The latest discoveries in theoretical physics suggest that there is no observable objective reality. That means everyone including those of us in business have an independent vision of reality which can only be guessed at by others with whom we do business. While this may cause disquiet and uncertainty amongst some people the positive implications are that you are indeed entirely the master of your own destiny and can create a reality which is entirely your own.
Consider then that everything you see in the average business day is entirely malleable. As we in marketing already know the attitudes and behaviours of your clients or customers can be influenced by our own behaviours and to that extent the lack of business or reduction of margins is something over which we have complete control. The real issue for the marketer is not whether the marketing activity has an effect, what is most critical is ensuring that your company marketing efforts match the requirements you have established. That is, what is the vision you have, what is the path you seek to tread and does the marketing plan you are bringing to reality point things in the right direction and include inputs which take account of the totality of the marketing program including all points of its development through time.
A successful marketing campaign has shape and structure which when observed from the point of view of a marketing observer exists in four dimensions. Time is the fourth parameter and it tells us that the spacing and roll-out of the various aspects of a promotional campaign are as critical to the success of the whole as the individual structure of each element. And it's in the process of adding depth and greater dimension to a campaign that the right promotional offerings can bring attention to the greater detail of individual elements which could be otherwise ignored as background geometry.
So how do you see your promotional marketing activity as a whole? At what points in the process of promotion, sales and stock management do external motivations need to enter the development chain. Is there a situation in your marketing where a pause follows a major marketing push? What are the slow points in the cycle of business developments. Look at these points of arrested process development and consider the ability of a branded merchandise idea to push individuals through the point of inertia to drive upwards the ongoing program.