Promotional giveaways
Promotional giveaways are guaranteed to attract attention to any campaign or promotional activity. Its long-term impact and effectiveness, however, cannot be measured by the number of people that received the giveaways but rather on how the giveaways actually tie in to your company's objectives.
A lot of companies make the mistake of thinking that promotional giveaways will do the trick in bringing them real customers or higher sales. Sure, giveaways help a lot in creating a favorable image of the company. Everybody loves to receive a gift, no matter how simple the item may be. Giveaways are also great incentives to buy a particular item or avail of a service on promo.
There are some common pitfalls to avoid in making sure that your promotional giveaway campaign truly benefits your company. One thing to watch out for is the lack of clarity in the company's purpose for the promotional giveaways. What do you really want to achieve in giving away an item? Is the product that you plan to give away appropriate for your purpose?
If a company understands the "why" of its promotional campaign, it would be easier to go through the "whats" and "hows" of the campaign.
Another pitfall in promotional giveaways is the choice of a wrong item to give. Promotional giveaways should not necessarily be overstock items that you failed to sell the last season. Dumping your unsold inventory on your present and potential customers may not be a good idea.
Some give away products for a limited time as part of a promo and then sell it again in the future. Some promotional experts think this is not a wise move since it undermines the perceived value of the giveaway product. When an item is being given away or has been given in the past, people tend to think that the product is not worth buying.
Promotional giveaways should also avoid putting a "Welcome, Everybody" sign in their campaign. Having a targeted audience always work best in any promotional and marketing activity. If you do not set parameters for who can receive your promotional giveaways, it will be difficult measure if you achieved your targets. Besides, there is always a tendency that you will attract people who are not really interested about your product or service and are only after receiving your promotional giveaway.
This problem can be avoided effectively if you determine at the start of your campaign the people who are eligible to receive your promotional giveaways. In a tradeshow, for example, will your giveaways be given to anyone who comes near your booth or will be reserved for those who sit down to listen and watch your short sales video presentation? Do all your phone subscribers get a giveaway item or only those who successfully refer a new customer? Will all buyers of your brand automatically receive a promotional giveaway or only those whose orders reach a certain amount?
Here, you will see again that the parameters for your target recipients depend largely on the specific objectives that you have initially set for the campaign.
It is also a good idea to set a time limit for your promotional giveaways to give people a sense of urgency to fulfill the conditions that you have set. You can always extend the deadline if you feel it is appropriate.
Of course, one should never take for granted the promotional giveaway item itself. Based on industry best practices, giveaway items work best when they are exclusively made available for the duration of the promo only. The item is not something that customers can buy or get from another store. This sense of exclusivity makes the promotional giveaway more premium and attractive to possess.