Promotional Gifts - Giving on a Budget
Everything today comes with a budget especially as we find ourselves in an economic downturn. Budgets help you manage in all sorts of ways it maybe the construction of a new house, a week-long vacation to the Bahamas or your children’s college education. Even daily trips to the supermarket require a budget. The same goes for choosing the right promotional gifts to be distributed to your customers and employees.
However, one should never compromise quality when picking the right item. High quality gift items give the message to your loyal customers that you value them and consider them part of the family. Here are a few tips that can help you choose the right item with the best value.
Wholesale Purchase. This only means that you should buy in bulk. A lot of companies offer promotional gift items for a lower value if you buy more. If you have developed a lifelong partnership with a company specializing in promotional gift items, you can even get a lower price. Websites and catalogues offer you a wide range of items that you can order wholesale.
Thinner or Thicker. Companies usually mail some of their promotional gift items to loyal customers especially on holidays like Christmas. Bulky mail may add more to the overall expenses so opt for thinner items like mouse mats or foldable desk calendars instead of large ones that can be hung. It’s also a good idea to incorporate your company holiday greeting into the calendar versus having a separate greeting card enclosed. This will surely save your company a lot. A brilliant idea is to get vacuum-sealed pillows that will inflate upon opening. These can be easily sent instead of paying more for shipping large fluffy pillows.
Think Plastic. If you are thinking of giving your customers mugs, it’s best you choose the plastic spill-proof ones. They are fast becoming important items that a company cannot forego giving away. They are since replacing the ceramic ones which are fragile and heavy to carry around. Although they are a bit pricier than ceramic mugs, they are easier to transport and store. They can be sent to the customer’s home in packages and will last a lot longer time than ceramic ones. They are also handy items. Being spill-proof, they can be carried around, even in cars. They reduce risks of getting your laptop or papers wet. They can even be ordered in all colors available. The company logo can be printed in vivid texts and images on its face. Whatever the promotional gift is, always be sure that there is a suitable budget tailored to your specific needs.
Tags: Promotional Gifts, Promotional Items, Promotional Products
September 16th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Nice info!
I’ve already got some of promotional method too. Last week, I went to my fav cafe store and they give me a nice price which they told me that this is a promotional gift from them for their loyal customers. And I got some cafe and meals with some of my friends.
As the result, the cafe visited by many people…!!
September 16th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Whatever the budget, quality can never be compromised. A poor quality gift will be equated with poor quality company products. Giving poor quality stuff is counterproducitve, waste money and is even worse than not giving at all.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Thank you for explaining a better budget management technique for promotional items. There is no problem in gifting a small item but that should be quality one. Wholesale purchase makes per unit lower cost of that item so its important technique.
well example Rickie.
September 17th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Giving out promotional or free gifts is a very good strategy for promoting a product.Mcdonals is a very good example of such promotional campaigns even if they overcharge for some products there customers which mostly includes of children tend to buy hambugs from Mcdonals as they gets free attractive toys.
September 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Great article! I agree with Flash for McDonalds but Mcdonalds give gifts only to children. Yesterday I was in a local mall and I decided to eat at McDonalds but I saw that KFC will give me a beer for free :). This method is the best for promoting because when you give a free gift you can give it with your brand and this is great great promotion.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:04 am
In this global economic slowdown every one, be it individual or company is trying to save maximum but on the same hand we can’t compromise on the quality. in the same way company’s should also not compromise on quality as this will always deteriorate the company’s Image. This tips will be handy for any one who wants to give promotional gifts with minimal budget.
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 am
Quality and budget are usually on opposite ends of spectrum but with strigent quality control, creativity, good quality promotional items can be sourced or manufactured at reasonable price. The trick is to source for cheaper material but nevertheless durable and have a decent look.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 am
I agree with most of you here…
Human psyche always gets stimulated whenever we are getting something for free. I remember somebody saying that, “Give a person some poison for FREE, he will drink that too.”
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
really useful information….thanks for giving information about budget information and how to promote a product….
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Advice :
The Product quality and budget are usually on opposite ends of the route, but with stringent control of quality, creativity, the quality of advertising may be manufactured or at a reasonable price. The trick is the source of material for less money, but a sustainable and look.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 pm
i totally agree with the above advice given by surat that the Product quality and budget are usually on opposite ends of the route, but with stringent control of quality, creativity, the quality of advertising may be manufactured or at a reasonable price. the material must be cheap . otherwise wil bring loss.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Its depend on you if you want to do that or not. You know how to control your budget and give promotional gift. Sometimes, if you over budget, you just losing your way. So, be careful.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:41 am
In this slowdown in the global economy each, whether individual or the company tries to maximum but on the same page, we can not quality. in the same type of business should be no more compromises in quality that there is still deteriorate the image of the company. These recommendations are for every person who wants to promotional gifts with a minimum budget.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:05 am
When giving the promotional gift the one thing we surely have to consider is our budget.
But saving on promotional gifts sometimes can cause you lose money instead of saving them.
Imagine you save a customer (potential customer), client, some cheap gift because you could not afford something more fancy? Then, IMO, you better do not give anything at all.
Also mailing cost was mentioned - just go for a postcard, in the internet era a real postcards are really appreciated by many.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:01 am
In this economic problems it is really important for us to atleast save or buy promotional items that is right for your budget. It doesnt mean that when you buy cheaper items it is also of unimportance to the people whom you give it. What important is such items though cheaper are also of quality and of value to them as well. It is good to give people promotional items that they can really used in daily living.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Buying in bulk is a main point that needs to be pointed out. The quality has to be high but if you are campaigning free things the more people that get their hands on them the better. And by buying in bulk to begin with you get the cheapest possible price for your money.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
The most important criteria is to acheive economies of scale . As Niku said, the bulk purchases should be made.The three M’s should be used effectively and effeciently.i.e. Men , Money, Machinery.The company should not make compromise by minimising the quality standards,and should concentrate on above facts.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
having a business, you have to realise, thatthough promotions and promotional gifts are important, but cost is also a matter for your business. the key is to bring in balance the spending for promotional gifts, and the expected return from the promotion. After all you want to promote your brand to gain more recognition, not to lose money. This is what make important to choose the right products for your promotion costwise as well.
October 3rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Pikunka, I agree with you wholeheartedly. If you give a gift that is not going to be put to use, or will be discarded, you are simply wasting your time and money, and the person’s time who is recieving the gift. Making sure that your brand is represented in a way that may bring the customer back is important. To me, magnets are always useful and in your face, as are coffee cups. I use both when they are given. Pens are okay, but more often than not, the promotional pens I recieve are cheap, and discarded as quickly as they are given as soon as the ink runs out. (I can’t recall a time I’ve used a pen that was out of ink and called the company on the pen. )
October 9th, 2008 at 11:21 am
It sounds interesting but I am not sure that I agree with you completely….
October 29th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
This article really provided a brilliant tips. Proper planning on promotional gifts will keep you on track from over budget. On the other side, don’t compromise even with the quality. We should think creatively to faced this situation. I believe that sometimes this really difficult to implement, isn’t?
I think we can try above tips as a guidelines. Then, suits wherever possible.
October 31st, 2008 at 6:37 pm
In most airlines they give free gift pen, but as soon as the ink gets over we do not want to keep them, so the pen is not probably a long lasting item to keep for long periods. The best promotional product maybe umbrella, but then it depends on the climate of the country. Countries like Hong Kong, wind cheaters may work better.
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I agree that everything comes with a budget, especially for small businesses. But this where a business also becomes a consumer. I always tend to shop for whatever item I plan on giving to my customers, it’s just plain common sense. Granted, I also have stuck with one fullfillment company for years because of familiarity and quality but it never hurts to let them know that I do look! If you can take anything away from this article it is this…quality…no matter what you intend to give away..do’nt give away junk.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Off course we need budgeting on promotional gift. It’s best if a promotional gift price is just around 10%-30% of our net earning ( not selling price ). If the promotional gifts are too expensive, our business could be go bankrupt.
People often says that the biggest cost on company is from promotional section.
So, it’s better to set up carefully your promotion budget.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
It really is going to be a long 2008, isn’t it?…
January 1st, 2010 at 11:25 am
I found your blog via Google while searching for make money from home by mailing postcard for businesses, thank you for posting Promotional Gifts - Giving on a Budget!