A promotional item or product can extend from the simplest items, such as a pen or keychain, to a more luxurious and useful item, such as a beautiful set of wine glasses or bathrobes or even knives. If you have used promotional merchandise in the past to show your gratefulness to your customers and promote and market your brand at the same time, then you know very well what we are talking about – you may already have a good idea of which promotional items work, and which aren’t necessarily the best investment. Promotional merchandise is, indeed, an investment, and you want your investment to give you a proper return, especially when it comes to your image, your customers’ loyalty, and your actual profits. But how can you be sure that your promotional merchandise investment will pay off? Here’s how you can choose the best promotional items or products for your customers.
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Know your audience or demographic
The first thing you should do is get to know your audience or demographic. Who are you targeting when it comes to your promotional merchandise? If you would like to choose a promotional giveaway that works and will earn respect from your customers, then pick something that your audience or demographic will find useful or which they will enjoy. So how do you identify your audience or demographic?
Ask yourself a few questions. What kind of service or product do you offer? Is the promotional item related to what you do? Also, what type of promotional giveaways are your competitors using? What can you do to differentiate yourself from them? Should you give something similar (but better), or should you go a different route altogether?
Furthermore, ask yourself about your customers – what do they have in common? What are their ages, their hobbies, their location, their gender? Once you have the answers to these questions, it will be easier to select a good promotional giveaway or item.
Know your budget
The next step is to know exactly how much you would like to spend for your promotional merchandise. And while you may have a lot of expenses in regard to running your business, your budget for marketing and advertising may be more difficult to compute. After all, it can be hard to determine what kind of advertising strategy is really effective. But when it comes to promotional items, think of it as a whole new advertising and marketing campaign. And as a general rule, companies are recommended to budget about 5 per cent of their capital for an advertising or marketing strategy.
The good news is that there are plenty of promotional items for every budget, so even if you have a small one, you need not restrict yourself too much. For instance, you can present your customers with some good quality pens and calendars and other desk supplies, and this should not put too much of a dent in your capital. If you want something more original, you can go for tote bags or caps and hats; most everything nowadays can be made into a promotional giveaway, and it’s simply up to you to choose the best one according to your customers and your overall budget.
