This Incredible Consumer Research on Advertising Will Improve Your Sales Process
No matter what your business, success depends upon getting your message across to your key audiences. Your sales process may involve many steps and require a great deal of research and persistence in nurturing prospects. In addition, you probably also do some advertising.
Recently, I offered up a series of posts on the value of promotional items as an advertising channel. It was based on research conducted by the Promotional Products International Association. The findings were very interesting across the board, but one, in particular, struck me as critically important.
Advertising That’s Appreciated, Not Avoided
When I wrote last week about the value of promotional items relative to other media channels, I highlighted one sentence that really struck a chord:
“Every age group—Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation—chose promotional items as the most effective advertising channel at causing them to take action.”
I find this fascinating for two reasons.
Consumers Prefer Promotional Items to Other Advertising Channels
First, your business may use traditional or online advertising to reach members of your target audience. But per the survey:
- About two-thirds of respondents say they avoid TV commercials (66%) and web videos (68%)
- 57% try to avoid web ads
- 46% avoid radio commercials and email advertising communications
- In contrast, only 20% discard promotional items
Therefore, if your sales process doesn’t include promotional items, you are avoiding the advertising channel they like the best.
Preferred By Every Age Group
The second reason I find these results so compelling is that age doesn’t affect them. You might expect people in younger demographics to be so focused on electronic media that giveaways wouldn’t sway them. Or conversely, you might think older folks at the other end of the spectrum might regard promotional items cynically, after receiving them all their lives.
Wrong on both counts. While other media change positions on the list depending upon age bracket, there is no change at the top. Consumers of every age say that promotional items are most likely to spur them to action.
Make Promotional Items Part of Your Sales Process
Hopefully, this information will spur you to action. If you have not yet tapped the potential of promotional items, or just want to take more advantage of their strength at motivating consumers, we are here and ready to make that happen. We can use our promotional product management expertise to develop a program customized to your business with the right items at the right time. We work with clients throughout the United States as well as in Mexico and Canada.
Once you’ve done that, we can install Corporate Kiosk™, our unique e-procurement solution. With this, you can empower people across your enterprise to order pre-approved items as needed, ensuring quality and timely delivery.
No matter how sophisticated or simple your sales process, make promotional products a part of your strategy. Contact Superior today or reach out to one of our award winning promotional product consultants to develop a promotional marketing strategy.
