Corporate Gifts: How Much is Too Much?
We all want to share the Holiday Spirit, and promote our business at the same time. But how much is too much? For many small businesses the idea of searching for the right promotional products or corporate gifts is torture. Let’s be honest, most people searching for corporate gifts want to accomplish the following:
Gratitude – Thank you for your business. We appreciate you and look forward to working together in the New Year.
Remember Me! – We know your office will be flooded with “stuff” from many different companies, but I want you to remember me! Perhaps this gift will serve as a good reminder for you to call me in the New Year.
Budget – We have a budget for promotional products and we want to make sure that the items purchased accomplish our first two goals without breaking the bank.
What if I wanted to send my clients a nice Holiday Ornament. Sounds like a great idea. I have 100 people who would love this gift. Let’s get started.
With most promotional product companies, you request a quote for the Ornament. How much are they? $4.50. OK sounds reasonable. It’s under the $5.00 norm for corporate gifts. You’re then told there is a $50 set up fee. Alright, it's still in the budget, only $5.00, I can live with that. But wait, there’s more, your art isn't "vector" so you're charged an art fee of $75. So now you’re spending $575 for 100 Ornaments.
It is for this reason, we launched Imagine That Promo. As a consultant with more than 20 years of marketing experience, I shared our client’s frustration with traditional promotional product companies. We asked the questions, why do we have to pay all these ridiculous Set Up Fees and charges? We couldn’t think of a logical explanation so we created Imagine That Promo to supply our clients with great custom products with NO SET UP FEES. Imagine That!
In our research we discovered a little trick that most promotional products companies used in order to entice orders. They post attractive per unit prices for items and then add Set Up Fees to make up the difference. These fees normally range from $50 to $250 per order. Imagine That Promo has no hidden fees. When you place an order for an item, you get the price quoted. The only additional fees are shipping and tax. We believe that’s the right way to conduct business.
If you don't have Set Up Fees, then how do you make money?
Up Front Pricing and Repeat business. We believe that when a client is given a choice of paying a little bit more per unit and getting exactly what they want versus being stuck with hundreds of products they don’t need, our clients will be willing to pay more per unit. If not, we’re happy to allow our clients to order additional product to get deeper discounts. Either way, we believe in giving our clients honest quotes with no hidden fees. Bottom line, we believe that when the customer gets what they want and they don’t feel “stuck” with promotional products they don’t need, they will order additional items for the next event.
At the end of the day, we believe when our clients feel good about their purchase they will buy more and tell their friends. Please share our story and tell your friends. For more information on Imagine That Promo visit www.imaginethatpromo.com.
