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Promotional items are an effective way to brand your image and boost sales, but they must be used effectively. Too often, businesses will order promotional products, hand them out and stop there, hoping that the items will do the rest. There are better ways to use these types of products while maximizing your budget and getting more interest in your company.
Here are a few things to think about:
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Choose promotional items that people will actually want. Be willing to spend a bit more if you know that what you’re handing out is useful.
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Pay close attention to the design. Select a company that has a good reputation for delivering quality work. If your design looks good, it speaks for the rest of your brand.
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Think quality over quantity. It’s not how much you give out, but who you’re giving the products to. If you can get your promotional items into the hands of prospective buyers, you’ll have a better chance of sealing the deal.
To expand on these ideas, let’s first talk about what useful items you should choose. Think about the types of items you usually see at a trade show: lanyards, pens, stickers, folders and so on. Even though these items may be cost-effective, skip them. You want to stand out and be different, so choose a unique item, but also one that is useful for people. For instance, reusuable shopping bags are eco-friendly, trendy and handy, plus feature logos front and center. Other neat ideas include USB memory cards, sticky pads and highlighters.
Next, take time to design your promotional item. This is the very representation of your business, so if you couldn’t say any more about your business to someone, this product would have to do all the talking for you. Make sure your business name and logo is printed neatly and that everything looks professional. Bottom line: be proud of the design. Simple is best, so you don’t need to go overboard.
Finally, always focus on quality over quantity. Many companies order a cheap promotional item, hand out as many as they can and stop there. Narrow in on your customers by looking for two groups: repeat customers and likely customers. These are the best ones to target because they are most likely to make a purchase in the near future, and your product could be that deciding (or reminding!) factor. Finding these groups can be difficult, especially at trade shows, and you don’t want to be stingy. Sending out light mailing materials can help you target people who are interested in your product or service.