As a business owner or marketer, you understand the importance of maximizing your return on investment (ROI). One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through the use of promotional merchandise. However, simply purchasing items with your logo on them does not guarantee a positive ROI. In this post, we'll explore some tips on how to get the most out of your promotional merchandise investment.
Set clear goals
It is important to define your objectives. What do you hope to achieve? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or reward loyal customers? Is it part of a campaign? Or is it a singular product aimed at retaining existing custom? Are you looking to incentivise employees or foster a sense of belonging and community to service users? By setting clear goals, you can ensure that your promotional merchandise strategy is aligned with your overall business objectives and you can measure your success against specific goals. This of course will look different depending on your business sector or organisation and your current priorities.
Knowing your Target Audience
It's important to understand who your target audience is and what they want. What kind of promotional merchandise will resonate with them? What colors, styles, and designs are most likely to capture their attention? Consider their demographics, interests, and preferences when choosing items to ensure they will be well-received. By tailoring your promotional merchandise strategy to your target audience, you can increase the likelihood that your investment will pay off.
How Trends influence the market
The landscape has changed and more and more we are seeing regular shake ups of what is considered popular, sometimes lasting a short period of time before moving on to the next latest thing. The classic nostalgia of the past lingers in certain formats but is often being moulded into something new and modern. What does this mean for Promotional Merchandise? Investing in a new popular trend can gain you traction and fast, however if you want long lasting impression you may wish to consider an alternative route. Long lasting impressions can be considered similarly to the classics of the past but giving it a fresh spin to stay relevant – standing you out from the crowd but giving people what they really want. This is not to discredit promotions with a quick influence, there is much to be said for the dramatic influence fast paced trends have, and there are indeed occasions where these trends do turn into new traditions or cultural ways of thinking. It’s taking note and picking out the behaviours behind them which will truly benefit your buying choices.
What are the best items to purchase?
While it may be tempting to go for the cheapest promotional merchandise available, this can be a mistake. Promotional merchandise’s history has stemmed from the days of cheaper, plastic throwaway giveaways. Times have moved on and there are many influences to a buyers and recipients behaviours that no longer align to this recent past. Cheap items are often low quality and may end up reflecting poorly on your brand.
Quality: Instead, choose high-quality items that are durable and well-made. The higher ticket items in the promotional world often yield better results - the air of quality is a value people appreciate. This will increase the likelihood that your promotional merchandise will be used, particularly if it is also considered practical, useful or emotive. This combination increases the longevity of its presence in your recipients’ hands leading to greater brand exposure and customer engagement.
Variety: They do say Variety is the spice of life. While pens and mugs are popular promotional items, it's important to mix things up and offer a variety. This can help keep your promotional merchandise strategy fresh and engaging, and can also increase the likelihood that customers will use and appreciate the items you provide.
Use items strategically - Cost Per Impression
Be strategic in how you distribute items to ensure they are reaching the right people at the right time.
Cost Per Impression is a term we use in the industry to establish the budget you assign to the purchase versus the impression your recipient has of the product. For example, the amount of times your brand is seen and used by others as a value against the cost of the item. A mug can be stored in a communal office cupboard, seen by cleaners, people walking by as you make your drink, brought back to your desk where you may sit near other colleagues, perhaps brought to meetings with others in the office – you get the picture. It has a wide-ranging reach. Versus an item that may sit singularly on an individuals work at home desk. Of course a mug can be used in both ways, however the point being – where is YOUR recipient using it? What impressions do you see for your purchase? Yes they are both still a mug, but the intent and strategy to the decision can make a big difference to overall influence and return on your investment.
How do we measure success with Promotional Merchandise?
Lets first establish what Success could look like...
Practical ways we can measure this success could be...
Use unique codes or URLs: One practical way to track the success of your promotional merchandise campaign is to use unique codes or URLs. Include a code or URL on the item or in the packaging, and track how many leads or sales are generated through that specific code or URL. This allows you to attribute specific results to your promotional merchandise campaign.
Conduct surveys: Another way to check for success is to conduct surveys with recipients of your promotional merchandise. Ask them if they remember receiving the item, if they found it useful, and if it increased their awareness or perception of your brand. This feedback can be valuable in measuring the success of your campaign and identifying areas for improvement.
Track social media engagement: If your promotional merchandise includes a social media call-to-action, track the engagement on social media. Look for likes, shares, and comments related to your promotional merchandise campaign. This can give you an idea of the reach and impact of your campaign.
Monitor website traffic: Finally, monitor your website traffic during and after your promotional merchandise campaign. Look for increases in traffic or specific pages that are visited more frequently. This can be an indicator of the success of your campaign and the interest generated by your promotional merchandise.
It is important to measure your results and track your return on investment. This can help you identify what's working and what's not, and make adjustments to your promotional merchandise strategy accordingly.
By following these tips, you can increase the likelihood that your investment in promotional merchandise will pay off. Whether you're looking to increase brand awareness, engage with customers, or drive sales, promotional merchandise can be a powerful tool for achieving your business objectives.
