How to get the Best ROI from Your Promotional Products

We know there are several reasons promotional products are powerful marketing tools for businesses. We know that they help build brand awareness, improve sales, build customer loyalty, and generate long-lasting brand exposure. However, how do you ensure promotional products are giving you the most bang for your buck? What do you need to do to ensure you’re optimizing the ROI, and getting a return on your investment?

Choose the Right Products

Handing out balloons that are imprinted with your logo might seem like a fun way to promote your brand to families walking past your booth at a local community event or fundraiser. However, once little Suzie gets her hands on it *POP!* there goes your branding opportunity. You need to give away quality items that have long-lasting use, and will capture the interest of your target audience. Promotional t-shirts, branded pens, and custom coffee mugs are perfect examples! These types of promotional items branded with your logo have “staying power” and have the advantage of generating thousands of impressions when used in public. Many of these items are also even eventually passed down to others, further extending their reach.

Encourage a Call to Action

A lot of times, we let people walk away with a “swag” bag or a handful of promotional giveaways at events, often asking for nothing in return. Which, don’t get us wrong, people love free stuff. So much so that 60% of people who receive free gifts said that they form a more positive impression of the giver’s brand and are more likely to do business with them after the fact! However, if you want to begin measuring some clear metrics for your ROI, you should consider encouraging your recipients to take a reciprocal action after you give away a product. For example, the next time you hand out a custom logo pen or paper pad, ask them to complete a survey or to sign up for an e-mail list. Most people will be more than happy to! Not only will your recipients appreciate you for the free piece of your business, but you’ll also be able to track how well your promotional products did at generating leads.

Don’t Forget Your Current Customers

While it’s important to acquire new customers, your current customers are extremely valuable to your business. Repeat customers love doing business with you! Why else would they keep coming back? This makes it more likely for them to refer your business to others. Repeat customers are also said to spend almost 70% more with your business than brand new customers.  According to the PPAI (Promotional Products Association International), repeat orders by regular customers can increase by 16% if you use promotional merchandise. Therefore, it’s important to maintain those relationships. So, consider sending your customers some free items customized to your business with a short, personal message attached to let them know how much you appreciate them.

Stay Connected and Follow Up

Following up with your recipients is a great way to remind them of your brand, and can lead to conversions. If one of your marketing goals is to generate new leads, then consider following up with an e-mail. Social media is also a great way to keep the conversation going. Ask people to share or tweet a picture of their gift and use any hashtag your brand or industry uses. People love showing off what they got. They’ll get some buzz, and you’ll get some buzz too!

At Show Your Logo, we offer over 800,000 promotional products to choose from. Give us a call today at 1-888-253-5800, and we can offer suggestions for promotional items that are cost-effective and relevant to your brand. Need some inspiration? Browse a list of our top-selling promotional products that are bound to give you the best return on your investment!