|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recently, I stopped by a new car wash in my town and while preparing to insert my six quarters into the machine to start the cleaning process, the owner came over to me and thanked me for stopping in. He also handed me a pen that had the name and address of the car wash imprinted on it.
The fact that the owner was going around passing out free promotional pens to patrons impressed me. I stop at car washes all the time and never get free stuff. In fact, if the cleaning wand removes most of the dirt and the spot-free rinse is actually spot-free, Im pretty happy.
You may be thinking to yourself, Thats a nice gesture, but is it really very effective as a marketing tool?
Absolutely.
Not only are promotional products effective marketing tools, but they can actually foster goodwill toward your company or organization and its salespeople or representatives.
In fact, a study conducted by Baylor University suggests that customers who receive a promotional product with a sales letter will view your company and its sales reps 52% more favorably than customers who receive a sales letter without a promotional product.
Whats more, the study revealed that when compared to customers who did not receive a promotional product with their sales letter, customers who did receive a promotional product with their sales letter perceived the companys sales reps as being 16% to 34% more competent.
Did you catch that?
Despite the fact that none of the customers who received the sales letter and promotional product actually talked to or met with a sales rep, customers receiving the promotional product actually perceived the sales reps as being more competent.
With all the competition out there for your business to contend with, wouldnt it be great to have that kind of advantage over your competitors?
Promotional products can be an easy, affordable and profitable addition to your marketing plan.
For example, the carwash owner made an initial investment of about $1.30 for each of the pens he was passing out. The minimum amount of money I had to spend to wash my car was $1.50 (it took six quarters to start the washing process). Because no other carwash owner gave me a free pen, and because I was satisfied with the washing experience, Ive returned to that particular carwash on five other occasions in the past three months. Thats a minimum of $10.50 spent at the carwasha $9.20 return on the carwash owners original $1.30 investment. Of course, Ive spent much more than the minimum required to wash my car, so the return on investment is even greater.
Promotional products range in price from less than a dollar to several hundreds of dollars each, and there is virtually no end to the kinds of promotional products available.
Youre already familiar with promotional items such as pens, calculators, and key rings, but did you know you can get TV remote controls, microwave popcorn, and even executive leather desk chairs with your logo and contact information printed on them?
Given the variety of promotional products available, theres no reason you couldnt find a product to fit your particular marketing need and budget. If you spend a little time searching, you will find a great price on a great promotional product that will significantly increase the effectiveness of your marketing plangenerating sales and leads for your business.
About The Author
Ethan Woods is a Promotional Products Specialist for Keen Promos. Keen Promos caters to small businesses. Visit and sign up for our once monthly email notifications that feature the newest products, exclusive discounts, and closeout and discontinued items.
This article may be reproduced freely as long as it is not changed significantly, used for profit, and as long as the Author Byline and web site link remains intact.
In today' s marketplace, the pressure for immediate bottom-line results... Read More
Do you know how effective each of your individual marketing... Read More
Thank-you letters are one of the most important letters that... Read More
Picture this. You develop some product or service, spend countless... Read More
1. Determine the goals of your promotional products program. Do... Read More
Breaking into the international marketplace can catapult a company into... Read More
Direct Marketing works!Why? It works because it's personal. It carries... Read More
Even the world's best marketing strategy won't work for you... Read More
Great graphic design looks effortless, but it requires lots of... Read More
Traditional marketing and advertising assumes that all of your customers... Read More
SMS is good for:? Short lead times and immediacy ?... Read More
A newsletter can be a wonderful, economical way to communicate... Read More
Marketing results should be measured in only one way ?... Read More
What Is A Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More
Brochure printing can be easy if you first identify your... Read More
If you really want to pull more profits from your... Read More
The phone rings. Good news... it's a potential client. You... Read More
This is a pretty tough global economy and it is... Read More
A customer relationship system (CRM) system uses technologically-driven strategies to... Read More
Are you willing to spend $1.25 to raise $1? To... Read More
Peek a Boo - We See YouDoes your company have... Read More
Do it Right.I receive postcards all the time. The other... Read More
Unless you've been living under an Internet rock, you've probably... Read More
Every business needs customers, but more importantly every business needs... Read More
Let's talk about how to keep your postage costs down.So... Read More
I had a telemarketer call me recently. Here's a rough... Read More
One of the most critical but overlooked parts of business... Read More
Quit spreading those chain letters, nothing is going to happen... Read More
I'm regularly asked to speak to people, that have either... Read More
Postcards can drive a huge amount of traffic to your... Read More
Here are some quick techniques you can put into place... Read More
We all DO judge a book by its cover, and... Read More
Many people think marketing is some type of mystery that... Read More
1. Advertise in trade journals, ezines, and web sites that... Read More
It used to be if you were a small business,... Read More
Most businesses realize that they are simply a click away... Read More
When it comes time to print your brand identity materials,... Read More
Qualitative research, whether individual interviews, in-homes, focus groups, ethnographies and... Read More
With promotional items there are standards: t-shirts, mugs, note cubes,... Read More
Does it make sense to clap for your customers? It... Read More
The "Mail Order" business is not a business of itself,... Read More
Pricing is one of the four major components of marketing.... Read More
When it comes to your marketing message, the little things... Read More
Here's a simple way you can generate lots of sales... Read More
Strategy #1: Change Your Mindset That's right, change your mindset!... Read More
Marketing Ideas Without Action Get You NowhereYou want to grow... Read More
This is a devastatingly powerful way to extend your marketing... Read More
60% of all small business owners, sales and solo-professionals claim... Read More
My childhood was my foundation for how I write and... Read More
The world is full... Read More
Marketing Marketing |