There are hundreds of different reasons your organisation should use promotional products. These products have been used for many years and as technology develops they are used even more by marketers. Whilst many companies use promotional products many don't realise just how important they are.
Promotional products are an extremely powerful weapon in marketing. Many companies use them as a way to attract new customers to the business. Even big brands use promotional items to attract new customers, with well known banks and insurance companies giving away promotional products when their services are brought. It doesn't matter how many loyal customers you have, if you want to survive in business then you need to be constantly attracting new customers. Promotional merchandise is vital to attracting new customers. The best way to get your business out there is by spreading your business name. If your brand name is constantly visible you will get more business.
Another use of promotional products is to retain business. In a tough economic climate, competition is tough for every business. In order to survive you need to treat every customer as important. You should show existing customers you appreciate them buying from you, one way to do this is through the use of promotional items. When trying to retain customers, don't cut back on quality. The last thing you want is to buy thousands of pens to realise they don't work. Spending money on promotional items is an investment and should be treated as such.
Promotional items can also be used to improve customer relations. Perhaps you have one customer who has been with you for years. You should reward this loyalty and show them you are grateful for the support. By giving them a product which is actually useful, you are improving your relationship with them. They may then tell their friends which could gain you more business.
Many different studies have shown that promotional products are more useful for creating brand awareness than expensive advertising. Television advertising, in particular, is generally only affordable to bigger companies. This means the smaller ones have very little way to promote their products or services. However, the effectiveness of promotional products means that smaller companies can compete with bigger brands for up to 90% of the cost!
Promotional products are vital to any marketing campaign, they should be input into every marketing budget and carefully considered in any marketing plan.