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 Business-to-business Gifts and Promotions |
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Business gifts and promotional products used by business-to-business companies typically differ from those used by business-to-consumer companies in several ways. Typically, B2B companies have a smaller, more specific target audience to reach, but those customers are typically more valuable, either making larger purchases, more frequent purchases, or both. B2B companies are generally more likely to have a longer sales cycle and a more complicated value proposition. B2B customers are also much more likely to be making purchasing decisions in the office rather than at home.
Here we address the opportunities and challenges that are specific to business-to-business companies and how they can use branded business gifts and promotional products most effectively.
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Using Business Gifts and Promotional Products to Start a Dialog
For business-to-business companies, reaching qualified decision-makers is often difficult, and the more valuable they are, the harder they are to reach. Traditional B2C direct mail and telemarketing are based on having a large, relatively accessible audience, perhaps millions of potential buyers. In B2B sales, a typical market may be senior management at companies within a particular industry, perhaps only dozens or hundreds of individuals. Business gifts provide a unique opportunity to gain access to an audience like this, if used correctly.
First, expect to spend money on the items you choose: a $1 promotional pen won't make an impact on the average CEO. Second, make sure your promotional mailings are creative and relate to their business and your own: even an expensive business gift without the right context will be less effective as a marketing piece. Third, spread your budget over multiple mailings: don't expect to get meetings after the first mailing, it takes time to build awareness. Creative, quarterly mailings that relate to, and build upon, each other are much more likely to turn into sales opportunities than a single mailing.
Trade Show and Event Giveaways
At trade shows, conferences and conventions, you have access to your target audience, but you are competing for their time and attention both at the show and afterwards. When planning promotional business gifts for a trade show, consider how much time you need to explain your value proposition and structure your promotional plan accordingly. For example, if you are selling a complicated service or piece of software to a small target audience, it may be worth 50 cents or a dollar per minute to speak with a qualified buyer. Based on your business, you should decide ahead of time whether it makes more sense for you to spend a half-hour selling your product or service to 100 potential buyers or a minute explaining your company to 1,000. If you'd rather have quality time with a smaller audience, go with trade show business gifts. If it makes more sense to touch a broader audience, go with trade show giveaways. If you target a smaller audience, you will not only have a more personal experience at the show, they'll also be leaving with a tangible product that will be more memorable afterwards.
Turning Mail-order into Direct Mail
If you ship a physical product to your customers, no box should ever leave your warehouse without a promotional product inside it. Every time you don't, you're missing an opportunity to send your brand right to a buyer's desktop. While many companies will include a catalog or coupon with product shipments, most do not take advantage of the opportunity to send a piece of advertising that won't be thrown away with the box, and that's a mistake. It's an opportunity to reach your most valuable audience, your existing customers, while avoiding the largest cost of doing a mailing, the shipping cost.
Corporate Gifts and Customer Retention
Most business-to-business companies do understand the value of a business corporate gift. Over 70% of businesses send holiday advertising gifts to their customers and the percentage is even higher amongst B2B companies. When it comes to business gifts as customer retention marketing, your gifting plan should fit your business. This may mean using a tier system to focus your budget on your top customers when buying holiday gifts. Non-holiday business gifts may be highly appropriate as well. If your company is only getting a percentage of your customers' total business, use a loyalty program to increase that percentage. If your customers have annual contracts, use anniversary gifts to increase their likelihood or renewing or to promote additional service offerings as part of their renewal.
Written by Mark Yokoyama
Read more about Trade Show Promotions
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