Spread the Good Word: Sticker Marketing

6/26/2010

A Real Sticker

When it comes to promoting your product or business, nothing beats the power of word-of-mouth advertising. Putting your boots on the ground, attending trade shows and promotional events, and distributing collateral, like custom-made stickers with your organization’s logo, in person can be essential elements of your promotion. Real conversations between you and your customers and within your customer group can do more to grow esteem in your brand than any marketing campaign, and product stickers are the perfect way to open that dialog.

Employing Brand Ambassadors

Who represents your organization at trade shows and promotional events? Brand ambassadors provide the public face and voice of your product or service. A brand ambassador speaks directly with potential customers and works to build loyalty by sharing information and passing out collateral like custom stickers featuring your logo. When your business is just getting off the ground, you are most likely your own brand ambassador. You know a lot about your product and potential customers will enjoy talking right with the source.

Got a New Band to Promote?

Depending on the type of product you’re promoting, you may want to hire a brand ambassador who is able to connect with the group you’re trying to sell it to. For instance, if you’re promoting a hot new alternative band, you should look for individuals who embody the look and know the language of your potential audience members.  Let your brand ambassadors loose at promotional events. They can hand out custom decals and bumper stickers featuring your band’s logo while sharing their enthusiasm for its music. Real fans love displaying stickers featuring the logo of their favorite band, and prominently displayed stickers help share the message to new fans.

Working with Brand Evangelists

Have you ever owned a product you liked so much that you found yourself wholeheartedly recommending it to friends and family? If so, you’re a brand evangelist! Brand evangelists are customers who are invested in a product or service and spread its word far and wide. They share their opinion of the product with peers. They aren’t paid, but they feel a strong loyalty toward your brand.  It’s well worth investing some effort in growing your community of brand evangelists. If they like your brand, they’ll love your stickers.

Looking to Gain Exposure for your New Restaurant?

Let your most loyal customers help! Invest time talking with potential brand evangelists. They enjoy coming to your place, often bring new guests, and share positive reviews online for others to see. It has become an important part of their lives, and they want to share it with others. These highly invested customers want you to succeed and may proudly use products emblazoned with your brand. Consider sharing t-shirts, coffee mugs, or vinyl bumper stickers with company slogans.

Providing the Right Tools for your Ambassadors and Evangelists

Your brand ambassadors and brand evangelists are excellent resources when you’re promoting your business or product. Whether these individuals are paid representatives of your company or they just really like your product, it pays to put promotional tools in their hands. A couple of the most valuable tools you can give them are custom stickers and bumper stickers. They are less expensive than some other types of collateral and tend to end up posted in public spaces for other potential customers to see. Brand ambassadors can put these directly in the hands of potential patrons. Brand evangelists will covet them and will be happy to share them with others.

Designing and Printing Custom Stickers

While you can make your own stickers or find cheap stickers online, you’ll want to make sure they are made of quality material. Vinyl bumper stickers, for instance, are waterproof and durable. They’ll last a long time. You can often share your own design or pick a design that suits your needs just right. Often you can find matching promotional materials so that your brand can be shown off in a variety of ways.