Promotional gifts

fenton · #1 14th August 2007, 12:52

What do people think of promotional products. i.e pens. mugs. note pads, key rings. Is it a good idea to have them with your name and logo on to help promote new business. Should we give them out to companies when cold calling for new business will it help build good working relationships??.

Shaunyboy3383 · #2 14th August 2007, 13:19

It's ok. Dont expect it to do much good in terms of sales though, but it adds a nice touch when you can give them to clients or potential clients.

To be honest it wont really do much good in building relationships as everyone does it. The best you can hope to do is just keep your name and number in front of them so that if they do need you they might call.

One of the best gifts i ever had was a rubix cube, it was great i used to keep playing with whenever i was on the phone to somebody or having a moment of thought. I never bought from the company but it stayed on my desk and i always remember the company who provided it. So it did have some success but not a lot!!!

Separate note - I offer a range of promotional products as a bit of a side line, if you are interested id be happy to quote for it.

garethparkin · #3 8th May 2008, 16:57

I think if you are going to use promotional products in this way you should always bear in mind the item you are going to use - ie ensure the product is likely to stay around for many weeks, months or even years. One of the most effective products is promotional mugs - unless they get dropped these tend to hang around business for years. Make them look good and they can be a prized possesion on anyones desk. Check out ideasbynet.com they offer a great range.

borobabe · #4 8th May 2008, 18:49

I think it can work ok if you choose the right item to send. One of the latest trends is to send a personalised helium balloon, I like the idea of that one, and they dont cost too much to do.
I have been doing basic promotional items such as pens, mousemats etc for a year or so and will be moving into doing mugs but mainly for the gift market. I hope they still prove popular!

Water4Fish · #5 16th May 2008, 09:34

Hi,

We find promotional antistress products prove to be very popular and sought after.
This type of promotional merchandise works well for large organisations.
Next populat items are promotional keyrings, often purchased by estate agents and universities, who often come back to get some more.
Please check www.water4fish.co.uk to view our range.

SimonCh · #6 18th May 2008, 15:48

The idea of a promotional item is to help people remember your business, hopefully with the aim of getting them to buy from you.

Things to consider:
* Pick a product that they'll use regularly. (obvious examples are mugs etc)
* Pick a product that ties in with your business.
* It must be cheap enough for you to be happy giving it away
* But good enough quality (as well as useful enough) that the customer won't throw it away.

The best promo item I ever got? A tape measure, given to me by a tool-hire company. Meets all the criteria above.

stato77 · #7 19th May 2008, 13:38

If you are an online company, then mousemats are the way forward plus they hardly cost anything to send out and don't break like mugs

Delboy · #8 19th May 2008, 14:16

mousemats are 10 a penny, but persoanlly they end up in the bin as i have a propper gel rest one, my uni advise us all to use them and so do lots of compainys (as it helps stop carpel-tunnel syndrome)

anti stress items are perfect though... or something you can fiddle with! i dont like mugs as they end up sitting in the kitchen and never really being looked at...

NW Law · #9 19th May 2008, 15:51

anyone know anyone who does reasonably priced printed carrier bags and car air fresheners?

Chris Kaday · #10 20th May 2008, 06:27

I am not a great fan of promotional gifts but do agree mugs are good. We had them in the company for all client meetings and gave them one on the way out. People would kill for a BBC breakfast mug but ours did not have quite the same cache lol

Chris Kaday

Quote:

Originally Posted by garethparkin

I think if you are going to use promotional products in this way you should always bear in mind the item you are going to use - ie ensure the product is likely to stay around for many weeks, months or even years. One of the most effective products is promotional mugs - unless they get dropped these tend to hang around business for years. Make them look good and they can be a prized possesion on anyones desk. Check out ideasbynet.com they offer a great range.