The Do’s And Don’ts Of Promotional Marketing

Promotional marketing is a form of advertising that can work wonders for your business. It can be as easy as picking out a few items, getting your business logo or name printed on it, and handing them out to consumers and other businesses.

Simple, right? Well, it can be, but there are a few things you should consider when using promotional marketing products if you want to make your time, effort and money worthwhile.

Promotional product marketing should be viewed as an investment; you want to make sure your investment is going to work well for your business and not end up being a waste. To ensure this happens for you, here are some important tips to consider when employing promotional marketing techniques for your business.

DO understand your audience

Who do you want to be on the receiving end of your products, and ultimately be your consumers? If you’re looking to invest promotional products, you need to make sure you know who you want to receive them. The more you understand who your key audience is the easier it is to determine what promotional products to use, and what will be most effective.

Consider demographics such as gender, age, location, income range, work status and education level. From there, try and take things further by determining what their interests, values, hobbies and behaviours are. This will help you understand what promotional products will work, and which ones won’t.

DO learn from other businesses

There’s nothing wrong with having a look at what other businesses (including your direct competitors) have used in the past to promote their business. It’s a great way to take a look at what has and hasn’t worked. Are their promotional products related to their business directly? Or are they just a fun item for would-be consumers to use and keep?

One thing to remember is to look at this information and be influenced by it – don’t copy it directly. If you own a gym and a local competitor is handing out protein shakers, you shouldn’t do this as well. The idea is to look at what other businesses are doing and improve on it. So, going with the example of the protein shaker bottle, you could provide one of these to your consumers but also provide an added compartment to hold protein powder in for on-the-go use. Your plan should be to look at what competitors are doing, and improve on their strategy to make it your own.

DO get creative

The idea of printing your name or logo on a mug or a pen to hand out with sales has been done time and time again. The idea of a promotional product is to entice and excite would be consumers, and get your brand name out in the open for all to see. Sure, a free mug always goes down well, but this is an investment, and you want your investment to pay off as much as possible.

This is a great opportunity to be really creative. If you don’t have a creative bone in your body, perhaps another member of your team will be itching to get creative. Think of ways to promote your business outside of the box. Think about ways you can impress new customers, as well as provide them with a promotional product. You may have street teams out in the local area talking about the business and handing out free goodies. You might have an interactive approach, such as a treasure hunt for secret items, or clues on your social media on how to access the free gifts. Get thinking about ways people can talk about your business, and get people excited.

DON’T use low quality items

If you’re going to hand out free items, make sure they’re not cheap and nasty You need to ensure if you’re handing out pens they’re not going to stop working by the end of the day. The point of providing high quality items is it’s a reflection of your business. Handing out items that break or don’t work very well only serves to make people think your business is in the same shape as your gifts.

We know you may be trying to save money, but if you use low quality items it isn’t going to pay off. With just a little bit more of an investment you could provide an item that is high quality and long-lasting and make a real impression. Remember – if a pen stops working and your name is on it, it’s just going to end up in the bin and never seen again.

DON’T stick to one item

A gift or promotional item is free, so you should just pick one and leave it at that, right? Not necessarily. Even though it’s a free gift or item and you’re giving them to potential new customers, you should still provide some options to people about their gift. For example, if you’re handing out t-shirts you may want to consider various sizes and colours.

Giving people an option in their gift means they will feel more valued, and won’t feel like you’re handing something out just for the sake of it. It makes you look like you have carefully considered your items, and want people to be able to choose an item that’s right for them. This also helps to target your products to various audiences.