9 Best Promotional Products for Home Builders and Remodelers

Promotional products are a popular choice for a low-cost, fun and easy part of custom home builder or remodeler's marketing strategy. And because they are likely to be used more than once, they can be great for building your brand and developing customer loyalty.

However, while it’s true that these little products can have a big impact, they’re not all created equal.  So if you’re considering this tactic, we’ve got a list of some of the best choices:

1. Custom-printed calendars or planners. These are particularly effective if they incorporate useful information, like household cleaning tips, conversion charts, DIY information or other kinds of useful information. I’ve personally kept planners for years after they were current, just to hang on to the useful information!
   
   
2. Custom key rings. They’re another useful item people always need and tend to use for a long time.
   
   
3. Mini tape measures with your branding on them. You’d be surprised at how many households don’t have a tape measure at all. And guess whose logo your prospects are looking at every time they measure?
   
   
4. Ball caps and tote bags. Of all the fabric items a company might use as promotional products, these are the best choices; they’re relatively cheap and they are always outside and visible, whereas t-shirts and other items of clothing might be hidden away under a sweater or jacket.
   
   
5. Stress balls. If you’re selling high-end homes to tense executives, a stress ball in the shape of a hard hat is a great promotional item!
   
   
6. A printed resource. Why not go all out and publish a short, free guide to your city or town, in paperback or e-book format (or both)? These tend to get a lot of use, and with your branding on each page, you’ll be front and center in your prospects’ minds relatively often.
   
   
7. Sunshades or umbrellas. If you’re based near the ocean, these are a great idea as marketing materials. Your brand name will be all over when the weather is nice and the beach is packed with prospective customers.
   
   
8. Another fun idea for summer is to create something for kids in your city or town. Inflatable balls or branded kites will get plenty of use when the weather is nice, and that means they’ll be seen by lots of people.

Once you have decided on the perfect marketing products for your marketing strategy, the next step is to get even more use out of them.

• Use social media marketing to give away your promotional items. Tell prospects where you will be on a particular date and time, and invite them to stop by to collect your item.
• If you’re giving away large items, try running a social media contest to decide who gets the “prize.”
• If you’re giving away a guide (or for any other desirable product) you can have visitors to your website opt into your email list and provide their address for delivery. This way, you can kill two birds with one stone: you collect their data and get your sales team in front of prospective customers when they deliver the items.

Free stuff can go a long way toward building brand visibility. Try to incorporate both into your overall strategy.