Sluggish Sales? Try Marketing with Promotional Products.

State and local governments are forcing businesses to shut down due to COVID-19 virus and many businesses are feeling the pinch. Business owners and marketers are cutting budgets and trimming expenses. After being in the marketing and advertising business for 30 years, one thing I have learned is that when there’s an economic downturn, one of the first budgets to get the axe is marketing. While this may be a necessity, I’d like to offer an idea to you. Whatever marketing money you have available, put some of it to promotional products. They deliver an amazing return on marketing investment by allowing you to leverage your money and time.

Over the years, I’ve had many conversations with new customers and prospects about promotional products. If I could boil down these conversations, my customer or prospect wants to know 3 things:

  1. Why should I buy promotional products?
  2. Which promotional products should I buy?
  3. How can I use them effectively?

Promotional products are one of the oldest marketing mediums dating back to the days of George Washington and they are still a viable marketing medium today. Why have they lasted this long? The answer is simple: people love receiving promotional products and they use them in their day to day lives. Promotional products are the only marketing medium that recipients will say “thank you” as they repeatedly see your marketing message. What’s even better is that once that item is distributed to your target market, the message is seen over and over again without interruption and without any additional cost or effort on your part. After you distribute that imprinted mug, calendar, lip balm, hand sanitizer, magnet or whatever, your job is done. That item will do its job showing your marketing message without fail and you won’t have to keep paying for each marketing impression. Additionally, it’s impossible to “unsubscribe” the message on a pen, it’s impossible to click “skip ad” on the message on a chip clip or “mute” the message on an imprinted shirt. Talk about efficient marketing!

There are approximately 800,000 promotional products available but choosing the right promo item for your business comes down to just 2 criteria:

  1. Your target market.
  2. Your distribution method.

Very often, customers get hung up on wanting the “latest and hottest” item. In my experience, this isn’t important. Choosing an item that your target market will like, enjoy and use is significant. This is why I advise my customers to choose items that are found on the recipient’s person, in their kitchen or in their workspace. Do you wear shirts or caps with logos on them? Do you keep a lip balm in your purse or pocket? Do you have magnets on your fridge or mugs in your cupboard? What about custom printed sticky notes and notepads – do you see them in your workspace? Promotional products are everywhere and distributing useful items that recipients will keep with them, use in their kitchen or use in their workspace will increase the chances that your message is seen repeatedly.

Next, you could have the latest and hottest promo item every created but if you don’t have a plan to distribute it, you’ve squandered your money. On the flip-side, you could distribute the most boring promotional product and it will do its job because it’s reaching your target market. There are 3 ways to distribute promotional products:

  1. You can mail them out.
  2. You can hand them out.
  3. You can leave them out.

If you go to your mailbox today and find that you received a box, would you open it? YES, of course, you would! Lumpy mail almost always gets opened. Mailing or shipping promotional products is the most expense form of distribution but you are almost 100% guaranteed that your message will be received.

Taking an active role in handing out your items is effective, as well. If you order imprinted pens, you could hand them to servers at restaurants or cashiers in retail businesses. Bring those pens wherever you go and hand them to whomever will take one. It’s really that easy.

Lastly, you can leave them out for recipients to take. The post office I frequent has a cup on the counter filled with pens. Also, many of my customers order calendars that they keep on the counters at their place of business and their customers take them as they come and go.

Promotional products are the only marketing medium that will continue to deliver your marketing message long after you pay for them and this can help you get through these tough times. Choose items that your target market likes and uses and have a plan to distribute them. The recipients will love receiving the free stuff and your message will be seen so many times that your cost per impression will become almost zero.

Promotional Pens – Cost Effective Marketing

I’m sure you’ll agree that we are bombarded by marketing messages. When you go to the internet, you see banner ads and pop-up ads on just about every page. When you drive down the highway, you see billboards and flags. If you’re like me, you mute TV and radio ads. In fact, you might even DVR or subscribe to a service like Netflix in order to avoid ads all together. The deluge of marketing messages is real and overwhelming.

If you really want to get your marketing message seen, perhaps you should invest your marketing money into promotional products. As mentioned in a previous blog, the most powerful aspect of using promotional products to market your business is that you can cut through all the noise and put your marketing message directly into the hands of your prospect or customer.

Of all the categories of promotional products there are in the marketplace, imprinted promotional pens make up a large percentage of total sales of all Promotional Penspromotional products. The reason is simple: imprinted promotional pens are extremely cost effective marketing tools.

The Study of Writing Instruments in U.S. Households by Promotional Products Association International examined the importance of writing instruments in everyday life and their effectiveness as an advertising medium. The survey responses revealed some powerful facts about imprinted promotional pens:

  • Nearly 70% of promotional pen recipients who had received one pen in the past year remembered the name of the advertiser.
  • Nearly 53% remembered the message imprinted on the pen.
  • Thirty-two percent said the pen affected their decision to contact the advertiser.
  • Forty percent reported the intention to do further business with the advertiser in the future.
  • Forty percent used the promotional pen they received at least one time per day and up to 5 times per day.
  • Fifty-six percent reported that they keep their promotional pen for as long as it writes.
  • For a promotional pen that costs the advertiser $1.00, the impression cost per 1000 users over an entire year is $.436. This means that the overall cost for each impression is only a fraction of a cent at $.000436.

806 Insurance Card Holder

The 806 insurance card holder is one of our more popular vinyl insurance card holders. It is 9-1/8 inches wide, by 4 inches high. It features squared corners. This item fits very nicely into a number 10 envelope, so if you ever have an insured that you need to mail out an insurance card, it will fit very nicely into that number 10 envelope. It is available in five colors, red, green, black, royal blue, and navy blue. The first side is the solid vinyl and that’s where the item is imprint. On the second side there is a clear pocket which will accommodate the insurance card and registration information. It opens along the 9-1/4 inch side.

The imprint area is 3-1/2″ high by 6″ wide and that can accommodate quite a bit of ad copy. Most folks have them printed with their agency name, address and 806 Insurance Card Holderphone number. Some folks add their website and some add a tagline like “Auto * Home * Business * Life”. We have about a dozen of stock logos available like The Big I logo and Trusted Choice logo just to name two of them. The pricing includes up to 5 lines of text and a stock logo. The 806 can be custom printed either “landscape style” or “portrait style”. You can have them imprinted with your agency logo and that would be considered a custom imprint which would incur a set-up charge. The set-up charge is a one-time charge that is not assessed on future order orders UNLESS you make a change to the logo, the text or the item itself. Standard production is approximately 10 working days but sometimes the factory can get them out faster but sometimes the factory needs a few extra days.

We do have free ground shipping available on the 806-1 insurance card holder. It’s the same item as the 806 but, when you order 1000 or more units, you get free ground shipping.

If you’d like a free sample of this item, please call 877-558-6002, ext. 1.

Here’s a video that explains more about the 806 insurance card holder

Insurance Card Holders are the Best Bang For the Buck

One of the most popular items we offer are insurance card holders. These vinyl sleeves are often called insurance card wallets, insurance registration holders, insurance card wallets, insurance card envelopes or auto ID card holders.

Regardless of what you call them, I’ve been told many times how much my customer’s customers LOVE them and, best of all, these insurance card holders are just about the least expensive way to market your insurance agency, auto repair, auto sales or  auto title & tags company. Even when ordered in the lowest quantity, these custom printed insurance policy information holders are priced inexpensively but the biggest benefit is that your customer will keep the plastic insurance card holder in their car for a really long time. Your customer will see your company name every time they change out their insurance card, get a new registration or get their car inspected. They are even less expensive if ordered in higher quantities.

As I mentioned in just about every Marketing Munchy, the key to using promotional products successfully is having a distribution plan. Here are some simple ways to distribute your custom printed insurance card holders:

  • Have the insurance card holders on or near your desk and hand one to your customer (with the insurance card inserted) every time you write some business.
  • If the transaction takes place over the phone, simply insert the insurance card into the vinyl insurance card holder and mail it to your customer. I would also recommend inserting some other marketing material as well.

It’s really that simple BUT, here’s the most important part – make sure you tell your customer what to do with the insurance card holder. I know this sounds silly but say something like “your insurance card is inserted into this auto ID card holder. Please insert your registration card into it as well and put it in your glove box. This way, should you need your insurance and registration, you’ll be able to find it quickly and it will be kept neat and orderly.”

Our pricing for the auto insurance holders includes up to 5 lines of text and a stock logo. The stock logos can be seen on the “Configure This Product” page on our website under the “Choose a Logo” dropdown. There is no charge to use a stock logo. If you want to use your logo, you will have to select “Custom Logo Setup”. There is a $50 set-up charge when using a custom logo. It’s a one-time charge which will not be assessed on a future order UNLESS you make a change to the logo or text or change the item. Lastly, please factor in shipping and sales tax when ordering. The factory does offer free ground shipping on all orders of auto insurance ID holders of 1000 units or more.

Ordering or reordering insurance card holders is a breeze. You can do it over the phone by calling our office at 877-558-6002, ordering them online, via email or fax. Each year, you will receive a reorder from us to remind you to check your inventory so you never run out of them.

Below is a list of our best-selling insurance card holders. All of the items shown below are made in the USA!

Style 803L insurance card holdersStyle 803L Insurance Card Holder. This particular Insurance card holder is 9-1/4” wide by 4-1/4” tall. It features rounded corners. The imprint is printed on the vinyl side and when you flip the item over, there is a clear pocket on the second side which opens along the 9-1/8” side. This item is available in five colors, red, black, royal blue, navy blue and dark green. The 803L can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. If you’d like free ground shipping, order the 803L-1.

Style 807 insurance card holder. The 807 is 5-3/4” wide by 4-1/16” high. It’s available in thirteen different colors. We also have some stock imprints for insurance companies and also associations. TheStyle 807 insurance card holders 807 can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. The imprint is printed on the vinyl side and on the 2nd side you’ll find a clear vinyl pocket that opens along the 4-1/16” side. That’s where the insurance information and the registration information would go. If you’d like free ground shipping, order the 807-1.

Style number 806 insurance card holder. It is 9-1/8 inches wide, by 4 inches high. It features squared corners. This item fits very Style 806 insurance card holdersnicely into a # 10 envelope, so if you ever have an insured that you need to mail out an insurance card, you can do that easily. It is available in five colors, red, green, black, royal blue, and navy blue. On the second side, is the pocket which will accommodate the insurance card information. The imprint is printed on the vinyl side of the insurance card holder. The 806 can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. It opens along the 9-1/4 inch side. If you’d like free ground shipping on the 806, order the 806-1.

Style 808 and 808W insurance card holders are one of our more popular insurance card holders. The 808 and the 808W are exactly the same except for the information printed on them.  The 808 can be printed with customStyle 808 insurance card holders information like your company name and contact information. The 808W is printed with the stock “What to Do at the Scene of an Auto Accident” and cannot be printed with custom information.  The 808W insurance card holder is also available in Spanish. The 808 (and 808W) is 5-3/4″ tall by 4-1/16″ wide. It features a business card pocket on one side and it has the large pocket on the other side which can accommodate the insurance card. The 808 and 808W opens from the 4-1/16” side. It is available in five colors: Navy blue, black, Royal blue, red and green. It will fit nicely into #10 envelopes so if you ever need to mail an insurance card to one of your customers. If you’d like free ground shipping on the 808, order the 808-1 and if you’d like free ground shipping on the 808W, order the 808W-1.

Style 803P insurance card holder. Insurance card holders are a very convenient way for the insured to keep their registration and insurance information handy in the event they get pulled over or they get into an accident. This particular Style 803P insurance card holdersinsurance card holder is 9-1/4” inches wide by 4-1/4” inches tall, and it has rounded corners. This insurance card holder also has a business card pocket, which is accessed right here. When you flip the item over, it has the large, clear vinyl pocket, which is accessed along the 4-1/4” side. This item is available in red, black, royal blue, navy blue, and dark green.  The imprint is printed on the vinyl side of the insurance card holder. The 803P can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. If you’d like free ground shipping on the item, order the 803P-1.

Style 805P insurance card holder. This insurance card holder is 7-3/4” wide by 4” tall. It features a clear business card pocket. The imprint is printed on the vinyl side of the insurance card holder. The 805P can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. When you fStyle 805P insurance card holderslip it over, it’s got a large, clear pocket that opens along the 4 inch side. Because this item is four inches tall, it will fit nicely into a number 10 envelope. So if you ever had to mail out insurance information or an insurance card to one of your customers, you could fit this item nicely into a number 10 envelope. This item is available in red, navy blue, royal blue, black, and dark green.  If you’d like free ground shipping on the 805P, order the 805P-1.

Style 809 insurance card holder. This particular insurance card holder is 6-1/4 inches wide by 4-3/8 inches high. Your imprint area would go on the solid vinyl side of the insurance card holder. Then on the other side, there is a clear pocket which opens along the 4Style 809 insurance card holders-3/8 inch side. That’s where the insurance information and registration would go. This item is available in three colors. It’s available in red, navy blue and black. The 809 can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. If you’d like free ground shipping on the item, order the 809-1.

Style MCR800-1 small fold over card case with 2 clear pockets is often used as a health insurance card holder and this item can Style MCR800-1 insurance card holdersaccommodate most fishing and hunting licenses. This card holder is 4 inches wide by 5 inches high when it is open and folds to 4 inches wide by 2-1/2 inches high when it is closed. Your imprint area would go on the vinyl side. Then on the inside, there are 2 clear pockets which open along the 4 inch side. This item is available in red, navy blue, green, black, brown, maroon, gray, white, medium blue, orange, purple, yellow, bone, royal blue, teal, pink, and gold or silver. The MCR800-1 can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. If you’d like free ground shipping on this item, order the MCR800-1-1.

Style MCR215 insurance card holdersFinally, the MCR215, MCR216 and the MCR217 are fold over insurance card holders. They can also be used for insurance policies. All 3 items are 9 inches wide by 9-3/4 inches high when they are open and fold to 4-1/2 inches wide by 9-3/4 inches high when closed. They are all available in clear, red, navy blue, green, and black and royal Style MCR216 insurance card holdersblue. The MCR215 has 2 clear half pockets on the inside. The MCR216 has (2) 5 inch pockets on the inside as well as (2) 2” business card pockets. The MCR217 2 clear, full pockets on the inside that Style MCR217 insurance card holdersopen from the center. These styles can be imprinted landscape style or it can be imprinted portrait style. For free ground shipping on these items, order the MCR215-1, MCR216-1 and MCR217-1.

For a free sample of an insurance card holder, please call 877-558-6002, ext. 1.

 

Rodney Dangerfield & The Ultimate Guerrilla Marketing Weapon

I traveled to Montgomery, NY this past week to deliver a speech to a group of Erie Insurance Agents. I live in the Philadelphia, PA area and my route took me through the Pocono Mountain area – what a beautiful drive! The mountains and hills were magnificent and everything was so green.

I’ve delivered about 15 of these speeches over the past 5 years or so. I’m not a pro but I’m not a shy guy and I enjoy doing them. The speech I delivered was about the promotional products industry as a whole and why promotional products are a smart way to market an insurance agency.

Before each speech, I research all my talking points to make sure they are current and valid. During this process, I’m always reminded why I love this industry and why I think promotional products are the ultimate guerrilla marketing weapon. Here are 5 aspects of the promotional products industry that I’m so proud of:

1. According to PPAI, Promotional Products Association International, our industry is a $20,000,000,000 industry (THAT’S $20 BILLION!). We are one of the only advertising mediums on a growth trend even though wRodney Dangerfield & Guerrilla Marketinge’re one of the oldest advertising mediums. We are finally getting some well deserved respect!!

2. When using promotional products, an advertiser only has to buy the ad one time and the recipient of the item will be exposed to the advertiser’s marketing message a countless number of times. You cannot get that kind of value from ANY other marketing medium because all of them have a much shorter shelf life.

3. Most people enjoy receiving promotional products. On the flip side, do most people like hearing radio or TV ads? Do they like ads popping up on the webpages they’re viewing? Probably not. Most people will say “thank you” when given a promotional product. Can the same be said when they’re exposed to a billboard? Again, probably not.

4. Promotional products can target just about every demographic no matter the size or obscure the market. Do you want to sell insurance to Eskimos? With approximately 800,000 items available from approximately 4,000 suppliers, I can guarantee you that there is a perfect product available that would be effective and meet the budget.

5. Promotional products are advertising that integrates into our lives. Research shows that there’s a 1 in 4 chance you have a promotional product on your person right now. We use these items in our day to day lives. Do you write a note with a pop-up ad? No, you write a note with a writing instrument. Do you wear newspapers as clothing? No, but you can certainly wear an embroidered sweater to keep you warm. In addition, promotional products typically only carry one message at a time. This makes for a crystal clear, unimpeded transmission of a marketing message. How many billboards are in Times Square? Probably too many to count. A calendar is a miniature version of a billboard at a fraction of the cost and communicates a marketing message for pennies a day. Insurance card holders keep your insureds registration and insurance information handy while marketing your agency at the same time. Do you see the guerrilla marketing connection?

I fell into this industry over 25 years ago. I have been witness to some real marketing successes with promotional products and that is so satisfying. I’ve also been the recipient to some ridicule of my industry. For those folks who think of promotional products as “trinkets & trash” or “tchotchkes”, I urge you reconsider your position. They truly are THE epitome of guerrilla marketing. As our world shrinks, technology speeds things up and younger generations become tomorrow’s buyers, advertising mediums will gain and lose effectiveness. One thing that I think will never change is that, as humans, we like to receive things and, if they are useful and relevant, we keep them. Recipients sometimes thank the advertisers for giving them a promotional product (talk about guerrilla marketing!). Promotional products are the only advertising medium that is useful so I think this medium is here to stay and may become an even more important marketing tool in the future.