Urban loves mice. Well, mouse pads. He hands them out to
everyone who visits Computer Masters, his retail computer store in
Vermillion, Ohio. Urban credits the custom pads-imprinted with his
store's name and phone number-with generating 25 percent of his
sales since opening in November 1998.
"I use them like I'd use a business card," Urban
says. "We give them out to everybody, even if they're just
looking. It lets them know I'm interested in them, and that
brings them back to my store."
Urban says the pads are ever-present ads. "I like the idea
that people have them on their desks. When they're showing off
their new computer, there's the mouse pad with my name on it,
and they tell their friends 'This is where I got it.' When
they need an upgrade, repairs or anything to do with computers,
they've got my name right in front of them."
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Costing Urban $1.75 each, the mouse pads show what promotional
products-giveaways imprinted with a business's name and phone
number-can do. But achieving the results Urban got requires some
effort.
"[Most entrepreneurs] flip through a catalog and pick out
something cheap and familiar," says Don Anderson, founder and
president of Printed Designs & Creative Promotions Inc. in
Houston, a promotional-products company with 950 clients in 42
states. "If that's your strategy, you're wasting your
cash. You've got to give away something worth giving
away."
Once you've chosen an appropriate product, the next step is
figuring out who gets the goodies. Handing out items at random is
not as effective as giving them to a select group already thinking
about giving you business. For customers who are close to making a
purchase (like the visitors to Urban's shop), the promo item
can reinforce their thinking and push them closer to a sale.
Handled correctly, advertising specialties outdo regular
advertising by up to 19 percent, according to the Promotional
Products Association International. Used in direct mail, they boost
response by as much as 75 percent. The association says goodies
generate repeat sales, too.
Not sure what your business's perfect promo product is? For
your giveaways to work, find a distributor with creativity and
experience. Interview prospective partners like you would potential
employees, Anderson says. "Find people who are curious about
your customers," he urges. "Check out other promotions
they've put together." Ask about promotions they've
done for their own businesses. If they can't be dynamic when
promoting themselves, what will they be able to do for you?
Few industries are as fad-conscious as promotional products. A
good distributor knows what the next hot giveaway will be and the
audience it works for. Today's technology means anything can be
customized-from crystal goblets to football-shaped salami. If a
distributor suggests only a bulk buy of coffee mugs from a catalog,
call someone else.
You can find promotional-product companies in the Yellow Pages
under "Ad Specialties," or visit the Promotional Products
Association International Web site
for distributors near you. The association also offers a
fax-on-demand service at (888) 345-6772, but most information
can be found at the Web site.
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