So much of our everyday lives is online. Shopping, communication, work and social – all online. It sometimes feels as though we have no tangible connection with other people. For some, actually seeing people outside of the family face to face is quite an exciting event. Seeing people who want to give you something for free is even more exciting. Enter the power of promotional products!
Promotional Products, What Are They?
Promotional products are sometimes referred to as “freebies”. They are things that businesses give to their customers for free. This may be to thank them for their custom, to encourage them to buy or raise their brand exposure. Promotional products can take many forms, from pens and trolley tokens through to personalised products, wellbeing gifts, food gifts and even technology.
The thing that all promotional products have in common is that they are branded with the name and logo of the company that gave them away. The idea of promotional products is twofold – firstly, to place a visible reminder of the brand directly into the customer’s hands, and secondly, to please the customer.
Are Promotional Products Effective?
Yes. It can seem intimidating to give stuff away for free – after all, it costs money to buy or make it, so giving it away for nothing might not on paper make financial sense. However, research shows that customers become familiar with the brands they see every day, and when those brand names are attached to something in their home or office that they see and use every day, their sense of connection to that brand grows, as does the likelihood that they will make future purchases from them.
The trick is to give away promotional products that the customer will use and value.
Promotional product benefits
Incorporating promotional products into your marketing plan offers many benefits to businesses:
1. Brand Awareness
Breaking into a new market can be really challenging. Competing against established businesses makes it hard to demonstrate your unique selling points. However, new businesses can quickly dominate the market when they issue high quality and exciting promotional products to the right people. Those people will use the products, either in public or in their socials, promoting them to others and continually raising the profile of the brand that issued them. Whether it is someone walking around town bearing a tote bag with your company logo on, or someone sharing images of your products accompanied by relevant hashtags on social media, they are advertising your business for you for free.
2. Alignment with Socials
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to promotional products, so you can include a QR code on your products that directs potential customers to your website or social media feeds. You could issue a promotional product to every customer who requests one via your website. You could even gamify your promotional products, encouraging customers to participate in discussions or provide feedback to the brand in order to get one.
3. Demonstration of Quality
When the items that you give away for free are of excellent quality, your prospective customers begin to trust that the things they have to pay for will be of equal or better quality. This builds trust with your brand and increases the likelihood that the customer will make their next purchase with your brand.
4. Rapid Recall
Try asking a prospective customer about the content of the last email they received from a brand. Chances are, they won’t be able to tell you as they will have deleted it without reading it based upon the title. However, ask them about the last thing they received for free from a business and they’ll probably remember where they were, why they received it, what it was and who it was from. Promotional products are tangible, and that makes them memorable.
Summary
Promotional products are things that businesses give away for free to encourage customers to spend money with them. They are a powerful marketing tool that is proven to increase brand awareness and can allow businesses to connect with their customers on a personal level. There are no drawbacks to including promotional products in your marketing repertoire, so if you want to see what they can do for your business, please speak to the experts at Lancaster Printing today.
