Have any of you guys had success with giving away promotional items to your customers (e.g. coffee cups, nalgene bottles)? I went to a small college that has had huge success with creative t-shirts and nalgene bottles they give away. I was thinking of doing something like this with our logo on it that customers will drag around with them and advertise for me. Maybe some knockoff nalgene bottles or stainless coffee mugs or something.
That could be a good Idea.
I mean, Chris and Alex are doing what Iām talking about with their WCR shirts and Slayer equipment. That stuff works with window cleaners. Iām trying to think of what works best with my customers.
Rob,
I like the idea of giving out ball point pens because they tend to circulate. The nicer the better. My insurance guy gave me a nice ball point pen. I love it. Also most of my customerās are wealthy and I canāt see them sporting a window washer T shirt or travel mug. A pen has a lower profile and would be OK in
my opinion.
This is not good for advertising, it is more for brand
awareness with your customer.
If any of you feel a pen with some teeny tiny writing
that gets left at a bank will lead to some workā¦
WAKE UP!
Unlike WCR our customers do not feel like they are a
part of a club (like we do on this forum).
Which one of you whereās an All County Window Cleaning
shirt? 
Pens suck, I have a 100 in a drawer, how about you? Most
like pens because they can get a million of them for nothing.
I would do coffee cups or something that my client may
see over and over. That mixed with my consistent
communication helps me to maintain a strong relationship.
I think we take our customers for granted by thinking we
have them for life. We do not and I have taken enough
of them away from my competition over the years to prove
it.
So I am all for awareness items, but this will not lead to
more sales.
1 Like
I gave out some pocket planners with the company name, web site and phone number on them. For the most part the customers were really pleased and appreciated the gesture, and I see quite a few of them being used on a regular basis.
Hey, I do, from time to time. Haha
But, I totally get your point.
Fancy meeting you hereā¦
Thanks for your expert opinionā¦ that is wrong and biased.
Hopefully Chris or Alex will boot you for spamming us
My friend Lou told me about a idea he had. What if you did promotional coffee cups and handed them out filled with coffee at the exit of a high end neighborhood. Say at 7. -9 am when folks where leaving for work. I thought it was a pretty neat idea.
1 Like
Not bad. I would target a local event where lots of people are walking around.
The important thing is to HAND THEM SOME DOCUMENT they can take with. A
cup is a cup, not an attention grabbing offer. We will also be giving these to people
not in a buying state, so we need to help them along.
Give them something they can look over later about your service
I have had dozens of logo cups and I truly only remember the one I got from
my bank. I donāt read cups after I buy them, I drink from them. I have NEVER
spent money with a company on any of the cups.
Lots of cups filled with coffee will not be cheap.
Donāt do anything that does not have an immediate return. IMHO
I deal with many first nations contracts. Give aways are a necessity. As we are expected to Honour their traditions, and show respect to their elders and chiefs
the use of Logo Pens, Mugs, pads and small items. are acceptable.
Well said.
Fridge magnets by a long way.
Think about how many times you open your own fridge.
You say āive got a fridge magnet, so my numberās easy to find. I will just pop it on for youā. Stick it on top of a note already on the fridge.
Cups stay in cupboards, pens live in drawers, that promo tshirt ends up covered in paint!
My two cents anyways 
1 Like
A friend of mine with a successful paper shredding business swears by fridge magnets; he uses them instead of business cards. I think people are much less likely to throw a fridge magnet in the trash than a business card, so it makes sense. I always include one in the thank-you card i send to my customers.
I will add, however, that i give away a pen as a thank-you with every estimate i do. Whether or not it accomplishes much is up for debate, but i have definitely been surprised at how excited and appreciative people are when i give it to them. I use it to clip a business card to the estimate sheet and the whole package does look very nice and professional.
2 Likes
If you do pens, donāt go cheap. A really nice pen is more likely to be held on to. For another company I work for, we bought some laser-engraved push-button pens that write like a dream. People were wanting one every turn.
1 Like
