You love your customers, right? The repeat clients who come back time and time again for your products and services are your bread and butter. No matter how steady they are however, as a business owner, you should never overlook the power of attracting new customers. Of course everyone wants new clients and more business but acquiring new customers can be a bit tricky. If you haven’t tried it yet, use promotional products to attract newbies and expand your business even more.
The only way anyone will remember your business is if they repeatedly see your name. Customers are fickle and for every business there’s a replacement business just waiting to take over. Keep your name in front of customers on a regular basis to ensure they won’t forget about you. This is especially true for businesses that rely greatly on referrals. If customers forget about your business, they won’t be able to pass along your name. While marketing may not be in your budget or on your business plan, promotional products should be. These products take the place of newspaper and television advertising and offer businesses an inexpensive way to circulate their name.
The more useful the promotional item, the better. A teddy bear may look adorable when it’s wearing a t-shirt with your business name splashed across it, but CEOs aren’t carrying this teddy bear around with them as they walk the streets of New York City. Promotional products need to be used over and over again in a public manner. That’s why pens, key chains and coffee mugs make excellent promotional items. People use these items in front of other professional people and consumers. Nobody can go even one day without needing a pen. Everyone carries around a set of keys. Most people pour a cup of coffee at the office before sitting down at their desks. Tote bags are one of the best promotional items because your business name will be face first and available for immense viewing.
Promotional products should be simple, straightforward and never time sensitive. The difference between a promotional item and an ad is that the promotional item never gets old. As long as your business is still up and running, your business name, telephone number and website address will be too. Never push a specific date or event on the promotional item. When the event is over or the product sells out, you don’t want to have to order all new promotional items. Naturally, your business name and logo should be the biggest thing on the item. Your phone number and website should be prominent as well. The print should always be proportionate to the item; the larger the item, the larger the print. If you have an oversized tote bag with your website address in tiny font, nobody will be visiting your site later that day.
The pull of promotional items boils down to a very simple concept: people love getting free things. Any item is valuable if the consumer didn’t have to pay for it. This is especially true for items that everyone deems as a necessity. We all need a calendar for our office, a mouse pad for our computer desk, a t-shirt to wear to the gym, a calculator, a water bottle, etc. Since customers are going to be spending money on these items, it’s always nice to get them for free. When you give something to someone that they need and you don’t charge for it, that person will immediately think of you in a good light. This attraction is integral for pulling in more customers.
Samuel Mautz is a marketing blogger with a particular interest in acquiring and maintaining consumer trust. He also thinks using free products like personalised t shirts can be a great way to get potential customers to think of you first when they need your product or service.