Top 10 Mistakes of Marketing with Promotional Products

1. Lack of purpose/objective
Before choosing products and designs, first decide on the purpose of your promotional product campaign. Do you want to increase traffic to your website, motivate your employees, or increase brand awareness among your key demographic? When you know exactly what it is you hope to achieve, that information will influence your choices as you create and distribute your products

2. No distribution plan 
Once you’ve determined your campaign’s purpose — and before you actually start purchasing products — you should decide precisely how you’re going to disseminate your items to your recipients. Make sure you plan everything well in advance to ensure a smooth promotional procedure. Place your order early enough in advance to avoid the extra shipping charges. 

3. Improper logo placement Sometimes promotional gifts benefit from discreetly placed logos rather than plastering it all over an item. Keep it simple – stick to a small logo and your website url. 

4. Getting late to market with a trend
Trends are fickle and while some have incredible staying power, others quickly pass.  If you don’t act quickly, your product won’t be new or exciting since the market will be over-saturated.  

5. Refusing to be innovative 
You must be willing to pay attention and get on board with the new hot thing as it’s heating up.  Then use your imagination! You want to stand out from your competitors and make a bigger impact. Have fun with your products and create something memorable!

6. Failing to differentiate your brand identity
Your product should be recognizable as part of your company brand–whether that comes from the design, color scheme or message. 

7. Sacrificing quality 
When you put your logo on a promotional product you are allowing that product to speak to your customers.  What do you want the message to be? 

8. Not targeting your key audience 
The most effective promotions take into account the needs and desires of the recipients. Do your research before deciding on products.  

9. Useless product
Items people don’t use regularly defeats the purpose of getting your name recognized. Try to think of things you use and see every day, in your home and office. 

10. No tracking and analysis 
This is probably the biggest mistake companies make when purchasing promotional items. Having a technique to track ROIs (Return on Investment) is extremely important.