Promotional products are big business. There are entire companies who specialize in creating products with your logo on them to promote your business. The trick is knowing which products are going to pay off and which ones are a waste of money. Keep reading to learn more. Worried about where you'll find the dough to invest in promotional products? Don't be. We'll have some great tips on how to use Stockpile free small business inventory solution to save money.
Fit to a T
T-shirts have long been popular promotional products. Obviously it's great if you can get people to walk around promoting your business for you. The trick is to create a shirt that will be worn. For that you need a high quality t-shirt with a catchy or clever design. Otherwise your shirt may end up as sleepwear only seen by pets and family members and all promotional value is lost. This can be a big problem as t-shirts can be pricey, especially if you aren't able to order in large bulk quantities. The more colors in your design, the higher the cost so you'll need to balance artistry with cost effectiveness.
Don't Stress Out
Stress balls are also popular items. They are small, lightweight and relatively inexpensive. These can be good for B to B businesses. If your potential customers work in an office they may keep a stress ball on their desk which would keep your logo front and center. For consumer businesses the payoff may not be there. Stress balls tend to get lost around the house, confiscated by kids or pets. Out of sight can equal out of mind so any promotional value probably doesn't extend much beyond the time they received the item.
The Write Answer
Looking for a cheap option that will keep your name in front of your customers? Writing utensils may be the answer you're looking for. Pens and pencils are very cost effective and people tend to hang on to the them for awhile. One caveat with a pencil, remember that it will be sharpened so your message will be lost along the way. Consider what the pencil will say as part of the text is lost. For example, "Don't do drugs" can quickly become "do drugs" as the pencil gets shorter. Avoid any unintended accidents that could make your company a punchline by carefully thinking about how it will look over time.
Fun, Fun, Fun
Toys such as frisbees, bendy sticks, and yo-yos can be good options as well. These items are inexpensive and likely to be kept. When choosing a toy consider your target audience. Frisbees are good if you're targeting families. Bendy sticks and yo-yos would be better if your audience also includes business people. They may keep these items in the office on their desk where as they are unlikely to keep a frisbee.
Environmentally Aware
These days everyone cares about the environment so you can't go wrong with eco-friendly options. Reusable bags would be welcomed by almost everyone and since they would be carried out to do the shopping you'd get additional exposure. Reusable straws are also good but to get brand recognition you'd need to include a carrying case with your logo. Even then, they don't have the same exposure as a bag or a t-shirt.
Show Me the Money
If you liked any of the ideas above you may be wondering how to pay for this expense. It's easy to save money if you use Stockpile. Stockpile makes it easy to track your inventory. Thanks to areas and locations you'll always know where to find what you're looking for. That makes you more efficient and since time is money you'll be saving. Since Stockpile is customizable you choose which fields to include in item records. That lets you track all the data that is important to your business. You'll know more than just the quantity and location of your inventory. You can easily look up purchase price, calculate profit margin and more. The best part is that Stockpile is available for free. That's right, all this money saving power is yours at no cost. Ready to see what we can do for you? Try Stockpile today!
