Last week we told you that swag is getting more expensive. People expect more than a cheap keychain. But we understand budgets. That’s why we put together this list of ways you can save on swag.
When it comes to swag, there are three main areas you can save money in:
- Item selection
- Fees
- Shipping
You can save money on swag by cutting costs in any (or all) of these areas. It’s important to know that a top dollar swag item doesn’t mean paying top dollar all around. For instance, if you are absolutely set on a costly swag item, you can still save money in the area of fees and shipping. In fact, you can save enough to where that more expensive item can be purchased in total for nearly the same cost as a cheaper item.
Here are a few ways you can trim your swag budget and still offer nice giveaways.
11 of the Best Ways to Get More Swag for Your Money
Order Early
Rush fees can break a budget, especially on branded items. With expedited processing and shipping costs, you could double your expense by ordering at the last minute. Instead, think about your swag needs ahead of time. Order with plenty of time to spare so you never pay rush fees.
Order in Bulk
Even if the events you’re going to are smaller and you’re not ordering a lot of items for each individual event, you may be able to work out a pricing deal if you look at all of your events as one big order and place it at one time. For instance, let’s imagine you’re ordering 100 notebooks for event #1, 200 tote bags for event #2, 150 chocolate bars for the third event, and 225 USBs for your last event. Instead of ordering each of these things individually right before the event, you can order them all at the same time and leverage a larger order to negotiate the price. It may also be possible to save money in shipping because you’re only paying the shipping once versus four times on four different orders.
Order Holiday Swag Right After the Holiday
If you know that you attend an event during the holidays every year, consider ordering for next year immediately after the holiday occurs. Just like clearance on holiday items in retail, you might be able to negotiate a better price. However, keep in mind some of the manufacturers may not have large numbers of items. In this case, you could consider giving out more than one kind of swag and buy what they have left.
Look for Specials
Sometimes swag companies over-order. Sometimes the manufacturers have a surplus of an item and they want to get rid of it. You may be able to pick up some great discounts on these types of items, especially if you’re looking for small numbers.
Consider Ordering for Multiple Years
It’s a no-brainer that there are savings in ordering in bulk. But sometimes you don’t need the number of items that qualifies for the deeper discounts. In these situations, don’t look at your swag needs just for this year, but consider what you might use next year as well. You can order for both years (or more) and take advantage of the cost savings for the larger order.
The only area you might not want to do that in is technology. It could change or prices could go down significantly over a two-year period.
Get Multiple Quotes
At ThinkQuik, we always encourage our customers to get multiple quotes. But keep in mind the cheapest isn’t always the best. If you have a vendor who is quoting you so much lower than everybody else…beware.
Most promotional marketing companies work with product manufacturing companies and they can only go so low on price and still make a profit. If you find a price that is much much lower than everyone else, you have to wonder why.
What are they cutting out? What are they not doing?
It’s also important when looking at price to understand what the company is providing you with. At ThinkQuik, we’re not always going to be your cheapest option because one of the things we provide is concierge service. You hand the project over to us and we take care of it from beginning to end. We become like a project manager on your promotional marketing team. You don’t need to worry. We check it all–timeline, quality, shipping–all the details that drive you crazy, we handle them for you. So it’s important to factor in your time when you’re considering the price of promotional items as well.
Understand the Fees
Some companies charge a lot of extra fees. It’s important that you understand these upfront. If you just look at the promotional product in their catalog and the price per item, the fees are not often included in that amount. There may be shipping fees, press fees, foil printing fees, and set up fees, to name just a few. Find these out before you make any commitments. It’s also important to find out if the company charges a convenience fee for using a credit card of you plan to pay that way.
Cut Back to Give More
Yes, swag expectations are increasing but that doesn’t mean you have to give top-notch promotions away to everyone who stops by your booth. Consider your goals for the event. Are you trying to get more name recognition or is your swag designed to facilitate a purchase? If it’s the latter, you don’t want to give swag to everyone who walks into your booth because not everyone is a buyer. Instead, save that kind of swag for people you’re having serious conversations with, people who fit your ideal customer persona. If you’re more selective about who you’re giving the swag to you won’t have to buy as much.
However, if you feel obligated to provide something for everyone then have a secondary swag item as a booth giveaway and save your more costly item for potential buyers.
Consider Storage and Shipping Costs
Unless you’re giving the swag away at your business, you’ll need to factor in the cost to ship it to the event or events. If your promotional item is large, bulky, or heavy, shipping may be more expensive than the item itself.
You also want to consider the size of the item when you’re thinking about the event. Where will you store it? Is your booth big enough for your swag boxes?
If not, will you keep some in your hotel room and run back and forth as needed to restock supply or will you have to pay the event organizer to store the items for you until they’re needed? If you do, there’s likely going to be a fee associated with that. It may be a per box fee or it may be charged by weight. Smaller, lighter items may be less expensive if there’s a lot of transport required.
Know That Where You Ship Matters
Convention centers and other event locations have very specific charges when it comes to how boxes are handled. Sometimes it’s not the weight of the box that determines how they charge but the number of boxes. That means if your promotional marketing vendor ships your materials in several small boxes versus one large one, you may be paying a lot to the conference center.
On the other hand, if your item is small, you may be able to hand-carry the box(es) or have it shipped to your hotel’s business center. The handling fees for a business center (if there are any) are generally less than a conference center. If you have an office in the city where you’re exhibiting, delivering it to them would be your least expensive option, although you would have to find a way to transport it to where you’re exhibiting.
Ask About the Shipper
If you ask, you may have a choice about what carrier ships your packages. This could save you some money. Another way to save money on shipping is to ask if the promotional marketing company will use your corporate account. If you have a corporate account, your company likely negotiated better shipping costs than what the public receives. This is a savings few people consider.
If you want to give higher-quality swag but you don’t have a lot of room in your budget, consider these tips. From a marketing perspective, it is better to use higher-quality, targeted giveaways than it is cheap items no one will hold on to.
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