While you might not think it at first, promotional products are one of the most undervalued tools in a business’ marketing firepower. What may seem like a simple branded pen or keychain can actually be a powerful piece of advertising that will ultimately grow your network over time. Here are the facts:

• 88% of people say that a brand is more memorable when they get a piece of merch from them 

• 80% of people state that they have at least one promotional item at home or in the office

• 83% of people said that the promo merch gave them a positive impression

At Merchgirls, we like to practise what we preach. We send out seasonal Merch Kits to our clients and prospective clients, packed full of practical, fun items that we have designed to delight. It’s a great touch point and is an opportunity for us to test-drive our creative ideas and put them in the very hands of our own clients. From this we can learn from their feedback and see what products have real uptake. Let’s jump into the top four reasons why promotional products work so well for business.

1. They’re useful and purposeful

Good promotional products aren’t just something to give away at an event or trade show; they’re meant to be used! When your product solves a problem in someone’s everyday life, they’re going to use it all the time. In fact, a recent study found that 53% of people use one or more promotional items frequently, at least once in seven days! And long term use of a product with your branding on it is not just going to serve as a reminder of your brand to the user, but to the countless other people who will see the product being used. 

However, this is assuming that your useful, purposeful merch is also good quality. If it falls apart within a week… well, it’s not doing your brand any favours.

2. They provide long term exposure

While most forms of advertising are only in front of your audience’s eyes for as long as your campaign is live, quality promotional products will continue to provide impressions for the length of time that the product is used. This could be weeks, months or even years after you initially gifted the merch! Investing in high quality, aesthetically pleasing merch can also provide a much higher ROI than many other forms of traditional marketing, considering the longevity of the merch and how many impressions might be made over the course of its lifetime. Sounds like a no-brainer to us.

3. Low cost, high reward

As we mentioned before, other forms of advertising such as TV ads, banner ads, social media or radio, are only driving brand awareness for the length of your campaign. From a financial standpoint, it makes a lot more sense to invest $15K into promo merch that will generate brand awareness for a year, rather than spending the same amount on Meta ads that will only generate brand awareness for the weeks your ads are live. 

Promotional merch can also be ordered in bulk and only needs to be designed once. You don’t have to hire someone to redesign it every few months and pour more money into it. That means, your money = saved.

4. Persuade through reciprocity 

American psychologist, Robert Cialdini, famously wrote about the principles of persuasion, in particular, the principle of reciprocity. This principle suggests that human beings will usually feel the need to give back to you after you’ve given them something. Promotional merch hooks into this loop, as when businesses give out free, quality merchandise, customers appreciate this and will want to purchase from that business later on. 

But this isn’t just about convincing people to buy from you––giving out merch will also build your customer loyalty. Customers will take notice when you care for them, and they’re more likely to stay loyal to you and tell others about you. Because come on, who doesn’t want to stick with the business that’s giving out some sweet merch on the regular?

We know promotional merch works for these reasons––we see it every day when new clients come on board or returning clients come back for more. Merch is cost effective, provides long term exposure and builds customer loyalty. If you’re not investing in quality merch, you’re missing out in a big way.

Ready to get started on your own merch? Let’s chat!