If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine just how much more a physical item can convey. Personalized marketing items like pens, water bottles, hats, and other things printed with a company’s logo have been a staple of marketing for decades. But, the difference between items that work and those that have no impact often come down to a couple of main factors, including the items themselves and the quality of the graphics printed on those items. After all, those promotional goods aren’t very likely to lead customers back to your business if they can’t read your address or phone number! If you’re on the hunt for more effective marketing tools, start by choosing better personalized marketing items.
Do Personalized Marketing Items Even Work?
We’ve probably all had some experience that made us wonder just that. If a promotional item is so poorly made that it falls apart on contact, has it served any purpose beyond making someone think poorly of that company? Probably not. However, the reverse is just as true. A well-designed, quality promotional marketing product can incite conversation and provide an easy visual reminder which works to interest new customers and return customers alike. The difference between effective and ineffective often comes down to choosing the best personalized marketing items for your business. In order to help you choose better, keep the following in mind:
Keep Your Clientele In Mind
Before you dive in to a great deal on branded highlighters, think about what that item has the potential to tell your clients about your business. Some personalized marketing items are pretty universally useful, like branded pens, but other items have the potential to come across as strange or confused depending on your industry and your intended clients. As an example, you probably wouldn’t want to hand out toys branded with your logo if you own a bar; that could give a less than stellar message. Giving out branded koozies or coasters would make a lot more sense. Keep in mind the clientele you have—and that to which you are trying to appeal—and choose promotional goods that are relevant, as much as possible. The more relevant, the more likely your promotional marketing products are to work well.
Think About Usefulness
Custom marketing materials, no matter how great-looking, aren’t going to do much to promote your business if they aren’t actually useful. If a client doesn’t immediately see a way to incorporate that item into their life, it’ll probably go straight to the nearest trash can. If you’re going to give away personalized marketing items, choose useful items like pens, water bottles, or even shirts. Of course, just because a shirt is useful doesn’t mean it’s the best choice; you’ll want to think about the cost and potential return on investment. It may be better to give away branded pens to clients and, if the interest is there, sell or host a giveaway for those more expensive promotional goods.
Consider When You’ll Give Them Out
The type of promotional marketing products you choose should depend on when and how you’ll be using them. For the day to day, smaller and more universally useful items like pens or thumb drives are a good general marketing item. If you know you have events coming up, perhaps a job fair or a community fair, items like branded bags or water bottles are more relevant and immediately useful.
Plan For Future Use, Not Just Current
If your personalized marketing items are useful, relevant, and quality products, they have the potential to stick around for a while. This is where items like branded shirts or coffee mugs make more sense. Pens and flash drives are useful, but both are frequently lost. Something your clients can use daily (or, at least, regularly) that isn’t easily misplaced has some pretty powerful marketing potential. Of course, if you go this route, you’ll want to be sure your logo design is polished, clear, and quality enough to last the lifetime of the item it’s going onto.
Want to learn more about getting branded or personalized marketing items to promote your business? The Impress Ink team is happy to help. Learn more about our design, screen printing, branding, and embroidery services online or give us a call to discuss your needs with one of our team. Get started and make your mark with Impress Ink!
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