The importance of marketing and promotionsIn these difficult times it seems that everyone is complaining on how difficult the markets have become, and how many businesses are closing their doors…well … here goes… IT’S NOT THAT BAD !!! If your business is still in business, it’s not too late to try new things. This economic downturn is going to produce two types of businesses… the ones that are going to close, and those who have thinkers and doers in their teams. The inspired will prosper, and more than likely kill their opposition.Well… this article is for the ones that are getting off their butts, and are doing and innovating, not for the sitters and complainers.Marketing and promotions is now the name of the game. The normal way of doing business is to cut in an economic downturn … the first budget to go is the marketing budget… how shortsighted. Without marketing and promoting your business and products you CANNOT survive. Less people know about you, your product or service, which leads to CLOSING YOUR FRIGGIN DOORS!!! Market, promote, advertise, give corporate gifts, promotions, wear a bright t-shirt with your company name on it, drive a branded car, do whatever you need to do to sell, sell sell. If you do a promotion, your potential clients MUST walk away with a promotional item or gift…. The gift will remind them of their interaction with you or your staff…. This may, or may not lead to a sale. Every time they use the pen, play with their keyring or write on your notepad, they are being reminded of your company, your promotion, your product, your service.While you are sitting there, reading this article, ask yourself…. Am I scared or am I willing to stand up and be counted??? If you have a marketing budget …. SPEND IT !!! you are not doing your company any service by keeping it under lock and key… Promote your company, market your products sell sell sell …. Or become a statistic. Only SA has projected a 3% growth rate for this year…

When it comes to selecting the right promotional item for your business, you would want to choose items that endorse your companies’ niche products and services prominently. Promotional items are powerful and proven business tools that can be effectively used to build your corporate identity, highlight your corporate message, and boost sales promotions. Promotional items are useful for not just short-term goals like boosting sales but also for long-term brand reinforcement. Some of the popular promotional items regularly used by companies are pens, mugs, caps, address books, umbrellas, USBs, calculators, calendars, pocket planners, stress balls, magnets, and business cards.Gifting promotional items can enhance your company name and brand recognition. Promotional items have repetitive value every time they are used. Using promotional items is an effective way for a small business to apply brand marketing techniques. Further, personalised promotional items enhance brand awareness because they are readily available almost everywhere bearing your company name and logo.Selecting the right promotional item is very important if you want your brand name to stand out from all the rest. Many companies go for theme based promotional items. For instance, if you are a dentist, it will be wise to advertise with items that have a theme around dental health and hygiene. There can be other themes relevant to business areas, such as real estate, healthcare, patriotic, computer, or religion; you can choose the particular theme that rightly justifies your business genre. For example, if you own a computer care business, consider giving away promotional mouse mats with your company name imprinted on them.By distributing promotional items such as calendars with your company details, you can ensure that the customer will see your brand name all year long. Apart from calendars, apparel items such as shirts and caps are also unique promotional gifts that can be used to advertise your business. At Ideasbynet.com, you will find a wide range of promotional shirts available in a multitude of WRONG USE OF WORD colours along with an interesting array of brands. Moreover, if you place your order in bulk, you undoubtedly get the deal at a cheaper price. Promotional items help you to target a specific market for your business in a larger domain.While purchasing promotional items, try to set specific goals. Building goodwill, boosting sales, and creating brand awareness are some of the prime reasons companies turn to using promotional items in their marketing and advertising plans.

You can find a wide range of promotional items online for your business, featuring your company name, logo, message, and slogan prominently. Every business somehow or the other uses promotional items for marketing and advertising purposes. For instance, if you are into toys business or you are promoting a “toys event�, you wouldn’t want to gift people umbrellas, watches, or mugs. Instead, you can go for caps, shirts, pencils, sharpeners, and highlighters. The biggest advantage of promotional products is that they easily fit into any advertising budget.Promotional items mainly compliment and increase the effectiveness of other advertising strategies and if they are directed to selected audiences it will dramatically boost the sales. Promotional items such as calendars always remain in use throughout the year. This means your company name and message will be in front of your consumers all year long. Promotional items remain in use for long periods of time to repeat the advertising message each time that product is used without extra cost per exposure.People like to receive promotional items that are useful and appealing. Many companies use promotional items as incentives and motivators. There are various items available in the market as promotional items but make sure you select the one that is relevant and matching your business. Many companies specially customise products such as pens, caps, shirts, and mouse mats by imprinting company logo. After customising, companies gift those items to the employees appreciating the hard work they put in. Promotional items are powerful business tools and a medium to construct not just your corporate identity and reinforce your business message, but also to boost sales.Promotional items can actually help you in achieving various short-term goals such as boosting quarterly sales to charting out long-term strategies like brand reinforcement. In short, promotional items are suitable for achieving various goals. Avoid gifting poor quality promotional items as they can hamper your reputation and do more damage to your business and company than the benefits they intend to provide. Try to choose promotional items according to your business nature. For instance, if you are into leather products’ business, gifting mugs, caps, and shirts won’t be the ideal choice. Instead you should go for a small leather coin purse or a key ring with a touch of leather in it.