Promotional Product Ideas for the Most Common Marketing Goals

Are you wondering what the perfect promotional product is? At ThinkQuik, we always remind customers that the most effective promotional products align with the business’ marketing goals. Said another way, we advise on deciding upon where you want to go before trying to get there. That way you can make a really effective decision on how you’ll arrive.

Think of marketing as a trip. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll be doing a lot of meandering. And that can get expensive. Consider, the most effective mode of transportation to get to your destination can’t be uncovered until you decide where you’re going. Would you drive from New York to London? Of course not, but if you don’t know your desired destination is London, you might get in your car and drive around before you realize you just can’t get there that way.

The same is true of marketing. If you don’t know where you want to go, you may be using the wrong channel to get there. Using the wrong channel is costly and likely won’t get you to your final goal.

Deciding on Your Marketing Goal

The first part about deciding where you want to go, or establishing your marketing goal, should be part of a larger business discussion. Where is your company headed and how does marketing fit into that?

There are several kinds of marketing goal types including:

awareness: you want people to learn more about you.
sales: you’re looking for more customers. This can also including reaching a new demographic.
improving a reputation: this may be due to a PR problem or wanting to increase loyalty among your customers.
rebranding: you want the audience to think about you in a different way (for example, you used to be a mid-market solution and now you want to offer a more high-end solution as well).
product launch: you have a new offering that you want to tell people about.

These marketing goal types are not goals in themselves. Goals must be specific, time-oriented, and attainable.

“I want more customers” is not a goal.

“We will increase sales in the toy division by 10% by October 1, 2019,” is (if you put in a way to measure it).

So take a moment and write down your business goal. Once you have it, you can decide how you can use swag and other types of marketing to get there.

But be careful. This is where a lot of people get lost.

They know what they want. They know their destination. But they don’t have a map to get there.

That’s why we put together this helpful cheat sheet. In this article, we’ve listed the most common marketing goals and ways you can use swag to achieve these goals. One thing we want to be clear on though, promotional products are not a stand-alone solution. They are to be used in conjunction with other marketing tactics and components.

There are several marketing goals that most people have for their business or event. Once you’ve decided on your marketing goal, look at the examples below for easy promotional product alignment. If you have any additional questions, we’re always here.

Common Marketing Goals

For ease of use, we’ve conveyed these marketing goals as simple statements, not exact goals. The details involved in goal setting are specific to your business. We’ll leave the details to you but the skeleton of the goal is captured below:

More Customers

If you want more customers you need to establish “know, like, and trust.” Swag helps with the know and like part of that. Most people feel obligated to do something nice (like make a purchase) for someone who did something nice for them (gave them swag). This isn’t just a premise of psychology. Marketing research backs it up. According to the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), “Consumers are nearly 2.5x more likely to have a positive opinion of promotional products compared to Internet advertising.”

ASI also asked 2,000 people how they feel about the company when they receive a promotional product. The most common answers were:

happy
grateful
good
generous
awesome
great
thankful

Those are pretty positive words considering they didn’t stipulate what kind of giveaway it was.

If you want to increase the number of customers you attract through a promotional product use things like:

pens. They are utilitarian and can be passed among several different owners. This works well when your customer base is broad and many would be interested in your product or service.
t-shirts. Let your recipients advertise for you. Again, this works best when your company could have a wide appeal.
tote bags. People keep these for a long time and use them in public. Like t-shirts, they work well for mass appeal.

Build Loyalty

Customers have a lot of options these days. If your goal is more loyal customers and thus, more repeat business, getting them to like and value you is important. Best swag for building loyalty:

power banks. An extremely useful giveaway.
a cute USB. Try an unusual shape like a monkey or doctor. Tie it in with your business or service.
desk toy. If you have customers who are largely at a desk all day, giving them a fun toy as a promotional product will bring out their inner child and make them think of you often.

Rebrand Launch

If you’re rebranding you want to get your new logo or colors and design everywhere. Since you want to get your new logo out there, make sure you select a giveaway item that is large enough so it can clearly be seen. When it comes to rebranding go with an item that makes sense and is recognizable for your business. For instance, a logoed beach ball may work well for a beach bar but likely would be unrecognizable for a hair salon. Align the swag with your business in this category. If there’s nothing that fits your business well, here are a few general ideas on good rebranding items:

Branded drinkware. Popular ones now include metal drink containers and water bottles.
Hats. Chose the type of hat based on the kind of business you have.
Calendar. This is ideal because they’re looking at your logo and contact information all year on this promotional product. However, you want to make sure your target customer uses paper calendars and not apps.

Product Launch

This is an exciting time when you’re rolling out a new product. Whenever possible, your swag for a product launch should be a sample or a tie-in to the product.

Food. If your new product is food, give some away.
Sample of product. Give them a one-time use of your product or a complementary product. For instance, if you’re launching a new toothpaste, give them a branded toothbrush with a sample of the paste.
Sales-driven giveaway. Give someone something for buying the new product. For instance, if the customer buys your new gym package, give them a free logoed water bottle or yoga mat.

Build a Positive Reputation

Whether you simply want people to be more aware of you or you had a PR mishap affect customer confidence, here are a few swag ideas that can help.

For a PR mishap. Use a giveaway that ties into the issue at hand. For example, a security breach in your database can be handled by giving away a subscription to a credit monitoring company and an RFID-blocking backpack for VIP customers.
A notebook. These are incredibly handy, easy to send, and visible to others.
Business cards with seeds in them. Eco-friendly business cards can show that you are someone who is worried about larger issues like the environment.
Umbrella. Your product is there for them when they need it most. This product is also one of the longest kept promotional product. Its average time with the owner is 14 months, a pretty good return on your investment.

A Word About Demographics

As mentioned above with calendars, not all swag works for every generation. Knowing what groups like what is important. According to ASI the following is true:

Midwesterners tend to keep the most swag out of any other geographic area. The Pacific Northwest keeps the least.
Republicans have more promotional products than Democrats.
Out of US citizens, Asians retain the most promotional items. The least likely to hold onto it are Hispanics.
Men over 55 tend to hold on to the most promotional products while women age 45-64 do.
58% of women have a favorable view of MADE IN THE USA, as do 52% of men. Rural residents favor it more than city dwellers. It’s also a favorite of the 18-24 set and those over 65.

Whatever your reason for swag, it should always be tied into your business goals. Whenever possible, look to information on demographics as there are some giveaways that fit ages, genders, and geographical areas better than others. All swag should be as personalized as possible for your audience and their needs. Popular swag is utilitarian, attractive, or entertaining with clear space for your logo. Some spots really are too small for a logo.

Did we cover your swag and promotional product needs and marketing goals? If not, drop us a line and we’ll do a post in the future and work with you now.