In a highly competitive market - which seems to be the case in every market, these days - marketing swag is more of a necessity than a luxury.

Marketing swag is simply another term for promotional products. You use it to promote your brand to potential clients or nurture relationships with existing clients. Similarly, you can use it to build a stronger bond with your employees and vendors - while helping spread brand awareness.

But what exactly makes marketing swag so important? And why do you need to have swag for your own business?

Keep on reading to learn more about why marketing swag is important; how to use swag in your business, and, of course, where you can find the best marketing swag for your company.

What Is Marketing Swag?

Before we talk about why marketing swag is important, let’s define the term first.

Just like we’ve mentioned before, marketing swag is another term for products used to promote a business to clients. Thus, swag items usually sport the brand’s name, logo, slogan, and sometimes all of the above.

The options for marketing swag are endless, but some are more common than others. Common examples of marketing swag include branded office supplies, drinkware, and apparel.

Some companies choose a more unique approach for their marketing swag. Some out-of-the-box swag items that we’ve heard of include mini planters, bag clip sealers, and modular organizer stands, among many others.

Swag boxes or swag packs are also common. What is a swag pack, though? This is a collection of promotional products that may or may not follow a theme. For example, you can give out swag boxes with branded pens, note pads, reusable water bottles, and everything else your clients might like.

Do Companies Really Need Marketing Swag?

Now that you know what marketing swag is, you might be thinking: is it really necessary?

While marketing swag is definitely optional, its benefits can be far greater than the costs. Every company needs at least some form of marketing swag to give out to both clients and employees. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on these great benefits:

Why Marketing Swag Is Important: 3 Important Benefits For Companies

Considering how marketing runs today, having company swag has become a necessity. Of course, you don’t technically lose anything by not having marketing swag–but you do miss out on these benefits:

Helps You Achieve Your Marketing Goals

The primary purpose of marketing swag is to, obviously, meet marketing goals. Whether you’re trying to pierce through a new market or nurture the client relationships that you already have, giving out marketing swag can help you achieve that.

Aside from lead generation and client relations, marketing swag plays a big role in “getting your name out there”. Think about it: the more people that use items with your brand name on them, the more people that will become familiar with your brand–even if they are not within your target market.

That said, marketing swag is essential to brand awareness and recognition. It’s basically like word-of-mouth marketing, but more on a visual basis.

Practical Gifts For Employees, Clients, Vendors, & More

Marketing swag serves as cost-effective gifts to your employees, clients, vendors, and other business relationships. At the same time, the people you give them to are essentially doing free marketing for you.

More than that, giving items that have your brand name and logo on it can make people feel like they’re really part of the team. Clients will see more value in your relationships; employees will feel appreciated and seen, and vendors will appreciate the gesture as they don’t expect anything beyond your business transactions.

Increase Customer Loyalty By Using As Free Gifts

Everyone loves free stuff, especially customers. Giving marketing swag as free gifts to customers not only improves your relationship with them, but can also encourage them to buy more from you.

After all, receiving free gifts comes with a dopamine rush. And they will eventually associate that happiness with your business, therefore increasing loyalty. At the very least, it can increase the chances of them singing praises for your business to their friends and family.

How To Use Marketing Swag In Your Business

Now that you know why marketing swag is important, let’s talk about how to use it in your business. First, you have to:

Start With A Budget

Just like any other marketing campaign, you have to set a marketing swag budget. How much you can spend on swag will determine what items you can get and how many, which will help you plan distribution later on.

A good tip to remember is to don’t spend more than you can afford. Swag items are helpful tools to promote your brand and improve your client relationships, but they shouldn’t put your business in the red.

Spend only what you’re comfortable with, and let everything else fall into place based on your budget.

Choose Your Swag Items

Once you have a budget in mind, the next step is to choose your swag items. Check out this list of marketing swag ideas if you’re stumped. Or you can also think about what swag to get based on your customers’ profiles, which should tell you what items they would like the most.

The same also applies to choosing swag items for employees. Think about what they would find useful at home or in the office, or maybe see what they would love based on common hobbies and interests.

If all else fails, try getting help from your HR department (for swag items for employees) and client relations/sales department (for swag items for clients). They should be able to help you pick out swag items that your recipients are most likely to love.

Bring The Vision To Life 

After you’ve chosen your swag items, it’s time to come up with a design. How big do you want your logo to be on your chosen products? What colors do you want to use? What kind of theme do you want to go for? And so on.

This is perhaps the most difficult step to bringing your swag plan to fruition. Luckily, we’re here to help. From creating your design to fulfilling your order, Swag Bar can take the reins and bring your vision to life for you. 

Get your marketing gift box at Swag Bar. All you have to do is choose your items, pick a design (or let us create one for you), and decide how many swag boxes you want. It’s easy, cost-effective, and risk-free!

Why Marketing Swag Is Important: Wrapping Things Up

As you can see, marketing swag has a deeper purpose than being just promotional items. They can help you nurture relationships with clients; show appreciation to your employees and vendors; increase customer loyalty, and so much more.

We could go on and on about why marketing swag is important, but you’re probably convinced by now. So, where should you get your marketing swag?

If it’s good quality items, a variety of options, and budget-friendly deals you want, look no further than Swag Bar. We have the best swag pack selection online. Whether you want marketing swag boxes or a new hire welcome kit, we’ve got you covered. Nothing is off limits here - we'll help you bring your swag vision to life. You're a few clicks away from the most simple, intuitive swag process you've ever experienced. See the difference yourself!