Thursday, October 21, 2010

Promotional Items that Work In All Seasons

In today's business world, there are always the issues of making ends meet, reaching the bottom-line, profit margins, stockholder shares, dividends, etc. no matter the type of business or company you own, run or are a part of, these issues play a significant role in how well a company does. They also influence the marketing strategies and whether or not a company can use promotional items for marketing or not.

Most companies typically use some sort of promotional item as a marketing strategy. They do so because promotional items work. They bring people out to a store of business and when there they buy. If they didn't work, businesses would not use them. Remember the bottom-line? If something isn't helping to reach the bottom line it is not kept around long and promotional items have been around almost since the beginning of commerce.

Yeah, really, that long!

If your budget for promotional items is limited, you may have to come up with some ways to circumvent the low budget and buying all-season promotional items helps you stretch the marketing budget. For companies where the promotional item budget is a bit fatter, they might purchase promotional items that are summer, winter, fall and spring related. Buying this many different promotional items is an expense due to the extra printing costs. It is also more expensive because typically the more of a promotional item you buy the lower the cost. So buying fewer of an items jacks up the cost.

Taking the idea of buying more is cheaper is a place a business that is operating on a shoestring for promotional items might want to go. For example you may be able to buy 500 promotional items for $1000 or $2/item but, if you buy 2000 of the same promotional item, you might only have to pay $2000 or $1/item. This makes financial sense especially if you can use that many promotional items.

There are a few things to consider when using the buy more for less strategy: quality, functionality and seasonality. Quality is always a consideration regardless of your budget. Low quality promotional items tend to lead people to believe your company does not value quality and this is not what you want people to believe. So, always buy the highest quality promotional items you can.

Functionality is also an important consideration when making a selection of a promotional item. People want to get something for free but they do not want to get something for free that they can not use or do not know what it is. There are many little promotional items that are gadgets that are great for a few but not for the masses. Be careful that what you select is functional for all of the people you will be giving it to.

Another issue about functionality is that you want people to use the promotional item and to have it market for you when it leaves your place of business. Giving away items such as mugs, pens, T-shirts, caps etc. will market for you when they leave your store and they will market everyday, if the item is the right promotional item. The more functional the item, the greater chance it has of being used on a daily basis.

A final aspect of buying one promotional item is buying one that can be used during all seasons. Some examples of such items are umbrellas, mugs, pens, notepads, caps, etc.

If your budget for promotional item is limited try out a few of these suggestions.

Finding The Right Promotional Items For Your Business

There are many promotional items available to accentuate your business and supplement your traditional advertising tactics. Choosing a few different promotional items is always a good idea to ensure that you cover many of the bases of advertisement, and having promotional items themselves cover a lot of advertising territory.
The idea behind all promotional items, regardless of the types you choose, is that they are customized with your company logo, business information and contact information.

Promotional products range in cost from just a few lira each to much more expensive. On the low end of the scale of promotional items are promo pens and promo key chains. Promotional pens and key chains only cost a few lira each on the low end of the scale and there is a wide range of key chains and pens available to choose from. For promotional pens, you can move up the scale all the way to executive pens, which are more ideal to be used as a staff or client thank you for service or longevity.

There are also promotional mugs, which are a really interesting form of promotional advertising. Many people drink coffee or tea and utilize mugs. You can have a lot of fun with promotional mugs as well, with what you put on them for information, logo and slogans.

You can also look at ordering promotional umbrellas which are great gifts for corporate clients. Ordering a promotional umbrella that doubles as a golf umbrella is a great corporate client gift, especially because many people are into golf now than ever before.

There is a wide variety of promotional items and business gifts available to be customized with your logo and information - from pens to mugs, umbrellas to high end promotional pen sets and gift sets. With so much to choose from, you are surely able to choose a few that suit your needs, your business and your budget.
It's a good idea to have a few different types of promotional items for your company so that you will have a promotional item for all occasions. Pens and key chains are great promotional items to hand out at trade shows and fairs because they are small, easy to carry and distinctive. Promotional mugs and executive pen sets, as well as promo umbrellas are perfect for gifts to clients and staff. Promotional mugs can also be given away to clients who have made a purchase, a reminder for them for other than your product or service to have them returning to your business again and again.

Promotional items start another type of advertisement - word of mouth advertising. It works with your promotional items starting conversations between people about your business - that conversation drums up some interest and business for you, and as those people part, a product or service will come up in a conversation elsewhere and your business name will come up again.

All kinds of advertising happens when you least expect it - and your promotional items can be doing a lot of promotional work and advertising for you and your business for just a small investment.
For further information on promotional items, promotional products and business gifts check out the leading online promotional gift suppliers today!