Promotional Products Articles & Promotional Newsletters Educational

Promotional items are tools useful to the businessperson in a variety of situations. They garner customer appreciation. They can be used as gifts for new business partners. Or they can be given to employees as rewards for hard work. One of the most fundamental and effective uses of promotional items, though, is the spreading of your company name.

It has been proven time and time again that familiarity breeds loyalty. The more a consumer has heard or seen your company name, the higher the chance he or she will buy from you. Advertising is the most common way of increasing name recognition, but giving away free promotional items can be equally effective.

Consider this: A couple's refrigerator stops working and they need to call a repair service. Their phone book has a dozen entries for refrigerator repair. They need only get the book out of the cabinet and search through it to find the appropriate phone numbers. But on their way to do so, they remember the pen sitting by the phone that says "Bill's Appliance Repair," along with a phone number and web address. Now who are they more likely to call? Bill, or one of his competitors buried in the yellow pages?

Or think about pizza delivery. Antonio's Pizza Pies might have the best prices in town. Little Corsica might offer the fastest delivery time. But if you have two Domino's Pizza magnets on your fridge and you're trying to get your order in before the game comes back on, whom are you going to call?

Magnets and pens are terrific ways to cement your brand in the minds of your customers. They see your magnet every time they open the fridge and your pen every time they sign a check or jot down a phone message. Pens are especially good at this because they tend to change hands many times during their use life, so when you give them away you spread your name far beyond the initial recipient. Other tried and true promotional items that see daily use are coffee mugs, calendars and mouse pads.

T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and hats spread the word about your company as well by turning the wearer into a walking billboard. Every time a customer or employee dons a shirt emblazoned with your logo, you're in effect receiving free advertising.

By getting your company name and logo out in front of the public over and over and over again you'll go a long way in establishing your business as a trustworthy source for the service or product you provide. Promotional items are a proven, cost-effective way to do this.