10 Tips on Promotional Product Marketing

Is your company using product marketing to its full advantage?

If you use the best promotional items, your business can pull ahead of the competition. These products can help get new customers on board by making a positive, memorable first impression. Once you have their attention, you can easily turn them into repeat customers.

One study by L.J. Market Research actually found that 52 percent of people who were given a promotional marketing product ended up becoming customers. However, you can’t just hand out products at random and expect it to work. You’ll need to have a strategy for how you choose and distribute these materials.

With these tips, you’ll be able to get your product marketing strategy right. Keep reading to learn how!

1. Consider Your Target Audience

Since you’re already doing business, you should already have a target audience that you’re thinking of. You know who’s already buying your products or services, and you know the kind of target customer that you want to attract. Whether it’s for something specific or a general type of new customer, you need the target in mind before you start working with promotional product marketing.

This knowledge is important so you can choose items that the recipients will truly want and use. That way, you’re not wasting money on products that aren’t interesting to them, and your brand will get the right kind of recognition. It’s a win-win situation for you and the customer.

For example, if your target audience is young, hip, and outdoorsy, you might consider giving out branded beach towels that they’re likely to use (and post pictures of on social media). If you give out branded desktop planners to that same audience, it likely won’t have the same positive effect on your brand.

2. Consider Distribution Strategies

Your audience matters, but so does your promotional distribution. Who is going to get the products, and how are they going to receive them?

It’s a good idea to have unique products for every event or campaign, and a separate list of target recipients each time. Then, you can think about the actual logistics of the giveaway.

For example, if you’re doing promotional product giveaways at a trade show, an item that needs to be carried (such as a water bottle) might not be the best idea. People will get tired of hauling it around all day and are less likely to keep it. They also won’t think as positively about your brand if you hand out something that’s useless to them at that moment.

At a trade show, a better product giveaway might be a convenient tote bag. The water bottle idea would work better for an outdoor event in the summer, when guests will really appreciate it.

You’ll also need to think about exactly how people are going to receive those products. You might need to plan ahead to ship the products to the right location ahead of time, and decide exactly what the giveaway will look like. Will it be an appreciation gift handed out across the board, a prize for a select few, or something else?

3. Use a Call to Action

You’re not just giving away the best promotional products for no reason – you have a goal. Make sure to include a call to action to help make that objective a reality.

Maybe you’re hoping to get more people to visit your website, or follow you on social media. If you add a call to action alongside your product, you’re much more likely to see results than if you just hand things out and hope for the best.

For example, you might encourage people to engage on social media by suggesting that they take photos with a branded hashtag attached. You can share the best photos, or enter them in a contest, to get people even more excited to post them. This will expand your reach on social media and give you a great source of user-generated content to pull from.

4. Don’t Order at the Last Minute

The best promotional items can take time to make and deliver. If you want product marketing that’s high-quality and arrives on time, make sure to plan ahead.

Even if the product is simple, such a pen, you should leave plenty of time to have it made well and make adjustments as needed. For example, with pens, you’ll need to make decisions regarding the ink color, pen type, material, logo design, and more. This can take a while!

Of course, some products have more options than others. But if you leave enough time to make these decisions, things will go better. A target budget, approximate number of units, and an ideal time frame can help you plan ahead as needed.

All branded products are customized, and customization takes time. If you plan ahead, you’ll allow enough time for the creative decisions to be made, and you won’t end up paying for rush delivery. You’ll even be able to get samples ahead of time if you need.

5. Avoid Generic Items

There are some branded products that have been done so often they become generic and worthless. If you’re handing out branded sticky notes or keychains, they aren’t likely to have much value to the recipients. This means you’ve wasted your product marketing money.

Instead, come up with creative, useful, high-quality items to hand out. They don’t have to be expensive or fancy to be of good quality. For example, this company makes lanyards that are simple, yet useful to the right audience.

6. Don’t Make it Complicated

Good product marketing doesn’t need to be complex. For example, if you’re giving out the product to people who provide their email address, make it easy for them to do so. Use a form on a tablet that’s simple for them to fill out to keep things moving.

Ready to Make Product Marketing Work for You?

Great product marketing is all about planning ahead and having the right strategy for your business. When you know your target audience and choose the perfect products for them, the results will speak for themselves.

Looking for more ways to promote your business? Then don’t miss this post.