Tips and ideas for adding promotional products to your print sales

By Michael Cornnell

Quick Tips

Here are some fast and easy ideas for adding promotional products to your print sales.

DIRECT MAIL AND CROSS MEDIA

Direct mail and cross-media campaigns are especially suited for print-and-promo combinations. Pens, keytags and even T-shirts make for easy, lightweight mailer items, and play well into the idea of "multiple touches per marketing idea," which is a cornerstone of many cross-media campaigns.

START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW

If you (or, more likely, your client) are uncomfortable moving outside the realm of paper products, a gentle nudge into the world of paper promotional products can be an easy way to stay within your comfort zone while simultaneously dipping your toes into the promotional product pool. Journals and notebooks, stickers and decals, and even badges and paper-based buttons aren't too far removed from paper products, giving you and your client a healthy amount of product familiarity with room to expand.

MOVE SIDEWAYS

Sometimes adding promotional products to an order can be as easy as asking a current client for a referral to a different department within the company. Does the bank you're selling forms to have a human resources department in need of sales rewards or incentives? What about uniforms, pens or gifts for its best clients? By asking a current customer for a referral to a different department, especially at a large, decentralized business with multiple budgets, you can create a lot of sales opportunities for your business.

SELL DEEPER

Clients with needs beyond the basic commodity level of "I need some forms" may have an interest in promotional products that back up their more complex goals. A client interested in preventing document forgery may want to buy anti-inkwash pens or encrypted flash memory drives along with its secure forms. A nonprofit may be interested in donation incentives or rewards along with its direct mail campaign. A local business may want to order a bunch of "Welcome, New Hire!" gift packs along with its printed employment applications. Think about your current clients, their needs and how promotional products may further their goals.

Ice cream and cookie dough. Brownies and milk. Cake and a second, additional cake. While fine on their own, there are some items that are just better off paired. And as the landscape of the print industry changes, more and more salespeople are realizing that print and promotional products are one of those magical pairs (kind of like a cake, a second cake, and then a surprise third cake).

If you're unfamiliar with promotional products, the synergy between the two is simpler than you might expect, and there are a lot of ways combining the two can expand your business. Below are some simple ideas, paired with case studies, to help you on your way to a more diverse (and promo-filled) business.

PUMP UP YOUR THANK-YOU'S

Are you in the business of thank-you or holiday cards, either for yourself or your clients? Why not take your gratitude to the next level by adding promotional products to your mailings? Gift-wrapped chocolates or other treats are an easy choice, but remember that there are plenty of non-edible promotional products that are more than gift-worthy. Electronics, drinkware, a new pair of golf shoes—your options are really only limited by your budget and creativity.

AN EXAMPLE:

Seth Weiner, MAS, president of Sonic Promos, Gaithersburg, Md., combined print, packaging and promotional products into a campaign intended to not only thank current clients, but also to create an "in" with prospects.

Along with a thank-you/personalized note, Weiner and his staff packed two tumblers into an oversized box filled with colorful paper. "Our self promotion goals are always the same," Weiner said. "Get in front of our clients or prospects, make a statement and generate a response." More than 60 percent of all recipients conducted some sort of business with Sonic within the first six months of receiving the item. One recipient even used essentially the same promotion for its business. "Their promotion earned them an award for best marketing within their own industry," Weiner commented. The award was the SIPA (Specialized Information Publishers Association) Award for "Best Print Effort." Weiner said the client's promotion had an ROI of $2,415 per package sent, for 75 mailed packages total. "Subsequently, our company earned a PPAI Pyramid Award for the promotion," he added.

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Companies:
Proforma

Places:
Gaithersburg, Md.

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