PROMOTIONS

BEST PRACTICES GUIDE:PROMOTIONAL ITEM MARKETING

HERE ARE 5 wAyS yoU CAn USE PRomoTIonAl ITEmS To SUPPoRT yoUR BUSInESS GoAlS.

1) BUIlD BRAnD AwAREnESS

Brand awareness is one of the top reasons marketers use promotional items. With the proliferation of social media channels, an increasing number of marketers are turning to them to help build brand visibility. Consider using promotional items in conjunction with your social media strategy to drive engagement through reward-based programs. Deliver a code-based reward to consumers who “like” your brand’s Facebook page to help drive traffic and increase participation. However, while promotional items in social media can bring fans to your Facebook page or people to your products, you must use them wisely. The operative warning here is: you can give something young to an older audience but you can’t give something old to a younger audience. Your social media audience is typically tech-savvy, so smartphone covers or speakers are great choices.

If you’re looking to connect with audiences offline, direct mail is a powerful option for raising brand awareness, especially since direct mail response rates are four times greater than email, according to the Direct Marketing Association. Whether you’re planning on using a promotional giveaway as part of a direct mail piece or as a driver in a social media campaign, think about how your promotional products and

communications can complement each other.

BEST PRACTICES GUIDE: 5 WAYs TO UsE PROMOTIONAL ITEMs TO BOOsT YOUR BUsINEss

markets are awfully “noisy” these days. As a marketer, you spend your days plowing into that noise, cutting through it and hoisting your brand above it. It takes all the marketing power and creativity you have, and promotional items, when used effectively, traditionally have been among the strongest performers in marketers’ tool kits.

The reason promotional marketing works so well is simple: people like giveaways. A report from the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) shows that 84 percent of those receiving promotional items remembered the advertisers; 42 percent had a more favorable impression of them; and 24 percent said they were more likely to do business with them.

maybe that’s why last year, marketing spend on promotional items increased 7 percent, putting them among the five fastest-growing marketing options. The increase put the US promotional product market at $17.7 billion in 2011.

Though there’s an almost blinding array of choices in promotional products, you can start to narrow your selection by defining your marketing goal. It’s only when you know your marketing objective, understand your audience, set a budget and establish your go-to-market strategy that you can begin to determine the best promotional item for your needs.

2) ACqUIRE CUSTomERS

There are a variety of ways you can use promotional items to help acquire new customers and show appreciation to existing ones.

For sales meetings, go the extra step with your leave behinds by putting your marketing collateral on a branded thumb drive. Contests that draw in qualified prospects by offering one of your company’s top-of-the-line products or services as the grand prize can also feature promotional items printed with coupon codes as consolation prizes – for instance, on microfiber cloths for cleaning customers’ many displays (tablets, flat screens, smartphones). Don’t forget to thank existing customers for referring new business, with a high quality branded gift that keeps them referring more. In a study by GWW, Germany’s promotional products association, of the 9 percent of people who said they became customers while or after receiving a promotional item, 37 percent said the item played a role in choosing the company. The link between promotion and customer acquisition isn’t always this clear. But your job is clear: make your promotional items memorable.

3) KEEP CUSTomERS

Whether you met them in the civic center or the social sphere, they’re your customers now

Consider using promotional items in conjunction

with your social media strategy ...

and you’d better hold onto them. It costs far more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing one. Express gratitude to your loyal customers by sending a promotional gift on their birthdays or for a holiday. Another way to drive customer retention is through customer loyalty programs and distributor preference programs that include premiums. While some retailers maintain policies against employees accepting swag, it’s in a distributor’s business interest to provide their best outlets with premium in-store displays, such as a branded grill, patio set or DVD-and-TV to display a demo video. After the season is over, use the displays to reward your top store manager or employee.

Be sure to exercise brand discipline – right down to matching the shade of blue on that branded thumb drive to your beautiful blue logo.

4) DRIvE EnGAGEmEnT AT EvEnTS

Tradeshows and events are ideal venues at which to engage with prospects, connect with current customers and make a big impact with your audiences. The trick with promotional items at tradeshows and events is to make sure the gifts are relevant and/or useful to your audience. Otherwise, they’ll be left in hotel rooms all across town as attendees pack up to leave.

Less common, but highly useful items that may be appropriate for your company include branded UsB hubs, combination pen/stylus/LED flashlights or even WD-40 “pens” and sunglasses. You want to stand out from the crowd, so think outside the box to find an unusual promotional item that meets your customers’ needs and fits your company’s brand image. Also consider using promotional items to generate buzz and drive booth attendance with a contest that features a trendy item, such as the latest tablet.

5) moTIvATE EmPloyEES

some say that happy employees make for happy customers. Internal contests/awards, recognition and sales-incentive programs are all ways of maintaining that esprit de corps.

The use of internal promotional items is growing more than ever. safety programs are a big category – say, with a logo jacket for everyone on the team hitting the goal for safe operations at the plant. Eco-initiatives and recycling can be encouraged with branded double-walled drink ware, reducing the number of water bottles used in the office.

mAKE IT HAPPEn

Remember, effective promotional items are products that people might really like, but wouldn’t necessarily think to buy themselves. They can help you reach your objectives if you use common marketing sense and have a little fun with them.

The range of available promotional items has become seemingly endless, and there is new flexibility built into ordering, with low minimums (as low as one) and fast turnarounds (one to three days on average versus the old standard of five to 10 days). Additionally, there is no need to stuff that office hall closet anymore – even warehousing options are available, along with “decorate on demand” capabilities.

For all these reasons, it’s no surprise that more brand marketers are cutting through the noise of today’s fragmented media markets by swinging into swag.

It costs far

more

to acquire a n

ew

customer than it

does to sel

l to an

existing one

.

... happy employees

make for happy

customers.

For more information, please email chodge@inwk.com or visit bit.ly/inwkpromo

Consider using

promotional item

s

to generate

buzz ...

600 West Chicago Ave, Suite 850, Chicago, IL 60654

Web: www.inwk.com

Twitter: @INWK_MSB

About InnerworkingsETING

InnERwoRKInGS IS THE lEADInG PRovIDER oF GloBAl mARKETInG SUPPly CHAIn SolUTIonS.

We combine innovative technology, an extensive supplier network, and deep domain expertise to help companies strategically manage their print, promotional, and packaging solutions.

We service customers across multiple industries, including financial services, retail, non-profits, health care, food and beverage, education, transportation and utilities. With headquarters in Chicago and major operations in Chile and the United Kingdom, InnerWorkings employs approximately 1,100 people and operates in more than 44 offices around the world.

For more information, please email chodge@inwk.com or visit http://bit.ly/inwkpromo.

“Advertising specialties Impressions study,” Advertising specialties Institute, November 2008, http://www.asicentra l .com/html/open/EducationandEvents/powersummit08/Impressions_study.pdf

“The 2011 Estimate of U.s. Distributors’ Promotional Products sales,” prepared for the Promotional Products Association International, June 2012, http://www.ppai.org/inside-ppai/research/Documents/2011%20PPAI%20sales%20survey%20full%20report.pdf

http://www.gww.de/studien.html

Sources