Your marketing dollars need to make a difference, now more than ever. In unsteady times, you can’t afford to throw your ideas at the wall to see what sticks. You need to stand out differently from your competition, and reach your customers in ways that are going to make them buy from you.
Enter promotional marketing.
Some say that promotional marketing is dead, or dying, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Here is why there has never been a better time to get on board with promotional marketing, and five tips on how to make it work for your business.
Why Promotional Marketing Is a Smart Investment
Online marketing is saturated. In fact, about 81% of consumers admit that when a pop-up advertisement shows up, they close the webpage or browser. This doesn’t mean online marketing is a waste. In fact, it’s a valuable part of any business’s marketing campaign. But because it’s a saturated space, it can’t be the only way to reach your customers, or you’ll miss out on sales.
Direct promotional marketing, in which you send your customers an item along with your marketing message, fills in the gaps and reaches customers in a way that gets them to listen. A tangible object in a hand — like a calendar, puzzle, notebook, or food item — makes a customer pay attention. This is something digital marketing simply can’t do.
Putting your effort into promotional marketing, alongside your digital campaign, will get you noticed.
Plus, with so many people stuck at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this is the perfect time to show you know what they’re going through. Taking the time to send just the right product to people who are struggling under the weight of loneliness and boredom makes you stand out from the crowd.
Why It’s the Right Time for Promotional Marketing
Your marketing dollars will go a long way when you choose a promotional marketing campaign, because many businesses are currently scaling back. When you stand out with a noticeable product in your promotional marketing, people will be more inclined to do business with you.
Don’t forget that the way we consume marketing information is different now, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. People are at home now more than they ever have been. We have more control over our schedules. Instead of getting home from work, throwing a pile of mail on the counter and forgetting about it, many people are actually taking the time to look over what they received. Your promotional item has a much better chance at getting noticed these days.
And when something new or unusual passes through a customer’s hands, it’s exciting! You want your customers to be excited when they think about you. Feeling positively will encourage your customers to actually read the information you provide along with your item. Personal touches mean a lot right now, and people are more likely to interact with your promotional marketing items.
We’re also all suffering from screen fatigue. Digital ads may go unnoticed, as we tune out from our screens. But an item in a person’s hand will get a longer look.
5 Tips for a More Effective Promotional Marketing Campaign
If you know promotional marketing will increase your visibility, engagement, and sales, be sure to follow these five smart tips for a successful marketing campaign.
1. Be Targeted
In many cases, your promotional item needs to feel personal, so it wouldn’t make sense to send out your item to everyone on your entire list. Instead, find the top 100 clients you want to do business with.
But don’t forget your current customers! Who are the top 20% of your clients? How can you show appreciation to them, while keeping your company front and center in their mind?
2. Be Purposeful
After narrowing in on who you want to target, be purposeful in your campaign. Think like your customers. Determine their problems and how you can solve them. Then, create a promotional marketing campaign that shows you are uniquely positioned to make their lives easier.
Consider what’s going on in their working life — are they at home or at the office? Are they busy, or are they struggling to find the next client? Craft the right message for their situation, and then make the biggest impact with the right products to deliver that message.
3. Have Clear Goals
Remember your purpose in marketing to your clients. What do you want their next step to be? Do you want them to set up a discovery call? Buy your product? Hire you for your service? Keep this in mind as you’re mapping out your touches, and make every contact lead to that goal.
4. Map It Out
Aim for five to seven productive touches with your client, and figure out how to make them relate to each other. You may want to write hand-written letters, make a scripted phone call, send promotional items, or deliver a newsletter. Map these touches out, and schedule them in a way that builds on each previous touch.
5. Measure
Track and measure responses. Look for patterns. What’s working, and what is a flop? Tweak your campaign, and make it even stronger as you go.
At Impact Marketing and Design, we’re passionate about helping you stay in front of your customers. We know which items make a difference, and we’ll help you reach your marketing goals. Give us a call today at (888) 441-1233, or contact us online for a free consultation.
