Many businesses think of promotional products as an after thought. They sign up for a meeting, trade show, and/or event and then after they’ve booked booth space and arranged their display, they order a promotional product. Most simply look at the bottom line of how much they have in the budget after the event and travel costs and make a decision about what they’ll bring based on that.
But promotional marketing items do more than bring people to your booth and help them recall your company later. Here are a number of ways promo items boost your marketing. They might surprise you.
When They’re Given Away
No one likes the idea of a promo product ending up in someone else’s hands, unless that someone is also in the market for what you sell. This idea is exactly why pens have always been a top marketing item. They have feet, and multiple owners over the course of their use. They’re ideal for businesses with a larger buying demographic like banks and title companies.
When They’re Blogged About
One of the reasons to go with an uber cool giveaway is because industry bloggers often dedicate a post to the top promotional items. This is a great way to get booth traffic for multi-day conferences. If you already know influence bloggers who will be at your event, feel free to take a picture of your giveaway and tweet to them that you’re saving one for them. Even if they won’t buy from you directly, they’re well connected to the people who will.
When They’re Donated
Let’s face it, sometimes people over order the amount or giveaways they need. Or sometimes the event has a smaller audience than you expected. Or you may be tired of your last promotion and are moving onto something new. Whatever the reason, you have a surplus of your promotional product. You can toss it, give it away to employees, or donate it. If you make a donation, think about who you’re donating it to. Select an entity that may help you get one last promotional push out of your item. For instance, if you’re a Veterinarian with a surplus of sports bottles, you could donate them to a school class or PE program, knowing that where there are kids, there are often pets who need a doctor.
Promotional products have multiple lives and when you start looking at the potential out there, you’ll start to see additional marketing opportunities.
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