Promotional products are a popular marketing tool for many businesses. I’m sure you have 1 or even 50 items lying around your desk, office, and home right now. From pens to mouse pads to notepads to drinkware to rulers to stress balls. So how many of these items do you deem to be of high quality? How many did you think were so flimsy and cheap that you threw them in the garbage?
Many business owners aren’t aware they can request samples of promotional products prior to purchasing them, but reputable promotional companies offer just that. And there’s a very good reason why you should be taking advantage of it.
If you plan to order personalized pens bearing your company’s message for a trade show, request samples of an assortment of pens in advance. You want to be able to see, touch and inspect them for quality. Determine which ones don’t write well, break easily or are just cheap looking.
Same goes for any promo product you have in mind. If you’re considering paying $4 for a leather bound notebook to give out to your event attendees don’t you want to make sure it isn’t a piece of crap before you order 4000 of them?
Clearly, not everyone requests samples because I’ve gotten a lot of junky stuff from various events in my day. And I’m not the only one. I’ve heard from many business owners who were quite unhappy with the promotional products they ordered, but there’s not much you can do when they didn’t request a sample before making that investment. If you think it’s a waste of time, consider how your giveaway fares when your audience receives a t-shirt where the printing faded almost completely off after one washing, or the magnet that doesn’t actually stick to anything. (true stories)
Marketing dollars for small businesses have to be wisely spent, and while promotional products are fun and can help establish your brand or support your current campaign, it can also give your company a negative impression if you didn’t do your research. And well…you don’t want to be known as the company that always gives away the crappiest stuff now do you?
Seriously if you’re going to spend hundreds or thousands or dollars on a giveaway item to promote your company, how would you feel if you knew that every single one of those items ended up in the trash because everyone thought it was crappy? What a waste of money that would be, not to mention the negativity you generated for your company.
