Alan Gayle is a sales and marketing consultant specialising in the construction industry. In this column he offers advice on how to make an impact in the market. This time he looks at customer giveaways.
As someone who studies the world of marketing from the perspective of the construction industry, I often wonder why companies spend their hard earned profit on branded customer giveaways – things like pens, mugs and umbrellas with your company name and logo on them.
No doubt for some businesses they form a valid part of the marketing mix. If your customers are private consumers or you’re launching a new product and you want to raise brand awareness they can serve a valuable purpose. Providing you have the budget for it.
Perhaps even in the construction industry some companies could benefit from them. Although in this digital age it would be quite far down on my list of things to spend my marketing budget on. I can see that a branded paper notepad block or USB pen might help to keep a local plumber or carpenter – or a stonemason come to that – in the forefront of a private customer’s mind but would it really help you to win business in the contracting world? Certainly repeat business is the key to increased profitability but is this really the best way to remind your customers who you are and what you do?
Stone suppliers from Asia seem to really like giveaways.
At the Natural Stone Show in ExCeL London a couple of months ago I saw quite a few giveaways on various stands. But who actually uses them? Is the mug or pen you have given away actually used by the buyer or director you want to talk to, or is it in the driver’s cab or the yardman’s kitchen? For me, that’s the biggest problem. These gifts are rarely used by the decision-makers you really want to influence.
I think it makes a bit more sense for stone producers and suppliers when your customers are often small businesses and you want to spread the word and a bit of goodwill within a particular company. But for subcontractors dealing with quantity surveyors and project managers, who are effectively corporate buyers, what’s the point?
It’s also about knowing your target market.
If you supply stone masons or tilers, perhaps a good quality tape measure or scale rule would be more benefit to you and your customer than a baseball cap or another mouse mat.
I’ve seen roughly cut 100mm square stone samples used as coasters by architects many times. I use three or four in my own office. What about some hexagonal or circular, high quality, exotic marble or onyx coasters for an architect’s office? You could get your company name etched on to them. They would probably outlive pens.
Of course, I’m not saying that giving branded gifts to your customers will never work – you might have success stories from you own experience. But they all cost money from your bottom line, so as with all things marketing, you need to know specifically what you want them to achieve and always be aware of the return on your investment.
Next month we will take a look at the fast-growing and much-hyped area of online marketing.