17 December, 2021
Warm Up Clients With Custom Mugs
That all important cold sales office call is due and as any good sales person knows, those first few seconds are the most important to have a chance at winning over a prospective customer. Most people when confronted with someone they don’t know who wants to pitch a product, the automatic response is “no”.
So how can you get past this obstacle in a manner that is not a hard sell and will help the client relax. One way is to offer a token gift on introduction and a good one to give is promotional coffee mugs. They have a large branding area and are a functional gift that anyone would use. Unlike a business card which will likely be thrown in the bin as soon as you leave, a printed mug will definitely find its way into their kitchen area. When done right, this can drive product awareness, especially as the mugs will be used over and over again, reinforcing your brand to the client.
It may seem like a risky move to invest in branded mugs as a business introduction, but promotional products in general consistently give better results compared to other types of advertising. Promotional mugs give the recipient something of value which in turn encourages people to do business with your company.
Another aspect to giving something “significant”, is its underlying obligation for the receiver to reciprocate in some way. This could be giving you 10 minutes of their time for you to explain what you company is about, rather than getting a dismissal at the first sentence, or to give you enough time to garner an email address or perhaps time to do a survey. New clients can tend to shut down as soon as they start hearing a sales pitch, but receiving something for free can have a disarming effect and let their guard down.
When you give a promotional gift such as custom printed mugs, you aren’t asking the recipient to spend any money or make a commitment to anything. Clients have almost no reason to turn you down as you have just given them a nice gift, so this in turn gives you the opportunity to make your sales pitch. The other bonus is unlike a business card that gets tucked away and forgotten, the majority of people can recall the branding on a promotional mug and up to 7 in 10 remember what the call to action is. Every time the client makes their next coffee or tea and uses the mug, your brand is visually on display for them.
Mugs can provide you a way to make an introduction and they also act as a reminder long after you have left. Even if the client isn’t initially interested in your products, their circumstances may change later and when they do, they have an instant recall of your company because of the mug.
When branding, just remember to make it crisp and clear. Don’t jam the mug with all sorts of advertising. A company logo, website URL and perhaps a phone number is sufficient, or if you can describe your business in 5 words or less you may want to add this as well.
If you are unsure what type of mug or what design would work best for your business, give us a call or send us an email and we’d be happy to assist.
The Mugs Only Team