06 Jan 2010 Reasons to Buy Promotional Items

Okay, so I’m not really going to list 2010 reasons, but I will list several VERY important reasons why promotional items should be used to market your business in this new year and decade.

We are coming out of the worst economic times since the Great Depression.  Although economic recovery is not predicted to come back with a boom, it will likely be a slow steady growth.  It is extremely important for your business to get visibility now, even if your clients aren’t buying right now.  There will come a day soon that they will be buying and if they do not see your business name in front of them often, they will see your competitor.  It’s very easy to get comfortable in your day to day job and fail to market your business.  This is a pitfall for disaster.  Promotional items are excellent items to market your budget and get the best cost per impression.  So you may ask, “What is cost per impression?”  That is simply defined as how much it costs you for each person to see your advertisement, whether it is on a television, radio, newspaper, or magazine ad or on a promotional item.  The cost per impression for a promotional item is just pennies compared to other forms of advertising and much more effective.  Everyone loves to get something free if it is useful, unique, or has value.  You sometimes have to think outside of the box and veer away from pens or koozies and think of a more unique item for your business.  The sky is the limit.

More often than not when times get tough, business begin to trim the fat to help sustain themselves.   However, many businesses actually trim the lean muscle (the marketing budget) without thinking of the consequences.   Effective marketing is what drives sales.  If you track your marketing and are smart with your advertising, you should see a direct correlation between sales and marketing.  Promotional items can be very effective if used properly.  Make sure and utilize a knowlegeable promotional products consultant for creative ideas for your industry.

A typical promotional product is kept for 7 months.  How long does a customer hold on to a newspaper ad or a radio or tv ad?  I haven’t heard of many people TIVOing commercials so they can watch them later (Super Bowl commercials of course may be an exception).

Direct mailing to customers may not have a high response rate; however, add something lumpy in that evelope and that will be the first piece of mail they open.  Curisosity is a great human emotion to utilize.  Of course you want the lump in the envelope to be something with your company name and something that would be useful for that customer.  The more useful an item is the more exposure that product will create for you.

Make sure and start the new year out right and use effective marketing techniques to give you business the edge over your competitors.  Promotional giveaways are excellent resources to help your brand and company recognition.  The earlier you start, the sooner you will benefit.    Good luck with 2010.