Small Business can have a big impact.

We can easily fall into the trap thinking that small businesses with their limited resources are constrained with their ability to make a big impact in the market. But in many ways small businesses have the edge over larger corporations in their ability to be creative, adapt quickly and understand their customers.

Promotional merchandise presents small businesses a low cost-high impact opportunity to connect with customers, communicate their brand personality and create a touch point to kickstart the conversation.

Promotional merchandise can achieve some fantastic results:

Impressions (unique people views) – Customers eyes are drawn to promotional merchandise. Products that are used repeatedly throughout the working week can quickly become a part of the day’s landscape, particularly if they are useful and appealing. In fact, a single promotional item averages 344 impressions per month. (Source: PROmotion Marketing, LLC).

Longevity – According to the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), nearly 87% of customers reported keeping a promotional item for longer than a year.  Selecting items that are useful, appealing or fun increases the likelihood that your branded item will long live the unboxing moment.

Functional – Customers value promotional items that can make their lives easier.  The events of 2022 support this trend with the Australasian Promotional Product Association (APPA) portal recording the top 5 promotional items searched as the umbrella, apron, towel, socks and hoodie.

Tangible – In our increasingly digital world, nothing achieves more cut through than a real-world item. Unwrapping a promotional product item that be touched, smelt, and tasted is a sensory experience that no digital world has come close to capturing.

Appeal – Promotional products are ranked the most effective form of advertising across all generations. ( Source: PPAI).  However diverse your customers background, geographical location or interests a well selected promotional item will be appreciated across the generational divide.

But as with most things, the ground rarely stays still. The shift in the branded promotional merchandise space has been towards personalisation.  As our digital world has increasingly shifted to personalised messages, shopping carts and experiences so too has the physical world.

Personalisation appeals on two levels.

Firstly, who doesn’t love to see their name. Our name is our identity and we like nothing more but to see our name on a stylish bottle, beautiful journal or funky pen. For a business to take that extra step and personalise an item is a testament to the value the business places in their relationship with you. It deepens the connections and creates an emotional investment from both sides.

Secondly, it simply makes sense. Don’t get me wrong, we as humans do like to share but I think we can all agree that the 20’s have made us rethink the notion.   Drinkware is a case in point.  The risk of mixing up drink bottles or cups in the work kitchen will have some squirming and reaching for the Glen-20.  Hence our love of personalised items, even down to the humble pen or USB stick. 

The beauty of personalisation is that it is an attainable goal for a small business to achieve.  With not a lot of effort, it can help forge lasting connections with customers and keep your brand front of mind. 

Salesforce reports that 84% of consumers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business.  Seems almost remiss therefore to not add the personal touch.

Reach out to Honeycomb Agency to discover how promotional merchandise can work for you.