No matter how well established a company is in its respected industry, there is always a need for new business. Larger corporations have expansive sales forces whose jobs revolve around convincing people to purchase a product or service, and brand-new capital can be quite challenging to obtain.
While traditional advertising campaigns on TV and radio are successful in their own way,
embarking on such a venture can often be quite expensive for a small business with limited
funds.
Luckily, there are a few cost-effective shortcuts that these companies can take to
improve sales and revenue.
An option that can result in an optimum return on investment is
promotional products, but there are many questions that a manager may ask when
following such a strategy.
How do I ensure that my promotional products have the maximum effect?
The solution is much easier than you might think. The first step is to identify and meet campaign goals. Just like a politician during an election year, your marketing team needs to form a clear plan of attack. This includes ideas for target audiences, distribution methods and end-result surveys to determine return on investment.
Which demographic should my business target?
The answer to this question is entirely up to the respective business. It is generally advisable to target a specific age or other brackets that will have an explicit need for your
services. Randomly giving out promotional pens to a poorly researched audience will not be very effective in the long run.
How many items should I purchase?
This number varies greatly due to different promotional products and available revenue, but a safe figure would be at least 50 individual units. Unless a very small business wants to thank its dozen clients with twelve custom coffee mugs, it should purchase more than the minimum required. A larger amount of executive gifts increases the chance that they will be re-distributed amongst fellow employees, family members and friends.
How can I make promotional products more affordable?
Buy in bulk. Promotional item manufacturers like Myron offer discounts for larger orders, and the more you order the cheaper the per-unit price will become. This can directly increase the efficiency of every dollar spent on promotional advertising.
Will my gifts be any different than those of competitors?
A good creative streak can certainly help here. The great thing about promotional products is that there are no real restrictions on what can be given out or what logos and messages can be inscribed upon these objects.
What are good ways to distribute these products?
There are only two options here – give promotional items out in person or send them to potential clients through the mail. The more cost-effective method is in-person, because there will be no shipping fees and you can also make a pitch to whoever is taking a corporate gift out of your hand. But everyone likes getting mail – as long as you correctly identify a target audience, there is no problem sending out tokens this way.
Where should I set up promotional giveaways?
At a house, office or wherever you want. The answer here relates back to the target audience – if you are trying to give out logo tote bags to college students, a good place to
set up a booth would be at a university football event. If you are looking to reach other members of your industry, a commercial tradeshow giveaway is probably your best shot.
Promotional products can be one of the most successful ways to advocate a small business, and the answers to these common questions can be used as general guidelines
for a marketing strategy.
About the author
Mariel Milla is the Content Manager at Myron Corporation, a company specializing in promotional products and business gifts. She is an MBA with wide experience in the service, retail and web industries. Follow Myron on Twitter @MyronCorp
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