Promotional Products Marketing Statistics & Trends from PPAI 2014

Confidential and Proprietary. © 2014 OutboundEngine, Inc.

PPAI 2014 Survey Results

Confidential and Proprietary. ©2012 OutboundEngine, Inc.Confidential and Proprietary. © 2014 OutboundEngine, Inc.Confidential and Proprietary. © 2014 OutboundEngine, Inc.

Overview

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During the 2014 PPAI Expo, we asked a sample of attendees to take a survey from the OutboundEngine booth.

The goal of the survey was to get a better understanding of the marketing habits of promotional products distributors in 2014. Here are the summary and results of this survey.


Results Highlight

99% of attendees are currently doing some form of marketing for their business, with 66% of them spending up to 4 hours/week on it.

An overwhelming 91% of distributors do some form of email marketing, citing that finding the time to do it (35%) was their biggest challenge.

Other common challenges with email marketing included issues with finding/writing content (19%), not knowing how to do it correctly (16%), and just a lack of understanding or belief in the true return-on-investment that email provides (15%).


Results Highlight

Of the attendees surveyed, 71% of distributors currently use social media as a way to market their business.

By far, Facebook (36%) was the most used social network, followed closely by Twitter and LinkedIn, both tied at 20%.

Other social networks that distributors are using included Google+ (7%), Pinterest (7%), and YouTube (6%).

When asked about challenges distributors face with using social for their business, 41% said time to do it was at the top of their list, followed by figuring out what to post to their followers (29%).


Results Highlight

By far the most compelling takeaway we learned this year is that 96% of distributors would rather have someone else do their email and social media marketing for them.

At OutboundEngine, we do the marketing work for distributors. Twice a month, we craft email newsletters and social media updates to help you stay top-of-mind with your customers, featuring new products that are seasonal and timely.

To learn more about OutboundEngine, check out our website here.

http://www.outboundengine.com/



Question 1

Do you currently do any marketing for your business?

N=90


Question 2

How many hours a week do you spend on marketing? This could be you or someone in your company.


Question 3

Do you use email marketing for your business?


Question 4

What’s the biggest challenge you have with email marketing?


Question 5

Do you use social media for your business?


Question 6

What social networks do you use for your business?


Question 7

What’s the biggest challenge you have with social media marketing?


Question 8

Would having someone else do your email marketing and social media marketing for you make your life easier?


Conclusion

What we have learned about email marketing and social media marketing for promotional products distributors is that while there is a significant adoption of marketing a business through these channels, there is an even greater need for help in getting it done. Time, knowhow, and expertise are the biggest issues among distributors when it comes to email marketing and social media. The consensus was clear: having a professional or organization to handle their marketing activities is the overwhelmingly idea solution for distributors.

About OutboundEngineOutboundEngine helps distributors market themselves by doing it for them. We professionally source the best products for our clients, automate their email campaigns, update their social media profiles and help them grow their business and drive long-term value from their customers.


Promotional Products Marketing Statistics & Trends from PPAI 2014

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