Promotional Merchandise To The Rescue in Economic Troubles

When working out your annual marketing budget the first expenditure should go on promotional merchandise. Promotional merchandise should always be considered before any other form of marketing as it is so highly effective. Promotional merchandise is a very cost-effective form of advertising. It involves a one-off cost to purchase the products and can provide years of advertising depending on the item.

For example, a useful product such as a quality mug or USB stick will be used for as long as it lasts and every time that item is used it is advertising your company. Many organisations pay for extensive advertising to try and go one better than competitors but we believe this cost is unnecessary. The main problem with advertising is that your advert has to be bigger, better and louder than the competitors in order to stand out. This means that simply paying for the advert isn't enough, you need to create something which is one hundred times better than everyone else, which is a really tough task.

A recent survey showed that 70% of people could not remember an advertising campaign they were exposed to one year ago, but they could recall all promotional merchandise they had received during that time. By giving away promotional merchandise you can ensure that consumers will see your name and use your products. It's human nature to be attracted to something which is free and in tough economic times, most consumers are more likely to do business with a company if they get something out of it.

Promotional merchandise promotes goodwill and is very good for a companies image and brand. Consumers will always remember when you have done something for them which others have not.

The British Promotional Merchandise Association recently ran a survey to look at how promotional merchandise could help businesses. The results showed that 92% of respondents believed that merchandise increased company awareness. As well as this 82% said they kept any promotional merchandise they were given and 65% passed on the company name or product to two family members. These statistics prove the power of promotional merchandise to your business.

There are many ways in which you can use promotional merchandise. If you have a trade show or event coming up then you can give away keyrings at the event. New customers could be sent a pen when they purchase, or you could reward existing customers with a USB stick. However, you use your promotional merchandise it is a very powerful marketing tool.