subject: How to Use Promotional Products to Sell Your Brand [print this page] How to Use Promotional Products to Sell Your Brand
We all love a good giveaway, even if it is something so simple as a pen or notepad. Sometimes it's those little things we pick up from a business or two that gets us excited. It's not because we just saved ourselves five cents from having to buy it ourselves, but because it was given to us as a gift.
Value is perceived in many different ways. Those promotional pens you amass from others is not about loading up your pencil holders, but a connection made between you and a business.
1. Promotional products are advertisements: Of course businesses love their customers, but those freebies they hand out are an integral part of their advertising campaign. Those products help company increase their brand recognition. While the end user of such products may not have taped your brochure to their computer monitor to be looked at often, a simple pen with your logo is a constant reminder of who you are and what you sell. Like a business card, the information on a promotional product gives the end user an easy way to remember and contact you when they need your product or service.
2. Reach more people: Take for instance an umbrella or a T-shirt that you give away as a promotional product. Not only does the end user use or wear it in public, but it can serve as a walking billboard for you. Your business name, log and information are seen by multiple people, not just the guy you originally gave it to. It's akin to a magazine in a doctor's office; there's more than one reader.
There is a wide assortment of items you can use to promote your business. Technology has made it much simpler and more cost-effective to have your business information stamped on an object. Whether you envision mouse pads or key chains, baseball caps or baseballs, it can be made into a promotional product.
3. Promotional products should represent your brand: The key to creating and using these products effectively lies in understanding you brand perception and what your customers are looking for. Promotions can be used not only for brand awareness but to communicate your slogan or mission. Be sure to use a quality product. Even though the end user is getting it for free doesn't mean they want something that doesn't work or breaks. The quality of your promotional product is a direct reflection of your brand. If it appears flimsy or falls apart, what will they think about your product or service?
Using products to promote your business is an effective way to communicate with potential customers. Keep them in mind when designing your marketing and advertising campaigns because they are a part of the overall mix of medium that work quite well.
