Marketing and advertising will always be an important part of running a successful business but making sure that your products are in front of potential customers is perhaps more important now than ever, given the pandemic and the effect it’s had on companies across all sectors and industries.

There are all sorts of ways in which you can draw in new custom and, no doubt, you’re already doing a lot of excellent work on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

But there’s one strategy that you may well have been neglecting in favour of online channels in recent times and that’s branded merchandising, a hugely effective way to raise brand awareness.

While business cards can prove very useful (and you should always have a couple about your person just in case, since you never know when a networking opportunity may arise), merchandise can prove even more effective, since you could be giving someone something they actually want and will actually use.

A USB stick or custom printed mouse mats are a lot more useful and memorable than a piece of card or paper, after all.

By choosing merchandise that people can use on a daily basis, you’re helping to put your brand name in front of them regularly – so if and when the time comes that they need your goods and services, they’ll likely remember who you are and turn to you first.

A recent study into the effectiveness of merchandising revealed that almost 90 per cent of people who received a free gift said they were likely to buy more frequently from the retailer in question… so, as you can see, it could certainly yield very positive results indeed!