How To Promote Your Business Through Custom Merchandize

Promote Your Business

Promote Your Business

Using custom merchandise is a popular strategy to promote your business. Common examples of custom merchandise include branded t-shirts, customized mugs, personalized water bottles, phone cases, notebooks, pens, and much more. All these products feature the company’s logo or a unique design representing their idea or message. Using custom merchandise can have a positive impact on your business as it;

  • Increases brand awareness and recognition
  • Promotes customer loyalty
  • Increases customer retention
  • Serves as an additional source of revenue

How to promote your business through custom merchandise

You can design and order customized merchandise from websites like Ultra Patches and begin promoting your business. But you must prepare a strategy to gain the maximum benefit from your branded products. Here are some suggestions you should follow

Identify your target audience

Understanding your target audience is important to gain long-term success in your business. This is crucial because customers with different demographics have unique needs and desires that, if understood properly, can help you capitalize on branded merch. For example, if you own a coffee bean house and want to attract millennial coffee enthusiasts, cups would be the obvious choice instead of stationery.

To identify your target audience and narrow down your product options, find answers to these questions:

  • What are your target audience’s needs?
  • What are people interested in?
  • What is their lifestyle like?
  • What are their insecurities?
  • What is their budget?

Exploring answers to these questions will help brainstorm what merchandise you should select. This can be done through market research methods like interviews and surveys. Use the analytic tools available online, like Google Analytics, to gain knowledge about your customers.

Align your brand’s values to the merchandise

Your brand’s values must align with the product you choose to slap your logo onto. This is because customers who support your these values will lose trust if they see you marketing something that goes against your ideals. For example, if you own a recycling business, choosing a product that can be considered an environmental hazard, like non-biodegradable water bottles, wouldn’t be such a great idea.

Instead, choose a unique product that offers more value in terms of functionality and longevity. For example, you can use reusable water bottles for outdoor enthusiasts and hikers, or pens and lunch boxes for students.

Focus on the design

Once you have decided on the product to be your merch, you must design it to make it look attractive. Consider the following steps:

  • Brainstorm ideas and concepts for your merch design, and draw a rough sketch to help you visualize the final look.
  • Make the overall design of your product consistent with your brand’s image. This includes the font style, color palette, material, etc.

Ensure proper distribution

An ideal distribution strategy will expand your reach and give your brand additional exposure. To develop an effective distribution strategy, you must consider the following steps:

  • Choose the right platform: This can vary depending on your audience and product, but e-commerce and retail stores are almost always good choices. But for example, if your target audience includes children, you can organize a function in a school or do a giveaway on educational campuses.
  • Partner with a retailer: Enter a partnership with a relevant retailer whose business goals align with your brand’s. This can help boost your brand’s social image and provide further exposure to your merchandise.
  • Do giveaways: Give away your merchandise for free at commercial events. This will help you build a good reputation for your business and expand your reach to new potential customers.
  • Organize contests: You can host contests to promote customer engagement and attract new ones to your brand. Your branded merch can be a prize for winning the contest.
  • Sponsor events: You can also consider sponsoring an event to promote your business and branded merch. Dress up your employees in your custom-made merchandise and gather the public to participate in activities. This will positively impact your brand’s reputation.

Use social media influencers

Leveraging social media influencers is a great, if not the best, strategy for promoting your merchandise to your target audience. Social media influencers can amplify your brand’s message to your target audience by showcasing your branded merch. You can take the following steps to execute this strategy;

  • Identify the correct social media influencers to promote your custom merchandise. Prepare a checklist to find the ideal influencer for your brand. Consider the following points;
    • Influencers must have a genuine interest in the niche your brand specializes in
    • They must know the industry you operate in
    • They must have the same target audience as you
    • They should be active on the platform your target audience is active on
  • Once you have chosen your influencer, reach out to them with a personalized message and discuss how they can promote your merchandise through their social media profiles.
  • Create campaigns with them by creating interesting videos like unboxing videos, reviewing your merchandise, and any content showcasing your merchandise being used. This will give your merchandise and the overall brand more authenticity. You can use online video editing tools like Canva to develop stunning videos to kick your video marketing up a notch.

Conclusion

All in all, custom merchandise can be a great way to promote your business. It can increase brand awareness and customer loyalty. To implement customer merchandising strategies, you must know your target audiences and use the appropriate influencers and platforms to market your merchandise to them. Functional and attractive products can help increase top-of-the-mind recall for your brand and increase your customer base.