Is investing in branded promotional items worth it?
With so many other forms of advertising, some companies might question whether investing in promotional products is at all worth the hassle.
Many marketers focus on digital marketing channels, but interestingly, the traditional and the non-digital forms still influence the market to a great extent.
Promotional marketing has been a consistent and effective form of marketing, which helps to both increase sales and foster brand recognition.
Let us see some of the most common questions that small business owners ask regarding the benefits of branded promotional items.
1) Is there a cost-benefit when compared with other forms of advertising?
Undoubtedly yes! One way to calculate it is the CPI i.e., Cost Per Impression.
In this method, we calculate the impression cost to the advertiser, based on the average number of impressions created by the different forms of advertising.
Imagine the effect of an advert in any alternate media and compare it with a promotional pen or bag that you might have received as a customer.
How many time does an ad connect with our mind and how many times does the bottle on your office table remind you of the company who has gifted it to you?
The cost of purchasing promotional goods are much less as compared to the cost of producing and circulating a television advertisement or an online ad.
2) Do customers even use the products?
It’s quite common to be apprehensive that the product you give might end up in a waste-bin or a storeroom.
However, various studies have proven that the average life span of a promotional product is around seven months.
It is extremely questionable that people will continue to interact with any television commercial after they have seen it.
However, promotional items stay around with the customer for a few months at least.
These products create an impression of your company, your business offerings, and your brand identity.
So, make sure that you circulate the right quality products which the customers will love to use.
3) Will my customers really bother if they are given free items?
We feel that anything received for free is not valued – that might be true to some extent.
Even so, research agencies have spoken to customers, and according to their responses, customers feel good when they receive promotional items.
When you carry out a thorough market research and know your customers need, and their aspirations, you can give away promotional items which they will value.
In turn, they begin to value your company since they are happy to see that your company cares for its customers – when they feel valued, they become loyal customers.
A simple fact is – when you use any other means of marketing, you only speak about your company and how your business offerings can be useful in your consumer’ life.
However, when you give away these free items, you make your customers’ feel valued.
It’s not just about your business, it’s also about them since they now possess new items which they didn’t have to pay for.
4) Won’t it be restricted to a few people only?
The owner of a gift basket business in the UK once argued that other ways of marketing, such as online ads, can appeal to a broader audience compared to distributing promotional products in UK.
However, consider yourself as a customer in the middle of any work, when suddenly an online ad pops up on your laptop’s screen, do you go through with it or do you close the ad window?
In fact, don’t many of us already have our ad-blockers activated?
On the contrary, every time you use a promotional product, your eye catches a glimpse of the brand logo.
When you use the product in a public place, you expose it to many other people. And if it is unique, it is sure to win the interest of a few prospective buyers.
Studies have also concluded that once a person is done using a promotional item, he passes it on to someone who needs it.
The promotional product with your brand image on it will get passed from person to person, and ultimately boosts your brand identity.
Simply imagine the number of impressions you are generating without any extra cost!