Promotional gifts that can lead to more business clients

When promoting your business, it's important to reach your corporate partners and clients as well as the general public. Corporate gifts are a great way to extend the life of a marketing campaign and provide ongoing brand reinforcement.

Reaching a different market

There is no doubt that broadcast advertising is effective, but gifts can provide another dimension to your marketing campaign. Promotional gifts can:

• personalise your business
• display generosity
• provide repeated exposure to your brand
• cost less than media advertising campaigns.

Whether given to customers as a value-add with your products and services, or distributed within your industry, promotional gifts are also a great way to show corporate goodwill.

Part of your marketing plan

Promotional gifts work best when they have strong ties with your business identity. Consider how you want to be viewed by clients and customers: fun-loving and fresh; exclusive and classy; reliable and responsible? 

No matter how you want to portray your brand, there's an item with your name on it (literally) to suit.

Distributing your promotional gifts       

Your promotional gifts can reach the wider market through: 

• trade shows
• conferences
• individual sales representatives
• your storefront or office
• value-adds given directly to the customer.

Use repeated visits by your sales representatives or from your customers to offer gifts. You can build customer loyalty with free samples and merchandise.

Is a blanket approach or a selective approach best?

Businesses should be a bit selective about giving away promotional material in order to maximise their marketing dollar, says Russell Dower of Exclusive Promotional Products.

"If you have a stand at a trade show with your end-users being consumers, you might have 20,000 people through your stand," he explains. "You don't want to give all of those consumers a pen or coffee mug that costs money."

Targeting more valuable gifts to specific stakeholders can attach a certain amount of exclusivity to your business. "If you're dealing with major clients who are spending x number of dollars with you per year, you can justify giving them an item with value," says Russell.

Choosing corporate gifts

One thing to consider is how the distribution of gifts reflects on your business. While passing out promotional gifts can make you look generous, there could be a hidden danger, warns Russell.

"Most places just don't want to be seen spending too much money frivolously," he explains.

The price is right

Everyone loves free stuff, so use it to your advantage. Attractive and useful promotional or corporate gifts are a physical, tactile representation of your business and keep your brand front and centre in the public's mind.

So call a promotional products supplier today to get promotional gifts working for your business.