Advertise small business with promotional items

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

How to select the best promotional products to advertise your business

Anyone who has ever launched, or been a part of a small business venture knows how challenging, demanding, and tremendously rewarding undertaking a small business can truly be. More often than not, it takes time, patience and commitment to build a roster of of loyal, supportive, and valuable clients.

Celebrating business success by thanking these initial clients is one of the wisest decisions any small business owner can make. Thanking customers and clients is also a great way to continue to grow a business through advertising and increased exposure. The challenge most small business owners face is how to accomplish the two tasks of customer appreciation and business advertising on a limited small business budget.

If you are seeking advice on how to increase your business exposure and express appreciation to clients, why not advertise your small business with promotional items? The majority of small business owners will concur that promotional items, advertising specialties and imprinted products can engender goodwill regarding a company and its services, while building brand awareness and saving business owners significant expenses on more traditional advertising methods.

What type of promotional items will be most fitting for your small business? There are so many options and concepts available, the ideas can certainly be overwhelming. Consulting with an advertising specialty vendor about price, quantity and new products can narrow your choice. These materials include traditional items such as promotional key rings, clocks, koozies, calendars, coffee mugs or magnets that can be ordered emblazoned with your logo and business name.

High end corporate promotional items typically fall into a much higher price category with products such as leather attaches, crystal sets, Waterman pens, and apparel such as dress shirts, sweatshirts, and fleece jackets that can be tastefully embroidered with a business name and logo.

Most contemporary business owners strive to impress established, as well as potential new clients, with promotional gifts that are stylish, high quality and useful. However today’s small business owners may also harbor concerns regarding the environmental impact of promotional items.

For example, responsible business owners may deeply question the value and long term environmental impact of purchasing hundreds of meaningless plastic, paper or synthetic products. Today’s small business owners are acutely aware that this could ultimately send the wrong message to clients. Business owners are concerned about investing in disposable marketing materials that may have future environmental consequences.

If environmental concerns are a key issue for your small business, consider purchasing promotional items such as stylish, high quality, eco-friendly t-shirts and sweatshirts. Eco-friendly apparel, printed in a variety of fun colors and sizes, on recycled fabrics, and embroidered with a business name and logo, is becoming the latest craze.

Although these environmentally sound promotional apparel designs may be slightly more expensive than other promotional choices, they are sure to be eye-catching conversation pieces that will ultimately prove to help grow a business through word of mouth. Furthermore, clients will respect your choice to invest in premium, wearable products that reflect environmentally sound advertising.

In addition to environmental concerns, small business owners may not be aware of exactly how challenging in can be to decide upon one item that best represents a particular industry or selection of business services in a positive way.

If you are an entrepreneur considering whether to advertise your small business with promotional items, consider these tips when it comes to selecting merchandise:

1. Do not simply choose any random product when you make the decision to advertise your small business with promotional items. Select an item that will tie into your business, and make sense within the context of the lifestyles of your clients. For example, if your business is a salon or spa, you might consider printing hairbrushes, emery board or makeup cases with your business logo. If you run a computer repair shop, consider printing mouse pads with your business logo. It would make sense for a dentist?s office to order toothbrushes with their logo and office phone number.

2. Entrepreneurs who simply can’t decide on a themed, or more industry specific promotional item, may wish to choose a more general, professionally-oriented promotional item. Some examples of simple, elegant, professional promotional business items ideal for more general use by clients, include concepts such as engraved business card cases and desktop business card displays. Elegant, useful, promotional items such as these can help your clients to make a professional first impression in the business world, preparing them for business networking opportunities by providing them with business cards close at hand.

What is the best way to advertise your small business with promotional items? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and certainly no single product that will satisfy the advertising needs of every business. This is because every business is unique. However, if entrepreneurs and small business owners make a point to select promotional items with careful attention to detail, consideration for the environment, as well as reflection upon the unique lifestyles of clientele, the results will be successful.