The Importance of Promotional Products in Branding.
Branding is not a new concept; it has been around for as long as businesses have been advertising, but in today’s world, it is more important than ever. With a universe of competitors online, it is vital that a company’s logo is instantly recognizable and invokes a positive response in the customer. If you are not aggressively promoting your brand, then you are most likely falling behind your competitors. There are many ways to grow your brand’s recognition, but two of the most effective are through the use of promotional products and apparel. Let’s take a look at some of the ways these two methods of growing brand recognition can benefit your company.
Promotional Products Build Brand Memory and More.
A recent study by the Promotional Products Association found that 94% of customers who have promotional products remember the company that gave them the promotional product. Just like branding, promotional products have been around a long time because of their simplicity and high rate of effectiveness. George Washington was the first person known to use promotional products in the United States when commemorative buttons were given out to onlookers at his Inauguration. Since then, there has been an uncountable number of types of promotional products used to build brand recognition. From keychains to hats, to bumper stickers and thousands of other promotional items, the use of giveaways to build brand recognition has proven over and over to be an excellent way to build your brand. The reason for the popularity of promotional products is simple; everyone likes to get something for free; especially if the free item is something useful. Another staggering fact was found in the study; 500 % more referrals are received by the use of promotional products. If a customer is satisfied with both your company and the item you gave away, they will most likely recommend your business to a friend or relative. This fact is important to remember when embarking on a search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertisement (PPC) campaign. A quality item such as a phone charger with your company’s logo on it is likely to be used often and will make your brand recognizable to the owner of the charger, but everyone who comes into contact with the charger. The amount you would pay for a promotional item such as a phone charger, or a bag clip, would be the same as or less than you would pay for a PPC ad. When used in conjunction with SEO and PPC, promotional products can help build brand recognition that will bring about a positive emotional response from those who see your logo.
Promotional Products Won’t Break Your Budget.
As opposed to broadcast, print ads, and billboards, promotional products are cost-effective. While you may reach a wide number of people through an advertisement and have a certain amount of success, the cost per view of the ad can range anywhere from fifty to five hundred dollars per person depending on where customers see the advertisement. The downside to ads is that they may only be seen once and run for a finite amount of time. By comparison to advertisements, a promotional item will be seen time and again by the owner of the item and those around them.
Free Stuff Means Customer Loyalty.
Regardless of whether your promotional product is obtained by a customer as a “free gift” included with a purchase, off a table at a trade show, or at a community event, customers will come back to a company that gives them a quality promotional product for free. It is clear from decades of success that if you seek to build brand loyalty with customers, promotional products are a must.