Would you like to make sure your customers remember your business long after that transaction or trade show?
That's the beauty of choosing personalized promotional materials for your business. Far from being gimmicky, personalized items are a cost effective way to make your business stand out and keep your name fresh in your customers' minds.
But how do you move beyond pens and sticky notes to make a real splash with your products, without breaking the bank?
Why You Should Embrace Personalized Products
Flyers can get thrown in the trash. Billboards are driven by in a second.
But a well-chosen personalized product can become part of the home or office, keeping your brand name nearby every day. If you choose a useful item, or something that will be put on display, your customers (and your potential customers!) will find themselves looking at your name and logo over and over again.
Personalized products are a great way to raise brand awareness.
Print and digital marketing are still vital of course, but a personalized product is more than a message - it's a gift.
A fun or useful product will help your business stand out in your customer's mind. Instead of telling or showing them something, you've given them something. This is a sure way to inspire a natural feeling of reciprocity and encourage them to give your business some time - and hopefully some sales.
Deciding What to Personalize
To use personalized products to your best advantage, you'll need to have a good think about what to personalize.
Keep these two considerations in mind to get yourself on the right track:
- What will it mean to your customer? The best personalized products are the ones your customers will love to receive. Choose something you know they will use in their line of business or get enjoyment from on their days off, such as a bottle opener for a restaurant or a golf umbrella for customers you know love to spend time on the green.
- What will it say about your business? Match the tone of your product to the personality of your brand. If you're a fun loving live wire, don't give them a letter opener, but on the other hand if you're a traditional upstanding business probably best to steer clear of promotional condoms.
Also, choosing something a bit more unique than the typical pen or paperweight will help you stand out.
Why not start with this list of 20 things you probably never thought to personalize:
1. Hand warmer
2. Mint tin
3. Manicure block
4. Thumb drive
5. Shoe shine kit
6. USB mug warmer
7. Digital jump rope
8. Magic 8 ball
9. IPad sleeve
10. Mobile phone stand
11. Fondue set
12. Soap
13. Bendable figures
14. Sunglasses
15. Holiday ornaments
16. Messenger bag
17. Headphones or ear buds
18. Rubik's cube
19. Luggage handle wrap
20. Watertight beach safe box
Getting the Most for Your Money
Promotional products generally offer good value for money when it comes to marketing.
Selecting products that suit your customers and represent your brand should be your primary concerns, but of course you want to pay attention to price too. It can be tempting to go for the very cheapest product, but think twice - really cheap quality shows, and you want your promotional products to say "usable" rather than "disposable".
Choose products that will be evergreen, so that once they're bought and given away they will keep working for you, rather than products that will be discarded quickly. Once you know what you want, take some time to shop around and compare prices between suppliers to get the most bangs for your buck.
Promotional products make your brand stand out and form a relationship with your customers.
With a little imagination and some careful planning, you can make promotional products work for you, creating a marketing campaign that won't expire.