Using promotional merchandise to support your brand strategy.

Using promotional merchandise to support your brand strategy.

Brand awareness is key in keeping you in the forefront of your customer’s mind. To maintain that competitive edge, you need to ensure familiarity is kept between you and both your potential and loyal customers. What is an effective way to boost your brand awareness? Promotional merchandise.

What is promotional merchandise?

Promotional merchandise are items of high value finished with your company’s logo. Think of branded pens, key rings, T-shirts and more.

These are tangible items that your customers can take away with them and use at a later date. The likelihood is that when they go back to these products, they are thinking of your brand- a great way to provide positive customer experience.

Essentially, promotional merchandise is a marketing tool and therefore requires research prior to decision making. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) goals ought to be thought out to ensure your promotional merchandise compliment your brand and its messages. Promotional merchandise can come in many forms, though these need to be relevant. If you are a high-end brand, giving away a cheaper feeling item might not convey the best message to customers. You want the quality of your promotional materials to reflect the quality of the products your customers are likely to gain from you once they have made a purchase.

Why is promotional merchandise important?

Positive client relationships are key drivers for success in any business. You want to establish a connection between you and your customers, therefore, providing a tangible gift is a huge step in the right direction. Though we are living in the digital age, promotional print thrives in achieving attention from loyal and prospective clients. Sending something that they can hold, or even wear, means your brand is likely to get noticed and remembered more than if you were to offer a digital email promotion that can get lost amongst your inbox- or even go to spam.

Instant brand recognition

If your promotional merchandise is in the shape of your logo, embodies your brand or is directly linked to the products and services you provide, chances are, people will automatically remember your brand. Think, a branded bottle opener for a cellar door or personalised car key ring from an automotive supplier.

Remembering your brand through use

Repeated use of your promotional products will sear your brand name into people’s consciousness. Sent out a branded mug? Customers will remember you while having their morning cuppa. Branded key rings? Customers get reminded of your brand every to,e they go to unlock their car. In fact, 53% of people use a promotional product at least once per week (Sage).

Generate more leads

Generating positive brand awareness through your promotional merchandise is likely to go hand in hand with a higher number of generated leads, and therefore, higher conversion potential. Following the receival of promotional merchandise you can offer consumers the chance to win extra discounts or even free gifts by providing them with a point to fill in their details, boosting your number of leads.

Does branded merchandise work?

Though we are constantly seeing promotional merchandising successes with our customers and within our own marketing strategy, here are some statistics to back this up:

  • 85% of customers who are given some promotional merchandise will remember the business that gave it to them (ASI Central).
  • Promotional clothing receives the the most positive impressions (ASI Central).
  • 95% of businesses in the UK say that they see corporate gifting and promotional merchandising as key elements of their marketing mix (OnRec).
  • At trade shows, promotional material is the most highly regarded form of marketing  you can do (ASI Central).

What are the best promotional items to give away?

There are several things to consider when investigating promotional products. T-shirts and hats are often the most memorable and most re-used item of promotional merchandise. However, you need to be contextual when creating these products.

You want promotional merchandising that suits your target audience and reminds customers of your brand with every use. Pens are great if you’re targeting writers, but maybe not so good when targeting electricians or plumbers- unless it is a waterproof pen. Intelligent gimmicks work too.

Key rings are good for your target audience who are always on the move- delivery drivers, couriers and the like. Novelty desk toys for white-collar clients.

If you are a SaaS, then promotions where you offer clients free access to your service, or referral rewards for bringing in new business could really charge up your cash flow and customer loyalty.

Summary

Hague Group can help you with your promotional printing needs. Flyers, gifts cards, certificates, whatever you want to print, promote your business and give real value to your prospective customers, or reward your loyal customers too.

Call us at +44(0) 1924 244555, and lets start talking about your business and how we can promote it.