Promotional products can be a great way to increase awareness of your brand, while offering prospective customers items that they can use in their daily lives. Not only are most promotional products inexpensive, they also provide a large degree of customizability and design possibilities.

But just as there’s a lot of room to get promotional marketing right, if you’re not careful about the execution you could do more damage to your brand than good.

Here are our top six mistakes to watch out for when using promotional items in your marketing initiatives:

1. There’s No Real Objective

Every marketing initiative should have clearly defined goals and objectives so that you can gauge its success and quantify exactly how effective it has been. Make sure that your goals are measurable and realistic, such as a certain amount of new traffic to your website or an increase in marketing qualified leads.

2. You Don’t Have A Distribution Plan

Make sure you’ve carefully planned out how you’re going to distribute your promotional items. There’s no point ordering a thousand branded t-shirts if you don’t know who you’re going to give them to or when. See if there are any trade fairs you can book a stall, or consider handing out promotional gift baskets at local events.

3. Items Don’t Convey Key Information

It’s absolutely essential that you tailor any information included on a promotional item to the specifications of that item. The last thing you want is for potential customers to love their stylish new promotional keyring, but have no idea how to actually get in touch with the company that gave it to them. Of course, the information you provide should align with your previously defined goals and objectives. That said, it’s usually a good idea to give them everything they might need to take your professional relationship to the next level: website, phone number, QR code, etc.

4. You've Left Everything To The Last Minute

Planning your time accordingly and ordering your promotional items at least a good few months before you need them is a great way to minimize any risks along the way. No one wants the stress of having to find a new distributor or printing company the day before a big event—with sufficient planning, you can practically guarantee smooth sailing.

5. Cheap Goods Are, Well, Cheap

While it’s important to be cost-conscious and save money where possible, always know that you get what you pay for. If you decide to skimp and go with the cheapest option available, don’t be surprised when your pens don’t work and your t-shirts fade. Your promotional items should give a positive impression of your brand—choosing quality will pay off in the long run.

6. They Don’t Fit Your Brand Or Target Market

Last but not least, always make sure that any item with your company logo and branding is aligned in some way with your product or service offering, as well as the profession of your target market. While it can be great to mix things up now and then, it’s probably not the best idea to give complementary cleaning materials to CEOs and business leaders—just as you might want to avoid giving yoga mats to blue-collar workers. Think about how you can add value to their lives in a way that resonates with their existing lifestyle and sensibilities.

If you would like more information on using branded apparel and promotional items in your brand awareness strategy, download our new online company store ebook. Otherwise, feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions about how best to fulfil your marketing needs.