Custom Apparel for the Winter Season
Business owners and marketing professionals are always looking for effective ways to promote their brands. One of the most common and effective ways to promote a brand is with the merchandise. There are many different avenues to take when creating merchandise.
If you’re looking for the right merchandise to increase your company’s presence in the market, consider designing custom apparel for the winter season. Branded apparel can serve as a way to generate income through your company’s store or as a great addition to promotional packages.
Promote Your Business with Custom Apparel
One of the most effective ways to spread awareness about your business is through branded apparel. Selling branded apparel on your website or including it in promotional material packages presents a unique opportunity to market yourself even when you’re not actively working.
Because your customers are going to wear your branded apparel, they will be advertising for you without any additional effort on your part or theirs. Simply pulling on a shirt or hat before leaving home makes it so that anyone who interacts with customers wearing your apparel will see your logo and brand.
In these situations, your customers are happy with your brand because they’re wearing high-quality, comfortable gear. They will also associate your brand with high-quality merchandise. Passersby, on the other hand, are curious about your logo or name and may very well visit your website to learn more.
On top of that, if you plan to gift segments of your customer base, your colleagues, and your employees with custom apparel, you’re extending an opportunity to build a long-term business relationship. People usually enjoy receiving free gifts, so if you’re handing over high-quality apparel, they’ll wear it for years to come.
4 Benefits of Custom Apparel
Branded merchandise is usually a smart investment for businesses, but branded apparel can yield benefits that exceed those created by branded pens and cups (though these items have their benefits as well). Practically any type of clothing can create unique opportunities that affect your marketing strategies, business growth, and customer satisfaction in a positive way.
While there are numerous benefits to providing custom apparel, it is helpful to pay attention to a few key benefits. The four greatest benefits of offering custom apparel include the following:
- Affordable Marketing: Many marketing professionals know that printing a logo and brand name onto high-quality apparel requires a financial investment. The higher the quality, the more costly the investment in many situations. However, this type of investment can generate fantastic returns. For example, purchasing 500 soft, cotton shirts costs the company once. Selling ½ of them generates income. Gifting the other half of the shirts to customers yields benefits in a different way. You’ll have 250 people wearing your merchandise, representing your brand, and leading new customers to your website.
- Promos & Giveaways: Apparel makes a great promotional or giveaway item. Most of the time, it’s lightweight and does not take up a lot of space when folded. If you happen to be giving away merchandise at an event, customers will appreciate not having to carry big, bulky, heavy items with them throughout the rest of the expo. This also promotes a positive experience with your brand, as you are providing customers (and potential customers) with an item they can continuously use.
- Loyalty Building: Creating high-quality branded merchandise shows customers and colleagues that you value the products you’re offering to the people who support you. You respect their patronage and the financial investment they made to support your business. By giving customers high-quality branded products, you’re increasing their loyalty to your brand.
- Brand Awareness: Custom apparel is a very easy way to increase brand awareness. Pieces of clothing with your name and logo on them get noticed by everyone who interacts with customers who wear these pieces. Further, releasing custom apparel presents your business with a reason for special advertising. Announcing your releases on your website and social media accounts helps spread the word about your business.
Why Seasonal Apparel?
Seasonal apparel presents businesses with products that can fuel a successful marketing campaign. While standard apparel can be worn throughout the year, it’s a good idea to release certain pieces at the beginning of a season.
Think about it this way. In May, very few people (in the Northern Hemisphere) are shopping for gloves or jackets. In November, very few people are shopping for shorts and flip-flops. However, when temperatures start to drop, usually between August and October, people are most definitely shopping for winter clothing. When spring begins, people are shopping for summer clothing.
Releasing winter custom apparel mid-Autumn or just before Autumn is over provides your customers with advertisements that are relevant and timely. They’re already looking for cold-weather clothing, and when you market custom apparel for winter at just the right time, you’re providing a quick, easy solution. This also keeps your brand at the top of your customer’s minds with every season change and provides more ways for customers to wear your brand.
Winter Apparel Options
Most of the time, when businesses create winter custom apparel, the collection commonly includes sweatshirts, hats, and gloves. However, some additional winter apparel options worth considering are hoodies, zip-up jackets, scarves, socks, mittens, and specialty gloves that allow the wearer to operate a touchscreen.
In addition to releasing winter apparel, business owners might also choose to release a couple of winter accessories. Mugs, insulated coffee cups with lids, and silicone cup jackets may be smart additions to a winter apparel release. This way, while customers are shopping for sweaters and hats, they might be reminded that they need a new cup to carry hot drinks in when the cold weather rolls in.
If you’re considering custom winter apparel to present to your customers, it’s important to work with a printing company that produces high-quality results. Spotlight Strategies offers a plethora of marketing services that include printing, promotional material, apparel, signs, and more. Visit our website and take a look around, or contact us to talk about the marketing project you’re planning. We’d love to help you create exceptional branded merchandise.
Erin Smith is co-owner of Spotlight Strategies, a marketing solutions firm specializing in print, apparel, promotional product and signs. An accomplished health care administrator turned business owner, Erin brings rare behavioral expertise to the world of small business.
With a Master’s degree in social work, and a thriving business she is a sought after advisor, coach and mentor to many of Indiana’s small business owners and support associations. Erin demonstrates unwavering commitment and facilitates profitability to any organization to which she directs her time and talent, and is successful in motivating and empowering people whether supporting a cause or building a company.
