If your sales normally lag a bit after the holidays, you can warm them right back up with a well-chosen ad campaign utilizing carefully chosen promotional items. The beginning of the year is a great time to woo new business and romance existing customers with special offers and gifts to remind them that you really do love them. If you’re looking for ideas for promotional items and campaigns to keep your business perking away after the holiday, here are some tips that can help you plan.



Start your planning early

The sooner you start your planning, the more firmly you can make your plans. Though you might want to take advantage of the post-holiday sales to actually place your orders for promotional items, getting them planned out ahead of schedule will help you focus on your market and your immediate goals.

Choose a theme for your promotion and fit promotional items to that theme

While winter promotional items are still appropriate, you’ll make a big hit with your customers if you take this time to remind them that winter doesn’t last forever. A summer in January theme could be just the thing to perk up your customers and bring them in to enjoy a beach party sale.

Appeal to good intentions

Seriously. Everyone makes new years resolutions with the best of intentions, but they’re often forgotten by mid-January. Hold a “Good Intentions" promotion that plays off the most commonly sworn resolutions. It’s an especially good time for public service campaigns that emphasize fitness, health and savings, with promotional items that fit any of those goals. You might choose to use pedometers, money boxes for saving or personal planners to help your customers get organized.

Order early, but ask about post holiday discounts.

Many suppliers of promotional items hold post-holiday promotions themselves. If you’re planning a sales or promotional event after the holidays, take a few moments to discuss upcoming promotions with a sales representative for your promotional products company.

Offer your customers a vacation from winter with luxury loyalty gifts.

If you’re sick of winter already, you can bet that your customers are feeling the same way. Gear your winter promotional items to the little luxuries that make winter living bearable. Luxury items like incense and candle sets, vintage wines with bespoke labels, bath soaps and spa sets make great promotional items for loyalty programmes and gifts for your best customers.

Of course, there are all the usual winter promotional items as well. Fleece jackets and wool hats are always well-received. Your customers will always appreciate ice scrapers and snow brushes to help them deal with the foul weather. A sturdy umbrella is more appreciated in the winter time than at nearly any other time of year. Promotional mugs, pens and notebooks always have their place, and if you choose to go with tradition, no one will fault you. If, on the other hand, you want your customers to sit up and take notice, try promotional items that help warm up their chilly hearts this winter.