Customers gain a more favorable impression of companies and organizations after receiving promotional gifts or giveaways, according to research. Giving back to the customer is one of the most effective ways of gaining their loyalty because it’s a tangible way of showing them your appreciation. Besides, people just love receiving free stuff.

However, not just any item will do. Promotional gifts should be useful, high-quality products that have value. That said, here are seven promotional giveaway ideas to make your customers feel gratified.

1- Gift Boxes

What’s better than receiving a free item? Getting more free items! Customers love gift boxes because they get several freebies in one.

Stuff your gift boxes or care packages with relevant and useful items, like snacks, pens, notebooks, coffee mugs, and sample products. You can put your logo or design on the items to promote your brand. You can also use innovative packaging to turn your regular delivery boxes into amazing gift boxes.

Gift boxes and care packages are excellent promotional giveaways during trade shows or similar events. You can customize your box packaging with an eye-catching design and highlight your brand for your giveaways to stand out among all the others in the event.

2- Clothing

Old but gold. Clothing is on top of the list of items that customers love receiving from the brands they follow. T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, and hats—you name it; customers will wear it. People like something they can try before buying. When given the opportunity, customers are willing to display their loyalty to the brands with whom they identify. You can make your customers happy, as well as get free advertising.

3- Travel Accessories

Millennial consumers dominate the market, and if there’s one thing this generation (and all generations, for that matter) loves, it’s traveling. That’s why travel accessories make excellent promotional gifts for most customers. Examples of excellent travel accessory giveaways are neck pillows, eye masks, tumblers, caps, earplugs, luggage tags, sunglasses, and passport holders.

4- Product Samples

You don’t need to look far to find some of the best giveaways for customers. Offering free samples of your own products is not only an effective marketing tactic to gain new customers but is also an excellent strategy to retain old customers.

If you’re a purveyor of outdoor gears, for example, you are perfectly positioned to promote your brand through customer reviews and social shares by giving away hiking accessories or camping supplies to outdoor enthusiasts . Your current customers already love your products, and they’ll love it even more if they receive those items for free.

5- Office Supplies

You can never go wrong with office supplies, especially when your market is composed mostly of working adults. Perhaps they’re not as exciting as free apparel or travel accessories are, but office supplies are equally useful. Why rush to the bookstore when you have office supplies as freebies?

6- Contests or Competitions

Having a giveaway contest is a sure way to get noticed online and generate traffic for your site. Nowadays, photo contests, trivia games, like-or-comment-to-win contests, and tag-a-friend contests are the common strategies businesses use to promote their brand and give back to their customers.

Offline, organizing a contest offers an opportunity for businesses to reach a wide audience and appeal to their target market. The usual contests and competitions are essay-writing contests, trivia games, and athletic competitions, like marathons and basketball shoot-outs.

7- Community Giveaways

Giving back to the community is one of the best ways to show your gratitude to your customers. Donate a portion of your profits to a charity you support or organize a for-a-cause community event.

Encourage your customers too to get involved in your give-back-to-the-community campaign to generate more support for the charity or cause you’re advocating. You can also offer a small prize to those who participated to thank them for their support.

The Bottom Line

Customers keep businesses going. It’s only right for companies and organizations to show their appreciation to their customers and reward their loyalty. Organizing giveaways and giving gifts are simple ways companies can thank their customers, but these can have a huge impact on how buyers perceive your brand or organization.