| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
Save This Page Links 
allspectrum.info Link exchange submission form: Featured Site Not Another Calendar! - Choose Advertising Specialties That Sell
As I was searching through a kitchen drawer the other day, I found dozens of pens, pencils, letter openers, sticky-note pads, oversized paper clips, rulers, dental floss, calendars, magnets, whatsits and thing-a-ma-bobs, each with the name of a business on the front. In looking through my "collection" I discovered some things I love and use and others that I can't imagine why I picked them up. Some, I'm not even sure what they are! They are all advertising specialties. You know, those giveaways that are going to bring customers swarming to your door. Advertising specialties can put your name in front of prospective customers and keep it there. That way, your name will be on their minds and in front of their faces when they decide to buy. But too often, they don't work the way you expected them to. The trick to using advertising specialties effectively is to understand who your customers are, what they value, how they will use your giveaway, and where they will be when they make a buy decision. Pizza delivery restaurants give out lots of refrigerator magnets. Where are you when you decide to order a pizza? You probably just looked in the fridge for something to fix for dinner, didn't find anything and are closing the door. At that moment, you spot a magnet and say, "Pizza!" Some of the magnets even come with detachable coupons. Where will your customers be when they make a buy decision? At home, at the office, in their cars, on the phone, at the computer . . .use a specialty that will be in front of them there. Or maybe you just want something that they will use a lot to keep your name in their minds. A mug. Or something like a wall calendar where your name will be in front of them 365 days. (366 in a leap year!) However you hope to influence your customers, make sure you choose an item they will actually use. Will they want another ball point pen, pocket calendar, or stress ball? How many wall calendars do they get from other sources? Will yours be one they are willing to put up on the wall? Does your item look or feel "cheap" or of poor quality? If so it won't give a good impression of your business. If you use advertising specialties, choose something that is unique, doesn't look cheap, will be used by your customers, and will be nearby when they make a buy decision. That doesn't mean you have to give away expensive items. A couple of my favorites are ball point pens. One, from British Airways, has a clip that folds out to look like wings on a plane. It's not great to write with, but it's really cute. Will the pen cause me to fly British Airways? Probably not, but it is one more positive impression I have of their airline. Want to try something a little different? Why not get tote bags, t-shirts, sports bottles, or other items made up and sell them. If you have a clever logo or slogan, people might be willing to pay. For example, the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston (yes, a museum about funerals) sells mugs and more with their slogan, "Any day above ground is a good one." If you are actively creating a brand people respond to, you might be able to start a whole new product line. One source for image products is http://www.cafepress.com/. Oh, one last thing about using advertising specialties. You have to actually give them out. Buying them and leaving the box in the closet won't bring you a single customer. Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker can help you attract customers and make yourself famous with inexpensive and free marketing ideas. Get free tips, articles and more at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
3 Things Every Yellow Pages Advertiser Needs to Know Too many business owners and marketers know that Yellow Pages advertising has an incredible amount of potential? but they don't quite know how to take advantage of it.Fortunately, it's a mystery that's solved pretty easily once an advertiser knows where to turn for advice. Science of Advertising and How to Benefit From It It is very important to realize that persons buy from you. It is the mind at other end of the internet who will decide a sale from you. LED Score Boards LED scoreboards can be utilized in most of the sporting event for eye-catching effects replace traditional scoreboards. This high- tech lighting system is both energy - efficient and able to produce a very bright light. The SKINNY on Radio Advertising From meager beginnings in 1920, radio has grown with us to be a major player in advertising. The radio industry says they get about 8 percent of all advertising bucks. Get Free Radio Advertisement Here's a neat trick to get lots of radio advertisement time, TOTALLY FREE! Imagine.. Moving message Sign Moving Message Signs are a unique, attention-grabbing way to communicate and motivate. They are used for eye-catching shop-front or under awning advertising, promotions of products or services, directing and/or welcoming customers, displaying safety and emergency information, directing customers to specific service areas or entrances etc. What's the Score? You may be aware that in a basketball game the assistant coaches keep an almost unending list of personal statistics for each player. Rebounds, assists, points, minutes played, etc. Advertising 101 Advertising has truly become a part of all of our lives as consumers, as business owners, as parents, as concerned citizens. We simply cannot escape from its presence no matter how hard we try. Outdoor Sign Many business organizations that needs to disseminate late-breaking information to a large number of people. Out door sign boards are the perfect solution for them that command the attention of all who pass underneath. Just What Are Consumers Thinking? Research would indicate that consumers don't know what they're thinking. According to an article written by Jack Shimell (2002) for Quirk's Marketing Research Review, Consumers make their decisions and react to advertising based more on unconscious emotional processes than on conscious rational processes. Is there anything new under the sun? Heres how to find out if your bright idea is unique. "There's nothing new under the sun" is probably the one phrase no inventor wants to hear, seldom believes, and is always trying to prove wrong. However, moving too quickly to prototype stage and first disclosure can turn out to be costly for the inventor who doesn't take the time to find out if his or her invention is already patented. Create Your Own Business Cards, Part 1 In this lesson, we will create a business card, using Microsoft Word. I created a new template for my business card. Whats The Frequency? The more things change, some say, the more things stay the same. When it comes to marketing, I tend to agree. Advertising Basics for Beginners So many of us who have decided to do business online have no background in marketing or advertising. It can be so frustrating without any kind of guide. Take Advantage of Your Foes Let's take an example that is easy to check: I am French. Among the readers who reacted while reading that, an half felt their painful stomach ulcers starting up again while the others remembered their burning desire for visiting France. Advertising Agency In Boston: Tips and Tricks The big news on Wall Street last year was the initial public offering of Internet search engine Google. If you were a visitor from another planet, you might be asking yourself, What big, sophisticated, high-technology company is behind the success of Google? Could it be IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Oracle, SAP, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Dell, Xerox, Sun Microsystems, Philips or Siemens? Of course not. 15 Tips for Better Yellow Page Ads Yellow Pages advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising in the country today. Almost every home in America (96. Localized Advertising - Door-to-Door Ad Distribution on the Fly! Have you ever had to distribute door-hanger advertisements for your business? Have you ever employed door-to-door sales techniques to increase your brand awareness? Have you ever had to walk mile-after-mile repeating the sales pitch, over and over? Have you ever had to stand outside of an arena event and pass out flyers to exiting patrons? If you stop to think of the cold calling technique of door-to door advertising, you would discover how sometimes humiliating it is to have a disinterested and irritated individual slam the door in your face, yell insulting things toward you, or be escorted off of their property. To combat this instantaneous humiliation, the idea of door-hanging advertisements gives the sales person a means of getting the word out to more people faster than before but more importantly, it saves the person the anguish of the advertised becoming irate over the interruption. Organizing Business Cards for Effective Contact Management Now that you've had colorful new business cards printed, and have been distributing them diligently, what do you do with the cards you collect from other people?If you're like most people, you have a stack of rubber-banded cards floating around you desk. Or you have been using them as bookmarks, toothpicks, and used gum wrappers and they are all over your office, car, wallet and purse?Without a good filing system, the information on those cards is useless. Online Classifieds Choosing a Classified Website and creating your advertisements.The internet has opened a vast number of doors for people to market their products and services.
|
