3 Tips to Maximize ROI on Your Promotional Products

Is it worth it to include branded products as a part of your marketing strategy? The short answer is: yes.

The long answer? Like so many other aspects of marketing, promotional products truly soar when they are part of a cohesive, well-structured, and targeted marketing effort. Promo products have the most positive impact on a brand when they are kept for a long time, used often, and shared with others. In fact, one of the main strengths of promotional products is their longevity: a business can pay for a promotional item once, and as long as it’s still being used by someone, the same item can be generating impressions for that business, years down the line!

To plan your promo in a way that will get you the most bang for your buck, you need to choose products that your audience sees value in owning; whether it’s to use, to wear, or to keep as a memento. This requires insight, strategy, and direction– and these three tips are a great starting point to get you there.

1. First off, you need to choose products that are relevant to your audience, and consistent with your brand image. This goes for the item itself, as well as the way you style it. Your knowledge of your audience and the role that you play in their lives should give you some insight into the types of products they would like to receive from you (if you want to learn more about how you can get to know your audience better, check out our article about it).

What needs do you meet for your customers? What values do you uphold? These questions can help point you in the direction of the right promo products for your business.

For example, think of a mid-range hair salon targeting busy parents and working professionals. They may be committed to providing luxury extras like glasses of wine and complimentary scalp massages to promote themselves as a serene self-care escape for their guests. Their mission is to provide high-quality, simple esthetic services that give feelings of luxury without charging luxury prices. A business like this might choose to focus on promo products that reinforce their image of affordable luxury, or the idea that they’re here for their customers to help them take care of, and take time for, themselves. Self-care items suited to busy lifestyles like portable manicure sets, hairbrushes, and makeup bags might just be perfect for this brand– and the decorations they choose for these pieces need to be consistent with their existing brand imagery. This particular salon might complement its existing logo with muted or neutral-colored products to evoke feelings of calm.

2. Next, you want to think long-term. If you pick a product that appeals to your audience and that you think they’re likely to use often or keep for a while, you need to make sure that the product can withstand the test of time! Choosing products made with high-quality materials is a massive part of this; but perhaps equally important is to try not to be too ‘trendy’. If you jump on a current trend with your latest promo product, you run the risk of that trend being over and your products suddenly being ‘uncool’. Products that are highly useful, with simple and timeless designs, are the ones your audience will continue to reach for again and again.

3. Finally, integrate your promo into your larger marketing strategy. Promo products on their own are great. Promo products to complement your latest promotion, ad campaign, or product release are brilliant! Making promo a part of the bigger picture will only widen your reach and broaden the number of channels through which you can connect with your audience. Make promo a part of your customer loyalty program, display it at your trade show booths, or do promo giveaways on your social media platforms to generate buzz, and increase visibility for your brand! There are so many ways that promo can be brought in to enhance whatever you’ve already got going on.

By staying true to your brand and audience, choosing timeless and high-quality products, and integrating them into a comprehensive marketing strategy, you can increase ROI and achieve great results from your promo products. Just remember, that the key is not to just distribute products, but to create meaningful connections with your audience to drive long-term brand loyalty and brand exposure.