Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM October 2019 | Page 26
ANDREA SMITH
Vernon Graphics & Promotions
832-274-5245
www.myvernon.biz/brianstottlemyer
Your business is about you,
but your promotional
products are about
your customers
H
ave you ever received
a gift that seemed
like it was intended
more for the person
who gave you the gift
than it was for you? A fruitcake
perhaps? Only someone who
loves fruitcake themselves
would think to give another
person fruitcake as a gift. When
purchasing promotional products
for your clients, remember; it’s not
all about YOU, it’s about THEM.
Although your logo is about you, and your business
is about you, the gift (promotional product) you give,
should be about the client. If you want to make a lasting
impression that keeps your business top of mind, it’s
important to understand your customers as people, not
just consumers.
Some things to consider about your clients before
ordering promotional products:
Men or women?
Rural or suburban?
Pet owners?
Parents?
Athletes?
Professionals?
Skilled Tradesmen?
Young or old?
Will the item itself be useful to your clients? When
and where will your client use this item? Does it serve
a purpose beyond singing your company name to
them when they come across it in an all-American junk
drawer? Is it relevant to your client?
Let’s use a family doctor’s private practice for example.
Dr. Smith might think it’s a great idea to hand out giant
syringe shaped pens to his patients because the item is
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relevant to his business. But is it relevant to his clients?
Is little Johnny’s mother going to carry something
that could possibly be alarming to airport security
in her purse or pull it out to sign a check at the local
supermarket? Probably not. This item would likely end
up in little Johnny’s toy box. Does Dr. Smith want his
clients digging in the bottom of a toy box for his phone
number to schedule an appointment? Wouldn’t it make
much more sense for Dr. Smith to give his patients
personalized ice packs? It would be so handy for
Johnny’s mother to see Dr. Smith’s name and number at
the exact moment of nurturing a scuffed knee.
Go ahead and give your customers a koozie to use
at their next backyard barbeque IF you own a lawn care
business because a backyard barbeque is a perfect
time for conversations about how great your lawn looks.
Don’t give them lawn mower shaped mouse pads. The
only person who wants a lawn mower shaped mouse
pad is the owner of the lawn care business.
If you want your promotional products to be valued
as a thoughtful gift, as well as work for you as a business
card, make them relevant to the customers. Make them
think of your business when they’re actually using it.
Don’t think so much about you that your promotional
product ends up at the bottom of a toy box.