Small business can have a big impact
A guest article from Honeycomb Agency, a promotional marketing agency and B2Bpay customer, on why branded merchandise is a low-cost, high-impact way for small businesses to connect with customers, and why personalisation is now the trend to follow.
Small businesses have the edge
Short answer: Promotional merchandise gives a small business a low-cost, high-impact way to connect with customers, show its brand personality and start a conversation. Personalising it, even down to a name on a pen, deepens that connection and keeps your brand front of mind.
It is easy to assume that small businesses, with their limited resources, can't make a big impact in the market. In many ways, though, small businesses have the edge over larger corporations: they can be more creative, adapt quickly and understand their customers better.
Promotional merchandise is a low-cost, high-impact way for a small business to connect with customers, communicate its brand personality and create a touch point that starts the conversation.
What promotional merchandise can achieve
Customers' eyes are drawn to promotional merchandise. Useful, appealing products used throughout the working week soon become part of the day's landscape. A single promotional item averages 344 impressions (unique people views) per month.
Source: PROmotion Marketing, LLCNearly 87% of customers report keeping a promotional item for longer than a year. Choosing items that are useful, appealing or fun makes it more likely your branded item outlives the unboxing moment.
Source: British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA)Customers value items that make their lives easier. In 2022, the top five promotional items searched on the Australasian Promotional Product Association (APPA) portal were the umbrella, apron, towel, socks and hoodie.
Source: APPAIn an increasingly digital world, nothing cuts through like a real-world item. Unwrapping a product you can touch, smell and taste is a sensory experience no digital channel has come close to capturing.
Promotional products are ranked the most effective form of advertising across all generations. Whatever your customers' background, location or interests, a well-chosen item is appreciated across the generational divide.
Source: PPAIThe shift to personalisation
As with most things, the ground rarely stays still. In branded merchandise, the shift has been towards personalisation. Our digital world has moved to personalised messages, shopping carts and experiences, and the physical world has followed.
Personalisation appeals on two levels:
- Who doesn't love to see their name? Our name is our identity, and we love seeing it on a stylish bottle, a beautiful journal or a funky pen. When a business takes the extra step to personalise an item, it shows how much it values the relationship. It deepens the connection and creates an emotional investment on both sides.
- It simply makes sense. We do like to share, but the 2020s have made us all rethink the idea. Drinkware is a case in point: the risk of mixing up drink bottles or cups in the work kitchen will have some people squirming and reaching for the Glen-20. Hence our love of personalised items, right down to the humble pen or USB stick.
The beauty of personalisation is that it is an achievable goal for a small business. Without a lot of effort, it can help forge lasting connections with customers and keep your brand front of mind.
Salesforce reports that 84% of consumers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business. It seems almost remiss not to add the personal touch.
Want to see how promotional merchandise could work for you? Contact Honeycomb Agency.
How Honeycomb gets paid
Honeycomb Agency uses B2Bpay to accept payments through its QuickBooks invoices. B2Bpay adds a secure payment link to your invoices, so customers can pay online and you get paid faster, and you can earn Qantas Points when customers pay by Visa or Mastercard. Read more about accepting payments online, direct from your invoices.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our Sydney-based customer support team on 1300 205 575.
Get paid through B2Bpay and earn Qantas Points when customers pay by Visa or Mastercard.
*Promotional offer. Conditions apply. Contact the B2Bpay team on 1300 205 575 to check current availability and terms.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Honeycomb Agency?
Honeycomb Agency is a promotional marketing agency that helps businesses use branded merchandise to connect with customers. It uses B2Bpay to accept payments through its QuickBooks invoices. You can contact Honeycomb Agency directly.
How does Honeycomb accept payments with B2Bpay?
B2Bpay's biller product adds a payment link to Honeycomb's QuickBooks invoices. Customers click the link and pay on a secure branded page, and the funds are settled to Honeycomb's bank account. See accept card payments.
Do I need to use QuickBooks?
No. The payment link works directly from Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks or from any invoice template. See accept card payments.
Can I earn Qantas Points when customers pay me?
Yes. You can earn Qantas Points when customers pay you by Visa or Mastercard, under B2Bpay's Qantas pathway and Qantas Business Rewards. See earn Qantas Points.
Get paid faster on every invoice
Add a secure payment link to your invoices and let customers pay online by card or bank account.