The biggest brands in the world are immediately recognizable by one look at their logo, or even just seeing their signature colors. Effective brand recall is the result of many years of investing in consistent visuals and a unified look. Along with having familiar visuals is communicating what your brand is about and the experience that customers can expect from it. For example, seeing two yellow arches on a red background may cause the viewer to crave for some crispy fries.
Developing your brand is necessary for growing your business, and creating branded merchandise is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to do it. From caps and shirts to mugs and pet products, there are many different kinds of items that you can put your logo, tagline, and brand colors on. Still hesitant to make the investment?
Read on to better understand why having branded merchandise is beneficial for your business.
Boost Brand Awareness
Having a storefront, billboard and social media pages creates opportunities for people to discover and engage with your brand but there are limits to audience reach. With branded merchandise, your customers are reminded about your brand every time they use mugs, bags or customizable dog hoodies with your logo on it. These items can also be a helpful reminder for them to repurchase items from your store or recommend your brand if someone asks for a referral.
Best of all, if your branded merchandise includes wearable apparel like baseball caps, hoodies and shirts, the people wearing these items promote your brand whenever they wear gear with your brand. This is a good way to reach new members of your target market as your customers are likely to know other people who would be interested in the same services or products.
Build Customer Loyalty
Maintaining your existing customers and keeping them loyal to your brand is an important marketing objective. One of the ways to do this is to create programs and promotions that reward their loyalty, like giving them branded merchandise as a thank you gift. This helps them to feel appreciated by the business they’ve been supporting, and everyone enjoys receiving something for free. It further connects your brand to positive customer experiences.
To ensure the branded merchandise will be appreciated, choose useful everyday items that provide a benefit for your customers. These can include items such as umbrellas, ID lanyards, date planners and dog leashes for pet owners. Before you produce your branded merchandise, study what items are most used by your customers so you can have the merchandise designed with their needs in mind.
Differentiate From Competition
It’s rare to be the only one in your industry to offer certain products and services. Chances are, there are quite a few companies that are competing with your business. Use branded merchandise to stand out and draw the attention of customers. Though your products and services may be the same as those offered by other companies, having branded pet products leads customers to perceive your brand as offering better value than your competitors. After all, having useful items with your brand’s logo on them is another way for customers to engage with your brand even if they aren’t currently looking at your website or shopping at your store. As customers regularly use your branded merchandise, your brand and name become easier to recall, eventually establishing your brand as top-of-mind for your potential customers. They will be more likely to remember your brand rather than that of your competition.
You can also make designs that are creative or include a catchy tagline in your merchandise to give your brand more personality. Depending on your company values and the image you want to project, you can customize your merchandise to have various positive associations like having fun or being eco-friendly. This makes your brand more relatable for consumers and gives them a better idea of what to expect from your company.
Generate Sales Leads
Of course, the goal of every marketing campaign is to generate more sales for the company. You can use branded merchandise as a promotional tool for new customers who, upon sharing their information or making their first purchase, can receive a free gift. This is a great way to incentivize consumers to try your product or service for the first time since they are getting additional value for their purchase.
It’s best to include branded merchandise that complements the usage of your products like a pretty comb to go with your shampoo, or sturdy canvas shopping bags with the logo of your grocery store.
Putting your branding on merchandise is a great way to support your brand’s marketing efforts. It also generates goodwill from your customers and attracts new ones to your company. Consider allocating a business budget for this initiative and observe how having branded merchandise improves your business goals of cultivating customer loyalty and increasing sales.