Constructing and implementing an active promotional product campaign is a key way you can build a better brand identity, and boost your company’s performance in your industry. But, knowing how to approach such a campaign can be a challenge for those that are inexperienced. Thankfully, we’ve created a list of 10 steps that will lead your company to a successful promotional product strategy and campaign. Read on to discover ways to build a consumer base that is more loyal to your brand:
1. DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE
For your team to construct a knockout promotional product campaign, you want to begin with a document that details the purpose, budget, and ideas of the product you will be promoting. Branding, customer outreach, and ultimately success all come from a strong sense of communication and consistency. So being prepared in advance is highly suggested. If your document can keep everyone on the right track, your chances of succeeding in your promotional product campaign should skyrocket!
2. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH
Having a good grasp on how similar products to the one you are offering are currently performing in your industry is of utmost importance when beginning to construct your campaign. You need to speak directly to potential customers, do your market research, and even potentially test out your product on a small test audience before making any drastic or permanent choices about your campaign. The more research you have access to, the more assured you can be that the choices you are making are ideal for the goals of your promotional product campaign.
3. TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR COMPETITORS’ PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS
When building a campaign from the ground up, it can be useful to look toward sources of inspiration. By identifying the primary competitors you must compete with within your industry, you can find a source of inspiration that will educate you on what has and hasn’t worked for similar products in the past. Find out what they have yet to offer to your target audience and capitalize on the opportunity to be the first brand to offer that service/product that customers have been craving. The better you can do this, the more effective your brand identity and reputation will become.
4. NEVER ORDER TOO MUCH
When running a promotional product campaign, you need to be able to get the word about your brand’s products/services out there in a way that is financially responsible. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is overestimating the amount of promotional product they need to put out there to make people aware of their business. It is always better to order too little and have to wait for a new shipment than to waste thousands of potential marketing dollars on a promotional product that simply fails to reach expectations or demands.
5. ALWAYS CONSIDER THE CUSTOMER
Having a thorough understanding of what your customer currently desires from your industry is the key to running a successful promotional product campaign. Get out there and communicate with your consumer base. You’ll not only find valuable information that will lead you to successful business practices, but you will begin making a reputation for your brand as one that values the needs and ideas of its consumer base. So, with this in mind, always ask yourself one thing before making any drastic or lasting choice about your promotional product marketing campaign: “What does this do for my target audience?”
6. BRANDING IS EVERYTHING
Even if you offer amazing products that you know your consumer base is craving, your efforts are likely to fail if you do not have a strong brand identity. A brand identity allows you to communicate information to your audience about your product at a glance, and in the fast-paced world we live in this ability is essential to your company’s success. To reach people in an effective and cut through manner, you want to focus more time on building a strong brand identity before launching your promotional product campaign.
7. KEEP OFFERINGS VALUABLE
It’s easy for people to believe that your products/services are valuable in the short-run. But a lasting impression of your company forming in their mind is reserved for when you can clearly demonstrate that the value you provide lasts for a long time. Concentrate on promoting the most useful and valuable products your company has to offer during your campaign and you will begin to have your audience associating your company’s name with stellar products. Do not waste people’s time with frivolous or useless products and you will be sure to succeed in your market!
8. SEEK FEEDBACK FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS
After you have launched your campaign, and you have had a decent amount of interaction from your target consumer base, it is time to start gathering important feedback from your audience. Market research is not something that is just at the beginning of a campaign, but something that needs to be ongoing to ensure your company is communicating with its audience in a relevant manner. Offering valuable incentives such as discounts can be a great way to get the participants of your promotional product campaign to participate in satisfaction surveys. Obtaining this information will be one of the most important steps when guiding your campaign towards a successful outcome.
9. ANALYZE YOUR RESULTS
Once your company has gained a lot of hard data on the reaction of your base to the promotional product campaign, it is time to sit down and analyze the data. Doing so will allow you to see the current strengths and weaknesses of your efforts. You want to give more attention to the areas of your campaign that are failing to attract the engagement that you expected.
10. ADJUST ACCORDINGLY AND CARRY ON!
You have your data, and you’ve analyzed it; now is the time to readjust your campaign. By switching things up in subtle ways, you can make the successful interaction your have with customers skyrocket during your promotional product campaign. Keep in mind that adjusting your efforts is not a one and done thing. Successful campaigns are the result of continually breaking down data and making adjustments to the campaigns. Ideally, you should be making weekly changes to your campaign to keep it fresh and engaging. However, it is important that you always make sure your branding stays consistent, that way your target consumer base does not become confused about the goals of your company’s efforts.
Each one of these steps is drastically important to build a strong, clear, and successful promotional product campaign. To keep your business and its products/service relevant, you must focus your efforts toward making people excited about those offerings. Without the ability to do so, your company is destined to struggle in the competitive market it is working inside of. Thankfully, by keeping focused and implementing the steps we have listed above, you should have no problem making your brand stronger than it has ever been before!
