Commercial feature

Corporate gifts and promotional products are everywhere.  From the collection of pens we keep in pots to the umbrellas we huddle beneath when caught in a shower, the chances are we all use at least one piece of promotional merchandise on a fairly regular basis.  However, these gifts aren’t just a way for companies to help out their clients; they also serve a range of other purposes.

Although primarily seen as a form of advertising, there are actually manifold reasons companies make use of corporate gifts.  Not least of these is the brand loyalty they advertise and support, the importance of which cannot be overstated in today’s market.  The ongoing boom in online retails has meant that, where companies used to have a handful of competitors, even small businesses are now faced with thousands.  Corporate gifts aren’t just a way of reminding clients that you exist, they also encourage them to return instead of seeking out alternatives, which they could do very easily.  At the end of the day, the success or failure of any business comes down to its ability not only to attract new clients, but to maintain the loyalty of established clients as well.  A well considered and cleverly timed corporate gift not only advertises your company, but helps establish a feeling of mutual and ongoing commitment between your company and your clients.

When it comes to gaining new clients, corporate gifts have other uses.  As mentioned before, there is a huge amount of competition within every market and a company has to do whatever they can to stand out against their competitors.  Hence, when attempting to catch the attention of new clients, the use of unique, exciting or genuinely useful promotional gifts will serve to attract far more interest than a mundane advertising slogan or poster.  When faced with multiple companies that seem to offer the same services, clients need an incentive to choose one over the others.  As unlikely a deal-breaker as it might have seemed to start with, the offer of a free gift helps a potential client make a choice between identical-looking companies.  This is especially true in younger target audiences, to whom the offer of a free mp3 player can often outweigh any legitimate reason to choose an alternative company!

Of course, corporate gifts aren’t just useful for attracting clients and maintaining their loyalty through tokens of appreciation; they can also be used to easily create and maintain your company image.  Distributing corporate gifts and promotional merchandise imprinted with your name, logo and company message serves to enhance the presence of your company and make people aware of who you are and what you do, without you having to raise a finger.  Few people enjoy using a service they have never heard of; the more familiar people become with your company through promotion, the more established they will assume you are and the more comfortable they will feel with using your services.  Furthermore, by associating your company with certain types of corporate gifts, you can create an image and identity to which potential clients will relate your services.  Eco-friendly gifts will suggest your company cares about the environment, expensive-looking gifts may suggest you offer exclusive services for wealthy clients and practical gifts may suggest your company is there to help and support their customers.  Depending on the image you wish to project or the message you want to convey, different corporate gifts will serve different purposes, but all will help promote your company.