November 9th, 2018 BY Douglas Lober

Top 10 Uses of Promotional Products

If you’ve ever wondered how promotional products should play into your marketing game, you’re not alone. These goodies can keep customers coming back for more and clients loyal over years, and form a critical cornerstone of many industries’ marketing plans. According to  Promotional Products Association International, these include:

  • Education
  • Financial
  • Healthcare
  • Trade and Professional organizations
  • Automotive
  • The “Professions” (Doctors, Lawyers, CPAs)

… and more. According to the same study, there are more and less common ways to incorporate promo products into your brand awareness and marketing campaigns. If you’ve long wondered what the top uses of promotional products are, and how you should approach them in your own efforts, here’s a look at the 10 most common today.

Brand Recognition

Building brand awareness is one of the top motivations for promotional products. It’s hard, especially a a young company – but even as a well-established on – to get more people to notice your products and services. A good promotional product can help you stay top of mind for clients, customers, friends, family, business partners, prospects and even random consumers whose eye falls upon your goods.

Brand/Product Awareness

Beyond specific brand recognition, you might also need better product recognition. If you work for a company that sells outdoor gear, for instance, you want consumers to associate you with specific goods. Think camping stoves, tents, tarps, cookware, hiking poles, outdoor chairs and more. One of the best ways to get them to think of you this way is to give out products with your name on them that also relate to camping, such as a Roll-Up Blanket they can take with them on all adventures.

Corporate Identity

The phrase “corporate identity” is confusing to many, but really just means understanding who you are as a company and projecting that identity out into the world. To use the example of another outdoor company, Patagonia identifies as a goods and apparel company from which you never need to buy a product again – because they guarantee the first one will last a lifetime. By giving their customers a new jacket every time the first one rips, they ensure people see them as not only honorable, but the best provider on the market.

If you want to get such corporate recognition, branded products can help you get there. As a doctor, for instance, your corporate identity can stem from the fact that you always ensure impoverished families have all the tools they need for good healthcare, such as lip balm or first aid kits.

Public Relations & Goodwill

Every company needs good will campaigns. Whether you’re trying to make a name for yourself, foster business partnerships or even recover from a recent snafu (heaven forbid), good will and public relations are always useful. When connecting with PR companies, running charity events or donating to schools, make sure at least some of your products are branded so the people with whom you’re working will remember you later.

Customer Retention & Appreciation

Making customers feel loved is always a good idea, and any reason counts. Whether it’s a holiday, their birthday or they’ve hit a certain spending limit, you never go wrong with a thank you gift.

Generate Sales & Referrals

Giving promotional products to your referral sources can make it even easier for them to send people your way. Instead of a simple name and number, they can give your information out on a stress ball, lip balm or quality notepad, upping the chances the referral will actually come see you.

Employee Communications & Recognition

Many companies fail to think of employees as a marketing arm, but they absolutely are. Dissatisfied employees are one of the quickest routes to company trouble. Not only do they move on, leaving you stranded without well-qualified and trained personnel, but they can undermine your success by taking to social media or warding prospects away from your products or services. Keep them happy with regular customer appreciation events, and show them how much you care with gifts that appeal to all.

New Product Introduction

When introducing a new product for the first time, you want to saturate the market with its presence as quickly as possible. In addition to the product itself, you can offer complementary products that help customers use it more effectively – and use smart branding to encourage others to buy the product.

Motivate Behaviors & Incentive Programs

Incentive programs are taking off. The basic idea is that you provide a reward for good behavior. This is often for employees, whose employers motivate them to make better health decisions through a variety of healthcare promos. The approach also works on a customer level as well. Incentive programs are the perfect way to keep people coming back. For instance, giving out free accessories to customers makes your product more valuable, while handing out holiday gift baskets to clients who spend a certain amount keeps you top of mind and makes them want to spend more.

New Customer Acquisition

Getting new customers on board is difficult, but it becomes easier if you give them an extra reason to do it. Sign up new customers with a welcome gift basket or with tiered items that get more exciting as customers commit to higher plans.

As a company, you doubtless have a thousand marketing plans you want to try at any given time, and there’s no way to attempt them all at once. Now you know which are the most effective in which to use promotional products, so you can narrow down your search and set your sights on the right tactics today.

Want to learn more about marketing products? Have specific questions about our goods and services? Do you have other ideas about reusable promo items that you’d like to run past us? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch, and a member of our friendly team will answer all your questions, putting you on the path to marketing success today.

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