If you own or operate a business, or if you are thinking of starting a business, this article should be of value to you. In the world of marketing and advertising, there are many routes to take. Most businesses utilize more than one method.

Marketing includes all of the activities used to get products to the end user.   It includes much more than advertising. Deciding on what products or services to offer, policies on billing, and how you deal with complaints are part of marketing. If you have a physical store location, then arranging store layout, choosing decorations (even paint colors), setting employee dress standards, pricing, and even how well you take care of the restrooms are all marketing decisions.

Advertising is also part of the marketing strategy. Advertising takes many forms:
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Radio
• Television
• Yellow Pages
• Direct Mail
• A person standing at a street corner waving a sign
• Billboards
• Promotional Products

Promotional products include a huge array of items, and many of them are not used only in business. If you are associated with a club, church, sports team, scout group, or any other organization, you should know about promotional products. If you are planning a wedding, a family reunion, a retirement party, helping someone run for office, or any group activity, you too should become familiar with promotional products.

So what are promotional products and why should they be part of your advertising plan? We all have them. They include calendar from your local pharmacy, the magnet with the name and number of a local realtor or restaurant, the shirt you received when you donated blood, the ball point pen from your insurance agent, the letter opener from a local merchant, or the balloons used at a grand opening event.

Here is a small list of common promotional products:
• Calendars
• Letter openers
• Key tags
• Mugs
• Sports Bottles
• Bags
• Clocks
• Paper clip holders
• Lanyards
• Lapel Pins
• Buttons
• Shirts
• Hats
• Jackets
• Socks
• Note pads
• Pens
• Name Badges
• Tools
• Team Uniforms
• Magnets
• Golf Balls
• Umbrellas
• Rain Guages
• Frisbees®
• Bottle and Can Openers

You can tell from the list that I could go on and on. If something can be printed on, laser cut, embroidered, cast, woven, etc. someone will do it. Did you know that you can even get rocks with printing on them? Depending on your purpose, promotional products can be serious advertising tools or just fun things to share with your customers, associates, family, or team members. And all these items that can carry the name of your business, organization, or group are available from promotional products distributors.