The Importance of Promotional Product Marketing In 2021

How is your promotional product marketing campaign plan looking for 2021? By now, you’ve probably already come up with an amazing marketing campaign to conquer 2021, generate massive demands, convert them to sales, retain all the customers… you know the drill.

Most of this campaign or at least a huge chunk is probably focused on digital marketing – which is good. In fact, it’s very smart as the lockdown and stay-at-home policies from last year’s pandemic caused a considerable surge in internet and social media usage.

But don’t forget that in the end we’re human and we all need a physical connection. So while you should have a very effective and personalized – keyword: personalized – digital marketing strategy, you should also match it with an effective physical marketing campaign.

One such effective campaign is the use of promotional product marketing to engage with your customers using physical products branded with your logo.

It’s an easy and effective promotional marketing strategy and with lots of people trying to make up for lost time outdoors after a hectic 2020, there’s no shortage of people who will be happy to receive your promotional products.

Let’s look at why exactly promotional product marketing is vital in this new normal and how you can implement it into your marketing strategy for 2021 and beyond.

Promotional Product Marketing Spotlights Your Brand

Giving out promotional products with your logo is a fantastic way to introduce your brand to a new audience or to remind your existing clientele that you are still around and ready to serve them.

Promotional product marketing is extremely effective in reaching your audience in ways that other forms of traditional marketing cannot.

According to research, 9 out of 10 people who receive a promotional product can recall the name of the brand on that promotional item. Furthermore, 41% of people will keep that promotional product for a year or more and 22% will have that product with your logo for 5 to 10 years.

In terms of impressions, imagine how many people in that time frame will be exposed to your brand. Besides this, if you provided that person with a good experience, that product reminder could serve as a tool bring you repeat business.

Because of this, it is important to insure promotional product marketing is done creatively and targeted to your audience to leave an even more memorable impression.

Promotional products increase demand and sales. This is common knowledge but not acted on as well as it should be.

When done right, promotional products will get your audience talking about your brand and in turn you should see an increased demand for your products or services.

While they may not buy immediately, they will tell their friends who could buy it for them, for themselves or even tell more friends. It’s a chain reaction that starts with just a simple logo on a product.

So, it needs to be done right, and it has to be the right product.

Marketing With Promotional Products Is Cost Effective

Now we’re not implying here that you should just purchase cheap generic products and slap your logo on them.

This is of course an option, but it won’t help you to achieve the memorable impression we discussed previously.

However, if you have a tight budget there are some lower cost promotional product options that don’t break the bank but can still be very useful to your audience.

While price may play in important role in the product you choose, in order to realize a successful promotional marketing campaign, it is important to focus first on the products usefulness to your specific audience.

If you simply go out and purchase the cheapest promotional products you can get your hands on, you may stay within your budget but the item may not serve it’s intended purpose causing your entire budget to be washed down the drain.

On the other hand, if you choose a product that your audience will find useful, you may have to adjust your marketing strategy, or possibly your budget, but your investment will prove much more effective.

Some products, though not necessarily considered “cheap”, are still inexpensive in terms of the potential return on investment they can bring and their overall usefulness to your audience.

You may find that an option you have to pay a little more for as opposed to a throwaway item could really have a major impact on your marketing campaign.

This doesn’t mean you have to give out free BBQ grills with your logo in order to be successful. (Although you can get a grill with your logo if you need to.)

But something as simple as choosing a higher quality pen as opposed to the cheapest you can find is all it might take to show your customer you really care.

In the end, the promotional product and marketing strategy you use is entirely up to you so choose wisely.

Promotional Products Excite & Engage Your Audience

Who doesn’t like freebies?

Nearly 100% of consumers say they are willing to go out of their way to get a promotional product, according to the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI). That says a lot.

A happy audience will always come back for more and if your promotional product was memorable, it might just be the reason the receiver remembers to seek you out instead of your competitors next time they need your services.

Promotional products allow you to get creative with your marketing to both new and existing customers.

Don’t aim for a generic promotional product marketing campaign, instead use promotional products to create emotion that speaks to your potential customer or existing client.

72% of consumers attach the quality of a promotional product to the reputation of the company (PPAI), so make sure the promotional product you choose represents who you are as a brand.

Make it personal and memorable in a way that sets your brand apart from everyone else and encourages your audience to always come back for more.

How do you create an effective promotional product marketing campaign?

Now that you understand the importance of promotional product marketing, here is how you can create a winning promotional product campaign:

1. Know Your Customers

Knowing your audience and what they prefer will enable you to distribute products that are useful and memorable to them.

There are plenty of promotional products with a universal use but choosing a product that better caters to the market you are trying to reach will be much more effective.

If you are marketing to a demographic of stay-at-home moms for example, a simple notepad might be handy, but a custom weekly planner might be even more memorable.

2. Determine Distribution

There are many ways to distribute your products.

Learning more about your audience will help you better understand where they are, and from there it is up to you to determine the best way to use promotional products to reach them.

Promotional products can be used as giveaways, purchase incentives, prizes, customer appreciation gifts and the list continues.

They can also be a great incentive for people to receive in exchange for providing you with their contact information.

It is important that you figure out how to effectively tie promotional products in with your overall marketing goals so that you can make the best choice when selecting a product.

3. Set Your Budget

This goes without saying but it important to have a general idea of how much you want to spend on promotional products before moving forward with your campaign.

Make sure to have a general idea of how much you have available and always leave room to adjust your budget a bit either up or down depending on what will allow you to maximize your ROI.

Using these steps and the information discussed you are now equipped with the tools you need to determine and execute a campaign that appeals directly to your audience and brings you the biggest return on investment.

Here’s to a successful promotional product marketing campaign in 2021 and beyond!