As your business grows and the quality of your marketing becomes increasingly important to your continued expansion, you will inevitably ask yourself how best to organize your marketing functions. Given that marketing spend is often the second largest variable expense after suppliers, the importance of this question cannot be overestimated. When buying a promotional gift, the first thing to consider is what your business’s major challenge is. Are you distinguishing yourself from the competition? Extending your brand into other markets? Increasing customers’ lifetime value? Lowering the cost of customer acquisition?

What should you look for when choosing a company to supply your corporate gifts? There are many of the same considerations as when we choose any company to supply an organization with goods and services. But here are a few tips to help you make the right decision!

Contact them before your order. New business is the lifeblood of any company, and if the speed of response is poor, imagine what it will be like once you’ve placed your order. Check out the client list and testimonials – check the website for testimonials; if there aren’t any it doesn’t mean you won’t get good service, but if they are there it should give you a degree of confidence. Find out their track record. How much experience in supplying promotional products and business gifts do they have?

Is stock held on site? If not it could mean problems down the line. What about branding – is it done on site or subcontracted? Again sub-contracting such an integral part of the service means the company is not in total control. Look into accreditation and determine if they have received any prominent awards. Remember, when you use gifts to communicate with your customers your brand reputation is on the line. So choose the right vendor to make sure your promotion runs smoothly, on time, and within budget.