Strategic Promotional Marketing Can Help Increase Sales
Written by Mike Petrocelli, owner of Petrocelli Marketing Group
In the vast realm of marketing there is one focus area that has the greatest impact on the street, and goes hand in hand with “word of mouth” advertising. It is guerilla marketing at its finest and the R.O.I. is tough to beat! Your current customers are your greatest asset, and it is time to brand them, and their surroundings! Get them talking about you. If you give them a way to open a discussion about your products and services, you will have empowered them to use word of mouth advertising in your favor. The most powerful way to launch a successful word of mouth campaign is through promotional branding. The investment is well worth it. Promotional products are the only forms of advertising that allow you to give back to your customer while benefitting your company as you brand the promotional vehicle you give out! They create goodwill and are very useful to the recipient and therefore giving a reason to initiate a conversation about your company and the goodwill they received!
Popular Strategic Promotional Marketing Focus Areas:
Let’s take a look at how to take advantage of them in the best way. To be successful at it you need to look at these items in a different light. In this fiercely competitive environment you need to keep your brand “top of mind” and you do this by putting your logo and information in front of your prospects and customers on many levels. Think about how many different branding opportunities there are to stay in front of them. Some high profile areas are:
1) At their desk and in their office -binders, pads of paper, calendars, drinkware, mousepads.
2) On them (as apparel)– outer wear, hats, gloves, shirts, performance wear, sunglasses.
3) In their vehicles – sunglass holders, anti slip pads, drinkware, pads of paper.
4) Signs – danger flags, co-op branded magnetic signs and yard signs.
5) At home – barbeque sets, jar openers, cutting boards, coolers and thermoses
6) Safety – shirts, safety glasses, hats,
7) Recreation – Beachballs, Koozies, fishing lures, stress relievers, games of all types, etc.
8) Direct Mail Inserts - Significantly increase your direct mail openings and create “lumpy mail” that WILL get opened.
Determine your budget and Volume:
There are several factors to keep in mind as you devise the best approach to your promotional campaign. The first is to determine the focus of your campaign. You can choose a promotional route, which uses less expensive items, or one of many incentive approaches involving sales volume in particular categories that you dictate.
The promotional level involves a multi-tiered approach that uses items like pencils and rulers and smaller useful items to create goodwill on a promotional level. Identify key factors like your colors, or styles like contemporary, traditional, or eco friendly to identify with your theme. The key is not to skimp on quality. Just like the tools your best customers use to get the job done right, don’t give out subpar branded items. It’s better to buy less and get fewer numbers so you can give out a better product. The items will be kept longer, and impress your logo upon the recipient longer with a better quality item. Allow your sales force to give you feedback on what they see on the streets as well. Chances are your competition is using some form of promotional level branding as handouts, so it’s best not to come in after them with the “same” item and look silly giving out a similar item. It helps a salesperson break the ice to be able to offer something with your logo on it as they show up on a job site. There’s something about giving even the smallest item away that breaks the ice in a prospecting opportunity.
Another level is for those that spend large amounts with you. These are your bread and butter customers that you want to know that they are appreciated. These are the ones you want talking about you where ever they go. Your customers will wear a nice jacket with your logo on it all over town, which will be seen by other countless prospects and customers. When others see a respected builder in the area wearing your logo, many times just the presence of a branded item like this speaks for itself and does the talking for you. If you feel funny randomly giving out these things, offer a product incentive for customers to buy a higher end item through you instead of your competition, and give out a nicer, branded gift. Even ask your supplier to kick in funds for the special promotion you are trying to initiate. You’ll be amazed at how some of the suppliers will partner with you to move product during these times.
Effective Promotional Product Concentration:
Where do you want your brand to initiate conversation? Some of the top areas are 1. Apparel (on the person via screenprinted or embroidered items), 2. Drinkware – our coffee loving society provides a walking billboard as your logo is carried around on a plethora of styles including tumblers, ceramics, and hydration bottles. You’re providing for a need in the field by giving very useful items for everyday use. 3. Writing instruments – Pencils are used more than pens in our industry in the field. Pens are inexpensive and mini billboards that provide multiple impressions of your logo daily. Pick a great pen that becomes their favorite. Choose the right style to convey your message. 4. Bags – buy a certain amount of reusable bags that customer will take to the grocery store and advertise for you. There are several polypropylene bags that provide large imprint areas for you to brand. Once again, you can ask some of your suppliers if they will co-op the advertising space and share the cost with you. It helps all parties involved to publicize your logos to the local public. 5. Hats – Both ball cap styles and winter skull caps are very popular and right in the forefront as people travel daily. The categories are endless and there is an answer for virtually any theme you want to brand for. Consult a professional who can help you sift through the astronomical number of choices to save yourself valuable time.
Don’t skimp on low quality items:
Even if the item is a lower cost item, quality always trumps quantity…The quality of the items you brand is important. It is better to cut back the number of pieces in order to spend more on high quality than it is to go with cheaper products. There is a term called “impressions” in the advertising world which is calculated as the number of times in a given day that your branded item is seen by your focal group. If you side on quality then the recipients will use your branded item more frequently and therefore giving you much greater exposure to the world. Create an incentive for your customers to “earn” higher ticket items. You want your best customers to have more reason to use items with your brand on them. How many times have you seen contractors come in your office, store, or yard with a competitor’s shirt on? It’s a bit embarrassing and is literally the only way a competitor could ever advertise in your place of business! If you give out the “best shirt” in the region then you can rest assured they will choose yours over theirs.

Stories from the front lines:
Years ago, I was a distributor rep for a wholesale hardwood floor supplier , I saw firsthand the battle for promotional real estate both in the yards as well as between wholesale suppliers. It was a very real battle that played itself out in some comical yet strategic ways. “The battle of the calendar wars” was a very real scenario that played out every year around November of every one of my 11 years in the industry! Whoever could get their calendar out and up on the buyers wall first, won the battle, and I remember one year being behind my competition for an entire day as we raced to area yards to be the first! Also the “paper pad war” was another battle to gain “top of desk” real estate. I can’t tell you how many stacks of paper pads I dropped on buyers desks to stay “top of mind”. As crazy as it were, many buyers referred to the pads assuring me that I was the call they made because my info was in front of them day in and day out. Those pads were worth every penny! Finally the “Holiday food fights” were the grand finale of each year as the end of year gifts were chosen to thank those who were loyal buyers through the year. It was tough to beat the pile of assorted chocolates we gave out every year to those deserving buyers! I can still remember sharing some of those delicacies with my friends (various buyers) who shared in my livelihood in this great industry. I believed so much in these products that I now spend my day seeking the next great idea to help you brand your logo to the greatest industry in the world!
There are over 650,000 products available for branding and more being added each day. Please call our office to discuss the best option for your promotional needs. Mike Petrocelli, owner of Petrocelli Marketing Group can be reached at 800-264-4294 or at mp@petrocellimkt.com for a free consultation.