The Power of Promotional Products

This guest post is by Jeremy Cantarow, a Senior Associate in Product Marketing at Vistaprint. He is also a current MBA student at Boston College, specializing in Product and Brand Management.

What are Promotional Products?
When it comes to marketing, anything that can set you and your small business apart from the competition is usually a good thing. Tools such as business cards, postcards and banners are just a few examples of offline marketing mechanisms that can help you do just that…and promotional products are yet another. These items are branded, customized takeaway or leave-behind products that are given to customers, and used in their everyday lives. For instance, at Vistaprint, you can choose to customize and brand items such as USB Drives, Stress Balls, Rulers, Koozies and more! Traditionally, promotional products like this have been out of reach for small businesses due to hurdles such as high order minimums and steep prices. Now, at Vistaprint, they’re easy to design and order in small quantities — and for a great, affordable price.

Why are they powerful?
1. Put your brand in the palm of their hands.
Customers who receive promotional products from businesses tend to have a more positive perception of those businesses, leading to higher purchase intent and referral rates. They will typically keep these products for long periods of time, and are exposed to your brand every time they use them. Your customers can take your brand everywhere, and when your logo is on their koozie, everyone at the party sees it.

2. Oh the possibilities.
These products have a number of great use cases. For instance, they can be handouts at tradeshows, post-service leave behinds, or giveaways at the register. A  bakery, as an example, might have a branded notecard with a recipe, accompanied by a matching magnetic clip that customers can bring home and keep on their fridge. The key with promotional products is to get creative! Try using your promotional products in interesting ways that will really draw attention and use them in conjunction with other marketing tools to amplify your message.

3. Marketing’s secret weapon…
With all of the marketing tools at businesses’ disposal these days, it’s very easy to overlook the most powerful marketing tool of all: the customer. Word of mouth and customer referrals are great ways to acquire new customers, so why not let your customers do the work for you? Few things can market a company as well as an endorsement from a trusted friend. It’s up to you to make sure that your business is the one they’re talking about.

Vistaprint has reduced the barrier for small businesses to use promotional products with lower minimum quantities and overall prices.  Now everyone has the ability to build their customer base with little effort and costs.  Next time a customer is asked for a recommendation, will yours be the business they think of?