Brand loyalty is the holy grail of marketing, it means that you have created such a strong connection with your customers that they will keep coming back. So, how do you create brand loyalty? Well, that is a huge topic, so in this article I am going to drill down and look at a specific technique – promotional products.

I want to look at whether or not promotional products can help build brand loyalty between you and your customers.

Timing Is Everything

There are lots of reasons to use promotional products; for example they are a great way of getting a new brand name out there. However, if you are looking to develop brand loyalty, you need to smart about how you use promotional products. Of course, people love free stuff, but you need to smart about how you go about it.

Giving people free stuff might work for getting you exposure, but it will not give customers the kind of strong feelings towards your brand that generate brand loyalty. However, the right promotional product delivered at the right moment could forge a strong bond between brand and consumer.

Here’s an oversimplified example: giving out a promotional bottle of water on a rainy day probably won’t do much, but on a scorching hot summer day this promotional bottle of water takes on extra significance. The point is, you need to get the timing and the context right.

Quality Over Quantity

Following on from the idea of getting the timing right is the idea of picking the right promotional product. If it is brand loyalty that you are chasing, one high quality, well thought through product is going to do far more for you than a box load of cheap, generic stuff that will inevitably end up in the trash.

The point is that a promotional item that is quality will be something that people hold on to. Which means continual exposure for your brand over a long period of time. Also, a quality item shows your customers that you care, something that will certainly help keep them coming back to you in the future.

A good example of this could be handing out branded sunglasses at a festival or outdoor event (to get an idea of the range of options available click here). They are a perfect fit for the context, and those who left their own sunglasses at home will certainly be thankful. These are the kind of things that people will keep as a memento to remember the fun they had and it has the ability to create an emotional bond with your brand that fosters long-term brand loyalty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think it is clear that promotional products can enhance brand loyalty, but they need to be deployed in the correct manner. The right object at the right moment will demonstrate to customers that you care, that you understand their needs and that you are on their side. If you provide something that a customer holds on to for years, half the battle is already won.

However, the flip side is that dull, unimaginative promo products will do nothing to excite your customers. In fact, they could even have the opposite effect.

The moral of the story is: use promotional products wisely. If you get it right the rewards will far outweigh the cost.