Promotional items are a brilliant form of advertisement through branded items. These items create brand awareness, and are used to make customers happy and bring in new business. Promotional items can be almost anything, but there are some important factors that should go into choosing the right, and ultimately the most effective, product to share your brand.
1. Know your demographic
One of the biggest influences towards which product you choose as a promotional item should be based on what your demographic is. You want to choose promotional items that will speak to the people you are targeting as customers. If it is not something they find interesting, cool, or fun, they aren’t going to want it and they aren’t going to use it. Know the demographic you are trying to speak to, and choose promotional items that are going to be attractive and exciting for them.
2. Know your budget
Another factor you’ll need to consider when choosing promotional items is your budget. How many of these items do you want and how much money do you have to put towards that? With that in mind, you should be able to focus on a range of promotional items that are within your budget. Once you have in mind the amount of money you are willing to spend on your promotional items, you can move on to making other decision like what quality, quantity, and design. Knowing your budget will help you cut out items you absolutely can’t or don’t want based on price.
3. Know your purpose
Choose promotional items that match your business. You want your promotional items to make sense. Sure there are some basic items like pens or USB keys that can be generic, but if you’re going for something a little more unique and personal, you’ll want to choose something that is fitting for what you do. This goes back a little to the demographic point – if your promotional items have something to do with the service or product you provide, chances are your customers and potential customers will be interested in them. Also to flip that around, people who are interested in your promotional items will likely be interested in your business too.
4. Know your image
What do you want people to think of your company? What will your promotional item say about you? If you are giving away cheap garbage, people will think your company is cheap garbage. If you are giving away quality items, people will associate your business with quantity. In this sense you’re playing a bit of a mind game with the people who are going to be using your promotional items. Give current and future customers a good image of your company through your promotional items. When you have something to sell, your image is everything – make sure yours is good.
5. Know your values
What does your company stand for? If you are a known advocate of earth-friendly products and practices, you absolutely can’t give out a promotional item that is not earth-friendly. Your promotional item should give the customer a little taste of what your values are. What do you represent as a company? What do you care about? If you can, you should try to show this through your promotional items. People are more likely to support companies who share in their values. But if people don’t know your values, they won’t know whether or not they share them with you. There are many ways to share your values, and using promotional items is just one of them, but it can be a small and relatively inexpensive way to show customers why your company is the one to choose. The Brandability website is a useful resource if you would like to learn more information.
