The Top Promotional Products for Small Businesses

Marketing can be a difficult nut to crack, regardless of your business size or the industry you work in but there is one effective form of marketing you could use promotional products.

Recent research has suggested that brands need to be willing to invest in more memorable forms of marketing, to ensure a good ROI. However, choosing to use promotional products is just the start – it's how you use the products which makes the difference. How do you choose the audience to target your marketing too and where do promotional products fit into your plan?

Promotional marketing can fit easily into any marketing budget. They can be used as their own advertising method, or alongside other advertising media. By carefully selecting audiences, promotional marketing can dramatically increase their effectiveness. If chosen wisely, the promotional item may remain in use for a long period of time, repeating the advertising message every time the product is used.

People like receiving promotional items, which means they are effective as incentives for customers and motivators for staff. Think about the message you want your products to get across. Do you want them to boost sales, or would you rather use them to reward staff for their hard work and loyalty?

Promotional goods create a great brand exposure, people are used to being advertised to wherever they go, this means that regular advertisements no longer work for people. However, if you are to give a product away with your advertisement then they are more likely to appreciate it. For example, what would you prefer to receive – a flyer or a promotional giveaway? Promotional items are much less likely to be thrown away, as they are items which are more like gifts. If you are given a gift, it's not very often you will throw it away. In comparison, a flyer is likely to be thrown out.

Promotional products can provide a great creative spin on your marketing, it's easy to create an advert, however considering promotional products which are going to work is much more difficult. For example, one of the most popular promotional items is the promotional pen. But unless you choose a vibrant design, it's unlikely yours will stand out. You should also think about your target market – they may not enjoy receiving a pen.

When considering your marketing plan for the next year, consider promotional products to make your company stand out.

Written by

Total Merchandise | Editoral Team

Our editorial team is drawn from a pool of experienced promotional merchandise product team members, account managers, marketers and other contributors. With such a wide range of skills and experience, they write about many aspects of promotional merchandise, wider marketing and business matters, as well as company news updates.

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