Q & A - Is
Cutting Your Marketing Budget During a Tough
Time a Good Idea?
What is a competitive business to do in a
tricky economic situation like the one we're
in? Here are the need-to-know answers to the
most common questions about marketing in a
down economy and how using promotional
products can improve your marketing campaigns
during the downturn. Short answer: while your
competition is scaling back on their budgets
- get out there and let your customer know
you are the company to work with.
Q: Should I cut back on my marketing
budget?
A: No - reducing your marketing budget
during a downtown is a textbook example of a
short-term strategy that can hurt your
business in the long run.
Make no mistake - this is no common sense
generalization. According to research
conducted by Gary Lilien and Arvind
Rangaswamy of Penn State's Smeal College
of Business, companies that enter a recession
with a commitment to consistent marketing are
better positioned to succeed in the long run.
In the report, the researchers use a sports
analogy to explain why companies who
proactively market during a recession may be
able to gain a competitive advantage:
"Athletes often choose times of stress to
mount attacks: strong runners and bicycle
racers may increase their pace on hills or
under other challenging conditions," the
authors write. "In a similar vein, proactive
marketing includes both the sensing of the
existence of the opportunity (a tough hill
and fatigued opponents) and an aggressive
response (possessing the necessary strength
or nerve) to the opportunity."
ePromos Quick Fact: Based on a
study by L.J. Market Research, 76% of
respondents remembered the name of the
company that gave them promotional items in
the last 12 months.
Q: Should I spend money on promotional
products during a recession?
A:
Yes - promotional products remain one of the most
effective and affordable forms of advertising
available.
One major advantage of
using promotional products is the wide range
of price points you have to work with. If
your budget is limited by poor economic
conditions, there are plenty of inexpensive,
yet desirable, alternatives to choose from
for your needs - see below. In fact, picking
imprinted items with a high perceived value
should be part of your marketing strategy at
all times. By choosing these types of items,
you build your brand without paying top
dollar for fantastic results - and impress
your customers at the same time. Cutting your
marketing budget entirely is definitely not
the answer. Instead, go with a cost-effective
marketing solution that has been proven to
work for decades. Promotional products are
exactly the type of high-value/low-cost
investment you need to make right
now.
ePromos Quick
Fact: 62% of people eventually did
business with a company after receiving a
promotional product.
Q: What types of
promotional products should I
buy?
A: When browsing for a gift
that will make your brand stick, go with the
most useful items you can
find.
According to the Advertising
Specialties Impressions Study released during
the ASI Power Summit last November, the best
promotional products (the ones that
recipients held onto the longest) were those
that were considered the most useful. Items
like pens, bags, and wearables ranked high in
the average length of time the product was
held among recipients. If you want your
promotional products to keep your brand in
the spotlight for as long as possible, you
can't go wrong with these popular and
functional items.
What other specific
items are worth buying? When asked how likely
they were to do business with an advertiser
after receiving a promotional product,
recipients who received calendars, jewelry,
and recognition awards ranked the highest.
Keep these numbers in mind when making your
selections!
ePromos
Quick Fact: 75% of people develop a
good impression of a company that gave them
promotional products.
There you have
it! To ride out the rough waters of the
current economic cycle it's important to stay
focused on your long-term goals. Avoid making
a knee-jerk reaction to cut your marketing
budget. Instead, find ways to spend your
budget wisely. Promotional products are one
of the most cost-effective forms of
advertising, so there's less risk involved
for you.
If you are looking for some
ideas or just want some more information,
check out our recent
press release featuring five great product
selections for a down economy.
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| 3 Ways You Can Cut Costs and Not Cut Back on Your Promotional Product Efforts |
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Regardless of whether your 2009 budget was
cut, you are most likely being encouraged to
cut back on spending and "do more with less"
to help save money during this recession.
Since this is a common theme among all of our
customers, we've put together some ways that
you cut your costs and MAINTAIN or increase
the amount of promotions that you did in
2008. With a smaller budget or pressure to
cut costs where you can, these suggestions
should help you get the job done:
Choose a similar product in a
different price range
One of the greatest things about promotional
products is that there are hundreds of
alternatives to the items that you usually
buy - many times you can get a similar
quality product at a lower price point. The
classic examples of categories that customers
cut back on are pens and tote bags. For
example, one of our popular, higher quality
bags of 2008 were Polyester
blend tote bags that cost about
$4. The quality of these bags is top-knotch
and the perceived value for the product is
much higher than the cost of the bag.
However, this year, we are expecting (and
seeing) more of our customers switching to the
non-woven
tote bags instead - a $1-2 bag. These
less expensive alternatives don't have the
same "wow" factor as their polyester cousin,
but the recipients end up using the product
just as much for less money.
Cost Savings: 30-40%
ePromos
Budget
Saver Pick: Non-Woven
Value Tote
Check out
some other
tote bags for $2
or less.
Domestic vs
Overseas Production
In a down
economy, producing a product overseas is one
of the most cost-effective ways to get your
promos.
Manufacturing products
domestically has its benefits: you get your
product faster (shorter production times) and
you have a lot of control over your order -
great for last minute changes. However, with
the budget-friendly initiatives creeping up
in companies, the price for this convenience
is becoming pretty high. If you give yourself
60-90 days production time for your event
merchandise, you could save yourself 30-40%
and maintain the amount of product that you
buy every year.
Cost
Savings: Producing a
product overseas can save you from 30%-40% of
your yearly budget, you just have to plan
ahead.
Find more information about overseas
sourcing.
Check out our custom
and overseas products.
Brand Name
vs. Non-branded Products
Brand names
are great for associating your company with a
well known brand, but not so great for a
company trying to fit the same amount of
product in a reduced budget. The solution is
going with non-brand merchandise. You aren't
going to get the name recognition that goes
along with a brand, but many of the
alternatives have the same quality for half
the price - particularly with apparel. For
example, we offer high-quality
moisture-wicking performance apparel that
costs only half as much as identical shirts
from name brands like Nike and
Adidas - even under $25 with your
logo!
ePromos Budget Saver
Pick: Microfiber
Performance Polo.
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| Upcoming Promotional Event Dates |
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Valentine's Day
In hard times, it's especially important to
take every chance you get to tell your
customers how much you appreciate them. After
all, it's a lot easier to retain existing
customers than it is to find new ones. Start
early by kicking off the first quarter with a
customer appreciation event on Valentine's
Day- the perfect time to show customers
how much you love them!
This special day is all about celebrating the
relationship you have with clients both big
and small. By sending your recipients a token
of your appreciation, you generate goodwill
towards your company and give everyone a
reminder about your products, services, and
stellar customer service.
When choosing a gift, going with a
Valentine's Day classic like promotional
chocolate is a great choice? This sweet
treat might be addressed to one person, but
actually makes its way around the office and
spreads
your message of love. If you want to capture
some desktop real estate, send a fresh
bouquet of flowers in an imprinted flower
vase. Or, keep it simple with one of our
hundreds of heart-shaped
promotional items. These love-themed
products are a great centerpiece for any
Valentine's Day customer appreciation
campaign.
Make sure to take advantage of Valentine's
Day this year to get in touch with your
customers early in the quarter. Customer
recognition is even more important in
times of economic downturn, so don't let it
go overlooked! Happy Valentine's Day!
Plan ahead and take advantage of the
following promotional
opportunities.
Want the full
list of promotional events?
Check out our promotional
calendar.
February
March
April
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| "Welcome Kit" of Promotional Products Helps Smooth Employee Transition During Office Move and Promotes New Eco-friendly Campaign for Prominent Law Firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP |
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Challenge: How to leverage promotional
products to help employees feel at home
quickly during a time of transition while
also introducing new eco-sensitive
policies.
With more than 900
lawyers in 13 offices from Abu Dhabi to
London, and from Beijing to both coasts of
the U.S., Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
is one of the largest law firms in the world.
When Akin Gump's New York City branch
outgrew its space and moved to a bigger,
better, greener office building (one of the
greenest skyscrapers thus far), the Akin Gump
HR team had three things in mind. First, they
wanted to successfully bring together their
390 employees, who had been physically
divided in the old building. Second, they
wanted to make everyone feel at home in the
new space. And third, the team also wanted to
unveil a cool, new "Go Even Greener" campaign
inspired by their new office home. That's
when the Akin Gump HR team reached out to
ePromos Account Executive Stacey Lewis for
help in creating a "welcome kit" worthy of
accomplishing this multi-faceted
feat.
Solution: Jumbo reusable
shopping totes, microwaveable 15-ounce coffee
mugs and branded LifeSavers candies.
The team's choices for the kit certainly fit:
jumbo
reusable shopping tote bags, microwaveable
coffee mugs and logoed rolls of
LifeSavers candies. The hefty grocery totes,
100 percent recyclable and reusable, in the
firm's traditional blue, are both tear
resistant and water repellant, encouraging
years' of use. The 15-ounce microwavable,
dishwasher-safe mugs, also in Akin Gump blue,
come with comfort-grip handles and rotating,
locking signature lids that disassemble for
easy cleaning. And while the LifeSavers-given
for a boost of energy-aren't available
through the ePromos Web site, we were able to
easily source and deliver them, branded the
Akin Gump way.
-Some assembly
required. Anticipating the team's need
for help assembling the kits (and to minimize
stress-things are busy enough just before a
move!) Stacey also offered ePromos
fulfillment services. This way, the
products from various vendors were delivered
to an ePromos' warehouse, where our team put
the kits together before shipping them to
Akin Gump's new office before the big day
arrived.
Result: Less HR stress, happy employees
despite a typically tumultuous time of
transition-promotional success!
When the employees arrived at the new
building on the first day, they were greeted
with a breakfast and lunch event-and with
their official Akin Gump Welcome
Kits-complete with eco-friendly products. The
HR team's manager tells us the kits were a
hit: he still sees employees using the bags
and mugs everywhere-and when he does, he
offers a comment of "Nice mug!" or "Nice
bag!" Staff members report leaving the bags
in their cars so they're easily available for
grocery shopping. And-a surprise to Akin
Gump's HR manager-employees loved the mugs
most: they say that the lid stays cool even
after microwaving so they can sip their
coffee or soup without burning sensitive
lips. Both products together make for a more
eco-friendly Akin Gump, in the office and
out. Most importantly, though, the
promotional welcome kit helped employees
quickly connect and settle into their new
office home-another promotional success!
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