There are many different methods for marketing a business or a promotional product to customers. You can focus on online strategies only, embracing emails, social media, and website SEO as your main initiatives for growing the business. Perhaps your target audience is a little on the older side, so traditional means of advertising like newspaper ads and printed materials are more effective. Maybe radio ads lead to massive conversions for your brand.
Whichever direction your marketing campaigns move, it is important to understand how to make them more effective. That could mean choosing a different medium for your message or simply dedicating more time to honing the content of the message to be more meaningful. Since you are likely working within a marketing budget, you have to know how to maximize your strategies to achieve the desired outcomes.
Promotional products are a type of marketing that uses branded merchandise to increase the visibility of a company. Everyday items are imprinted with a business name or logo and given away so that others can learn about the brand. It takes a lot of strategizing to make the most of a promotional product campaign, and there are several ways to maximize this type of initiative.
Focus on Buyer Personas
Choosing the right promotional products is perhaps the biggest decision in a branded merchandise campaign. After all, if no one is interested in what you are giving away, then they are not going to use it and generate impressions for the business, nor will they be excited about what the company is doing. Before you decide on the right items to invest in, take a look at your buyer personas. If you don’t have buyer personas to work from, then create some that represent the average member of your target audience.
Then use these profiles to come up with some promotional products that would meet the needs of these people. You could create custom tote bags if you have eco-conscious customers. Fitness fans would appreciate items like reusable water bottles or gym bags. When buyer personas guide your promotional product campaign, you are more likely to engage customers with your brand more powerfully.
Determine Where and When to Give Away Items
Once you have selected the right items that will meet the needs of your audience, it is time to decide how you will give them away. Should you use the products for corporate gifts to inspire your employees and make them feel more connected to the success of the company? Could you reward loyal customers for their past purchases by offering a free t-shirt or a custom koozie to keep their drinks cool? Should you play a role in a local festival and have a prize wheel for members of the public to engage with and get to know your brand with a chance to win prizes?
Don’t waste the opportunity you have with these promotional products by giving them away on a whim. Come up with a strategy for where, when, and who to give them away to so you can increase brand awareness and develop loyalty to the company.
Determine KPIs
One of the difficulties of running a promotional product campaign is measuring the results. Measuring marketing performance is an important piece of your messaging efforts, as it can inform what changes need to be made and what strategies have been effective. However, since you have little control over who sees the items you give away, and how many people are convinced to check out your company as a result, finding KPIs to analyze can be challenging. You may need to get creative. You could run some surveys on social media or via emails and ask how customers first heard about your business.
Tracking organic traffic to your website could also indicate success with promotional product giveaways if no other initiatives are occurring. If you own a brick-and-mortar location, see if there is an uptick in customers entering the store during a promotional giveaway. While they may be data points that are hard to connect, they could indicate that this campaign is generating awareness of your brand, even if it is harder to measure.
Design Quality Matters
While it could be tempting to slap your current logo or company name design on any item to be given away, design quality matters for this type of marketing campaign. If your logo design is boring or unappealing, no one is going to notice the name or logo on the item when it is used. This could result in a waste of your investment. Instead, take some time to create an eye-catching design for the items you order. If possible, work with a graphic designer who knows what they are doing. The more appealing the image, the more likely it is to grab the attention of others and generate impressions for the company. This will allow you to maximize your investment in promotional products.
All Marketing Initiatives Require Planning
While the nature of promotional product marketing may seem like it is a “set it and forget it” strategy,” this is never the case with any messaging campaign. Take time to plan out how you will use these items to promote your company and maximize your investment. Failing to strategize will just end up wasting the opportunity. Instead, consider the why, how, where, when, and what of your promotional product campaign to maximize positive outcomes. Digital marketing agency is here to help you!
