How Promotional Giveaways Can Help Your Business

Who doesn’t love getting stuff for free? This is an age old practice that has been around for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. No matter where you look these days, companies are taking full advantage of promotional giveaways every chance they get. If you’re thinking of choosing an effective marketing plan you might discover that this is an easy way to throw away the little extra cash you have.

Today, businesses give away everything from free toothbrushes to real money. Yes, real money was given away. In 2015, Hasbro, the toy company that produces the Monopoly game, decided to use real money in 80 board games to celebrate the game’s 80th anniversary. You can bet that when the news reported this giveaway, there were loads of people lining up to get one of the eighty games, hoping for a chance to collect some real cash for a change.

There is lots of evidence that supports the fact that promotional giveaways are an excellent way to get your business name out there. However, according to Time Magazine, these promotional campaigns go much deeper than people getting free stuff. Here are a few ways a promotional giveaway can help your business.

Consumers Feel Obliged

Giving away anything has a psychological affect on the recipient. As reported in a 2005 study performed by Randy Garner, a behavioral science professor. People often feel compelled to return the kindness even in situations where nothing was requested in return. This type of knowledge can do wonders for helping you to understand the power of the promotional gift.

Simple logic tells us that when a customer gets something for free it will cost the company more money. However, customers often come in for the freebie and rarely leave with just the gift you gave them. The promotion usually boosts sales considerably because of this unwritten code in human behavior that says they must reciprocate.

Gift vs. Discount

Another psychological aspect of promotional giveaways has to do with the common belief that a gift carries more weight with consumers than offering them a discount. This was brought out in a study conducted by the Journal of Marketing. Researchers concluded that this thinking often comes from the fact that many people are not very comfortable with calculating percentages. This means that rather than guess at how much a discount is worth, many people would rather assume that a gift has greater value rather than a discount.

Have a Strategy

While it has been determined time and again that promotional gifts are very effective marketing tool this does not mean that you should just start giving things away without thought. It is crucial that you have a strategy to get the results you need. You should first determine your goal for using your promotional gift and what you hope to attain. This way, you can gear your marketing strategy in ways that will help you to reach your goals.

Some companies are interested in promoting more business while others may be more interested in showing customer appreciation. Whether you want your freebie to be a thank you for loyal support or you are interested in drumming up more cash for your bottom line, there is a lot to be gained from using promotional gift items to reach your goals.

There’s More to Gift Giving Than You Think

It doesn’t take long to realize that using promotional giveaways has been a tried and true method of enhancing a businesses image. As they <a href="https://blog.epromos.com//promotional-marketing-advertising/dos-donts-using-promotional-products/">explain at Epromos.com</a>,

“Promotional products are powerful, but you have to know how to use them. Take the time to know who you’re marketing to. Pay attention to what other businesses are doing. And be creative. Promotional items shouldn’t put people to sleep – they should catapult your brand to a whole new level.”

Once you have a clear and concise vision of where you want to take your business, and you know your customer base you are well on your way to making a significant impact on your business growth and can develop a good strategy to better manage it.