Promotional Marketing Turns Good Customers into Better Ones
Hope you had a great Labor Day. But it’s time for me to get back to what truly is a “labor of love”–helping make your business more successful. Today we continue our current series on promotional marketing programs that your business could be using to generate higher sales and better customer relationships.
That last one is the whole point of today’s focus: customer loyalty programs. I’m going to start with a reality that many companies forget in the hot pursuit of new business. Your current customers aren’t merely the source of your current sales and profits. They are the best source of additional sales and profits.
Customers Are Also Prospects
It’s far too simple to think of current customers as being “in the fold”, and non-customers as the huge opportunity. That kind of thinking leads to two problems:
- You might start taking current customers for granted. (That’s the best way to make them ex-customers.)
- You could easily overlook the best opportunities in your sales funnel: selling more products to customers who already know you and think highly enough of you to have made at least one purchase.
Your customers are not “conquered territory.” They are always in play, and your competitors are constantly trying to reach them. In addition, research has shown that, on average, it costs six or seven times as much to convert a prospect into a customer as it does to increase your business from a current one.
Earn Customer Loyalty with Promotional Marketing
Naturally, the quality of your product or service is the most important ingredient in getting repeat business. But showing your customers you value them is an excellent way to reinforce that satisfaction and encourage them to be “brand ambassadors” on your behalf. (That last part is especially important if you have a limited product line, and your products rarely need replacing or replenishment.)
There are many ways to use promotional products to build customer loyalty. Often, it depends on the business you are in. Retail businesses or online merchants can have different needs. Perishable and frequently purchased products suggest one kind of promotional product, while durable, occasionally purchased items can call for another.
You can reward customers for the amount of your product they purchase, either at one time or over time through some sort of frequency card or app. Give them a branded T-shirt or other functional item at pre-arranged levels; it will remind them of you whenever they use it. (You could also surprise them; an unexpected gift of appreciation from your company could make them fans for life!)
If you introduce a new marketing theme or product extension, it would be smart to send a promotional marketing item carrying that theme to every customer in the database. It will show that you remember and value them, and keep them aware of your benefits and advantages for the next time they (or someone they know) is in the market for your product.
How to Choose the Right Promotional Marketing Product
There are many factors to consider. Attempt to determine the value of the repeat business you hope to gain from the program. Many look at “lifetime customer value” as a guideline. That total may be far more substantial than you think.
Also, make sure the product has functional value to the recipient. Even a small, inexpensive item that proves useful to your customer will say more than a more expensive one that is more promotionally “loud” than helpful.
Finally, make sure the product you choose connects to your company’s primary benefit. The low-cost provider in a category should choose a promotional item that reminds recipients of that fact. If advanced technologies are your strength, then a high-tech item makes sense. If emotion or sentiment is important in the customer’s journey to your product, then a picture frame or some other more personal promotional item is a better fit.
How to Choose the Right Promotional Marketing Partner
This one is fairly easy. First, pick one that has nearly 100 years’ experience in helping businesses work more efficiently, with promotional products and dozens of other valuable tools and programs. That describes Superior Business Solutions perfectly.
We also have ISO certification, so you can trust that our recommendations are based on solid evidence and intelligent program design. Our customers have voted us a second consecutive Best of Print and Digital award, so you can be sure those recommendations work.
Contact Superior today for a promotional product audit. We’ll help determine how you can use promotional marketing to make your customers even better customers tomorrow.
