As an entrepreneur, you probably started your small business to make money doing the business you love. Be it cooking a tasty meal or designing software, your focus is getting your main service or product line in front of customers. While this is great business strategy, you could be overlooking an additional source of revenue: brand merchandise sales.
Brand merchandise are the products you can sell to customers that shows your company logo, motto, product, or any other image or phrase that promotes your small business. There are a variety of ways you can use brand products to help your business with promotion and even create additional revenue streams.
Strategies for Brand Merchandise
How can brand merchandise help your business? Here are a few strategies:
Advertising/Promotion
Use the products with your business name and logo as promotional and advertising media. Anyone wearing a T-shirt or hat with your logo is a walking billboard and free advertising for you. Brand products are also a great way to get your business name in front of potential customers.
Customer Loyalty
People who like your business and products will lovingly wear and use your brand products. This also has a subconscious affects of promoting loyalty to your company.
Additional Revenue
Brand products not only help promote your business, but can be a source of additional revenue. Create a demand and sell your brand products to customers. This adds a nice side revenue stream for your company.
Choose Quality
If you do give or sell brand products, avoid the temptation to purchase cheap wholesale products. Poor quality shirts, pens, and other products do not give a good name for your business if they easily wear out, break down, or just look cheap.
Easy Store Links
If you sell brand products online through your service website, be sure you provide links to your online store. Many small businesses make the mistake of adding a store link at the bottom of the main web page. Instead, include your store links on a sidebar or main navigation bar.
Consider Your Logo
Some company logos and slogans are more adaptable for selling branded merchandise than others, especially if your customer loyalty does not run as deep as Apple fanatics, for example. Consider the indie t-shirt company Coexist, whose logo comprised of several different religious icons is a strong statement in and of itself.
Popular Brand Merchandise Products
What makes a good brand product? Here are some ideas:
T-shirts/Polos/Hats – Apparel is some of the best advertising. Customers pay for your brand products so you get extra revenue and a walking billboard. While ordering custom T-shirts, hats, windbreakers, etc may be a larger outlay of cash, the potential payoff is tremendous.
Pens – This is another common promotional item. Pens are easily customizable through specialty product design stores. An inexpensive pen is a great giveaway to customers at the register, at trade shows, at promotional events, etc.
Coffee mugs – Any coffee drinker likes a good mug. Create a colorful custom brand mug with your logo, and you’ve got an instant promotional reminder first thing in the morning for your loyal customers. Consider both a porcelain mug and/or plastic travel mug.
Pint/Shot/Wine glasses – Included in the drinkware line are glasses for wine, shots, pints, etc. Glassware has a special appeal to users, as they are more likely to last a long time. If ordered in bulk, you can get classy glassware for just a few bucks apiece, but sell them for $10 or more.
Tote/Duffel Bags – Why not send customers on their way with a customized and reusable duffel or tote bag? With more people being environmentally conscious, a reusable tote or duffel is a great way to promote environmental friendliness, and it puts your business name out there on a great brand product.
Other Promotional Items – Other products that are inexpensive but can be useful as giveaways at tradeshows, events, etc, include bookmarks, keychains, golf balls/tees, and more. These types of items are great at helping a potential customer solidify your meeting and remember your business name.
If you are interested in creating a great promotional tool and even an additional side line of revenue, research product design firms online and find out how you can get started today.
