However, you should know that handing out promotional products can backfire spectacularly if the items are cheap and shoddy. Customers might not use these items at all, and if they do, they might not even last very long. Remember, you want your brand messaging out in the world for as long as possible, and quality promotional products are the way to ensure that your branded merchandise has a long life span. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you shouldn’t just buy the cheapest promotional product in the catalog.
You Want Customers to Use Your Promotional Products
The whole point of handing out promotional products is to get customers to use them. Each time a customer uses one of your branded products, he or she is getting exposed to that brand message. So are all the people surrounding your customer at the time, whether they’re family members, neighbors, coworkers, or strangers in the grocery store.
But customers won’t be happy with just any old, cheap promotional gift. They want something nice, that they can use for months or years and be proud of. Cheap promotional products will get tossed in the nearest garbage can as soon as you walk away. Even if they don’t, they might break too soon to be worth the cost.
The Quality of Your Promotional Items Reflects on Your Company
You don’t want your company to look like the kind of firm that gets stingy when it’s time to reward loyal customers and employees. Even common, inexpensive promotional items, like engraved pens, can display shocking variations in quality from one product to the next. You want customers to know that you’re a company that takes pride in purchasing the right tools for the job, even when those tools are more expensive. You also want them to know that you’re discerning enough to choose a high-quality branded gift, and committed enough to promoting your brand to pay more for better-quality items.
Cheap, shoddy items reflect poorly on your brand, sending the message that your other products are cheap and shoddy, too. Make sure your promotional items are as high in quality as the items you sell. Customers will feel more confident shopping with you as a result.
Long-Lasting Promotional Products Spread Your Message Further
The main benefit of using promotional products to promote your business is that you can spread your brand messaging all over the country without leaving home, and those messages stay out in the world because your promotional gifts stay out in the world. Each time a customer uses your promotional gift, that’s exposure to the brand for them and everyone around them. So, naturally, you’ll want to maximize brand exposure by maximizing the lifespan of your promotional items.
The longer your promotional products last, the lower your cost-per-impression for the branding message as it gets seen by more people and imprinted more and more into the customer’s head. There’s a reason why people tend to remember the brand messaging on their promotional products for as long as two years after the fact -- they use these items over and over again, day in and day out. When they’re done using their promotional products, 63 percent of customers give the items away, so a high-quality, long-lasting item made with quality materials will have a second life after the original recipient has finished with it. Even if your promotional products wind up on a thrift store shelf eventually, they’re still exposing your brand messaging to a whole new target audience in the process.
There are some things you just shouldn’t cheap out on, and promotional products are among them. Spend the extra money to get quality promotional products. It’s the best way to make sure you get your money’s worth out of your promotional gifts.