Promotional printing is about a lot more than getting your business name or website on some pens and key rings and handing them out at the annual show. For this method to be not only effective but profitable for your business you need to be sure that you money is not going to waste and that any money spent is a future investment.

Promotional items are generally giveaways and although you may have an expendable budget for these items you want to be satisfied that they are giving back in some way.

How Promotional Items Work

In our minds we see people looking for our branded pen amongst hundreds of others to get our number, or a business card that is saved, or even a post card that gets read. In reality the majority of free promotional items are forgotten thirty seconds later or tossed in the trash in the weekly clean out.

Items that stick to the potential customer and are used, displayed, or recommended in the future are the best ones. Make everything you do stand out from the crowd by customising it in some way or making it useful to your target market.

It also helps to keep in mind that everything you do in and out of business hours is a potential sales opportunity. Note: It doesn’t matter where you’re located, if you need promotional printing in Melbourne or anywhere around the world, the concepts remain the same.

Ways To Differentiate Your Promotional Items

Let’s keep it simple. Look for an item that is somehow linked to your product or service. Perhaps you write resumes. A pen is linked to writing so you could feasibly use a pen to get your information onto and hand out to potential clients. Research the target market thoroughly, find out where they are likely to gather and get there to hand out your pens.

There are so many pens you can choose from. So how do you make this different to the other thousand of promotional pens out there? Find the best pen you can and even cut down on the amount of pens you get printed. If it’s attractive, comfortable to hold, has an easy ink flow and some system of attachment (lanyard, clip, pocket holder) then it will be kept and used, and your company will always be remembered as the one that gave away the top quality pen.

You have then built a trust and quality relationship with those people and they will pass that onto others through word of mouth. You might use a top quality, all natural lip balm; roll on sunscreen, notepad, or even a pocket torch with custom printing. Whatever it is, pay for less of a better quality if you need to and get those into the hands of the people who need your services most.

Handing out hundreds at a bus stop might seem like good exposure but it will be a costly and ineffective campaign unless your target market hangs out there.

First Things First

Get yourself a professional designer and invent or reinvent your brand. This is vital. A good brand is more than a logo and a name. You’ll need to work the one thing that can set your products or services apart and make that clear in the name and brand. Don’t do a plain name like ‘Resume Writing Services’. Use your name to describe what you do and make it clear to people from that. Think of a word that you’d like to use to describe how your services can benefit them, a theme people will connect with immediately. Make sure the logo is simple yet memorable.

Here are two examples of companies that have done it well:

• Volvo – Safety
• Tonka – Tough

Those are single words that immediately meet a concern for users. Drivers want a safe car and parents want a toy that will stand the test of time and toddlers. These brands are built around these concepts, and the companies deliver on that promise every time. Consistency is what builds a brand into a trusted and recommended entity.

Use top quality commercial printing services every time, even if it means doing a smaller run or cutting costs elsewhere. Anything less than the best quality will see your opportunity squandered.

Touch Points

Every time a person makes contact with your brand it is called a touch point. The more of these you have the more chance you have of getting a sale. All items you use in promotional printing campaigns will be a touch point, so make them count.

Still looking for more advice? Barney’s Printing is a promotional printing melbourne based company with loads of experience here to help you – click here to find out how we can help with all your printing needs.