The importance of marketing cannot be overestimated. This is why smart and savvy entrepreneurs are always looking for practical ways to add more marketing power to their campaigns. One of the best brand-positioning marketing strategies is adding promotional gifts and branded merchandise. Doing so will offer a lot of benefits, not least of which is allowing you to meet or move closer to your marketing objectives.
Marketing objectives vary. However, many entrepreneurs are going for maximum brand awareness and engagement. They want people to notice their companies and they use promotional gifts and branded merchandise in order to help achieve this goal.
Companies of all sizes rely on branded corporate items in order to connect with their customers and new sales leads. They know that passing out such items makes their companies appear very professional. However, branded items should be chosen with care. You’ll need to know that you will access a level of quality which reflects positively on your company.
Today, we’re going to talk about 5 benefits of adding branded merchandise to your marketing strategy. By giving a corporate gift or rewarding clients with personalized gifts, you’ll inspire loyalty, create goodwill and enhance the image of your company.
Now, let’s explore the five key benefits, which are boosting public relations, increasing trade show success, accessing versatility, accessing free advertising and accessing a whole world of product choices…once you’ve learned what they are, you may just be tempted to buy branded merchandise for your company.
There may be other benefits which aren’t listed here. However, we have made a point of covering the most important advantages for you today. After you read our list, you’ll find some handy tips on how to select the very best company for your needs. Comparison-shopping is the key to finding the level of quality that you want, for a price that is truly affordable. While you may want high-end items, it’s possible to find a good deal on any tier of branded product.
5.) You’ll Boost Public Relations
There is almost always a lot of competition in a niche of industry. No matter what you are selling to clients, you need to keep ahead of your rivals and a big part of that is mastering public relations! The people that you sell to really need to know that your company is trustworthy and upstanding!
Letting people know that you run a company which really values its clients is an important part of effective PR!
When you pass out our corporate gifts in the form of branded merchandise, you’ll send the message that your clients are important and this will benefit your public relations greatly. When people receive a nice promotional gift from a company, they usually tell others. They also think about the company in a positive way and they may relate positive thoughts about your firm to others.
By offering branded merchandise, you may create a ripple effect which makes your company appear more relatable and impressive. It’s a really effective promotion strategy which delivers for many companies!
Promotional gifts can be simple, mid-range or high-end. What you choose depends on your budget and your marketing purpose. From a PR standpoint, giving more luxurious branded corporate gifts to VIP clients and leaders of big companies will make sense.
If you want more impact for less money, choose cheaper gifts and give them out to more people. For example, if you routinely have meetings with prospective clients or key business contacts, hand them a free branded pen after the meeting. Everyone needs more pens and this small gesture will get your company remembered.
4.) Trade Shows Will Be More Successful
If you routinely attend trade shows in order to show off your company and drum up new business, you should know that giving away branded merchandise will help your company to shine in the eyes of attendees.
Most people hope to win something when they drop by a trade show booth. They know contests are common and they are willing to give out their contact information via entry forms. If you run a contest where branded merchandise is being given away, be sure that your entry forms contain a tick box for receiving emails from the company. When you do so, anyone who ticks the box will become a direct mail connection.
Once you’ve collected new emails, gain maximum advantage from your direct email campaign by creating a segmented email campaign. This type of campaign involves sending different types of emails to different types of clients. VIPs will receive one type of email message, while new sales leads will get another and so on. This segmented approach is proven to drive sales. Your new contacts will be classified as new sales leads, so craft emails which are designed to help them learn more about your company and how it can make their lives better.
3.) You’ll Access Versatile Promotional Gifts
There isn’t just one distribution strategy for branded gifts. They may be utilized in different ways. This versatility is a plus! When you buy enough branded merchandise, you’ll be able to keep inventory on hand which may be utilized in a planned way or used on the spur of the moment.
For example, if a prospective client drops by your business unexpectedly, you may wish to warm him or her for a sale by giving him a branded polo shirt, pen or mug. Spend a little or spend more on personalised gifts in order to impress! You may save money by ordering branded merchandise in bulk!
It’s also possible to order minimal amounts. As long as you hit the minimum, which varies, you should be able to order less and spend less. However, if you can afford it, it’s better to buy more. Stocking up is a good value most times as typical companies which provide branded merchandise allow buyers to access discounts when they purchase larger quantities.
2.) You’ll Access Free Advertising
When people carry around branded merchandise from your company or wear branded merchandise from your company, they will be advertising your firm. This is great. It’s the same rationale as buying branded shopping bags and packing up customer’s items with them. When people see the bag on someone arm on the street, the company name and/or logo registers in their mind.
By passing out branded items which people will really enjoy using or wearing, you’ll be able to expand brand reputation. For example, if someone keeps your branded coffee mug on his or her desk at work, other people will see it when they drop by. Every little bit of free advertising is important.
As well, you may promote your branded merchandise by posting pictures of it on your official social media accounts. For example, you may post a picture of a branded t-shirt on your business Facebook account and then look for interactions and “likes”. Another strategy is to gain low-cost publicity by offering one of your branded items in a contest which is held online. Rafflecopter is a great interface for setting up contests and it’s the preferred choice of many entrepreneurs. The cost of giving away the item is likely to be cheaper than the cost of generating the buzz that the contest gets. That’s why so many companies run contests whereby they give away branded merchandise every month.
1.) You’ll Have Tons of Product Options
Some entrepreneurs assume that the price of branded merchandise is out of reach. For this reason, they stay away from branded merchandise. This is a mistake, as it’s actually possible to buy branded promotional gifts which have a very low “per unit” cost.
For example, you don’t need to shell out for fancy embroidered shirts if you don’t want to. You may opt for cheaper items which still look nice and act as effective marketing tools – examples may include pens and pencils or slightly higher-end mouse pads and USB sticks (Flash drives).
Good companies will usually buy branded items from all price tiers and then give out these gifts selectively. However, if you are on a shoestring budget, you may find that there are some excellent options available. Bear in mind that you may need to order a minimum amount of a cheaper item in order to get it. Policies for minimum amounts vary from company to company.
When you’re comparison-shopping, and we’ll include some tips on that below, be sure to take a look at what’s out there. There are so many choices. Some people don’t realize just how many items may be customized in order to feature corporate names and logos. In some cases, you may be able to add contact information to your products as well. It just depends how much space there is on the item and what a specific branded products supplier offers to customers.
These days, a lot of entrepreneurs add their Web address to branded items. They find that this, along with a corporate logo and name, is enough to help them connect with prospective customers and returning clients. You may want to consider this strategy also!
Now, let’s discuss some ways to find the perfect branded products. Many suppliers offer these products via the Web. In fact, once you find a good one, you should be able to complete your order online.
How to Find the Right Promotional Gifts
Branded products are available via a lot of companies. However, these companies and the products that they sell are not all created equal. The key to finding a truly exceptional company is comparison-shopping and the easiest way to comparison-shop for branded products is to find the companies that sell them online and to review their pros and cons.
First off, you’ll need to know that a prospective company is professional and respected. The easiest way to check out any sort of company is to see what its Better Business Bureau ranking is. Once you’ve done so, you’ll have a better sense of how the company performs for customers.
Some companies don’t have a lot of information listed at the BBB – basically, people haven’t rated those companies much or at all. If you run into this snag and want to find more information, just do a general Google search which allows you to find reviews from real-life customers. Once you’ve done so, you should be one step closer to deciding whether or not a branding merchandise company belongs on your short list.
It’s best to create a short list of three companies that you’ve checked out. After this, visit their official websites and compare their products and prices. Most of the time, prices for branded items will be listed. However, occasionally, products may not have prices. If they don’t, you’ll need to contact the company with a mind to accessing a quote. It’s well worth collecting a few quotes, as you’ll find that doing so allows you to find the best price for comparable merchandise.
Once you’ve compared quotes, you’ll be ready to move forward and seal the deal.
Any company that you choose should have an array of design options for brand merchandise. For example, if you want to order shirts, you should be able to choose from different fabrics and/or colors and you should be able to send in a digital pic of your corporate logo and name if you want it embroidered or silk-screened on the garment. A good company will make it easy for you to get the level of customization that you need.
Once you’ve comparison-shopped with care, finding the right deal should be pretty simple.
As you can see, branded products offer so many advantages for a great price and they are available at a lot of websites. Once you’ve chosen your preferred items, you’ll be ready for the next step, which is deciding whom to give them to and how to use them in the future. We hope that you’ve enjoyed this quick guide.
Promotional gifts of this type are an old-fashioned touch of class in a modern world. They are a way to show that your company cares. This is why they are stellar choices.
