There are many factors to be considered when running a business, including advertising.
Television seems glamourous but can be very costly. Radio invokes thoughts of catchy jingles and a professional voice extolling the virtues of your products and services. But both mediums can be like casting a small net into an ocean wanting only to catch a very specific type of fish (your target audience). What it will probably grab instead is a lot of what you don’t want.
Promotional products on the other hand, can be a cost-effective method used to market to a more focussed sector, namely parties that you have identified as truly having potential to become customers.
These items don’t simply and briefly flash your logo or slogan as TV and radio do. Recipients tend to keep promotional products for an extended time, implanting brand recognition and awareness. This propensity to hang onto the item battles the narrow attention span most people have in today’s overwhelming barrage of distractions. They will see your promotional item so often it becomes impossible to forget that your business gave it to them. Users have an exceptionally high recall rate of the source of the item.
And according to a December 2017 article in Forbes, when the user no longer has need for it, they very likely to pass it onto someone else, spreading your message to others. According to a study quoted in the article, “64 per cent of those in Canada give their promotional products away when they are finished with them.”
Ubiquitous – adjective
(ubiq·ui·tous) – Existing or being everywhere at the same time | constantly encountered | widespread
Look around you. Search your surroundings.
As you read this online article, you may be using a mousepad with an advertiser’s name on it. Or it could be a USB drive or other computer accessory, a coffee mug or refillable water bottle, a calendar hanging on your wall… if yours is like most businesses, odds are you have many promotional products that you use on a regular basis.
Check your home. The pen you write your grocery list with or the notepad you write it on and the reusable bag you’ll bring those groceries home in. That favourite weekend t-shirt that you got from that fundraiser you went to, or the hat you were given by the new local business that opened in your neighbourhood…
Promotional products not only advertise the business featured; they ostensibly advertise their own effectiveness. Every time you use one for its intended purpose, you are also proving why you too should be using them to promote your business.
SOMETHING FOR EVERY INDUSTRY AND EVERY BUDGET
With current technology, almost any physical item can be utilized as a promotional product. There will always be the classics (apparel, key chains, pens, etc.) but you will likely be shocked at the amazing selection your local promotional products distributor can offer you.
This wide range of possibilities also allows you to tailor it to your specific business: a hardware store could give away a promotional screwdriver, for example. A pizzeria could give away pizza cutters. You probably leave every dentist visit with a new toothbrush featuring the dental office’s name. Regardless of what your business does, your promotional products provider can help you find something that is associated with your services.
Today’s technological advances also allow suppliers to produce beautiful items that appear to be much more expensive than they really are. While you may be limited by your budget, you don’t have to be limited by the appearance of quality.
This matters due to what scientific researcher Louis Cheskin labeled sensation transference, which is an unconscious assessment of an item made based on a product’s appearance or presentation. The old saying is “Never judge a book by its cover,” but the reality is that most people do exactly that! If it looks to be of higher quality, people will believe it to be, which enhances their perception of you and the appreciation you have for their patronage.
Ask your promotional products expert about the best way to present your logo. Inquire about packaging options and colours. The item doesn’t just tell the user what your company is called, it tells them what you are: a business that values that person enough to give them a great gift.
The reasons to market your business through promotional products are literally everywhere. If you aren’t seeing them, then you’re simply not looking.
