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Promotional Products for Your Key Staff by
Gareth Parkin
Promotional products are a great way to
reinforce the bonds between your company and
your staff. Employees need more than just a
paycheck to stay happy and motivated - they need
to feel that their company appreciates their
efforts. Giving your staff gifts serves two
important purposes in your business. It makes
employees feel valued and appreciated, and it
builds the presence of your brand. A lot of
companies believe that their employees do not do
anything after work, and probably do not see
people besides their family and co-workers. It
sounds ridiculous, but if you look at the gifts
traditionally given by companies to their staff,
this is the impression you would get. People
don't care about engraved plaques made out of
plastic and resin or mounted picture frames with
the company logo done stylishly on the bottom.
People want things that they can use and admire
- things they can show to their friends.
For example, if a person is given a brand new
laptop bag and some other small gadgets as
promotional products by their company, they are
likely to show their friends. Even if they do
not, at least they are walking around showing
the laptop bag to other people on their way to
work. The trick here is to find promotional
products that are useful, stylish and at least
appear to be valuable. Of course, this raises
the bar - and the budget - a little bit, but the
whole point of giving your staff gifts is to
make them feel appreciated. If you spend as
little as possible on their gifts they will pick
this up immediately feel under-appreciated.
The ideal promotional products to use as gifts
for your staff typically do not have anything to
do with work. People might appreciate a stylish
desk calculator or a Bluetooth headset for their
mobile phone, but they would much rather have a
new cooler box or a set of golf club covers. The
idea is that if you give gifts that do not have
a direct association with your company people
will begin to consider your brand at home in
their daily lives. When your staff play golf
with other people they will all see your company
logo on that person's driver cover. For a few
dollars you will have shown off your brand to
other people who are in the same general income
bracket as your staff member. If your product is
marketed at that income bracket you have three
new potential customers. The next step would be
inviting them all to a golf day where you would
hand out more promotional products, continuing
to improve the way that the public and your
staff feel about your company.
In any marketing campaign, never neglect the
subtle marketing power of your own staff. Giving
them promotional gifts and treating them well is
the best way to spread good words about your
company. Since word of mouth is one of the most
powerful marketing tools you can have, it's in
your best interest to keep your staff as happy
as you can.
About the Author
Gareth Parkin is the co-founder of Ideasbynet,
the UK's largest online source of promotional
products and promotional gifts. He has taken the
UK gift market by storm by the application of
modern business thinking and the latest search
engine marketing techniques.
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