How Do You Measure Effectiveness of Promotional Products and Merchandising? - By: AminRamjee

Many, if not all marketing organization struggle with one major question that experts have debated for years - how do you measure return on investment (ROI) on Promotional Products and Merchandising Programs?

It's not what you want to hear, but to be truthful, there is no silver bullet that can exactly pin point or clearly illustrate how customizable products lead to Sales -directly- but brand experts around the world it will only help your brand if done right.

Here is a break down a few important factors to consider as a manager if you are considering Promotional Products and ROI:

Promotional Products are about long term brand building

A brand can most clearly be defined as "What customers say about you when you're not there". You don't build a brand because you have low prices. You don't build brand because you have high prices. You build your brand based on EVERY activity that your company does: The product you sell, how your customer service rep answer the phone, the design of your brochures,

You don't build a brand overnight. It takes time and takes lot of patience to nurture what you want "the customers to say about you when you're not there".

Promotional items and merchandise significantly increases your presence and brand visibility.

If you are in the business of building, establishing or maintaining a brand in the market place, you cannot ignore promotional items - it is a part of the marketing mix.

Promotional Products are about competing for visibility

Let's face it - everybody is doing it! Every competitor you face in the market place have aggressive Promotional Product program in place and if you don't arm yourself with a great, up to date Promotional program, your brand will suffer.

You need to start thinking about your brand fighting as if fighting for retail space and that retail space is always being taken up by something or somebody else. The bottom line is - if you don't take the retail space and build your brand - somebody else will.

Promotional items are a Price Competitive Alternative to costly marketing

When you are considering Cash Rewards and Gift Cards for promotional activities and sales campaigns, by including Promotional Merchandise, you will not only drive down cost and increase brand penetration, but you will be able to measure campaign performance based on the merchandise selected. If your campaign success can be traced back to the merchandise, there is your starting grid for measuring ROI!

Promotional Products should take 5 % of your Marketing Budget

A good rule of thumb among marketing executives is to dedicate 5% of your budget to Promotional Products. You will need to consider filling your stock levels so that you can support the Sales Force, the Trade Shows and HR, who can benefit from using promotional products as gifts in employee recognition programs.

About the Author

DiscountMugs.com is a large distribution company based in Miami, Florida. They are web-based and factory-direct which allows them to keep prices lower than the rest of the competition. They also have a huge selection of promotional products from wine glasses and champagne flutes to martini glasses and tote bags. For more information visit http://www.discountmugs.com

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