Many businesses, especially small businesses, will give out free promotional gifts to new and returning customers. Even at trade shows, promo items are given out to maximize a brand’s exposure. When you’re crafting a promotional marketing campaign, you need to know the ins and outs of the process if you want to succeed. To assist you, here are eight must-know marketing tips for using promotional items effectively:
1. Keep it Personal
If you want to build loyalty within your customer base, your marketing efforts must be sincere and personal. If you come off as though you’re aggressively pushing your products or services, especially if this happens before you gift the customer with a promotional item, customers could feel uncomfortable. You want to create a fun, memorable interaction every time you give out a promotional gift. If you can achieve this effect, you’ll make customers feel a greater sense of loyalty and appreciation for your brand.
2. Buy in Bulk
Understanding ways to optimize your promotional marketing purchases is crucial. For almost any promotional product you can think of, some manufacturers can get you quality promotional merchandise in bulk. By buying in bulk, you’re significantly cutting the overall costs of running a promotional marketing campaign. For wearable merchandise, buying in bulk is especially important, and can gain you a massive stock of wearable merch that your company can use during future events.
3. Vary Your Products
Having a variety of promotional gifts available to choose from is highly recommended. Especially if you’re giving out promo gifts at a trade show, having a few options to choose from will draw people to your booth in droves. Since the customer will already be excited as they approach your both, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to boost your brand’s sense of authenticity and value. Just make sure that there’s a sense of cohesion between the different promotional items that you’re giving out. Otherwise, the marketing effort can quickly become less effective.
4. Keep Employees In Mind
Not every promotional gift should be given out to your customer base. Sometimes, you need to show your employees how much you care about them, after all. Surprising your employees now and then can help create a sense of loyalty in the office. To ensure morale and productivity remain high, managers often give out free promotional items. Since employees are working to build the brand every day, they will feel a special emotional attachment to the branded gifts they’re given.
5. Eventual Customer Retention is the Goal
The primary goal of every marketing campaign is to create high customer retention rates. Your business becomes infinitely stronger every time you gain a truly loyal customer. Loyal customers can help you feel assured that your business can run in a productive, consistent fashion. With promotional marketing efforts, you’re creating the perfect environment for making one-time customers into loyal, frequently returning customers. By asking customers to share their promo merch online, you can craft an integrated marketing campaign that will significantly expand your brand’s reach.
6. Consider the “Billboard” Effect
If you’re giving out wearable promotional merch, you’re creating a stellar marketing opportunity that can play out again, and again, and again. When a customer wears your branded merch out, they are becoming a walking billboard that’s exposing thousands of public eyes to your brand. The more “billboards” that you get on the street, the more likely you are to make your brand a hit in your community.
7. Plan, Plan, Plan
Never rush through choosing the products, designs, and venue options for your promotional marketing campaign. Every step in the process can make or break your campaign, after all. Ensure you’re ordering merch that is fashionable, useful, fun, and (above all) professionally crafted. If you do so, you’ll have a strong chance of running a highly successful promotional marketing campaign.
8. Aim for Maximum Exposure
Consider how you can maximize your brand’s exposure via promotional marketing campaign efforts. The “billboard” concept is one of the best examples of using creativity as a mass marketing tool. However, other techniques can help you boost your brand’s exposure as well. Simply sitting down, and brainstorming will help you create your own ingenious promotional marketing idea.
Expand Your Brand
With a quality promotional marketing campaign, you can significantly inflate your brand’s public reach. If you make your brand present in public and private spaces using promo gifts, you’ll become a crucial part of the community where you’re doing business. Above all else, you must expand your brand in a way that’s personal, sincere, and efficient.
