Gifts That Keep on Giving: The Benefits of Promotional Merchandise

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In a crowded marketplace, visibility is crucial , we need to stand out amongst our competition. So, we’re going to be looking at the many benefits and advantages of using promotional products in your marketing strategy and how it helps your business gain visibility. We’ll also show how it is a more cost-effective form of advertising and gives a far better return on investment than many other forms of marketing. We’ll also be correcting a few common misconceptions about the products themselves too.

So what are the benefits of investing in promotional merchandise as part of your marketing strategy?

Increased Brand Exposure and Visibility

You create a truly lasting impression with branded merchandise because every time somebody sees a piece of your merchandise, it attracts attention to your brand. Your branded products become a walking advertisement for your business, as each time an item with your logo is used, your branding is seen. If you choose an item that is useful and long lasting, it can often get passed on to other users too, giving your brand even more exposure and brand visibility.

Low Cost Effective Marketing

Compared to some other traditional marketing channels, using branded products is far more cost effective. They are a tangible link to your business and are far longer lasting than, say a TV or radio advert. Merchandise has the potential for far longer exposure to your audience, making it extremely cost effective

Consider the number of impressions that your brand will receive on a product like a mug. An impression is just the number of times your brand will be seen. Compare that to the cost of the product itself against other advertising costs, and you will see that your CPI, or cost per impression, is far lower on these types of products like bags, mugs, and umbrellas, to name a few. That makes branded merchandise an excellent investment for your marketing budget.

Cost of Product/Number of Impressions = Cost Per Impression

Increases Customer Loyalty

We know that trust plays a major part in a person’s buying decision making process. A customer needs to know and trust the business before they spend their money. Studies have proven that branded merchandise has a very significant impact on that process. They show that a business will appear to be more solid and stable and if a customer has received a promotional product, it creates a positive association with that brand. They are therefore more likely to buy in the first place AND more likely to be a return buyer.

Tangible Relationship Building

Having an actual product is a very real and quantifiable way for your potential customers to feel connected to your brand. Offering a giveaway at an event for example, is a quick way to establish and start nurturing a relationship. Choose your products wisely and they will demonstrate for you, how much your business cares and values the support of each potential customer. Each person feels valued, and that personal touch can really strengthen your connection.

Customisation and Versatility

There is such a vast array of products available to choose from, that can be customised in so many ways with a logo, slogan, motivational message etc, that it really enables a business to reinforce its own brand identity so much more effectively. The visual elements of a product, the style, design and colours, as well as the materials it’s made from, eco-friendly products for example and even how it is customised, can make it completely unique to a brand. You can create an experience that will really resonate with your target customer, and they will more easily be able to recall your brand before your competitors.

Targeting Your Message

The promotional product you choose can be used to attract the attention of a specific type of customer or business niche. Water bottles for fitness instructors for example or make up bags for beauticians. Selecting a product that will be useful to them will grow your brand presence in that specific area, as your business gains more and more recognition each time the item is used. By creating a more targeted campaign, you can make sure that your brand is being seen by the people that you know will be interested in your products or services and therefore, is more likely to generate results.

Increasing Sales

One of the most effective uses for a promotional product is to give as a gift to potential customers. This increases the chances of that business or individual entering into a conversation with you, rather than your competitor, and means your brand will be front of mind when it comes to the time they wish to make a purchase. Likewise, sending a gift to an existing customer has often been found to prompt the action of a repeat purchase.

Complements Other Marketing Strategies

Using promotional merchandise as part of a wider marketing campaign will add to the overall brand recognition and exposure. Whilst attending a trade show for example, giving out useful brand products as part of that strategy will ensure to gain even more brand visibility both during and long after the event is over. It will create a positive impact and your business will be remembered.

Customer Engagement

Promotional merchandise can also be used effectively in other ways in your marketing strategy to encourage customer engagement and attract new customers at the same time. For example, creating a contest or a giveaway of your merchandise will attract attention from existing customers that would like to win, but they are then more likely to spread the word to others that may wish to enter the competition too. Not only creating more conversation and engagement but now also exposure to a new audience at the same time.

More Ways To Use Merch In Your Marketing

One of the common misconceptions about branded merchandise is that it is all about giving your stuff away. Whilst promotional giveaways and thank you gifts are one of the most common uses for your merch, there are so many other ways that you could be gaining visibility for your brand too and marketing with your merch!

Saying thank you to an existing customer is excellent, but it is also worth considering a gift to a new customer too. A welcome gift given to a new customer as part of their onboarding process is great way to start the bonding process.

Another group of people to say thank you to with a well-placed gift might be your employees. Or you could even use branded products to create incentives. Then as your employees use your products, they are advertising the brand at the same time.

If there are products that you use yourself in your business, or that you need to give to your clients, are you giving them branded versions? Not only does that offer opportunities to promote yourself but it will also give your business a more professional image too.

You could even go one step further and offer merchandise to sell to your target audience and create an additional income too. A good example here would be a fitness instructor or gym owner. Everybody buys workout clothing, so why not offer the clients a range of products from their own gym, that they can buy. The gym owner may also then hold specific events or bootcamps that they could provide the merchandise for, the t shirts, the water bottles etc. All branded for the gym, rather than some other large sporting brand.

Selling your own range of products also provides another avenue for potential customers to find you, buy from you and potentially see the other parts of your business too. Creating new opportunities with products that are possibly less expensive can be an easier starter purchase for them.

Even if you don’t want to sell outright in this way though, you could still use your merchandise as an upsell to your other offerings. A freebie with every ticket booked for an event or a notebook with every workshop place. You can create your very own community by using your branded merchandise.

Branded merchandise also offers many opportunities to create engagement with your customer, in your own marketing. We’ve already mentioned creating competitions and giveaways but the additional opportunities for conversation that creates and the social media content, provide great potential too. Showing images of products being used at your events, during a retreat, in your training course, all perfect ways of marketing your services, without having to talk directly about it.

There is also the option of using the print on demand method to create these products, so you don’t even have to buy any stock either. You can just have each item printed, as you need it and even shipped direct to the buyer or winner. If you aren’t too sure what print on demand is, you might be interested to read more about it here.

We mentioned employee gifts and incentives previously and whilst the staff uniform may not be considered by them as a gift, it is still an ideal way to create some brand awareness. Your staff will literally be walking billboards for your business.

Another opportunity that is often overlooked for marketing with your merch, is in fundraising and sponsorship. If you have been asked to sponsor an event or a local team, before you hand over your hard earned cash, consider the possibility of helping out with some well-placed merchandise. The most obvious sponsorship request is for a playing kit, to be printed with the sponsor’s name. What about the other possibilities of branded equipment and other training gear, the sports bottles for example? All can be branded and all opportunities for your brand to be visible. If you then get pictures of your products in action and use them in your other marketing channels, like emails and social media, you’ve now got even more return on your investment.

Promotional merchandise should not be dismissed as being ineffective, expensive, or only if you need 1000’s. These are all misconceptions and are not the case. When done correctly marketing with promotional merchandise is an extremely affordable and highly effective way to promote your brand, generate new business opportunities and create a positive impact with your brand. You can create a completely customised marketing campaign that will be unique to you, your brand and tailored specifically to the needs of your audience.

So the next time you are creating a marketing strategy remember that promotional merchandise is a powerful tool that gets results

If you’d like a copy of our Branded Drinkware Ebook, a complete guide to the specifc benefits of using mugs, water bottles and travel mugs in your marketing strategy. Click here to get a copy

If have any questions or would like more information on anything mentioned in our article please feel free to get in touch and if you would like some inspiration on merch, feel free to check out our website too

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