Guide – how to use merchandise products for your business
How to turn your branded products into merch products and include them into your sales mix.
We are all very accustomed to use branded products for clients corporate gifts, office products or for promotional campaigns.
But how else you can use them into your business activities?
The answer is – turn them into merchandise products with a consumer value for your clients and start selling them. This way, you can not only increase your reveniew but increase your brand popularity and awareness.
See how you can achieve this.
What are the merchandise products
Every single product for sale in the commercial network is actually a merchandise product. But the term is known for more specific meaning, as well.
Some of the merchandise goods, widely traded into the retail industry, are customised products branded with the image of popular people or cartoon heroes. This is a highly profitable industry for many years, driven by the fact that they are a lot of fans of musicians, artists and cartoon movie characters happy to use such products. You all have seen all those goods with the Mickey Mouse pictures, the smiling faces of Elsa and Anna, rock idols and many more.
As merchandise products are known also branded products with a logo or certain elements from a favourite brand. Hats or T-shirts printed with your favourite car’s logo. Volvo for example has a specialised online shop for fans where the company sells merch products. Another example for a merch product is one popular among certain auditory with certain interests and in that case it is used for carrying the trade mark of the business and for brand awareness. If your business was yoga studio or fitness center, you could have used for that purpose printed yoga leggings or racksacks with a special design which you know might be well appraised by your clients.
For what type of businesses are suitable the merchandise products and how you can successfully integrate them in your sales mix
Some small businesses can also benefit from using printed brand products similarly to how big brands do. These are the kind of companies that aim to develop brand strategy in a long term or companies that offer products which are trendy or have occupied the consumer’s mind. Take into consideration to keep a regular eye over the rising trends among your target audience and in the society as a whole, so you can catch the proper wave for your business when it appears.
What are the merch products that you can use according to your kind of business?
Commercial stores
You can offer to your clients eco friendly option to substitute the plastic bags. Textile reusable tote bags with your logo and attractive design can be extremely convinient for your clients. They are really trendy now amongst the generation between 20-35 years old, they cover the green sustainable trend and can be used many times and for many purposes. This way your business name will appear everywhere where your bags are.
When you notice there are frequently bought products you could develop your own branded product line where possible. Take in mind and use special occasions, such as events with causes, tendencies and holidays, as a motive to make a special product. A product with appeal toward your audience suitable for the occasion. Implement fresh and funny ideas, so it’s interesting for the customers to buy them.
Business services
Significant part of the services, performed at the point of sale, are with restricted potential for a further business growth, because of the number of staff and size of the premises. A chance for them to overcome that restriction line, without investing significant amount of additional financial resources, is to sell related products to the main services they offer.
Beauty salons and hairdresser services
Hair and beauty salons are acquainted with such kind of business model. Additional to their main business often they sell products helping to their clients getting the best result. Along with these products branded merch products could be appended. Beauty salons can sell face masks as related products and branded hair bands as merchandise products for instance. Beautiful makeup bags which can easily fit into a ladies’ purse, branded with your logo and motives, other kind of accessories, compact brush holders and pocket mirrors in a leather case again custom printed.
Sport and fitness centres
Fitness centers, yoga and spa studios are very suitable kind of businesses for selling merchandise products. Practicing sports and spa activities requires certain necessities like towels, sport accessories such as wicks for fitness, yoga mats and yoga bolsters, bottles, bags, rucksacks and specialized sports wear. All these can be successfully recommended for the needs of the current customer base because they need the items for exercising the activity. Even more, if you offered custom printed products related to your main one, you would show your special client care attention. Moreover, the high quality would complement the customer value. The ample variety of specialized high quality sport textiles, quick dry, breathing textiles and more, are a guarantee for meeting your clients expectations. Our designers will advise you on the most adequate fabric for your case. We’ll prep[are a design according to your clients’ preferences. This way you’ll have full control over the product you offer – design, textile, cut, printing quality, your brands’ visibility and a chance to aspire through a message.
Artists
Tattoo studios and artists that have their admirers already could increase easily their profits by adding some complementary products. The artists could use the images they create for prints on T-shirts, hats, bags, beach towels, sweatshirts and other small accessories. Tattoo artists that have specific style and make their own author’s tattoos could design clothing line with their patterns or posters and canvas with their author’s images.
Photographers can sell their memorable pictures and masterpieces on canvas and posters, as well.
Organizers of professional courses
Merchandise products can contribute to the business activity of organizers of some professional courses. For sale and during the class activity teachers can use custom printed assisting product such as cooking aprons, chef hats and other textile cloths for cooking courses; cups, T-Shirts, branded accessories and instruments, tote bags for other type of crafting courses. The custom printed materials with your logo and design will make the students experience feel more like a group with common goal and interest, will make your company look more professional and will add to your income.
Events and companies with a cause
Events and brands with a cause and companies with a vision for green initiatives, sustainability, employee wellness programs are very suitable to benefit from branded products. This way the name of the brand, the cause and the goal will spread together with the merch product. Clients and employees that share the idea would have been positive about using the printed products which would make them brand ambassadors. Printed reusable bottles and cups, tops and T-shirts with custom design, bracelets with a cause, keyholders, textile rucksacks and tote bags with a logo and mantra/messages are some of the goods companies can share and sell to spread the word.
Electronic Mass Media
Mass Media that has a big audience and has built a brand name already could successfully sell merch products – hats, T-shirts, tote bags, sweatshirts and other goods with its logo on them. Forbes, The New Yorker and others are some of the good examples how to do that.
Horeca and hotel industry
Have a look at Disneyland and Hard Rock Cafe. Real examples of well developed businesses using the full capacity of merch products.
Your restaurant or a bar stands out with something specific, it is targeting a specific group of people with certain interests – rock fans, people with a hobby or you just have an attractive offer – associate your point of interest with merchandise products.
Your clients had spent a gorgeous holiday at your hotel or the resort your premises are located is well known and desired – offer them a chance to keep the good memories alive and to show their friends where they have been by wearing or using your merches. Beach towels, T- shirts or a beach bag printed with your logo or a picture and a name of the destination are typical merches for that occasion.
How merch products work for your business
- Your business generates additional profitability from additional sales.
- You present your brand to the public and position it as a brand with a vision and special customer experience.
- Your brand name goes around as your clients use your merch products in public places.
Your current clients are one of your biggest assets. Give them a proper and enough attention. Very often getting new customers would cost you much more as a marketing budget and time invested. Get the most from what you have. Our experts will guide through what kind of products you can use according to the type of your business and your target clients.