Why do promotions now?

I have heard from many customers and their clients that it is very challenging to do promotions right now. Times are tough and everyone is cutting back and they can't justify spending money on promotions when they are forced to lay people off. It is a very compelling issue and one that I would like to discuss today. In sales there are always going to be objections and you have to find a way to find a solution to each objection. These are rough economic times, but we still need to find ways to generate more business and to keep current customers coming back for more. A company called the Advertising Specialty Institute, ASI, recently conducted a survey of 618 business people in four major markets. The purpose behind this survey was to find out how effective promotional products were and do a cost analysis comparison to other forms of marketing and advertising. It was quite the extensive survey, but I'll give you the short summary of conclusions that came out of this.

• Instant Recall: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) respondents remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they received.


• Very Impressionable: 42% of respondents had a MORE favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving the item. And nearly a quarter (24%) said they are MORE likely to do business with the advertiser on the items they receive.


• It's all business: Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a promotional product after receiving the time.


• Pens are in: Writing instruments are the most-recalled advertising specialty items (54% of respondents recall owning them), followed by shirts, caps, and bags.


• User-friendly: The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.


• Staying Power: More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for more than 6 months.


• Bag It!: Among wearables, bags were reported to be the used most frequently with respondents indicating that they used their bags an average of 9 times per month. They also deliver the most impressions: Each bag averages 1,038 impressions per month!


• Most Impressive: The average Cost Per Impression, CPI, of an advertising specialty item is $0.004; as a result, marketers get more favorable return on investment from advertising specialties than nearly any other popular advertising media.

So what does this all mean? To me, it means that we have to be more creative to reach our customers. Just running a TV commercial or a newspaper ad isn't enough. We have to look at new avenues to promote your company. Maybe you send a thank you note with a pen attached to it and say "I would like to help you write your next order" It gets you in front of your customer again, shows your creative side, and shows that you care by giving them a useful item. There are many different creative options that can help your company stand out from the rest. The use of promotional products is a cost effective way of reminding your customers that you are there to help them to continue to strive and grow.

Thanks as always,

Josh Anderson

Customer Relationship Manager

Logo Boys Image Builders

*"Research provided by the Advertising Specialty Institute, Copyright ©2008, All Rights Reserved."