Marketing is an essential part of running a business. If you get it right, your company will receive the benefits of your hard work. However, getting it wrong the first time doesn’t mean that you can’t try again. There are many different ways to approach marketing your business, and one of those methods is creating a brand.
Branding is a type of marketing that gives your advertisements a purpose. The aim of branding is to connect all your ads under one umbrella, creating a recognizable identity for your company. You can create branding by developing a noticeable logo, a mascot, or a slogan. However, there is one key branding technique that is just as effective as all three of these strategies and that is using branded merchandise.
Branded Merchandise Explained
Branded merchandise is a product designed to promote your company. Anything that carries your company logo, slogan, or name can be considered branded merchandise. A key example of this type of merchandise is cheap t-shirt printing from a company like Bolt Printing. Custom t-shirts can be useful as they are worn by staff and can help you to improve brand recognition.
Of course, you can also use this branding on your stationery, company calendars, and tote bags. Anything that can be seen or used by your customers is a perfect fit for branded merchandise, but why would a company spend so much money on doing so? Let’s look at the advantages of branded merchandise and how it can help with your marketing.
Exposure
Customers are only going to use your company’s services if they are aware of its existence. That is why marketing teams put so much effort into spreading your marketing materials as far and wide as possible and creating branded merchandise is just an extension of this strategy.
The more people that become aware of your company, the more business you will receive in the long run. Branding your merchandise is just another way to get your name out there and in the mind of the consumer.
Creating Loyalty
There are only so many customers out there who have a need for your product or services. That is why your company needs to rely on repeat business to continue earning a profit. Business experts suggest that between 20% and 40% of your profit should be made off returning trade. Therefore, you should be coming up with strategies to retain clients and bring customers back to your door.
Providing a good service should be your first step toward retaining customers, but you must also cement yourself as an option to prevent them from using your competition. Giving your customers a branded pen or bag after their first purchase plants a subtle reminder that you are available for their needs in the future. In summary, you can slowly build up customer loyalty using branded merchandise.
Cost-Effective
Ask any marketing expert in the business and they will tell you that advertising isn’t cheap. Running constant T.V ads can cost millions, and internet pop-ups and billboard hires aren’t much better options if you are on a tight budget.
Fortunately, manufacturing pens, t-shirts, or mouse mats is a cost-effective way of getting your name out there while also providing you with some of the other benefits discussed so far. Even if you find yourself with a large marketing budget, you can still end up spending less by using this style of marketing and using the money you have saved elsewhere. Your aim as a company is to reap more income than you spend on your marketing, and you can certainly do that with branded merchandise.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of gaining customer interest in your business. This interest should translate into future sales; however, it isn’t always that easy.
Generating leads should create curiosity in a company. A customer notices your logo or name and this branding should prompt them to research your company. They will then have your company in mind next time they are in need of your specific services. Most advertising methods reveal too much information for lead generation to work. The common principle behind creating a piece of marketing is informing potential customers of what your company does and why they should use your services. This approach involves explaining your company’s services, which means that customers will know who you are. If you can’t do this, then you could try using branded merchandise to encourage consumers to find out more about your brand.
Using branded merchandise provides the consumer with an interesting logo or name to follow up on, creating the illusion that they have sought you out themselves. This initial intrigue creates something memorable, thereby cementing your company’s duties in the minds of anyone that will require your services in the future. Therefore, lead generation can help guarantee that these curious customers use your company instead of another competitor, increasing your profit margins.
Company Morale
Those who work for a huge company can sometimes feel as if they have lost their identity. The sheer scale in which you operate can leave your employees feeling useless as if they are just another cog in a machine. This loss of identity can lead to low moods, anxiety, and loss of confidence. As you can imagine, any one of these statuses is going to negatively affect employee performance. Poor performance means that productivity is going to be reduced, the very thing that determines whether you end up making a profit.
That is why many companies have systems in place to boost workplace morale. HR teams are implemented to address any concerns that your employees have, but branded merchandising can help with this issue as well, even if it is only in a small way.
Product branding can create a unified front. An employee in your offices can glance at the pen they are using and see a logo. This logo reminds them that they are working for a unified company instead of a faceless corporation. Branded marketing can create an umbrella under which everyone in your company feels accepted. It doesn’t take much but boosting your employee’s morale in this way is going to keep them happy and working hard to earn you more money in the long run.
Improved Sales
As a business, your main goal is to end up making a profit. The larger the profit, the more money you can put into expanding your business into new areas. As such, it is important to do everything possible to increase your profit margins as much as possible. Recent statistics indicate that overall revenue is increased by 33% when a company displays strong brand consistency. Of course, a crucial part of brand consistency is investing in branded merchandise. Therefore, you are more likely to earn more money when using this marketing strategy, and isn’t that what running a business is all about?
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to use branded merchandise as part of your marketing strategy. There are very few drawbacks and plenty of benefits, the most obvious of which is that it can bring more customers to your door.