The motivational words and phrases businesses use to bolster their corporate image can be more effective when printed on promotional products in South Africa. Donating such products is not a local phenomenon but an established marketing strategy that has consistently proved to be a winner worldwide. Furthermore, its strengths extend well beyond producing more sales.
A picture has a far greater impact than the spoken word, especially on consumers. A colourful, eye-catching label seldom fails to attract attention. Hence, companies compete to maximise the impact of their packaging, corporate livery, and visual displays. However, some businesses and organisations take the concept a step further by adding their distinctive branding to various promotional gifts.
What Purpose Do Promotional Products in South Africa Serve?
The short answer to this fairly common but relevant question is “far more than you might first think”. There are many potential benefits to be gained when choosing to leverage the power of branded gifts. The following are just a few:
- Increased Sales:
How often do you think a typical salesperson gives a business card to a prospect, knowing it will be discarded once out of sight? What proportion of those costly company brochures that visitors to trade exhibitions collect are destined for the dustbin? Do you perhaps believe those lost prospects might have reacted differently if the company’s contact details and logo were printed on a ballpoint pen or a desk calendar instead of disposable glossy paper or card? If so, you are correct. Furthermore, dispensing branded gifts like backpacks is a clever psychological tactic as it subconsciously creates a desire to give something in return, like a signature on a purchase order.
- Improved Brand Visibility:
Statistics show that branded items like hoodies and bodywarmers will be valued, retained, and seen repeatedly by their recipients, colleagues, friends, and family members. Even if it’s just an inexpensive stationery item or you are willing to invest a little more in branded winter clothing or backpacks, well-chosen promotional products in South Africa can become company ambassadors, silent salespeople with the potential to pay for themselves over and over again. People often travel on business or visit relatives in other parts of the country. Wherever they go, your brand will frequently go with them, extending your advertising reach well beyond that of a local newspaper. Relatively inexpensive promotional gifts in South Africa often bear more fruit than a costly media advertising campaign.
- Increased Loyalty:
Yes, gifts are an effective means to cultivate client loyalty, but their aim is not always to drive sales. They can be equally effective when deployed within a company or any organisation, not to woo sales but to inspire employee loyalty. Together with transparency, inclusivity, and an occasional word of praise where deserved, this inexpensive reward system can be a winning formula that will help to boost productivity and reduce staff turnover. Something as simple as a branded mug bearing the legend “employee of the month” can be transformative. Also, matching corporate T-shirts could be a great way to help cement interpersonal bonds during a team-building exercise.
- Improved B-BBEE Score:
Demonstrating your company’s support for the community benefits its inhabitants and is also a powerful means to gain their trust and respect. Given the current financial pressures in South Africa, the need for help has seldom been greater, especially among the nation’s previously disadvantaged people. Although winter may seem far away, when it comes, it will bring hardship for some. A gift of branded tracksuits from our winter clothing range could change lives when the cold strikes.
Your company brand can be more than a marketing tool. It could play a dual role, promoting your products while uplifting a community. Soccer has proved to be a great way to deter young people from gang membership, crime, and drug abuse globally. A small investment in branded sportswear and equipment is an act of corporate social responsibility that creates bonds, empowers young people, transforms their future, and grants peace of mind to their parents. Furthermore, it will boost your company’s B-BBEE, which, in turn, could create some lucrative new business opportunities.
Finding Promotional Products in South Africa
With over 35 years of experience and a long list of prestigious clients, XCO Group is an established leader in producing and supplying top-quality promotional products in South Africa. Contact us if you would like to learn more about products like hoodies and bodywarmers and their many potential business benefits.
