When it comes to small businesses, promotion is one of the key ingredients to success. With larger businesses having more money to spend on promotion and inbuilt brand recognition, you will have to work doubletime to get your name out to potential customers and convince them to choose your business above all the others out there.
The good news is that there are now many innovative and cost-effective ways to market your business and build your brand in the eyes of customers. While digital marketing is often front and center in small business owners’ minds, old-school methods can be just as effective if used properly. This includes making small promotional items that will ensure that your brand is front and center to aspects of your customers’ daily lives. Here are some small business promotional items that actually work.
Tote Bags
One of the most popular promotional items out there, tote bags are an effective promotional tool for a variety of reasons. When they’re used in people’s daily lives, they turn people into walking advertisements for your business. The fact that a well-made promotional bag will get a lot of personal, daily use also keeps your business front and center of people’s minds, which means that when they’re looking for a business in your industry your name will be one of the first they remember.
The important thing to remember is that, if you choose to make tote bags, you should ensure that they’re durable, well-made, and an attractive color. Reusability and sustainability are becoming more and more of a factor in all of our daily lives, and a well-made promotional tote bag can take advantage of that for your business.
Mugs and Glasses
Everyone has coffee mugs, glasses, and water bottles that they use every day, and using these everyday necessities in your branding puts you at a huge advantage. Mugs are great for trade shows or for your office. If you own a bar or a restaurant, branded pint glasses, shot glasses, or tumblers can be sold to your customers for them to show their brand loyalty to your business and have a functional piece of glassware as well. And if you own a gym or other health or fitness related business, branded water bottles can be functional for your clients both at home and while at your business.
Pens
Personalized promotional pens and pencils may sound simple, but they’re a classic for a reason. People will always be open to having a pen at hand, and if they have one with your brand on it they’ll have a constant reminder of you and your business. This is among the most affordable of promotional items as well, meaning that you can easily make a large quantity and give them out without stressing about the cost of the strategy. This is a good place to start if you’re new to marketing through promotional items and want a simple, low-risk strategy that will let you easily see whether your promotion is effective.
Apparel
On the opposite end of the cost scale, apparel is one of the most common strategies for branded marketing, but it will require a greater element of risk due to the cost involved. There is a scale to the cost, however – start with smaller or less costly items such as caps and bandanas and work your way up.
T-shirts provide an opportunity for more creativity and expression of brand loyalty – find a professional artist who can incorporate your business logo and come up with designs that your customers will actually want to wear. This is a great option for any retail or food service business, since customer recognition and loyalty is the key to building and sustaining your business over time.