Defining the top 10 promotional items for your company starts from a brainstorming exercise. The following list gives you 10 ideas with specific examples of industries for which it has really worked. When creating your own list of top 10 promotional items you will need to use your own experience and intuition, or simply call your competitors in another town and ask them the top 3 promotional items that have delivered results for them.
You will also find that some of these items are simply universal and will work for most industries with some adaptation. I am not giving you a template to follow blindly, but a kick start for your thinking process. Some of those items will pertain to direct response promotion, some of them more to PR and others will showcase advertising styles that produce real returns.
Promotional Item #1 Write and advertorial
A "promotional Article" that gives your prospects the story of your company, how many people your company has helped your with its products or services. Give them the reasons why your company deserves their trust (remember that any purchasing decision is based on trust). Your advertorial needs to have a compelling headline to convince people to read further. If the advertorial is followed by 3 to 5 weekly ads with an attractive "killer Offer" you are even more likely to get results. This works for all industries.
Promotional Item#2 A testimonial sheet or video
Your prospects would rather have proof from someone who has already taken the risk to buy your product. When is comes to spending money we are all risk averse. A written testimonial must have the photo of your client, plus their name and address if possible. Even better, use a video on your website to capture testimonial, that is more powerful again.
Promotional Item#3 A good sales letter
In the era of electronic marketing, snail mail or faxing can be a surprisingly good sales tool, because it's different. Direct mail is definitely not dead and providing you observe a few basic rules you can get a much better response rate than an email campaign. You don't have to worry about SPAM laws, so create your list and just send the letter.
The best selling websites are nothing more than a benefit driven sales letter, accompanied by testimonials and a copy of your advertorial. The more customer oriented, the more informative the letter is and the more ways to alleviate your customers objections, the more sales you will make. Again this item can be adapted for most industries with great results.
Promotional Item #4 FREE Press releases
Magazines, newspapers and online press release directories all start with blank pages hungry for something newsworthy. If your business doesn't have anything new, create an event, a special introductory offer, a celebrity endorsement, a community fundraiser or whatever may help you make the cut.
Promotional item #5 Trade Shows
What better opportunity to get in front of targeted prospects? By attending the show your prospects have qualified themselves as hot candidates for buying your products. You may use the show as a way to grow your database of clients, sell on the spot, or book a proper sales appointment with good prospects. Here's a tip, in all these cases you will need a good "bribe" for them to take action on the day. It can be a draw to win something of high value or a killer offer on one of your products. Then it's your job to get repeat sales from those prospects. Shows are great from beauty therapy and home ware right through to consulting businesses.
Promotional Item #5 3 Elements to test in any promotion
a) The target list, who did you want to reach
b)The headline of the ad, the opening statement of your letter or the first thing you say to the person you talk to on the phone
c) The offer, how you package what you are selling
Promotional Item #6 Be perceived as a giver
So many new businesses are off to a very slow start because they are expensive and not prepared to give anything away. Local fundraisers, visit to local businesses with free products or free vouchers will have PR effects that you cannot buy! Unexpectedly giving something for free to a regular customer will be a sure fire way to have them on your side, better than any loyalty card. This works a charm for restaurants, beauty therapies or any high repeat purchase product or consumable, but you can make it work for real estate, insurance brokerage,etc...
Promotional Item#7 Be a consultant in your industry
By this I mean you can win customers' trust by being the only one who gives them the information they are looking for when shopping for our kind of product. If you go the extra mile as an adviser, you're on your own, what an easy point of difference! You can adapt this idea online by giving a FREE report for people to learn more about your industry or product. This works particularly for products that require careful thinking like insurance, financial planning, investment or even fashion.
Promotional item #8 Delegate everything except the marketing
This is a golden rule right across all industries: Your should spend at least 30% of your time working on getting more clients through the door. If you are working very hard and not making much money, are you just waiting for someone else to do the promotion for you? Don't wait for the newspaper to produce a miracle ad, the economy to get better or word of mouth to spread the message. Be the promoter for your company
Promotional item #9 Get on the phone and sell
I am always amazed to see "sales consultants" behind the counter twiddling their thumbs: business is a bit slow? yo got time on your hands? Calling your existing clients with an offer is the first way to boost sales. Try the telephone/letter/telephone method, target all the business owners around, you are bound to get some business! Works fantastic for restaurants, beauty, retail but also for financial services etc..
Promotional item#10 Use Google Keyword tool, Market Samurai or Wordtracker!
You must find out what's hot in your industry, and what better way to find out than learn what words people are using when they go on the internet to look for your kind of product or service? Then you can talk their language and be where they go looking for you Whatever promotional item you wish to add to this list, do yourself a favor and make sure you always have at least 7 systemised, ongoing promotional items on the go at any time, and business will thrive!
You will also find that some of these items are simply universal and will work for most industries with some adaptation. I am not giving you a template to follow blindly, but a kick start for your thinking process. Some of those items will pertain to direct response promotion, some of them more to PR and others will showcase advertising styles that produce real returns.
Promotional Item #1 Write and advertorial
A "promotional Article" that gives your prospects the story of your company, how many people your company has helped your with its products or services. Give them the reasons why your company deserves their trust (remember that any purchasing decision is based on trust). Your advertorial needs to have a compelling headline to convince people to read further. If the advertorial is followed by 3 to 5 weekly ads with an attractive "killer Offer" you are even more likely to get results. This works for all industries.
Promotional Item#2 A testimonial sheet or video
Your prospects would rather have proof from someone who has already taken the risk to buy your product. When is comes to spending money we are all risk averse. A written testimonial must have the photo of your client, plus their name and address if possible. Even better, use a video on your website to capture testimonial, that is more powerful again.
Promotional Item#3 A good sales letter
In the era of electronic marketing, snail mail or faxing can be a surprisingly good sales tool, because it's different. Direct mail is definitely not dead and providing you observe a few basic rules you can get a much better response rate than an email campaign. You don't have to worry about SPAM laws, so create your list and just send the letter.
The best selling websites are nothing more than a benefit driven sales letter, accompanied by testimonials and a copy of your advertorial. The more customer oriented, the more informative the letter is and the more ways to alleviate your customers objections, the more sales you will make. Again this item can be adapted for most industries with great results.
Promotional Item #4 FREE Press releases
Magazines, newspapers and online press release directories all start with blank pages hungry for something newsworthy. If your business doesn't have anything new, create an event, a special introductory offer, a celebrity endorsement, a community fundraiser or whatever may help you make the cut.
Promotional item #5 Trade Shows
What better opportunity to get in front of targeted prospects? By attending the show your prospects have qualified themselves as hot candidates for buying your products. You may use the show as a way to grow your database of clients, sell on the spot, or book a proper sales appointment with good prospects. Here's a tip, in all these cases you will need a good "bribe" for them to take action on the day. It can be a draw to win something of high value or a killer offer on one of your products. Then it's your job to get repeat sales from those prospects. Shows are great from beauty therapy and home ware right through to consulting businesses.
Promotional Item #5 3 Elements to test in any promotion
a) The target list, who did you want to reach
b)The headline of the ad, the opening statement of your letter or the first thing you say to the person you talk to on the phone
c) The offer, how you package what you are selling
Promotional Item #6 Be perceived as a giver
So many new businesses are off to a very slow start because they are expensive and not prepared to give anything away. Local fundraisers, visit to local businesses with free products or free vouchers will have PR effects that you cannot buy! Unexpectedly giving something for free to a regular customer will be a sure fire way to have them on your side, better than any loyalty card. This works a charm for restaurants, beauty therapies or any high repeat purchase product or consumable, but you can make it work for real estate, insurance brokerage,etc...
Promotional Item#7 Be a consultant in your industry
By this I mean you can win customers' trust by being the only one who gives them the information they are looking for when shopping for our kind of product. If you go the extra mile as an adviser, you're on your own, what an easy point of difference! You can adapt this idea online by giving a FREE report for people to learn more about your industry or product. This works particularly for products that require careful thinking like insurance, financial planning, investment or even fashion.
Promotional item #8 Delegate everything except the marketing
This is a golden rule right across all industries: Your should spend at least 30% of your time working on getting more clients through the door. If you are working very hard and not making much money, are you just waiting for someone else to do the promotion for you? Don't wait for the newspaper to produce a miracle ad, the economy to get better or word of mouth to spread the message. Be the promoter for your company
Promotional item #9 Get on the phone and sell
I am always amazed to see "sales consultants" behind the counter twiddling their thumbs: business is a bit slow? yo got time on your hands? Calling your existing clients with an offer is the first way to boost sales. Try the telephone/letter/telephone method, target all the business owners around, you are bound to get some business! Works fantastic for restaurants, beauty, retail but also for financial services etc..
Promotional item#10 Use Google Keyword tool, Market Samurai or Wordtracker!
You must find out what's hot in your industry, and what better way to find out than learn what words people are using when they go on the internet to look for your kind of product or service? Then you can talk their language and be where they go looking for you Whatever promotional item you wish to add to this list, do yourself a favor and make sure you always have at least 7 systemised, ongoing promotional items on the go at any time, and business will thrive!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Billoud
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