Do you give out promotional items?

Coda1108

My company has given out coffee mugs, cold drink cups and note pads. The Mugs and notepads have turned out to be good ideas. The coffee mugs have had great staying power, and I still get prospects who tell me they have our mug. The only problem is my company moved, and the phone number was on the mug... Should have just had the website.

The note pads have been great, because we're a financial related company, and we deal primarily with the owners or top execs of our business clients. Once they're customers, or during the sales process, I am told often "Can you bring me some more notepads." Of course, our notepads have our logo, name and contact info on it. When I visit customers, I often see pages from our notepads lying on people's desks with important info to be saved on them.... so it keeps our name in their minds.

ozzie

I order Avon samples every time I submit my order. Then, when I distribute brochures to customers, I include one or two samples of some of my favorite products. Most people really like getting samples.

Ricardo

I've been thinking about promo items and I'd like to find a good choice for promoting a web site.

I also work in film and TV and I know that crew gifts such as hats or jackets can be worn for years to come, although in most cases they're just souvenirs of the show rather than promotional items for an ongoing business.

ozzie

At this time of year Calendars are suppose to be great promotional items to give our customers. Avon has one for that purpose and I need to order several of them to pass out to my steady customers. I wish I could afford to give them to everyone!

Karen Sargent

I do give away promotional items - I give away vacations.

Most of these replies have related to using promotional items for advertising except for Ozzies idea of customer rewards - which is a great way to build loyalty.

I've never found promotional items to be helpful for advertising purposes and I think it is because that type of advertising doesn't answer the consumers number one question of "What's in it for me?"

I would like to spotlight the use of promotional items or "free gifts" as great incentives to get the consumer to make the decision to buy from you. The item has to be of value (more than a shirt or a calendar) and the greater the "pleasure factor" the greater the persuasion to make the purchase in order to get the "free gift"

A free "Get Away" Vacation or cruise to the bahamas has a huge pleasure factor. It adds more desire for the product or service your customer was already interested in.

"But that's such an expensive promotional item" you say. Not necessarily so. I know because that's the business I'm in - wholesale travel packages - and I give away vacations to promote sales of my own product.

I highly recommend the use of a "free gift" of value to get the customer then keep them with personal follow up such as a post card and a phone call every month for customers of consumable products and the same follow-up now and then to customers of other tangible products to let them know you are still interested in helping them get what they want out of life.

I look forward to hearing what you think about this idea.

Karen

You need a vacation!

ozzie

I really like your idea. In fact, yesterday I sent all my online customers an ecard with a special offer. If they send my Avon link to their family and friends, and one of those folks buys from my site, I will send them a free Avon product. I limited it to one free gift per customer and I'm hoping to get some new online customers this way. The new customer will have to let me know who referred them. What are your thoughts on this?

Karen Sargent

I would structure the offer so that I can control the process more - like ask all of your family and friends to send you a list of phone numbers of 5 people who they think would be interested in your products. Call all of them to ask permission to email and if any of them order from your link, give a gift to the person who referred them.

I like your idea of using e-cards. I use them often to send personal messages to my customers but I never thought of using them for promotions.
I was referring to actual postcards and there are several great services that mail to your list for you at very reasonable prices.

Thanks for the feedback

Karen

ozzie

Hi Karen, phone numbers wouldn't do me any good because I'm sending these particular ecards to online customers in the effort to get more online customers. I'm hoping they will send my link to others so that I'll get more web traffic.

Karen Sargent

Well, I was just suggesting a way that can get more referrals from your customers and thereby have more control over the numbers of people who get your emails but you would need to get permission before you send emails to your customers referrals and a telephone call is the easiest way.

Ricardo

I've experienced a very effective newsletter from a real estate agent who we dealt with while selling our previous home and buying our current one.

This was a case of an established relationship kept "top of mind" by an entertaining and informative publication of local history, humour and various other things like recipes.