Promo products certainly are "suprising" and have a way of sneaking up on people. Often times when a person receives a branded gift, they don't have a need for that company. But eventually when they do, they've been exposed to that product several times and we'll definitely remember them when it comes time to buy. It's almost like subliminal advertising. They're just happy to get a free tote bag, and don't even think twice about how they're looking at your logo everytime they go food shopping. But more than that, the New York Times article offered up some impressive stats about promotional items...

• Business owners are spending about $20 billion a year on promotional products.
• In some cases, when a personalized gift is included as part of a direct mail campaigns the response rate nearly doubled.

So what does this mean for us? Well, knowing that $20 billion (that's billion with a "b") is being spent every year on promotional products alone is certainly some indication about the power of giveaways. But that second is really special. Promotional products are so persuasive because users are more likely to work with you if they feel like they owe you the business. And often times a free gift can do just that.

So it's good to know that custom products can be effective, now what about some advice on launching your campaign....

• Think Long Term: Customized food or plastic water bottles are really great for seasonal promotions or specific campaigns, but you really want to choose a product that will be used for a long time, thus increasing the number of potential impressions for that product.
• Don't Be Afraid to Go Old School: USB drives and stylus pens are very popular, but sometimes the tried and true products are the way to go. Gifts like mugs and calendars are often times used for a long time (how many promotional mugs do you have in your cabinet right now?) and can go a long way in persuading a potential customer.

Want to learn more about how promotional products can help you? Give us a call today: (888) 624-5888 or visit: http://promotionalitems.lorrainegregorycorp.com/http://promotionalitems.lorrainegregorycorp.com/ProductDetails/?productId=4973751&tab=Tile&referrerPage=ProductResults&refPgId=503290308&referrerModule=PRDREB

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!

How Should I use My Promotional Items?

We've all seen plenty of promotional product campaigns (heck, you've probably got a few promo items in your office right now!). And if you're here, you've probably seen some of the data suggesting that promotional items have a better ROI than most forms of digital and traditional marketing. But even with all this info, I find that many people are still hestiant to pull the trigger on their campaign. One of the top reasons? They're unsure how to use their promotional products. This is why I always advocate setting a goal before launching any type of marketing campaign. Your goal for the campaign will help dictate every detail, and will make launching and measuring your campaign much easier. But most importantly, don't put the horse before the cart. Decide what you expect to get out of the campaign before you launch it. So I've compiled a few different reasons why businesses launch promotional gift campaigns, but remember, these are just jumping off points. When conceptualizing your campaign, make sure it is tailored to your business needs.

• Brand Awareness: According to Schreber & Associates, 39% of people who received a promotional product can remember the name of the business 6 months later. The first step in bringing in new customers is making them aware of your business. And since promotional products are meant for repeat use, potential customers are being frequently exposed to your product. Over time this will result in new customers.
• Attract New Customers: I know, obviously the reason we do any of this stuff is to attract new customers. But what I'm talking about here is a direct response marketing approach. Rather than simply looking for brand awareness that will pay off over time, in this scenario you would use a timely offer inconjunction with your promotional product that would encourage recipients to act immediately (something along the lines of a discount that expires soon).
• Promote A Positive Image: A variation on brand awareness, many businesses and companies will sponsor a local event by providing custom t-shirts, or a personalized gift. Some great ways to do this include sponsoring little league teams, to offering gifts to volunteers at a local non profit. This is a great way to build good will in your community, and besides the benefits to your business, it's something you can feel good about doing!
• Incentivize Employees: Promotional products aren't just for giveaways to potential customers. Gifts can be used to motivate your team to meet their goals. Great gifts like personalized tablet computers or a watch can really motivate your sales teams.
• Improve Other Marketing Campaigns: Many businesses use promotional items as a way to enhance and improve their other campaigns. For instance, try offering a free promotional gift to any one who fills out a form on your website. This can increase your email list, and you still get the benefit of sharing a promotional product with a customer.

These are just a few of the ways you can use promotional products, but remember, these aren't the only ways. Feel free to get creative with your promotional item goals. As long as you start with a strong concept that will help you reach these goals, there's no wrong way to use promotional products.