Every day businesses all over the world dream up ways to reach their target audiences. They consistently deal with the question, "How do we reach our target market?" Once they answer that question, marketing professionals are faced with the question, "What exactly do we communicate to our target market about our products and our company?
"Marketing is a sensitive area of business. It is a perfect blend of the objective and the subjective, the statistical and the creative. Those companies that get too statistical in the marketing process often have great data but no discernable message. Those companies that bypass the marketing research and go straight to the advertising and promotions often communicate to the wrong audience or communicate the wrong message to the right audience.
Promoting Your Products
Promotion is an essential part of doing business and there is an infinite number of ways your company can go to promote itself. Business promotional products are a common and effective tool used by companies of all sizes to build brand awareness and corporate image. Companies used to have a very limited selection of business promotional products to choose from--coffee cups, t-shirts, and pens.
Times have changed and companies have more choices when it comes to business promotional products. Marketing departments have taken a close look at what their clients do, the things their clients use on a daily basis, and have designed promotional products that can be used in all facets of their clients' lives. For instance, golf equipment manufacturers realize many of their clients are mothers and fathers, so they often give away promotional products for babies.
Other businesses in different industries have also found new and interesting ways to build brand awareness and corporate image through business promotional products. I was recently in a bank that was trying to attract younger clients and the employees were giving away hacky-sack balls. Hair salons routinely give away combs and brushes to their clientele.
What is Promotion?
What is promotion as it pertains to business? Simply put, promotion involves the things business professionals use to communicate with their consumers about their products and services. Promotion, if done well, convinces an acceptable percentage of consumers to use certain products and services. It's important to note that everything a business does communicates something about the business.
When I driving along the smaller freeways, I literally see hundreds of billboards telling me to buy hundreds of different things. I see small ads pasted to the sides of taxi cabs. When I come home, I turn on the television and watch hours of 30 second spots telling me that Coca-Cola is better than Pepsi and Advil is better than Tylenol.
How can your company emerge to the top of this sea of consumer information? That isn't an easy question to answer. You have to know your target market like the back of your hand. The more you know about your potential customers, the more ideas your marketing professionals will generate. Promotional products can be a way for your company to contribute to existing and potential customers while delivering a carefully crafted message about your business.
BUSINESS PLANS - CONSULTATION AND DEVELOPMENT
