How to design a successful promotional strategy...

Like any marketing strategy, using custom items as a promotional giveaway will not always guarantee success to your campaign. All marketing strategies, from the simple distribution of promotional items to a nationwide tri-media campaign, are just tools that can help you reach your goals. Their overall effectiveness is largely dependant on how these ‘tools” are in relation to your target objectives.

Again, like any marketing strategy, there is no exact formula that you can follow in order to be successful. Every marketing guru will have his or her own “proven” approach in maximizing the ROI of your marketing budget, but in truth, there is no clear and exact path that will be applicable to all. The reason for this is that each industry and each company in that industry will require a different set of strategies to fit their own strengths, culture, and values. Though, what is possible is to have a set of strategies that can serve as a skeletal framework for your own customized approach. This set of strategies, for certain, will not cover all the aspects that can help you achieve a successful marketing campaign. But what these strategies can only do is to provide you the guidelines that you should expand on to fit your own business.

And as for the promotional product strategy, below is the framework that your program should have:

1)     Do an extensive research on your target market. It's never about you, and it's always about them. Doing a thorough market research is something that should be present not just in the promotional items strategy, but in ALL marketing strategy. This step is the very foundation of your campaign, and failing to do this effectively will always lead to disastrous results.

2)     Evaluate and pick the best event where you can meet your target market. After your thorough market research, you should already have enough info to develop a segment for your target market based on their geographic, demographic, and psychographic classifications. And from this target segment, you should then find and utilize the best event that your segment is most likely be attending or joining.

3)     Choose and design the perfect promotional items to fit your market, event, and brand. Again, based on the segment you are targeting, you should then choose the appropriate promotional product that your target market will appreciate. Design also plays a big factor in the success of your campaign. Examples of design issues to focus on are saliency of logo to t-shirt colors and the clarity of message on printed items.

4)     Plan a distribution program for your promotional items during the event which should answer the following questions: 1) How can your target market find or get attracted to your location (booth) during the event? 2) How can you effectively distribute your corporate giveaway? 3)How can you deliver your message (sales pitch) or gather information from your target market (contact details) during the distribution process?

5)     Create a system to organize all gathered info. This step is often overlooked since most believe that the success of the promotional item campaign is only measured by the success of the event itself. But in truth, this step will separate the weak from the strong marketing strategy. A solid system in organizing your gathered info will often determine the ROI of your efforts.

6)      Design a lead follow-up program from the gathered information. In other words, call and follow-up on your gathered leads.

In response to Nichole's Post

What are some important ways non-profit companies should do to receive more money for marketing?

            There are many different way to raise money for you company I have listed a few ideas below:

      Fundraisers

o   How organization raises money is limitless. You can do everything from sending out letters requesting donations and telling people about your cause to holding a car wash on a hot summer afternoon. When looking at fundraisers consider the demographic and community you will be targeting. If you are approaching a community that has a strong school presence, you dont want to have competing fundraisers of cookie dough, gift wrap or chocolates. Find a way to make your fundraisers stand out from what the “normal” things are.

o   Create an annual event such as a dance or auction that invites people in for an evening wrapping station to ease the stress of people who cant get it all done for the holidays. Providing a service or entertaining donors always contributes to success.

       Be part of the community

o   A successful non-profit organization cannot isolate itself within the community. You can’t be threatened by the competing dollars, so network with other organization leaders, community leaders and the public at large. In doing so, you understand what is working for others and what isn’t. You also develop relationships with people who may be able to provide you a larger platform or endorse your endeavors. Successful leaders of non-profit organizations understand that their role is as much political as it is philanthropic and that you need to maintain this balance of finesse to help your organization succeed.

      Team up

o   While everyone is looking for the donation dollars, there are many symbiotic relationships that can exist between non-profit organizations. School groups can team up with youth sports teams or civic service groups. A clinic that provides education and birth control means for teenagers can create a partnership with AIDS awareness groups. Parent clubs and organizations can work with local churches or autism groups, finding ways to fill more than one need. When you are able to work together, you are able to combine resources to make larger events that attract more people, get more publicity and press, and earn more for everyone.

Would you rather open a non-profit organization or a profittied organization? Why are some of the positives and negatives of each organization?