Consumerist Waste or Thoughtful Merch, What is your promotion really saying?

As the saying goes, everyone loves freebies......but what does this really mean and is this kind of customer you want to attract with your promotional merchanise giveaways?

The trend of sustainability is becoming a justification for continued wasteful spending. If the freebies you are giving out are sustainable in some way, yet still thrown out in the trash, does this really do anything to shift the landscape of cultural materialism run rampant?

As someone who helps businesses with promotional merchandise, you might think that is a contradictory statement for a seasoned sales consultant to make, but hear me out....

If we're being honest here, it's easy to see that trends and shiny object syndrome often takes over the decision making process and everyone wants the latest "swag" or the coolest new "tech" item or the "something sustaintable" so that it looks like on the surface you are being mindful to your customer.

How is this really serving your customer base? Just because a piece of merch has brand recognition doesn't mean it is touching someone in a meaningful and useful way.

Consumers care about values more than ever, they don't want to support companies that aren't aligned with their core values, even if the business supports a charity they like, has great marketing, or promotes sustainable actions.

What if you used promotional products to really get to know your customers, not just for a photo opportunity to post on social media, not just to increase sales or attendance at an event, not just for ROI and brand impressions, not just something to meet the budget... what if?

When you bring the creative and imaginative process into the realm of business decisions and enliven the soul of the why you are doing this and know the end goal, you can turn from marketing propagandist to meaningful magical merch maker, here's a few thoughts on how to do this:

1. If you are brainstorming ideas for promotional merchandise with your consultant, bring a customer (or customer panel) into the discussion. You may think you know your customer but inviting them into the conversation (especially if you are spending millions on a project) can be eye opeing, fun and useful to create the greatest lasting impact. I view myself as an extension of my customer's brand and your customer can do the same for you, after all isn't this all about the people?
2. Slow Down!!! As the world speeds up and everyone rushes around, the way to stand out and honor the real signature of your brand and business message is to not get blinded by the shiny object syndrome. Plan far ahead so that you can explore options and entertain possibilities beyond the original plan for your event and budget. Maybe you're a real estate company headquarters and you originally thought you wanted ideas for the agents top customers that bought homes, but end up creating a campaign inviting everyone to plant flowers and watch them grow together in a beautifucation and relationship deepening nationwide promotion for an entire year? Think bigger, go deeper, slow down.
3. Is the customer base you have now the customer you want? Having a loyal customer base doesn't mean you have connection and longevity. I went to the local tractor store to buy some things to change the oil on my zero-turn lawnmower, he says ma'am we don't have a lot of women coming in here to buy these sort of things. I laughed and we had a nice personal, real, exchange, because I had no idea what I was doing but was determined to learn, which I did. Now anytime I need something relating to lawnmowers, I'm going there. Am I there target customer, definitely not! Am I someone they think about when they give out promotional merch, definitely not! Are they missing the mark, not necessarily, BUT they might be missing an opportunity to teach unexpected community members something they would like to learn and in exchange create new customers. Whether you are a small local businss or a large corporation, the human-to-human point of connection is gold. What if instead of just handing out a promotional item or mailing it there was an opportunity to foster something genuine that builds relationships from the ground up, an invitation for a conversation, a return to handshakes over likes, teamwork instead zoom, depth over artificial intelligence, gratitude over expectations and gifting that creates a lasting experience that lives in memories of those you impacted long after the promotional merch wears out.... what if?

I love helping customers find the perfect promotional items for their events, but this is an invitation to take that to another level, to play in the possibilities, to explore and practice doing things differently, to make merch meaningful, because there is one thing I know for certain, everyone needs more joy and humaneness in life and this is one way to make that happen. We get what we give, what and how are you giving, in business and life?

Buying sustainable products that can decompose is definitely a good choice, but less is sometimes more, useful items are an even better choice and finding new ways to give beyond a freebie that is likely to get tossed....even better. By focusing more on the giving (genuinely) instead of the getting, any promotional campaign or project will be more likely to work out in everyone's favor naturally, it's the law of cause and effect and It's time to level up by bringing the heart into the boardroom.

Whoever your promotional merch sales consultant is, I can assure you building that professional relationship and working together over many years instead of only focusing on price, bids and budget, will give you a better result, be more fun and bring opportunity to truly make a difference. It's not about the sale, it's about all the in between stuff that got you there in true partnership!

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