Using Marketing Gifts To Market Your Small Business

By: Gareth Parkin

Marketing your small business can be a challenge. Advertising is often prohibitively expensive, and doesn’t always deliver the results that you want. There are other ways – better ways – to market and publicize your small business. You can get wonderful results marketing your business using marketing gifts and promotional products, if you think ahead and plan out your marketing strategies. Here are some great suggestions that you can use to get the exposure your business needs to prosper.

Trade Shows
Every business holds them – trade shows and conferences where suppliers and buyers come together to network and drum up business. They’re a cost-effective way to get your product or service noticed by the people who are most likely to use them. Be sure to stock up on effective, interesting and fun marketing gifts before you head out to your next trade show so that you’ll make a big splash and be remembered.

• Create a colorful, attractive and eye-catching display area. Balloons and printed streamers can help get your booth noticed. Keep extra balloons on hand to hand out to passers by who can carry them and advertise your business name around the conference.
• Pick one or more low cost marketing gifts to hand out to those who visit or pass by your booth. Some examples that work very well at trade shows include personalized pens and highlighters, key rings and luggage tags.
• Depending on the show and the time of year, consider handing out filled personalized water bottles to event visitors. They’ll appreciate the cooling off, and take your water bottle home with them when they leave. That will keep your name and number easily available when they need your product.
• Spark up the excitement with a raffle. Everyone loves to win something for nothing. Ask vendors and customers to drop their business cards into a basket or box – you’ll have them later to add to your contact list. Make sure that the prizes carry your business name and your contact info – and hand out a few prizes. Promotional caps and portfolios make great prizes for this kind of raffle.

Other Uses for Marketing Gifts
Everyone loves a free gift, and there are marketing gifts that appeal to just about everyone. You can use inexpensive marketing gifts in direct mail marking campaigns to encourage new customers, or as thank you gifts to existing customers. Items like refrigerator magnets, sticky note pads and personalized key rings can keep your business name in front of your customers often.

Some marketing gifts are traditions – like a company calendar sent out during the holidays. Others are more personalized and can serve as thank you gifts or promotional items to bring customers in to your business. An accountant might offer a free calculator with a consulting appointment, for example, and a caterer an imprinted spatula or apron.

You’ll find many ideas for using marketing gifts to promote your business online where many of the leading suppliers will work hard to make you look good.