There are a lot of people out there who call us and tell us they’re going to a trade show and “need some swag.” For them it’s more of an expectation of doing business at the show than it is an impetus to make something happen. So let’s talk about what a promotional product can and can’t do for your business.
A Promotional Product Gets You Attention
If you’ve ever been to a trade show before, you know there’s always that booth that everyone flocks to because of what they’re giving away. It can be food, a hot tech item, even a “flying” stuffed monkey. The booth gets a lot of attention because everyone wants their promotional product but does this traffic turn into sales? Only if they’re having conversations with the people who want their item. After all, a promotional product is not the product you sell so unless you have the two tightly integrated, one does not automatically lead to the other.
A Promotional Product Sells Your Product When Designed to Do So
Would you buy a car because the dealership was giving you a free t-shirt? Of course not. You probably have plenty of t-shirts and why spend $25,000 for a t-shirt? Your promotional product has to be aligned to what you’re asking people to do. If you want a promotional item to sway a car purchase, it has to be a much high-end item because the investment you are asking of your potential customer is large. Offering a free iPad would be much more inline with an auto purchase. But….
The Customer Must Be Interested or Have a Need
An iPad is a nice bonus for someone in the market for a car but it will never convince someone to buy a new car who’s not in the market for one. It can sway someone who’s thinking about buying a car, or someone who needs a new one but has been putting it off, but if the customer just bought a new car last week, your promotional item isn’t going to cause her to buy another one. Promotional products aren’t magic.
You also can’t force someone to buy something they hate just because you have a great promotional item. A free glass isn’t going to convince a non-drinker to buy a bottle of champagne, unless they can envision a use for it, such as a gift for a friend. If you’re given the opportunity, a talented sales person and promotional product make an effective team.
Promotional products help you get noticed, guide people down the sales funnel, incentivize desired behavior, and cause people to make a final decision in your favor, as long as the items are well-matched to each process and the activity you are asking of potential customers.
Talk to our team at ThinkQuik today to find out how you can align your promotional product with your sales process for better sales conversions.
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