"St. Patrick's Day offers entrepreneurs a creative reason to reach out and communicate with your customers," Charles Gaudet, a marketing strategist, told The Globe and Mail. 

March 17 is rapidly approaching, so small businesses owners must start preparing for the holiday sooner rather than later. Procrastination can negate the luck of the Irish and leave entrepreneurs wishing they had been ready to capitalize on St. Patrick's Day. 

Don't rely on luck when it comes to promotional giveaways – follow these tips when planning an event on St. Patrick's Day. 

Holiday decorations and themes
As with all major holidays, St. Patrick's Day features a plethora of iconic imagery. Shamrocks, four-leaf clovers, leprechauns and pots of gold are all staples of March 17. Because most of these symbols are in the public domain, small business owners can include them in decorations, promotional marketing products and advertisements. 

For celebrations in an establishment, an owner should use as much green as possible. The color signifies that the business is celebrating the joyous occasion and will help attract like-minded consumers. Green balloons and signs should be hung on the exterior so passersby know that the company is holding a special event. Additionally, green streamers, banners and balloons can be used to decorate the interior to complete the holiday atmosphere. 

The imagery should also be used on all advertising for the special giveaways. Timely marketing messages are much more effective than their broad counterparts. Marketing Zone recently highlighted an email that didn't include any holiday themes and barely made any mention of St. Patrick's Day. Small business owners want their advertisements to have lasting appeal, but for a giveaway on St. Patrick's Day it is imperative to include at least one icon in every marketing message. 

The perfect presents
When consumers attend a giveaway, they expect to receive a few gifts. On March 17, local entrepreneurs can give all of their regular branded items an Irish spin to create truly unique promotional products that customers will love. 

Holiday imagery can be emblazoned on every trinket to create an association between a small business and St. Patrick's Day. For instance, leprechauns can be embossed on promotional magnets instead of the standard logos and decorations. As with the decorations, all branded gifts should be green to help customers celebrate. 

Additionally, there are some creative ideas that small business owners could try. The pot of gold is a common holiday motif that lends itself well to a giveaway. Owners can distribute chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil so patrons feel like they've found a leprechaun's treasure at the end of the rainbow. 

Let employees celebrate
St. Patrick's Day is supposed to be a joyous occasion for everyone, including employees. The Houston Chronicle writes that small business owners should let their dedicated contributors enjoy the festivities on March 17 to increase workplace satisfaction. 

The news source writes that the best way to allow employees to celebrate is provide entertainment for them. Short scenes of old Irish folktales while musicians play traditional songs are perfect for a March 17 celebration. The small performances are fun activities that make St. Patrick's Day fun even while staff members are working. 

Additionally, small business owners should distribute personalized business gifts to their most dedicated staffers. Functional presents like coffee mugs, custom pens, and USB drives show staff that their supervisors recognize a strong work ethic. All of the rewards should include a four-leaf to wish workers good luck on their next major projects. 

According to Business 2 Community, most trade shows are held during the spring, so small business owners have to start developing their marketing strategies now. An excellent sales team and unique promotional products are the best resources that independent companies can have in their booths. 

Highly-trained salespeople
An effective sales pitch can be the difference between finding a new customer and losing potential business. However, regular sales strategies might not work when it comes to promotional events. 

“I have no doubt companies’ sales staffs are terrific at doing what they do every day. But a well trained staff is the most important part of your trade show experience,” Malcom Gilvar, vice president of sales at a trade show firm, told Inc. Magazine. 

Entrepreneurs should hold training sessions in the weeks leading up to a trade show. The seminars should focus on specific goals to ensure that every representative will know what tactics to use. Additionally, owners should encourage their employees to work together when it comes to qualifying leads, to find consumers who are most likely to become customers. 

The right promotional items
Many companies distribute branded gifts at trade shows. Potential clients are bombarded with dozens of advertisements during the events, so it can be difficult for them to remember an individual enterprise. Small promotional marketing products provide consumers with physical reminders of businesses. Phil Cavanaugh, the vice president of events for Monster.com, told Inc. Magazine that his company prefers to distribute functional items instead of frivolous presents. 

“We still believe in giving people something tangible to walk away with, but you want something beyond the useless tchotchke,” Cavanaugh said. 

The best items depend on the nature of a trade show. For instance, attendees at a technological conference would enjoy small devices like promotional flash drives and calculators. The more relevant a gift is to a trade show, the more value it has as an advertisement. 

Alternatively, businesses can use functional items that are consistently popular. Consumers always appreciate promotional pens, water bottles and calendars. The branded gifts can be used at work or home, so companies are creating reliable advertisements that last longer than a trade show. No other marketing materials can match the longevity of the small items.

Small business owners can use promotional marketing products to capitalize on hockey’s popularity. For instance, pens and magnets can be decorated with team colors instead of standard corporate imagery. Additionally, branded water bottles can be given to amateur players who dream of playing in the NHL one day.

Promotional calendars are the best gifts for tying a business to a sport. A team’s schedule can be used to fill out every page, so consumers will develop brand recognition whenever they look up the next game.

Entrepreneurs must be careful to avoid copyright infringement if they aren’t official sponsors of an NHL franchise. Color schemes and city names are usable because they aren’t trademarked content, but team names and imagery are protected. Generic identifiers and symbols like hockey sticks and pucks can create a strong association between a business and the sport without causing any legal ramifications.

Small businesses should use the sport's ability to entertain and enthrall in order to help peddle promo items that associate their brand name with the excitement on ice. A company could give out promotional pens that not only have the company logo, but also come with a picture of a hockey puck, stick or goalie mask.

Get customers to bet on which team will take home the trophy by asking them to fill out a bracket for the remainder of the tournament at tradeshow giveaways, strictly for bragging rights. Will it be the New Jersey Devils or the Philadelphia flyers, as they battle for dominance in the fifth game of the Eastern Conference semifinals? Perhaps the New York Rangers will triumph over the Washington Capitals as they go head to head in their own best-of-seven series. Either way, the anticipation is bound to captivate potential consumers.

However, September is rapidly approaching, and with that month will come a significant influx of people into clerical settings. Vacations will come to an end, finding workers consistently spending more time in offices. More importantly, teachers and students will once again prepare to spend all of their time in the classroom.

Now is the perfect time to begin stocking up on promotional pens. Editing essays, taking tests and making notes are about to return with a vengeance and will require the proper tools. Teachers and students won't want to have to go hunting for a writing implement, which is why both will gladly accept a promotional product that's given to them.

Giving a promotional product to a teacher certainly increases the brand awareness of a product, service or organization, but donating pens to students has the effect of eventually advertising a company name to their parents as well.