Using promotional items to gain new customers

3/25/2011

During the recession, many businesses transitioned from customer acquisition strategies to customer retention approaches in an effort to reduce costs, as many experts believe it is less expensive to keep existing customers than it is to win over new ones.

With small business owners gaining access to commercial loans and the economy on the rebound, many companies are looking to gain new customers once again. As American Express OPEN forum recently suggested, one way that businesses can do just that is by giving away promotional items.

Thanks to the proliferation of the internet, promotional items don't even have to be physical items any more. For example, entrepreneurs could offer free MP3 downloads, how-to guides or consultations in return for making a purchase. This helps keep costs low, as companies don't have to spend money producing, packing and shipping a physical item.

"To create a product worth giving, you have to invest the initial expense of time, creativity, production and design," asserts the source. "If you're equipped to do all this work yourself, all you invest is the time to create and produce the gift."