If your business is looking to invest in promotional merchandising, you might be wondering which products work the best, and which offer the best return on investment. It’s crucial to think about these things, especially if you’re a small business (where budgets can be tight) or if you’re a larger business ordering large quantities of products. You don’t want to put all your marketing budget into a specific product, only to find your audience and demographic doesn’t resonate with it, or find it useful.
There are a few things to think about when deciding which promotional merchandise to opt for:
Tip 1: Is it useful?
Often, the best promotional merchandise choices are the items that are genuinely useful to the customers or client. These items tend to be used frequently, and therefore get a lots of exposure in the person’s day to day routine. When an item is genuinely useful, as humans we hold onto it, because we like to hold onto things that one day we might need. The good things about this category of merchandise, is that it can vary greatly – and you can often tailor it to your brand. For example, a new bar giving away bottle openers is highly relevant and well matched.
Items that fall into this category could include:
- Bottle Openers
- Tin Openers
- Pens / pencils
- Umbrella
- Tote bag
- USB stick
Tip 2: Is it a daily-use item?
Daily-use items tends to work great for promotional merchandise because they’re items we all know and use / love. Daily items are the kind of things you use every day, maybe more than once, or the kind of things you ‘can never have too many of’. These items work great for promotional merchandise because they stand a high chance of being seen often and being used often… Which means your brand is frequently in front of those potential customers.
Here are a few items that fall into this category:
- Mugs
- Pens
- Socks
- T Shirts
- Tote Bags
- Phone Case
Tip 3: Is it fun / frivolous?
If you’re looking for something a bit more wacky or weird, and you want to make your customers smile with surprise, then going for something a bit more personal and quirky is a good option. These items work well for marketing because they’re really unique and tend to be memorable (so people are more likely to form an emotional attachment to them). If you’re trying to stand out amongst competitors, or if you’re a new brand trying to quickly build a reputation, this it’s a good idea to go down this memorable and quirky route.
Here are some items we think fall into this category:
- Flip flops
- Sunglasses
- Aprons
- Cocktail shakers
- Stickers
- Swimming hats
- Beach towel
- Laptop bags
- Luggage
Tip 4: Consider the size of the item
When planning which promotional merchandise you’re planning to purchase, it’s always worth considering the size of the item. Quite often, smaller items can offer a better ROI, because they cost a lot less. For example, stickers are a great example of a low-cost promotional item that is great for exposure. Stickers are also extremely easy to design and easy to transport around and store too.
If you’re planning on giving your item away at a trade show / conference / expo – space and size is something you’ll really need to have a think about. You won’t want to be bringing in huge items and taking up your display or unit space. So in these situations, smaller items work much better.
Some smaller items that we recommend are:
- Stickers
- Coasters
- Pens
- Notebooks
- Sunglasses
- Mugs
To sum up, when looking at promotional merchandise and how to make the most of it for your marketing strategy, have a real think about which products you want to invest in. It’s worth doing a small survey amongst existing client or customers to see what kind of products they’d love to receive – as that’ll give you a good starting point and a good idea of what will work.
It’s also worth thinking about what you enjoy receiving from brands. If you have any items in your home or office from other companies – what are they? And why did you keep them around? This will shed some light on how promotional merchandise works and what makes promotional merchandise successful.
If you have any questions about placing an order for any of the items above, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you and answer any questions you might have. We’re here to help!
