In his book Sticky Marketing, Grant Laboff points out that although technology has changed the face of marketing, it is not all about the websites. No matter what the tools, marketing is about making your customer return to your business again and again. For businesses of all sizes, promotional items can play a pivotal role in not only raising brand awareness, but also in making your message stick.

1. Provide enough information.

Most businesses are already aware of the ways to use promo items to raise the visibility of the company name and logo. Items that are used in settings where people will see them, such as flying disks and tote bags achieve this goal. If you are investing in items like these, make sure you also put a catchphrase or company motto that indicates to people who see the item what the company does. Remember, it’s about brand awareness, not just name awareness!

2. Make information convenient. 

One of the most important aspects of getting customers to return to your business is to make contact information readily available. With inexpensive items, you can buy in bulk, and you can enhance stickiness by making contact information easy to find and use.  For example, repair services can provide personalized stickers with phone and website information for customers to stick on or near their appliances. Assuming the previous work was satisfactory, the convenience of the information increases the odds that the customer will come back to the same service.

3. Toot your own horn. 

If your company participates in any charitable organizations, make sure people know about it. Personalized pens can be created to emphasize your company’s socially responsible activity. These pens can be distributed not only at events for the cause, but also at the business itself. When customers see them, they will make a connection between your business and a worthy goal. This connection adds value to your brand by giving customers one more reason to feel good about doing business with you.

4. Know when to tone it down.

If you give clothing or other high-quality promotional items as gifts to customers, be careful with the design and placement of company information. Nobody wants to feel like a walking billboard. Wholesale watches, golf shirts, and outdoor gear should be personalized subtly and tastefully. You want customers to wear your gift, not stick it in the back of a drawer.

When choosing and designing your promotional items, you will enhance stickiness by first identifying what marketing goal you want to achieve with the item. No item is inherently more or less effective than another. The stickiness results from your ability to match the medium to the message. By using promotional items strategically, you can even stick it to the competition!

Guest Author Info: Jessica writes about a wide variety of topics.  She especially enjoys writing about business. You can learn more about personalized pens at http://www.inkhead.com/