Promotional products are used by nearly every business as giveaways or incentives. If you’ve ever been tasked with ordering them, you are aware that the buying process can be challenging. A divided supplier landscape forces you to choose between online companies and brick-and-mortars. The online companies feature low unit prices offset by inflated shipping charges, minimal customer service and no accountability. The higher priced brick-and-mortars offer outdated “idea catalogs” and cumbersome ordering processes. But don’t stress out… this article offers insight you can use the next time you’re researching and ordering promotional products.
Tips for Your Promotional Products
Don’t leave yourself at the mercy of suppliers. Here are some tips to help you save money on your promotional products without sacrificing quality or customer service:
- Research Sources That Offer Many Price Point Options – Meet any budget by utilizing a source that features various comparable options.
- Look for a Supplier That Price-Matches – You, the customer, wins with a supplier that meets or beats the supplied pricing of another source.
- Vet Suppliers – Only do business with suppliers that consistently meet in-hands dates and quality expectations. Look for reviews or business ratings online.
- Get Consulting to Find the Perfect Item – If you can’t think of the perfect promo for your client or event, seek out a supplier that will take your recipient’s demographic and your desired price point and put together a list of ideas and options that will leave a lasting impression.
- Shop the Online Stores – With millions of promotional products out there, you can cut through the clutter by searching online stores by keyword and price point or by popular categories and items.
- Utilize Overseas Sourcing When Available – For best pricing on high-volume orders, suppliers with alliances in Asia and Europe will cut out the middlemen and layers of markup.
- Buy in Bulk & Warehouse – Lower your costs and on-hand inventory by purchasing in bulk and storing additional inventory in a warehouse.
Promotional Product Options
The options are nearly endless when it comes to promotional products. Here is a list of some of the most popular items:
- Apparel
- Automotive Accessories
- Awards
- Awareness Items
- Badges & Lanyards
- Bags
- Calendars
- Candy & Snacks
- Clocks
- Computer Accessories & Electronics
- Desk Items
- Eco-Friendly Products
- Executive Gifts
- Food & Beverage
- Fun & Games
- Golf Items
- Healthcare Items
- Key Tags & Carabiners
- Home Goods
- “Made in USA” Products
- Mugs & Drinkware
- Pens
- Pet Products
- Safety, Service & Security Items
- Signs
- Sports & Outdoors Products
- Stress Balls
- Sunglasses
- Tools & Hardware
- Travel Items
- Union-Made Items
- Watches
Need Help with Your Promotional Products?
Have you weighed the pros and cons of online companies vs. brick-and-mortars and remained unsure about the best way to handle your promotional product purchases? We at Adventure have created a best-of-both-worlds approach that combines the freedom of online research with the accountability and customer service of brick-and-mortars. We then take it a step further by adding a multitude of value-added solutions that provide a better way to buy.
To learn more, check out our promo product showroom or contact us. You can also read Top 47 Tradeshow Giveaways.
