The success of a promotional product begins a long time before you even hand out your item at the promotional trade show or event. Instead of diminishing your returns, the strategy you opt for goes a long way towards promoting your brand or services and ensuring a return on the investment you have made in the project.
All along the way, starting with the moment you start considering purchasing promotional items to the assessment once the campaign is over, you are given the opportunity to substantially boost the success of your promotional campaign.
Below you can find some of the common promotional product mistakes that even seasoned professionals can make when they rush to obtain a return on their investment, or when the common demands of their businesses interfere with the way in which they make their strategic choices.
Mistake 1: Setting their goals
Investing in promotional items is exciting. What’s more, the selection processes can be fun for all the team members who are involved in designing the campaign. Nonetheless, if you ignore the goals for your campaign or product, everything will simply fall flat.
Before you even select an item (or several items), make sure that your team has a clear goal in mind, especially in terms of what your product should achieve. Get leads? Increase awareness? Inform prospective customers about new products or services? Regardless of the goal, if you work your way backwards from a settled goal to the product itself, you will make sure that you make a good strategic selection.
Mistake 2: Overlooking the lead time
The lead time is a crucial component of any successful campaign. And this is one of the most common mistakes many teams make while planning a campaign. There are some promotional product companies that might have quick turnaround times. But do you really want your campaign’s success to hinge on tight turnaround deadlines? What’s more, if you are actually planning on designing a custom promotional item, there is no doubt that you will need to consider lead time.
Generally, savvy businesses never overlook the “glitch factor,” always making room in their planning phases for things that might go wrong. For instance, if you send your artwork to the selected promotional company but it has to be tweaked, this will definitely add time to the deadline of the project.
Mistake 3: Innovation
Though your old marketing campaigns have always worked, you shouldn’t rest on your laurels and just assume that, year after year, the same old strategy will simply continue to work. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most common mistakes most businesses make.
As an alternative, adopt an innovative attitude and try to come with new ideas. It is likely that, by deciding to ignore a product that may perform even better – simply because you feel satisfied with what you have achieved in the past – you will miss the opportunity of achieving an even better-performing campaign.
Mistake 4: Costs
There are cases when budgets are tight, thus limiting choices. However, you should never sacrifice price over quality. You have to take into consideration that if, for example, you spend 10% more on a promotional item, there are chances to obtain a 40% higher return on leads. Considering this scenario, isn’t it worthwhile to spend a little more upfront? You should never let price become the deciding factor.
Consider for a second the brand effect promotional items, such as custom memory drives, usually have on consumers. Numerous researches in the field have clearly demonstrated that nearly 90% of the consumers are likely to recall the advertiser’s brand name within 2 years after receiving the item. Making a long-lasting impression is highly important. And there is no doubt that higher-quality items are more than likely to make the kind of impression any business is striving to achieve when using promotional giveaways.
Mistake 5: Logo
One of the most important factors to keep present when choosing a promotional product is location – and here we are talking about your logo and contact information.
An appealing logo will certainly increase brand recall. When a customer wants to contact your business, the address, e-mail, or phone number needs to be outlined on the item as clearly as possible. Otherwise, you might lose the opportunity to get a sale or a lead.
When it comes to displaying contact information, you need to think strategically. Which is the best way for clients to get in touch with you? Is it by phone? Do you have the necessary staff to answer these calls? Or is it via a website form? Do you have an employee who checks those forms or database on a regular basis? Can the logo alone provide sufficient product knowledge to make a long-lasting impression, or you need to add the email address too?
Creating promotional product campaigns that exceed the expectations of a business implies a series of carefully established steps. A business must think through specific goals for the lead time and promotion. Don’t be afraid to take into consideration innovative strategies to promote your services and brand, and make sure to invest in quality items. Another crucial step is to target the appropriate target audience. Make sure to include clear and relevant brand information and contact that will make a lasting impression on your consumers. It should be good enough to make them not only want to contact you, but also eventually make a purchase. In the end, this is the reason you are committing energy, time, and resources to your promotional products campaign.
USB Memory Drives on a Budget
Since USB memory drives are considered quality electronic devices that provide long-lasting and generous storage capabilities, there is a preconceived idea that it is impossible to afford to buy them when having to work with a tight budget for your marketing campaign. However, the truth is that, if you follow our simple guidelines and buy smart, you can afford custom USB memory drives even if you are on the strictest promotional budget!
Economical USB Options
1) Opt for a stylish, yet affordable USB style
For example, you can choose basic plastic USB memory drives. Though custom moulded USB memory drives look great, if you are working with a rather strict budget outline it might be wiser to use the “less is more” approach. Since they are more cost effective, you can always opt for a basic plastic flash drive unit. Boasting corporate friendly colours, slim lines, and a wide variety of non-capped and capped styles, basic plastic USB memory drives actually make a great product choice. Though their outer cases might look simple, especially if compared to other custom plastic, leather, or metal USB products, this might be exactly what you need. This happens because…
2) Your Logo should be the one to do the talking
Instead of focusing on the style of your promotional USB’s body, beyond basic appeal and functionality, you should emphasise your logo itself. A 3 solid colours logo – or even under – instead of a full colour printing will ensure that the printing is more affordable. You can always opt for a simple – yet vibrant – logo version to make sure you are still within budget parameters. A minimalist USB style will make your logo stand out even more and attract attention.
3) Make sure to prepare in advance and use standard turnaround options
There is no doubt that last minute product options cost more than standard turnaround products. In simple terms, it is more advantageous for you to order in advance. Though turnaround times might be slower for standard dispatches, the prices are definitely lower, allowing you to keep your expenditure under control.
An Innovative Promotional Technique: The Swivel USB Memory Drives
The flipping, cap-less, and convenient swivel promotional USB memory drives can be the ideal option for any brand and business which wishes to achieve the highest market share. These products will help your clients, business partners, employees, family members and friends get awareness about your brand and logo. These flexible, smart, and beautiful swivel drives will help any business make a long lasting and friendly impression on all their loyal and prospective customers.
Different companies have already chosen these USB memory drives for their promotional purposes, thus generating good-will and profitability. These innovative devices are available in the latest designs and enhanced data capacity.
Brand Awareness and Swivel USB Drives
Easy to plug-in and portable, the swivel USB memory drives are definitely capable of enhancing brand awareness. We are talking about a commonly used item among businessmen, students, employees, and home-mates. Easy to store in a pocket or in a purse, the swivel USB flash drives will allow you to promote your brand and services in a stylish way, leaving a long-lasting impression on your customers. And, what’s more, they are fully customizable: you can have them printed with your brand name or logo, you can select the design and colour that best suits your preferences, or choose the space capacity that best meets the needs of your marketing campaign. This is a suitable and budget friendly marketing strategy that can generate high productivity in a short period of time.