The Holiday Season is right around the corner. All over the country, people are dusting off their boxes of decorations, digging those Elvis CDs out of their collection, and preparing for the biggest shopping season of the year. For retail businesses, the entire year’s success or failure may depend on the next few months. Positioning your business to capitalize on the Holiday spending boom is essential in a highly competitive marketplace.
But wait, you might be thinking. Aren’t the Holidays supposed to be about togetherness and community? Isn’t it better to give than to receive? Sure, we’re all in business to make a living, but isn’t this time of year about more than just making money?
Believe it or not, the generosity that makes the Holiday season so special can also be a boon to your business during the year’s busiest shopping season. Through promotional giveaways, your company can fully embrace the Holiday spirit and spread good cheer all around while also attracting new customers and driving profitability.
Let’s face it, everyone loves getting something for free. By giving something away to your valued customers, you are associating your brand with a positive experience in their mind and creating valuable brand equity that it’s hard to put a price tag on. Whenever a customer hears your company’s name, they will think of the free gift they got. That sort of positive brand association is extremely difficult to come by and even harder to erode.
Promotional giveaways are also one of the most effective ways to draw in new customers and expand your customer base. Everyone has heard of the old bait and switch, where you advertise one product at an extremely low price in hopes of getting customers in the door to purchase other items. Why not just offer a free gift instead? The cost of giving away a small item is inconsequential compared to the potential profit from attracting a new demographic to your business.
Most importantly, promotional giveaways are a surefire way to position your business ahead of the competition. If a consumer is given a choice between two options, and one comes with a free gift, that is not a tough decision to make. The marketplace is extremely crowded, and the token gesture of a free giveaway helps your business differentiate itself.
Some of the most successful businesses in the world have been employing this tactic for years. Look at the sales increase McDonald’s enjoys every time they introduce their Monopoly game. Popular clothing line Anthropologie has created a cottage industry in collecting the small, hand-crafted gift card holders they use every Holiday season. Cosmetics companies have long driven sales by offering free gifts with purchase.
By embracing the Holiday spirit, you can make your customers happy, increase your profitability, and make the world a better place for everyone. Customers love promotional giveaways and businesses love new customers, so it’s a match made in Heaven. This year, why not try spreading a little goodwill? You might just find your halls decked with a lot of new customers.