Seeing a significant increase in digital marketing strategies, many businesses have started believing that promotional item marketing has become obsolete.
But that’s far from the truth! Whether you’re a Fortune 500 or an SMB looking to make its mark, promotional items offer significant value for your business.
The reason promotional items are successful is that consumers like them. Promotional items become a part of their everyday lives, guaranteeing brand exposure long after your prospect or consumer has made a purchase decision.
So why does adding value for your customers through promotional items matter? Read on, as we delve deeper into promotional items and why they matter.
The Effect of Promotional Products
Promotional items have been known to maximize engagement and drive sales. But how?
Promotional items help create positive emotions and memories around our brand. These items also tap into the principle of reciprocation – you give a prospect something for free and they feel obligated to give you something in return. This could be a positive review or a purchase.
Here are some other reasons that prove the effectiveness of promotional items:
- Consumers like receiving giveaways. Many prospects prefer getting free products more than any other form of advertising.
- A study proves a 23% increase in consumer demand for promotional items from 2009 to 2019. This steady increase suggests that promotional items are among the most effective marketing strategies.
- Promotional items are all about perception – when consumers receive a high-quality promotional item with your logo, they intuitively think of your brand as high-quality. In simpler words, good promotional items help you gain positivity among customers.
- Promotional items make it easier to remember brand experiences. For example, if you participate in an event and want to ensure the prospects remember your brand, promotional items are the way to go.
Think about it – who wouldn’t like getting something for free? Promotional items have the power to make you feel appreciated because they show that a brand is showing interest in your business – and it’s doing so without asking for anything in return.
Benefits of Promotional Items
Increases Exposure and Brand Recognition
In a world where prospects scroll past through social media ads, promotional items are a perfect way to draw their attention. High-quality giveaways naturally draw people’s attention with an engaging experience. Whether it’s a shirt with your branding or a keychain with your logo, promotional products expose consumers to your brand over time.
A promotional item will keep the prospects engaged in places where they aren’t distracted by your competitor’s content. Additionally, these people might carry your brand’s promotional items with them. This increases the likelihood of the people interacting with them to learn about your brand and explore it.
Since promotional items are useful and durable, they stick around with people significantly longer than an advertising campaign. According to Everything Branded, 87% of consumers keep promotional items for at least one year.
The possibility of using the promotional products over time gives your brand a deeper exposure compared to digital ads.
Helps You Save Money
While effective, tools like social media ads and TV commercials can quickly become expensive. When using these strategies, you may have to pay over $1 for PPC (pay-per-click ads).
Promotional items, on the other hand, turn people into your walking billboards. They expose your brand to thousands of additional people at a minimal cost. This means that promotional items cost just a fraction of a cent for every impression they offer.
According to the Ad Speciality Institute, promotional items cost as little as a fraction of a cent for every impression. Their low cost means that your business will be able to launch a large-scale promotional campaign by paying a significantly lower price.
Project A Quality Image–Without Saying A Word
Based on the PPAI research, consumers will see your brand as high-quality if they get high-quality promotional items. For this reason, promotional items make for a great option for boosting your brand’s PR.
However, this also means you need to invest in excellent products to establish a strong PR through promotional items. If you use low-quality items, prospects often associate them with cost-cutting. This sends an impression that your brand is likely to make a compromise in the product they’re selling too. Hence, it’s crucial to choose high-quality goods as promotional items.
A great example of achieving this is by using brand-name retail items in your promotions. For example, you can consider giving away desirable items from brands like Puma, Nike, Bose, or Adidas. While these promotional items may be costly, they’ll get your target audience talking about your brand.
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting to choose brands that work with your marketing goals. For instance, if values like inclusion and diversity are a part of your brand story, brands like Nike would be a good choice. In retrospect, when choosing a brand for promotional items, you must ensure that:
- They make high-quality items
- Partner with a business whose values align with yours to make your promotions most effective.
Helps Find Loyal Customers
Running a brand doesn’t only depend on getting new customers – it also requires having a strong strategy for customer retention.
That’s where the promotional items come in. Many customers see promotional items as a gift. So when you’re giving them a promotional item, you’re adding value to your customers’ lives.
While promotional items can be significantly effective in attracting new clients, they also help in boosting client retention. A study from Industry Today suggests that 20% of consumers are willing to buy from brands that give them free items.
Final Words
Promotional items can be a game changer for your business in getting more customers and boosting retention. After branding, our experts have cracked the code to perfect promotional marketing – choosing items that serve a purpose.
For instance, if you give away a stylish pen that runs out of ink quickly, your consumers may not remember your brand fondly. The best way to get your customers talking about you is to hook them up with some amazing gear.
At After Branding, we help you find promotional items in lieu of your brand objectives and goals. With over two decades of experience, our experts help you choose products and strategies that’ll foster better customer relationships.
So, are you ready to make the most of your promotional items? Reach out to us and see how After Branding can take your promotions to the next level.
