And, they all have a desperate need for help marketing their businesses. From the pizza shop owner or florist to independent insurance agents, hardware store owners or sole proprietors running a virtual business from a home office, many are searching for new customers.
That's where promotional products can be so valuable to the small business - they need your help getting their names and messages out to the buying public. Here's how some distributors have used creative campaigns and unique promotional products to help their clients build small-business brands.
Stir Positive Emotions
To be effective - even great - promotional items need to put forth a clear, compelling business message, says Lisa Baker-King. She is a writer, family coach, relationship expert and founder of LBK Kreatives, LLC, and zebecs.com. As a coach and small-business owner, she regularly deals with media outlets, and branding herself through meaningful promotions is an essential part of her business approach.
Enter the Z-saver, resembling Lifesavers roll candy. The various colors and flavors represent diversity and serve as a tasty reminder to those who receive them to remember her business. "They think of me every time they are eating the candies," Baker-King says of the promotion and brand recognition Z-savers inspire.
But Baker-King says business owners should not be "too emotional" or "caught up" in the promotional item itself. "I've made mistakes ordering things I was way too emotional about," she says about less successful promotional campaigns. On the flipside, the promotional item should encourage a positive emotional response from the recipient, and be memorable, too.
Workshops Work
Customized one-of-a-kind travel mugs fit the positive emotional response bill for a small franchise coffee shop in Wisconsin. Tom Kibbe, vice president of marketing for Products of Distinction Advertising Specialties Inc., (asi/466529), says a standout promotion he managed several years ago for a Dunn Bros. coffee shop was highly successful because it exceeded the promotion's goals and was memorable years later.
"The owner of the franchise was looking to bring in more than commuter traffic to her shop," Kibbe says. Since the boutique business roasted its own coffee beans onsite, the owner opted to carry through the java message by taking customization a step further.
Workshops were organized for adults and their children to sign up for a creative art experience. Clear travel mugs included a blank piece of paper, and kids were encouraged to create their own masterpieces during the workshops held inside the coffee shop.
The finished coloring pages were slipped back into a protective sleeve inside the mug, creating a customized, one-of-a kind gift item. The promotional mugs - which participants paid for - met two goals: promoting the shop and bringing in a diverse client base. "Every mug was unique," Kibbe says. "While not a giveaway, these mugs were very popular. We could order small quantities, which was perfect for the client."
Minimum orders of 48 mug kits per batch resulted in less waste for the business owner, who ended up selling out of three rounds of orders. The mugs were purchased for about $3.50 a piece, and sold for $7, Kibbe says.
Ensure Repeat Business
For small retail business owners, repeat customers are their bread and butter. To ensure they keep coming back, one florist says colorful monthly calendars are a staple in his promotional toolkit.
Steve Condon, owner/operator of Condon's Flower Cart in Collingdale, PA, sticks with calendars customized with gorgeous floral arrangements. The calendar serves as a lush visual cue to his customers to remember holidays, anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions - and to order from him. "The calendars in people's homes are a year-round reminder (of my services)," Condon says.
The shop's name, address, phone number, website and reminder that Condon's Flower Cart is a Teleflora affiliate, provide an easy way for customers to place orders. Through his calendars, Condon's Flower Cart is front and center in his customer's homes, even when a fresh bouquet isn't.