At the same time, you have a relatively small advertising budget, which greatly limits your marketing options. Newspaper ads, radio spots, and billboards are probably out. Infomercials and even internet advertising can also be expensive. So how can you get the most bang for your advertising spending? One suggestion is to consider purchasing promotional business gifts so you can stretch your dollars across as many potential customers as possible over an extended period of time.



Promotional business gifts are items such as pens, calendars, key chains, lanyards, mugs, mouse pads, memo pads, and other accessories that can be personalized with your company's name and logo. They are generally available at significant discounts from online distributors and, since you don't have to purchase huge quantities in order to qualify for the savings, you can usually find some type of promotional business gifts that fit your budget.

Ones I particularly like are the letter openers with a little razor blade built in and the small penlights that go onto your keychain. I have two or three of each and find them very useful and am continually reminded of the company that gave them to me.

Ordering promotional business gifts from one of these websites is easy. All you have to do is browse through their catalog of available items, select a few that you like, and detail your personalization needs. If you want your company logo to appear on the promotional business gifts you order, you will need to submit your artwork to the distributor either in an electronic file or through the regular mail.

A nice benefit of promotional items is you can specifically target your audience. If it is the 60+ generation, then look for safety items or helping items like jar openers. If it is the younger generation, then put your logo on some Frisbees and you are sure to see them all across campus.

Once you've found an online distributor that can supply you with exactly what you want, you'll then be able to use your promotional business gifts in a number of ways. In selecting your items, you should be clear on your goals. Is it for branding and getting to top-of-mind for potential customers? Or is it for employee rewards? How about incentives for current customers? Answers to these questions will help estimating the volume and expense levels necessary for the receiver to feel the promotional is a worthy gift.

You can also use promotional business gifts internally as rewards for the best performers on your staff. Obviously not many employees would bother to go all out just for the chance of winning a personalized pen at the end of the month, so you'll probably want to purchase some high-end promotional business gifts for this purpose. This would include such items as jackets, laptop bags, briefcases, and leather portfolios.

Your current customers will feel valued; while potential customers will remember the extra effort you put forth and will likely think of you the next time they need to place an order. Another way to use promotional business gifts is to offer them as a premium attached to regular orders. For example, if you sell t-shirts, you can run a special promotion wherein you toss in a free key chain or lanyard with every purchase. You'd be surprised at how simple promotional business gifts can induce customers to act.

Overall, promotional business gifts are an excellent way to advertise your company or products when you have a limited budget to work with. Regardless of the specific kind of promotional business gifts you're looking for, you'll undoubtedly be able to find a supplier who can get you the products you want at an affordable price.