Everyone knows that promotional products are important for any business’ marketing campaign. They help to build brand recognition, increase brand exposure and also work wonders for brand loyalty. In today’s world, as everything is moving towards digitalization, promotional products can act as a tangible touchpoint with your customers. It is a real opportunity to build a good relationship with customers.

But, you cannot just throw promotional products at your customers and expect to build an emotional connection with them. Rather, you need to think about quite a few things to make promo products a part of your marketing strategy. You need to keep in mind the marketing goals you want to achieve from your campaign and decide the promotional products according to that. There are many checkpoints that you need to keep in mind to ensure the quality standards of your brand’s promo items.

With so many technicalities to consider, it can get very overwhelming for a small business to create the impression they want. Here are some essential tips that will help you use your promotional products effectively.

Tips For Using Promotional Products The Right Way

Choose Promotional Products That Are Valuable and Useful

This is one of the most important things that you need to consider. If your branded gifts are not perceived as useful for your customers, then they are simply a waste of money.

Another point to be noted here is that the products should be perceived as useful by your customers, not you. Many small businesses make this mistake. So, you must remember that the products are valuable to your customers. This can depend on their age group, gender, and personal preferences. If you are not sure about what your customers will like, you can do a short survey and ask them about their preferences.

For example, many people would like to receive laptop bags, tote bags, travel bags, power banks, hats, etc. When you are choosing your promo item, you should also keep the time of the year in mind. If it is holiday time, go for traveling bags as gifts. If the summer is just starting, it is a great idea to go for hats or water bottles instead.

A word of warning here is that you should not go for trendy products that can quickly lose their charm. Make a smart choice that will stay with your customers for a long time.

Choose Promotional Products That Will Stand Out

Many businesses think that giving out cheap pens with their logo and name on it will do the trick and generate more sales for their business. It does not work like that. If you want your customers to become your personal billboards, you need to invest in them. Use promotional products that will stand out in the crowd. Try to go out of your way and be creative. A creative USB, folder or laptop bag will surely catch other people’s attention.

Use A Variety of Promo Items

This one is an important tip that many people miss out. It is always a good idea to use a variety of products so that you can increase the range and impact. If you use different types of promo products, they will have more brand exposure.

However, this does not mean that you should not choose a theme. If your promo items are too varied, then they might not create the same impact. Therefore, it is better to choose similar themes that people can recognize. For example, if you want to go for bags, you can create a good variety from laptop bags to tote bags and shopping bags.

Another tip here is to use your brand colors effectively when choosing your promo items. Remember, promo products should represent your brand. When people see a promo product, they should unconsciously think about you. This is what creates good brand recognition and exposure.

Use Your Promotional Products As A Thank You Gift

You should not just throw promotional products at your customers at every chance you get. This doesn’t create the impact you are looking for. Rather, you should use your promotional products as a thank you gift. For example, if a customer (or your employee) has done something good for your business, promotional products are the best way to thank them. This creates a feeling of loyalty in your customers’ minds.

Gift Promotional Products To Your Employees

Many people think that promo products should be used to ‘lure’ your customers in. Nope! This is far from the truth. Rather, promo products can make great gifts for your employees. If your promo products are useful and valuable, you can also use them as rewards for your employees. For instance, you can gift the promo product to Employee of The Month.

On one hand, such gifts can foster healthy competition among your employees and motivate them to work harder. On the other hand, these promo items will also serve as an advertisement for your brand.

Build A Proper Strategy for Promotional Products

Many businesses don’t create a proper strategy for using their promo products. You must create tangible goals for every promotional campaign. The goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.)

You must measure the success of your marketing campaign and adapt it accordingly. For example, you can establish checkpoints to monitor the success of your campaign. Are you getting a good ROI on the promotional bags? The ROI can be measured in terms of increased sales as well as leads. Your promotional marketing campaign should not be a game of trial and error. When you know that your efforts are paying off, you can do more targeted efforts in the right direction.

Final Thoughts

It is no secret that promotional products are one of the best ways to market your brand and get the word out. However, just having promo items is not enough. You need to use them effectively so that they drive customers to your business. With these tips by our expert marketers, you can skyrocket the ROI on your promotional products. Good luck!