How to Use Swag Within Your Sales Cycle
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How to Use Swag Within Your Sales Cycle
Sure, everyone loves receiving swag from a company, but in most cases, it's quickly forgotten or makes its way to the bottom of a wardrobe. At the end of the day, sales is much more than mindlessly sending socks to a list of leads - it's about creating relationships with people.
This is why, in many cases, the best performing swag is the result of a relevant, purposeful, and complimenting message. While there's hardly any science behind what item performs better than another, there are studies that take a different angle, and still point to why swag can be effective.
The Science Behind Swag
The underlying reason why many have had success sending swag has more to do with physicality...any kind of corporate "swag" is a tactile object.
Studies have compared physical advertisements to digital ones and found that physical ads involve deeper emotional processing, leading to greater brand recall and association.
And this makes sense too: how many marketing emails do you end up remembering? Probably none!
Machines that measure brain activity such fMRIs show that physical objects induce much more thought, because of the fact we can actually feel it. They can engage multiple senses as well. The digital world has made our vision and hearing numb due to the THOUSANDS of advertisements we've seen.
Engaging with prospects, leads, and customers in the physical world with swag will position your brand top-of-mind, far ahead of competitors you're selling against.
So, how exactly are others utilizing swag in their sales cycle? We are here to tell you :)
Send a Small Keepsake to Prospects to Position Your Brand Top of Mind
The generic top of funnel approach for outbound sales goes something like this: source contacts based on a criteria they fill, enroll them in your sequences, and hope that they become a lead.
The reality is that EVERYONE is doing this. Whether it's sending canned sales pitches to certain roles on LinkedIn, or plug-and-chug email templates...the top of the funnel at most organizations could use an extreme makeover.
Engaging offline at this point in the sales cycle might seem like a waste of time and money...but you know your cost per lead better than we do. If it's over the $50 mark (like many B2B companies) there is certainly room for improvement.
Even if it's doing something as small as sending a sticker, the chances of that prospect remembering your brand drastically increases...far more so than even the best emails.
If you have time to vet your prospect list to personalize messages, then you have time to see which ones would respond best to small keepsakes. Example: Send an invitation to accept a pair of branded socks with the subject line, "Knock Your Socks Off" and the preview text, "I knew this offer would knock your socks off, so I thought I'd replace them."
It's all about doing things that people aren't used to seeing when being sold to. This concept of pattern interrupt is a highly effective tactic and applicable to any step in the sales funnel.
🔥 See how Molis Coaching uses swag to win at member engagement
Self-Care Item in the Middle of the Funnel
Once your sales organization generates their leads, it's a common practice to start checking boxes off the BANT list (budget, authority, need, timeline).
These boxes are marked off through a variety of channels, mostly through emails and phone calls. Yet when it comes to authority and need, there can be a number of stakeholders that need to be reached, or alternative solutions they are already looking into.
This is where sending a branded self-care item to compliment your sequence can cut through the competitive clutter. For example, send a branded coffee mug to each identified stakeholder in the decision asking them to discuss your solution over a mug of joe (virtual or not).
Position your messaging and swag choice to something which reflects you want to make their day better. Whether it's an example similar to the coffee mug, or telling them to stay hydrated with a branded water bottle in a hot climate, the creative options are endless.
Leveraging Branded or Collegiate Bottles and Travel Tumblers After Meetings
When a potential customer takes valuable time out of their day to meet, they usually aren't expecting any reciprocating gesture other than the occasional "Thank you, talk soon".
Especially when the deal might be over five figures, one of the best ways to ensure your new customer experiences a warm welcome to your family is by sending a branded bottle or tumbler.
To compliment it, send a message along the lines of "I'd like for you to enjoy a drink to the future of our relationship". A simple gesture like this can lay the foundation for an amazing customer experience and retention of their account.
Moreso, you include collegiate emblems for an every more personalized touch, assuming you know the college they attended.
Send a Swag Pack Congratulating a Landmark
Once your customer has been around for a year, or it's time to renew their subscription, what better way to congratulate them by sending a swag pack?
Especially for accounts whose usage has dwindled towards the end of their subscription, using this strategy along with a kind message nudging a renewal can drastically increase retention.
A survey of B2B companies in Adobe's 2020 Digital Trends Report disclosed that customer experience was the most exciting business opportunity of 2020.
Using a swag pack to keep your brand top of mind is a great way to take advantage of this and increase inside sales. Increasing customer retention rates by 5% can lead to a 25-95% profit increase.
How are you standing out to keep customers around?
Takeaways
John Ruhlin's Giftology couldn't describe it better: it's not so much what you give but rather the relationship you build through the generosity you show.
Not to mention, giving useful items that have your brand's name on them will keep you far ahead of competitors, granted the relationship you build is stronger as well.
Swag management and offline engagement platforms now make it easier than ever before to manage this channel of communication as well.
Swag can be a powerful tool leveraged throughout the sales cycle, but shouldn't be relied on entirely. Use it rather to compliment your existing strategy, which should focus on establishing trust more than anything.
Value is providing more than what someone pays you.
Guest post written by Rich Pusateri from Postal.io
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