Businesses of every shape and size need to market in some way. Distributors of specialty advertising and promotional products provide small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with one of the most cost-effective ways to promote their products and services to customers, particularly in niche markets.

Three of the fastest growing segments of the new economy have numerous SMBs who want to expand their reach and drive revenue.

Food and Meals Now

Buying online is nothing new. But in the early days of e-commerce, food sellers had a difficult time leveraging technology to build sustainable profits. Some of the more memorable and innovative shops like such as Webvan and kosmo.com, spent millions to promote their delivery services with TV ads. Bu in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they may have been ahead of their time, hoping internet users would boot up desktops to place orders.

Fifteen years later, the game has changed. Perhaps this is because technology is better and consumers’ needs have evolved. Online shops like the Munchery, Rated M Wine, and small firms across the country not only have a better handle on food transport; many also have robust social media and smart phone apps that allow hungry customers to connect easily. In order to break through a crowded market, online grocers and meal purveyors need to make their name known locally to compete.

Just the same, local bars and restaurants are always running promotions to keep business cooking. Promotional products giveaways are a way for food shops of all kinds to place their names in one hand of customers, while freeing their other hand to fire up phone or tablet apps to get their next meals.

Businesses in the Cloud

Whether or not you know it, you’re working in the cloud with technology that has changed the way we all use and store data. Cloud-based applications, infrastructures and platforms provide all the benefits without the demands of management (installing, maintaining and updating).

In the past, this kind of technology was available only from big firms like Google, Apple and Amazon. But now small businesses are offering cloud-based services. This means they can innovate faster and compete better.

Whether these start-ups are based in Silicon Valley or elsewhere in North America, they are great targets for promotional products because they continually need to reach current and potential customers. They also look to create “cultures” at their companies, which can involve unique, tech-oriented promotional products and wearables such as casual workwear.

Companies Serving Seniors

It’s probably no secret that the Baby Boomer generation is settling into the retirement years. While some people might joke about the coming boom in the adult diaper market cited by Bloomberg, or even a “smart diaper”, the truth is that the largest segment of the U.S. population continues to cultivate demand for a diverse range of products and services.

Some Baby Boomers and seniors are moving back to the big city, while others relocate to warmer climates. Overall, America’s seniors aren’t really “retiring” but are looking to enjoy a more active lifestyle. According to a Pew Center report, social media usage among seniors has more than tripled since 2010. Smart businesses recognize the opportunities to serve this broad and diverse set of consumers.

Last year, we wrote about the fact that home health services is a business sector on the rise and it’s true that certain U.S. counties have larger shares of seniors. But wherever they live, today’s older Americans use everything from financial advisors to Uber, and also buy food, beverages and prepared gourmet meals online. Seniors have the buying power and numbers to drive the U.S. economy and SMBs want to tap into this spending. You can help them promote their business to Baby Boomers as well as other markets.

Certainly, much of what we’ve highlighted here has an emphasis on technology more easily connecting buyers and sellers. Megabrands and national companies have the funds to run TV, online and even print media campaigns. But your local SMBs are looking to more cost-effective ways to promote themselves, whether they are online businesses, providers of cloud-based services or dedicated to supporting the needs of the senior market. Promotional products distributors can help these SMBs really put their businesses in motion.

Reach out to Idea Custom Solutions to design proposal and presentation templates you can use to propose campaigns, as well as for virtual samples to share with contacts. Then when you’ve won the new clients and orders, we’ll provide the top-quality vector artwork and embroidery digitizing for SMB customer logos so you impress them and deliver ROI, regardless of their budgets.