Discounts, discounts, discounts... As a customer you get discounts everywhere for special occasions or just because you are a loyal customer. The effectiveness of discounts on a short-term basis cannot be questioned.
But what if there was an alternative to discounts that has a more positive impact on your business and brand on a long-term basis? We'll explain it to you here.
Promotional products are products with a logo or advertising message used by companies, organizations, associations, municipalities, government agencies,... to advertise. You cannot be creative enough here: for example, think about XXL big deckchairs and mini folding rulers or just a keychain and a drinking bottle.
Moreover, promotional products are a powerful marketing tool that brands can use to increase brand visibility and build customer loyalty. By giving promotional products to customers, prospects and other key stakeholders; companies can reinforce their brand and leave a lasting impression.
But promotional products do more than just provide brand visibility. They also help build brand perception by evoking emotions and associations in the recipient. This can lead to positive feelings and memories of the brand, which can contribute to increased loyalty and purchase intent in the future.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou-
Anyone can give discounts. The question, however, is whether discounting really attracts loyal customers. Research shows that a customer whose first interaction with a retailer is not accompanied by a discount is worth at least 2.5 times more than a customer who responds to a short-term discount or promotion. Moreover, in some cases, discounts can also lead to price wars. And this is a war in which no one wins! As a result of discounting, customers feel that they are overpaying for your product or service for the rest of the year. This is not what you want right?
Promotional products do not only lead to customer loyalty, but you often lose less margin on them than with discounts!
Here you have an example where it becomes clear:
You purchase a product for €80.00 and sell this product for €100.00. If you give a 10% discount on this product, it will cost you a €10.00 margin. During the discount period, you sell the product a 1,000 times. So the promotion costs you a margin of €10,000.
But what if you included a printed tote bag with every purchase?
1,000 Bullet Madras totebags with your logo printed on both sides will cost you €1,853.43 (excluding VAT). This means that one free totebag per product sold, will cost you a margin of €1.85 instead of €10.00. So you save €8,146.57 on this promotion. And you also enjoy free advertising, thanks to the 1,000s of totebags with advertising print making the rounds!
We, at Printsimple, are not participating in the unwinnable race: "whoever discounts the most, wins". For example, we do not participate in the Black Friday discounts. Because we don't want to take part in price wars, but prefer to always give our customers a fair price. Not only during these special periods.
So the only question remains: do I want to invest some time and creativity in working out an appropriate promotional product in order to surprise customers and build a long-term relationship? Or do I opt for a hefty discount and a quick sale for a customer who may not come back?
Need help finding a suitable promotional product? Then be sure to contact us!
