Action Steps for Choosing Corporate Promotional Gifts
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Market your business by using disposable, inexpensive business promotional gifts

Disposable, inexpensive business promotional products, such as pens, are ideal for attracting potential customers. These items alert potential customers to your company by providing them with an item with your logo or company name they can use repeatedly. You can hand these out as you go about your daily business around town. You can place them around your business for visitors to take with them when they leave.

I recommend: Allsorts Promotional Products offers a variety of discounted promotional products, such as ink pens. Some of the products are free, but you still have to pay a set up fee and shipping. Motivators has a wide selection of inexpensive promotional products. This company offers customer support by phone or email.

Make an impression by giving out corporate promotional merchandise

Business owners and executives that your company does business with will usually appreciate quality corporate promotional items from your company. The same applies to loyal customers and first time customers. Some of these items include umbrellas, pen and pencil executive desk sets and apparel. Use these products as a seasonal or special occasion gift, a thank you gift or a bonus item to compliment a purchase.

I recommend: Blueberry Ink and ePromos are promotional product companies that offer a varied selection of high quality promotional products at discounted prices. The items these companies sell can feature your company name or logo.

Gain customers by appealing to children and families with kid friendly promotion give aways

Many parents want to business with kid friendly companies. Offering promotion give aways, such as toys, crayons or balloons, to children who visit your business shows parents that you consider their children a vital part of your business.

I recommend: Quality Logo Products offers a varied selection of kid friendly promotional items, including crayons and flying discs. BalloonsTomorrow.com has promotional balloons, including latex balloons and Mylar balloons. This company offers low prices, short production times and free ground shipping.

Buy promotional products to sell to interested customers

Some of your customers may be willing to purchase promotional items, such as apparel, if your company logo is appealing and the items are reasonably priced. You can offer your customers these items at cost or for a small profit.

I recommend: You can find promotional apparel and a variety of other items at Pinnacle Promotions. This company has a minimum quantity listed for every product, along with printing information. Zazzle is a company with no minimum quantity for any product. You can create postage stamps, shoes, shirts and a variety of other items on this website.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure that you order quality promotional products. While you may not make any money off them, these products represent your business. A quality product will gain you customers and a poorly made product will probably make you lose customers.

Guide to Finding Great Promotional Gifts & Products

Recruit and retain customers with personalized promotional items

By Matt Alderton, Writer, Editor and Media Consultant, Logolepsy Custom Content and Communications

1. Build brand recognition.
2. Reward current customers.
3. Attract new prospects.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Clothing as personalized promotional items

T-shirts, hats or jackets embroidered with your company name and logo turn your customers and employees into walking advertisements.

I recommend: Customize clothing of all types in all sizes with merchandise from LOGOSportswear.com or AceLogoGear.com.

Magnets as promotional merchandise

Magnets with your phone number or Web site make inexpensive business promotional items that put your business name in thousands of local kitchens, where customers will see it every time they open the fridge.

I recommend: Purchase a variety of custom magnets — from business card magnets to calendars and memos — online from Magnets.com or Fridgedoor.com.

Key chains as business promotional items

Put your business name in your customers' pockets with these inexpensive personalized promotional items, popular among consumers for their portability and utility.

I recommend: Metal or plastic, carabiners or rings, promotional key chains come in all shapes and styles. Browse a vast selection online at PromotionalKeyChains.biz or see the directory of suppliers of key-chain promotional merchandise at Business.com.

Office supplies as business promotional products

Desk accessories — from pens and stationery to sticky notes and calculators — are extremely effective for their staying power, as customers will keep and use these promotional gifts at work on a daily basis, reminded each time of the company that provided them.

I recommend: Promopeddler.com's online catalog includes everything from custom binder clips and desk sets to letter openers and rulers. Look for office supplies for promotional merchandise in the directory at Business.com.

Calendars as promotional merchandise

Calendars branded with your company name, logo and address are monthly reminders to your customers. Add reminders to the calendar to push them into your store for special events, promotions or holidays.

I recommend: Build your own custom calendars featuring photos of your store or merchandise and have them printed using special software from Digilabs Inc. Or, work with New York Calendar Co. to choose the design that's best for you. Find a directory of suppliers of calendars as promotional merchandise at Business.com.

Really useful things as corporate promotional gifts

The most creative and effective personalized promotional items drive loyalty by giving customers something they regularly use.

I recommend: Find inspiration when you browse creative promotional gifts online courtesy of Branders and ePromos, which offer everything from branded flash drives and mouse pads for tech companies to coffee mugs and coasters for cafes.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Develop an effective distribution plan to make sure your personalized promotional items reach the audience you want them to reach.
• •  The most effective corporate promotional gifts have a message – they represent your business or your brand, for instance – and a call to action — a phone number to call or a Web site to visit, for example.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Watch for set up fees for printing the business promotional items

Many companies charge a set up fee for every design on a promotional item. For instance, they charge a fee to print on the front of the shirt and another fee to print on the back of the shirt, regardless if it is text, a picture or combination of both. Other times, there is a one-time fee charged per design item. For example, there will be a one fee for setting up the design for an order of t-shirts, regardless of the number of shirts ordered.

I recommend: The Graphic Edge offers quality promotional apparel. On many of the items this company sells, there isn't a set up fee. My1Stop offers a varied selection of promotional products without set up fees.

Look for color printing fees for business promotional items

Some promotional companies advertise that there is no setup fee for the promotional products they offer. In this case, you should be on the look out for per color fees for the printed design. In some cases, these per color fees could easily double the cost of an item if the design to be printed is complex. Sometimes, the company will attempt to offset these fees by offering discounts for ordering increased quantities of the product.

I recommend: PensRUs offers all inclusive pricing on their items. Shipping is additional, but there aren't any color printing fees, even for full color logos. Branders.com offers free color printing as long as an exact PMS color match isn't required.

Check quantity requirements when ordering business promotional gifts

The majority of promotional product companies market their products with the catch phrase 'as low as' in front of a price. When you see this, you have to read the fine print. The 'as low as' price is often offered on a very large quantity of the product, which may not be feasible for small business owner to order.

I recommend: Zazzle is a promotional products company that allows you to design your own promotional items, including skateboards and shirts. You can order products in any quantity with discounts available on large orders. This company offers fast production times and expedited shipping. CafePress.com allows you to add your artwork or logo to their products and order them in any quantity, even just a single item.

Consider the shipping cost of promotional merchandise

Shipping costs can add a considerable amount to the grand total when you order promotional products, especially when ordering heavy or bulky merchandise. This isn't a consideration if you order from a local company, but if you order from a company that isn't located near you, shipping costs are a consideration. Some promotional products companies offer free shipping on all orders.

I recommend: TheDiscountPrinter.com and CustomInk.com both offer free ground shipping to any location in the United States, excluding Hawaii and Alaska. Expedited shipping is available for a fee.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you find a promotional product that you really like but, don't need the minimum quantity, call the company. Many promotional product companies will offer you a slightly higher price in exchange for removing the minimum quantity.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Promotional items

Promotional items are sometimes called gifts with purchase, freebies or by other names. No matter what you call them, these are items (usually small items, such as pens or hats) that have been customized with a company name, logo and contact information. The goal of promotional items is to promote or advertise a company and build brand recognition.

I recommend: You can see a full and detailed explanation of promotional items at ePromos.

Corporate gifts

Corporate gifts sometimes are called business gifts or business promotional products. These items are customized gifts that are given to business associates, usually to express appreciation. Corporate gifts differ from other promotional items because they are usually larger and of higher quality than most widely distributed promotional items.

I recommend: BenzGifts has a detailed explanation of corporate gifts, including information about how such gifts are used and the pros and cons of business gifts.

Branding

Most marketing experts agree that promotional items play a key role in branding strategies. Branding refers to the process of getting specific emotions or ideas associated with your company name and logo. Promotional items are an important part of your branding strategy because they create a specific image of your company in customers' minds.

I recommend: C & C Promotion has a detailed description of branding.

Emboss

Embossing refers to the process of pressing an image into fabrics, such as metal, leather or fleece, to create a raised, three-dimensional shape. Embossing is one of the techniques used to imprint a company name or logo onto some promotional items.

I recommend: WhatIsEmbossing.com offers a useful and full description of embossing.

Screen printing

Screen printing is a process where a design is placed on a screen of fine mesh. Blank areas of the design are blocked with a special substance and dye or ink is pushed through the rest of the mesh surface onto fabric or other textiles. Screen printing is one of the more popular ways to customize promotional items like hats and shirts with company information.

I recommend: MetroPrinting offers a detailed description of the screen printing process.

Die stamping

In the die stamp method, also known as the die draw method, a metal plate is engraved with an image and applies gold or silver leaf to a product. This method is used to imprint promotional items with company names and logos.

I recommend: Advantage Fabricated Metals offers a detailed view of the die stamping process.