Businesses that offer promotional giveaways often benefit in more ways than meet the eye. There is value in promotional items that goes well beyond the initial gift. These are just five of the benefits your business might experience when giving away promotional items.

1. Inspires Loyalty by Rewarding Regular Customers With Gifts

While many businesses focus so much time and effort reaching out to new markets, which is important of course, they often lose sight of the regular customers that are, truly, their bread and butter. Promotional gifts often cost very little, but allow you to show your regular customers just how important they are to your business and how much you appreciate them. It instills loyalty in a way that all the businesses focusing on special prices for “new customers only” will never manage to do. See 10 best custom printed gift bags for any business.

If you’re in competition with those types of businesses, it will give you a huge edge over your competitors who do not think to reward long-term loyalty from their customers. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider giving promotional items to potential new customers in an effort to earn their business. It simply means you should also remember to reward those who have been doing business with you in an effort to keep their business. After all, it is much more cost-effective to keep a customer than to replace one.

2. Builds Brand Recognition by Showing Your Logo

Essentially, promotional giveaways provide your business with free advertisement every time customers use the items you gave them. But, when customers use the items bearing your logo, whether they are tee-shirts, windbreakers, keychains, or reusable grocery bags bulk, they are effectively advertising your business. Time and time again without even fully realizing that’s what they are doing.

More importantly, though, they are helping to build your brand for you. This is especially important for new businesses attempting to gain recognition in the community.  Cities work a lot like trade shows and conventions. People walk around with a lot of businesses to consider for their needs, much like there are many booths at trade shows – all competing for the same business.

Tradeshows and conventions offer significant opportunities to build your brand. It isn’t uncommon for attendees to see an interesting promotional item, like an attractive reusable jute market tote bag, and ask the person carrying the bag which booth has that beautiful bag. Cities work the same way as trade shows. Just on a larger scale. The more people carry your promotional items, the more people will gravitate toward your business hoping to get one of their own or to learn more about what your business has to offer them.

Don’t forget to give these to your employees, too. They are often your best advertisers. Employees who are engaged with your business and are seeking greater job security are happy to promote your business.

3. Offers Increased Sales and Lead Generation

Whether you’ve been in business for quite a while or you’re just getting started in the world of business, promotional items can be instrumental tools for generating leads and increasing sales. But only if you choose the right promotional items to make a big difference. In other words, some promotional items are better than others for generating leads.

For instance, thumb drives and key chains can be great gadgets and gifts. Unfortunately, they aren’t very visible. At least not to other people. Only to the person who uses it. Water bottles with your logo though, are much more visible, but not nearly as visible as reusable bags and totes that are routinely seen by the person who uses the item as well as anyone who comes in contact with that person. It generates leads for people who have never even heard of your business before seeing someone carrying around your bag. Huge difference.

Wearables, like tee-shirts, polo shirts, vests, hats, visors, etc. are also highly advantageous promotional gifts if you’re hoping to generate leads for your business. These can give, and give, and give because people tend to pass them along or donate them when they no longer want to wear them, providing a long shelf-life for these types of items.

4. Helps Your Business Stand Out in Crowds

High-quality promotional items, like reusable wine bags and totes or attractive customized tradeshow bags can really help your business stand out in a crowd of ordinary tee-shirts, flashy lanyards, and cheap gadgets. Whether you’re working a booth at a local flea market, your community farmer’s market, or attending at a major trade show where you’re competing with hundreds or even thousands of other booths for attention in the crowd, giving out the right promotional items will have attendees seeking your booth out to learn more about your products and how they can get their hands on one of your gorgeous promotional items.

Of course, you always want to work to ensure that your booth is in a visible location so that people can find you to begin with. Then the word of mouth will often do the rest. Also, don’t forget to keep your promotional items on you, wearing or using them, so that others can see you walking around the crowd sporting your highly prized items so they can come find you, too. Don’t carry extras, though. You want them to visit your booth.

5. Makes Your Business Memorable

The more people see your logo, the more memorable your business becomes to them. The more familiar it is, the more they are likely to automatically use your business when the need arises. That’s good for your business. With the right promotional items, it works not only for the person who receives the item, but the world at large. The real beauty, though, is that with the person you gave the item to, your business will be memorable for a long time, up to two years, making promotional giveaways highly cost-effective marketing tools, especially when compared to other more passive methods of advertising your business.

People like receiving promotional items from businesses. It makes them feel special and important to your business. They want to do business with people that appreciate them, which means promotional items are major winners for businesses of all shapes and sizes.