When Sales Need A Premium

My friend Tom once observed; “If I give customers a coffee mug and my competitor gives coffee mugs, what differentiates us?”

The obvious answer: “Nothing.”

Most ad specialties (aka premiums) like coffee mugs are relatively inexpensive, easy to buy, and eminently forgettable.

Yet giving customers goodies that are memorable AND desirable can keep your name prominent FOR YEARS.

Finding premiums popular with your audience (instead of another pen) may be the difference between ho-hum and a sale. This thought prompted me to speak with Rob Fein, president of Smart Source Printing & Promotions in Santa Clarita. In business since 2004, Rob provided these nine helpful hints to help your sales promotion efforts:

1)     Talk with providers early to save time and money.

2)     Candidly discuss items you’re considering, your budget, audience profile, audience size, objectives, and timeline.

3)     Be flexible, since not all items are available in all colors. Promotional tools (especially clothing) should always coordinate with company colors, logo, and branding.

4)     Allow adequate time to be ready for specific events (conferences, celebrations). Remember; supply chain delays are EVERYWHERE these days.

5)     Mention where it’s shipping to. This may make a difference in where items are sourced from.

6)     Discuss other sales tools you’re using for the occasion (brochures, PowerPoint, catalog), and how everything will be displayed or packaged.

7)     Be open to other ideas. You may say “pen”, but his suggestion of “doodle pad” may be more appropriate…for the same price.

8)     Understand there are additional costs (setup, shipping) that you’ll have to budget for.

9)     Share all details, and don’t assume someone else already told him about it. That’s how mistakes get made.

Want more? Remember these promotion firms are agents, and don’t manufacture what they sell. This provides them flexibility to access thousands of resources around the world for all sorts of products. You’re hiring them for their industry knowledge, branding ideas, and cost-effective production strategies.

Bringing guys like Rob into the conversation early minimizes incorrect assumptions. It allows you to focus on what you do best, enabling you to delegate an important marketing tool to professionals who can focus on it.

Best of all, it can lead to alternate ideas suitable to your audience, timeframe, or budget. And that makes everyone a winner.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

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Build better sales at www.marketbuilding.com.

B2B Marketing, b2c marketing, branding, corporate messaging, sales promotion, strategic planningRob WeinbergMBT Consultingadvertising specialties, advertising, ask mister marketing, ask mr. marketing, carlsbad rotary, carlsbad marketing consultant, carlsbad Rotary, carlsbad chamber of commerce, poway chamber of commerce, poway chieftain, poway marketing consultant, rancho bernardo, rancho bernardo marketing consultant, rancho bernardo news, rancho bernardo sunrise rotary, san diego north chamber of commerce, pomerado newspapers, san marco chamber of commerce, san diego, san diego union tribune, marketing, mr. marketing, marketbuilding, marketbuilding team, marketing advice, Marketing strategy, marketing consultant, marketing communications, marketing strategy, b2b marketing, b2c marketing, marketing plan, branding, corporate strategy, corporate communicationsComment