God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!

Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.

They don't make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I can't stop myself from recommending these little beauties first and foremost to my new customers and prospects. And the reason is so simple. They WORK! I've yet to approach anyone in any kind of business where I don't feel that a refrigerator magnet will be effective advertising. Granted, some are more suited than others, but I still maintain that they'd be of use to any business.

Domino's Pizza is notorious for giving out a magnet with deliveries that includes their logo and the phone number of the local store. I worked for Domino's when I was a young guy, as a delivery driver. Often, whenever sales would dip a little, or the manager was bucking for a prize, we would go "door hanging". Boy did these door hangers produce strong results. Inexpensive marketing that had proven itself time and time again. My fellow employees and I would spend time in a "slow" neighborhood, hanging these on the door knobs of as many homes and apartments as we could, and the results would be immediate. Sales would shoot through the roof! If a crew went out "door hanging" you could count on a lot of calls coming in that evening from the area you'd just targeted, for the next 3 days. The problem with these door hangers is, they're paper, and they wind up in the trash, rather quickly.

A refrigerator magnet, almost always ? always winds up on the refrigerator. And there it stays, for a long, long time. What other conventional advertising stays in a home that long? A commercial, printed advertisement, a radio address, nothing ? stays as long as the magnet. And no matter what is put on the fridge, be it your child's neatest drawing of a hairy fire truck, or their lunch menu at school, what's on the very top? The beautiful, blessed magnet sporting YOUR company logo!

Let's say you own a heating and a/c company. You get a call from a referral, or yellow page ad. You show up, fix the problem the customer is happy with the work you've done, the price you charged, and then you or one of your service technicians leaves. Three, or four years go by, and this same customer's a/c breaks down. He says to his wife, "honey, what was the name of that company we used last time?" Who can remember that long ago? Had the customer been left with a refrigerator magnet, had the service tech actually physically went and put it on this customer's fridge the last time he was over, the number would be right there waiting for him. What if this time, he's going to need his complete a/c unit replaced? That's one heck of a sale to miss out on.

Now most men will probably gripe at me for this one, but c'est la vie. Let's say you're a florist. A young teen boy calls to get a mum for his girlfriend for homecoming or a corsage for prom or roses for Valentines. You deliver the item(s) with a refrigerator magnet. Months roll by, and the teen girl's father wakes up and realizes TODAY is his anniversary, and he didn't buy his wife a gift! Trust me; his immediate thought goes to flowers. The old faithful, the default at any time, flowers. He's going to have them delivered to her work. He remembers the "free delivery" comment on the magnet of your shop, and goes right to it. He calls the number and places his order. Without the magnet, he would have called AAAAmanda's Flowers in the yellow pages.

Online businesses can benefit too. Now if promoting a web site, one would immediately think to sell a promotional item that would sit by a computer, but I disagree. If you sent a magnet to an existing customer, it'd wind up on his or her fridge. A friend, family member, or delivery person could see it, and inquire about the site. In addition, magnets will adhere to most automobiles. You can carry them around with you, and put them on cars, for focused advertising. I have one client that does this, he's in real estate. Often he'll stop by a prospect's home, and if no one answers the door, yet a car is in the driveway, he puts a magnet on the car as he leaves. It's produced positive results for him, he says. And he's gotten word of mouth advertising from those people as well. I'd be willing to bet that it came from friends and family seeing the magnet on the former customer's refrigerator, or toolbox, beer keg cooler, etc.

In my opinion, no business is unable to benefit from this item. So if you own a company and you're looking to advertise, consider the refrigerator magnet. They're inexpensive, and last a long, long time. Plus the Dominos one on your fridge is lonely, I'm sure.

Need content? You may use this article at your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence - Article by Kirk Otto of http://www.MakeYourCompanyVisible.com - a premiere source for promotional advertising products.

---

Advertising 101

Advertising has truly become a part of all of our... Read More

The TV Shoot, The Spoiled Brat, And A Painful Lesson

It was two days before our shoot. I was in... Read More

Lamination of Signs

I suspect that everyone has an idea of what lamination... Read More

When Times Get Tough... or When to Really Advertise

The Pundits say the economy is slowly, but surely, recovering.... Read More

How to Write Great Headlines

According to experts, just changing the headline of an ad... Read More

Why Radio Advertising Could Be The Best Thing You Ever Did For Your Business

In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of... Read More

Outdoor Sign

Many business organizations that needs to disseminate late-breaking information to... Read More

Avoid Being Vague

We are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages daily?on television... Read More

Electronic Reader Board

Electronic reader boards are the most efficient way to convey... Read More

Successful Print Advertising Designs

Do you often see print advertisements outdoors, as much as... Read More

Moving Message Board

Moving message boards are used in the areas where continuous... Read More

How to Know if Direct Mail Will Work for Your Business

Here's a great lesson that applies to direct mail. Ready?... Read More

Adding Art to Business Spaces

Larger companies have learned that collecting art adds something special... Read More

B2B Marketing Health and Elder Care Services

Quality Care Options is an established company advocating for the... Read More

Forgot The Ad Budget? Dont Panic!

Bob is excited about his new business. He secured funding.... Read More

The SKINNY on Newspaper Advertising

The SKINNY on NewspapersUsing the paper is considered gospel by... Read More

Sex in Advertising: Does it Sell?

We're surrounded by advertisements that desperately compete for our attention.... Read More

Books, Bibles and Fast-Talkers

Every community has 'em. Fast talkers who roll into town... Read More

Marketing Tips For Small Business ? Advertising That Works, Part I

Have you ever seen an ad on television that was... Read More

80% of All Advertising Is Wasted Due To This Common Mistake

You're flipping through this publication as you wait for your... Read More

Double Your Sales Potential With Double-sided Business Cards

Swapping business cards is one of the most basic and... Read More

Create Your Own Business Cards, Part 1

In this lesson, we will create a business card, using... Read More

Prove It! - Give Your Marketing and Advertising More Credibility

Your marketing and advertising won't be effective if your potential... Read More

Testing Headlines

A correspondent to AdBriefing, my monthly newsletter, has posed a... Read More

Seven Ways to Waste Your Money on Yellow Pages Advertising

Each year there is a Yellow Pages arms race where... Read More

Marketing Lessons I Learned in Chicago this Week...

I was in the fine city of Chicago this week... Read More

10 Tips to Use Giveaways Effectively

Walk around any trade or consumer show and you will... Read More

Imprinted Promotional Items ? Their Many Marketing Applications

There are many uses for promotional items. This means that... Read More

How Much Money Do I Need to Spend on Advertising?

Q: I've never really done much advertising for my business;... Read More

Should Your Small Business Hire an Advertising Agency?

So, you own a small business, sales are down and... Read More

Is there anything new under the sun? Heres how to find out if your bright idea is unique.

"There's nothing new under the sun" is probably the... Read More

Trade Writing - For Cash!

Often considered as "plain Jane's" of the print world, trade... Read More

Organizing Business Cards for Effective Contact Management

Now that you've had colorful new business cards printed, and... Read More