Question: How can you use your current customer base to increase sales and build your future customer base? Answer: Using the most profitable form of advertising, promotional products!

By giving promotional items to existing customers, you will create long-term relationships with them. You will create new customers by advertising word of mouth to your current customers by delivering them. You will increase sales by using them as a gift when someone buys a certain product or service and you will also increase return visits from your existing customers.

Here’s a scenario of how giving a current customer a “gift” can do just that. You own an auto parts store, it’s the beginning of the year, and you want to start the new year off strong. You tell every customer that walks into your store that you have a January special (or whatever kind of special you want to feature) on product “X” (this is a specific product you offer, it could be a popular product, not is expensive, or something that can be bought a couple of times throughout the year like a bundle of rags, a battery pack, car air fresheners, or even when they spend a certain amount of money on their transaction, your choice). Let your customers know that you are offering a free gift with every transaction made. Now, when that customer purchases that product, or spends a certain amount, they’ll receive a free Collapsible Tin Coolie that has your company name and logo along with the current NASCAR schedule printed on it. So what just happened?

First, you got your customer to buy a product or service, or spend a little more money that wasn’t on their original list when they walked into your store. This has created an “up-sell” and he did it without putting pressure on his customer.

Secondly, you have just given away a promotional product that is reusable to your customer for the remainder of the racing season, and in many cases even longer as it is something they can use other than just during the racing season. This means that your customer and possibly other potential customers will see your company name and logo every time they use that Can Coolie. This is more “free advertising”.

Third, now you have a customer who is anticipating the idea that they might get another cool new gift on their next visit to your store, and may even bring a friend or family member just to get an extra gift for them or to give to them. to someone else. This would be a promotional product that you give away for the “February Special”, Valentine’s Special, or whatever occasion you want to feature. Customers love getting something for free, especially when they were planning to buy something from your store in the first place. This helps create “repeat business” from your existing customers.

Here is the second part of the above scenario. It’s Sunday morning and your client is getting ready for the big NASCAR race. He or she has the barbecue going, a cold soda in her coolie, thanks to you, and her friends have just arrived. One of the guests notices that her client is sporting a cool collapsible Can Coolie. That’s when they ask, “Hey, where did you get that and how can I get one?” Your customer then replies with “I got this at (your company name) for free when I bought (product X or service X).” What just happened?

Your current client just gave free “word of mouth advertising” for their business to a potential new customer, who will hopefully stop by your business so they, too, can get a free collapsible Can Coolie for the next race party. You’ve now “sold” two customers, possibly created more free “word of mouth,” and gotten a new customer that will likely help you get more new customers in the future. And the process goes on and on. This is just one of many scenarios that could occur with just one promotional product you hand out.

This type of interaction could take place at a park, at a ball game, on a fishing expedition, on a road trip, just working on a car in the garage, or in many other simple scenarios that take place in everyday life. of your clients. . Imagine if you wore six to twelve different promotional items or clothing throughout the year for a monthly special. A special gift to celebrate your sixth month, first year, or annual business anniversary. A seasonal “free gift” for early winter, spring, summer and fall.

You can support your local little league baseball team with hats, your high school football team with jerseys, your city’s women’s varsity volleyball team with magnetic season schedules, or your big NFL pro team, NBA or NHL with keychains or glasses that show their schedules. .

You could give away a Promotional Product for each holiday of the year, to celebrate New Year’s Eve by handing out a mini pompom. On Valentine’s Day, try giving out a heart-shaped box of candy. St. Patrick’s Day is always a perfect time to try a pitcher of beer or a shot glass. On Mother’s Day it could be a coffee mug that says “You’re the #1 mom with us at…” Then your logo. Father’s Day can be big by handing out a nice tape measure or a really cool pen. If you really want to create a stir in the community, give out a set of barbecue utensils for the 4th of July. When Halloween rolls around, Trick or Treat tote bags are always cooler than Mommy’s pillowcase. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start handing out next year’s wall calendars. Then you got your last holiday “Gift” of the year where you get to print “Happy Holidays or Happy Holidays” on so many different cool things to hand out.

Every time you deliver a Promotional Product, you simply give a current or new customer a valid reason to continue choosing your business over your competitor’s business. You have given your business the opportunity to create new customers through “word of mouth advertising” from your current customers. You’ve created more sales by offering a special offer that most likely wasn’t on your customer list to buy. What’s really exciting is that you’ll start to build and maintain a personalized base that will look forward to doing business with you for years to come, and maybe even build a friendship or two that will last for years.

Don’t forget that by achieving all of this, the Promotional Product you gave out is a very profitable form of advertising, a tax deduction for your business, and a “thank you” to your customer for their business.

As you sit down to plan your advertising budget for your business this year, think about what a simple promotional giveaway can do for your business. Get creative and wear promotional apparel and items that do the following;

Will it attract your customer base? Is it a product that your customer can use more than once and is it visible to other potential new customers?

Does it fit with what your business has to offer? If you run an auto repair business, try a license plate frame, pocket screwdriver, LED flashlight keychain, or ice scraper. If you own a hair salon, perhaps a hairbrush, compact mirror, sample sanitizer, or daily planner for your client to keep future hair appointments.

Will your “gift” create a buzz among others, like “Hey, where did you get that giant 12-inch rubber-grip pen? How can I get one of those t-shirts or caps, etc?”

Does your “free gift” have all the correct information printed on it? Your company name and logo, a phone number or address to reach you, your website, and a personalized message for your customer such as “Special thanks from…” “We appreciate your business at…, your number 1 with us”. at… , or “Happy holidays from…”.

Think about how many promotional products you will need to order. How many people visit your store daily, weekly and monthly. find out how many are repeat customers and how many are potential new customers. That way, when you place an order for a certain special gift like a “January Special” or a holiday, you’ll have enough to spread throughout the month. You don’t want to order too many products, but you want to make sure you can cover the entire month or so. You can always find a way to turn in any extras left over from a certain “special” you ran. You can give them to your local schools, boys and girls club, YMCA, shelters, charities or save them for the next special you host.

Make a plan for how you are going to distribute your promotional items. Deliver them with each transaction made. Give them away when the customer spends a certain amount of money or buys a certain product. Send one with every mail order. Donate to local schools, charities, fundraisers and events, this is a great way to deliver a large number of “Gifts” very quickly. An example would be rulers or #2 pencils for elementary schools, schools can always use extra school supplies to hand out to their students, and parents appreciate your kindness and community involvement.

Always ask your merchandise salesperson for ideas and answer these questions if you need help. If you have an experienced sales person who knows what they’re doing and wants to keep you as a long-term customer who continues to reorder, they’d be happy to help.

In case you don’t see the big picture of how promotional products can help you do more than just advertise your business, here’s a little reminder of a HUGE promotional item success story In 1979, McDonald’s restaurant began using a toy billed as “The Treat of the Week”, offering a different toy each week in a cardboard lunch box to help create sales for the kids’ Happy Meal. McDonald’s has been one of the most successful promotional product companies in history, selling more than 3.5 billion Happy Meals to date.

Since 1979, every little kid in the WORLD who walks through a McDonald’s with their parents or loved ones has demanded to stop and get a Happy Meal, usually because they want that toy. Imagine the word of mouth, additional sales, and new customers McDonald’s has gained over the years from a simple promotional product idea.