In this modern, competitive world, businesses need to market their brand, products, and services wisely, especially for startups. Customers’ needs and preferences are constantly evolving, and without the right marketing strategy, you’re already losing.
6 Tips To Design Strong Branded Merchandise For Your Startup
If you want to grab people’s attention and keep your company at the top of their minds, you might want to offer branded merchandise.
Understanding Branded Merchandise and Its Benefits
Merchandise is another word for products that you purchase from a store or shop. However, there’s a difference between general merchandise and branded merchandise.
A branded merchandise features the brand’s logo or a brand message that’s printed on it. In short, plain merchandise becomes branded merchandise when there’s a logo or other brand visuals on it.
Branded merchandise is also called promotional products since most brands decide to give these items for free.
So, why should you create and launch a branded merchandise?
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Grabs Attention
As mentioned before, consumers’ interest can wane easily, with statistics showing that people only have a concentration span of eight seconds, which is less than that of a goldfish.
This means that your customers have difficulty keeping their focus on one object or place. This means that most marketing fails to grab and hold the attention of potential customers.
Branded merchandise, however, can help drive attention and hold it for longer. This is because most merchandise is offered as a gift or at very low prices.
Also, people tend to keep on using the products, which also means that your brand logo or message will continue to get their attention every time they use it.
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Enhanced Customer Engagement
Branded merchandise is often tangible products. And since customers keep the branded merchandise with them for months, this can enhance customer engagement.
People can even take selfies wearing the branded merchandise in cool settings. This helps your brand build a community of fans and ensuring more customer engagement.
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Brand Recognition
When an individual carries a bag with a printed brand logo or wears a branded shirt like these design ideas here, hundreds of people will also see that logo.
This means that the person carrying or wearing the branded merchandise is like a walking billboard. This helps build brand recognition since more people become aware of your brand.
How To Create a Strong Branded Merchandise?
So, now that you understand what a branded merchandise is and how it can benefit your startup, you might be wondering how to make one. Here are some tips for you:
1. Reflect On Your Brand’s Identity
Branded merchandise isn’t another variation or series line of your products. Rather, they should reflect who you are as a brand. It should help customers remember your company once they see certain merchandise.
In order to produce effective branded merchandise, you need to reflect on your brand’s identity and make sure that the products are aligned with your brand image.
For example, if you’re a startup offering organic food, then it’s best to look at eco-friendly branded packaging, such as travel cups, eco-bags, or reusable utensils.
2. Know Your Audience
The first thing you want to do is to consider who your target audience is. This should be answered clearly before you start designing your branded merchandise.
Although your merchandise can be available to anyone, you need to accurately determine who your existing supporters, customers, fans, and followers are. Keep in mind that not everyone will be interested in buying every design that you offer.
However, prioritizing the interest of current clients can pursue long-term relationships with them while enticing potential buyers.
In order to determine your audience, you can conduct surveys and polls on your social platforms. You can also post questions for your audience to answer, which may involve merch design ideas, preferences, trends, and suggestions.
3.Carefully Choose Your Merchandise
The success of your branded merchandise will hugely depend on your choice of products. If you give a promotional item that’s not useful to a recipient, then it won’t generate interest in your business.
So, you need to offer the items that are useful to people every day or lifestyle items, such as hoodies, water bottles, stationeries, bags, pens, hats, and power banks. Consider avoiding the trendy products that may go out of the cycle soon if you’re picking long-term branded merchandise.
Also, you can choose products that have minimal variations, which can be used by a wide range of people. For instance, caps or socks can be unisex, and the sizing factor can be neutralized. This way, more people can buy and use the products.
4. Don’t Limit Your Theme
A branded merchandise designed should be focused on your target audience. However, you shouldn’t limit your design or theme to your target audience.
In order to create strong brand merchandise, you should also consider the people outside your target audience so that they, too, can be made aware of your brand. You never know which set of people will like and buy your items after seeing the merchandise design.
Thus, you can try creating themes that appeal to a broader audience other than your targeted one.
5. Opt For a Simple Design
It’s okay to be enthusiastic about your merchandise design. However, adding too many elements to your design can make your merchandise look cluttered and hinders the message, which also puts off consumers.
So, don’t include your company address, phone number, website address, and every little detail about your company in your design. Instead, you can simply add your brand logo and a simple additional visual. Create something simple and well-designed. Sometimes, minimalistic design can create a bigger impact.
6. Get Help
Sometimes, you’ll hit a dead-end in designing your branded merchandise when working only with your teammates. In order to get innovative ideas, consider collaborating with merchandise professionals.
They can offer a more convenient and faster way to design and produce your items.
There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, especially if you’re always busy running your startup business.
These professionals should be able to help create a unique branded messaging for your next merchandise.
Conclusion
Branded merchandise is a way for fans and potential customers to try and take home a little piece of your brand and making it a part of their daily lives.
Your merchandise doesn’t need to be expensively done. Simple planning, creativity, and audience understanding should be enough to create a strong branding strategy for your startup business.
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