Getting in front of your prospects in business is one of the main challenges owners face. It can be difficult to penetrate the office walls and pitch your messages to those with budgets to spend, and without cold calling and emailing, it is difficult to directly reach out. Promotional desk materials might be a little more subtle, but as a branding and advertising exercise they can in fact prove extremely useful. Through carefully choosing promotional materials like calendars or mouse mats that are practically useful, it can be possible to take your marketing messages to where they need to be for best results.

For any promotional item that is designed to sit on a desk, or to be used by people in the office environment, practicality is the number one factor. The best promotional merchandise comes in the form of objects that have a practical purpose. If something is useful, the chances of it making its way to the target’s desk are much more significant. If something is not useful, it will probably have a much shorter shelf life. In this respect, some items of promotional merchandise could end up in circulation for years to come, all carrying relevant details to your business.

This is a clear advertising and marketing opportunity for business owners. Building the brand through incremental steps like this can go a long way to achieving prominence in the right places in your industry. Corporate events, networking meetings and business development sessions allow for promotional merchandise to be applied most effectively, while in some instances it may even be worth sending materials out to your clients periodically.

Promotional calendars are perhaps the most obvious example of merchandising of this kind. These calendars are printed up by businesses, with relevant photos for each month of the year. On each page of the calendar, the company has its contact details, logo and brand message – with a view to subtly advertising its existence within the defined space. This is about creating the right perception of your business, and about keeping your business name at the front of the list. Particularly in competitive industries, this kind of marketing technique can prove the difference between winning more business and staying static.

Aside from a desk calendar for 2014, calculators, rulers and other stationery are commonplace. These are often among the lowest cost items to reproduce with your branding, yet also some of the most useful for the end recipient. This provides opportunities for ROI focused campaigns, and while these materials do not achieve the hard sell, they will work to raise the profile of your business where it really counts.

A well-executed promotional marketing strategy can have a significant impact on your results. Building a brand can provide businesses with long-lasting marketing benefits, and this kind of merchandise will help elevate your brand in the eyes of those who come into contact with it. A consistent, ongoing promotional campaign can build a much longer-lasting marketing foundation for your business, which in turn will lead to more consistent inbound leads from those you target.