Why Offering Promo Products is a Great Idea for Apparel Decorators
As a decorator, there are so many opportunities for you to expand beyond apparel. One of the best options to grow your business is to sell promotional products.
“Apparel’s No. 1 in the promo market and No. 2 is drinkware, so a lot of apparel companies like to diversify and don't put all their eggs in the one apparel basket, so to speak,” says Michael Barron, western USA sales manager at Inkcups.
In fact, apparel takes up 35-40% of the promo market, says David Clifton, chief marketing and customer experience officer at alphabroder. Expanding into the rest of the industry provides decorators a well of opportunity to diversify their offerings, strengthen their revenue, and build customer loyalty.
“The biggest thing is that our customer base is already producing and ordering promotional products,” says Jeremy Picker, creative director and CEO at AMB3R Creative. “If you're not doing it, that means they're using someone else to do it, which obviously opens it up for them to take the [apparel] business that you have away; a lot of people just want it all in the same place. So by not offering [promo products], not only are you leaving money on the table, but you could actually lose that client who has another vendor that does promo and print and all the above, and it might just be easier to work with [that other vendor].”
Should You Outsource the Work?
For decorators just entering the market, the seemingly endless list of promo products can feel daunting. So, a good place to start is to outsource the decoration for those products. According to Picker, partnering with a promotional products company that will do your hard goods work in return for your apparel decoration services may help you start on the right foot.
“You won't make as big margins, but you don't have to learn the ins and outs of promo, which, I'm going to say right now, promotional products are way more difficult logistically than apparel,” he feels. “Apparel: You submit the design, you pick your ink colors. There's obviously a lot more to that, but it's very streamlined. With promotional products, we're using 15 to 20 different promotional products vendors at one time, because we like this mug from this person, we like this journal from this one. And so, promotional products do take more employee time to manage.”
The possibility of eliminating potential logistic headaches may have you sold on outsourcing, but Barron points out some drawbacks to this method. Aside from margin losses, outsourcing your promo work can give you less control over your lead times, print quality, and customer data, the latter of which gives your outsourcing partner your customers’ information, which they may use to take your customers for themselves.
Whether the benefits of outsourcing outweigh the negatives depends on your priorities and capabilities as a decorator. Clifton suggests testing the utility of outsourcing your promo product decoration to determine if you can or should start doing that work internally.
“The pro there is, you can figure out your demand streams and figure out where your demand’s coming from,” he says. “Is it repeatable? Is it consistent? And you can look at your profits and say, ‘Well, I've got enough of this demand going on. I can bring this in house now, I can get the machinery and it makes more sense from a profitability standpoint for me to do it myself versus outsourcing.’”
Regardless, Picker emphasizes that there’s no pressure to make hard goods decoration an internal operation.
“I outsource everything,” he says. “I let the experts be good at what they do. I'm good with the customers' design — creative development — and I just try to stay in my lane because they are two different mindsets.”
Getting Started with In-House Decoration
If you decide to bring your promo product decoration in-house, you need to ensure you have the proper resources. Luckily, potential overlap with your apparel decorating processes may help you easily tack on new products.
For instance, Clifton says that some of your staff may already have experience with promotional product decoration techniques, or else be able to pick those skills up without much trouble.
“Most of the traditional promotional product decoration, it is going to be pad printing, laser etching, debossing — these are fairly straightforward decoration methods,” he explains. “They're not esoteric or out there. I think from a skillset standpoint, you've got a [group] of skilled laborers that are doing screen printing or some other apparel decoration. They can easily transition and run those machines. Those skill sets translate across different machines. If anything, screen printing is probably more complex than a lot of the deco methods that are used on promotional products.”
However, Barron cautions that this might not be the case for all employees or operations.
“Apparel decorators who have some digital experience, maybe offer some digital technologies, … they find it very, very easy,” he says. He adds that some printers who just do screen printing and little digital might face a steeper learning curve, though that’s not always the case.
As far as equipment goes, it is possible to use some of what you have on hand to decorate promo products. For example, Picker says you can use a heat press to decorate tote bags and even drinkware. But you’ll likely have to add new equipment to your lineup if you want to do more than small, entry-level orders, he adds.
How to Market Your New Offerings
Once promo products are integrated into your list of offerings, make sure people know you provide those services. Of course, you can use typical marketing techniques to raise awareness.
“Just make sure [you] put on [your] website that [you] offer hard goods, and notify existing apparel customers that, ‘Hey, guess what? Now we're offering hard goods,’” Barron says. “... And then obviously, I would say most people use fairly inexpensive ways to market it, i.e., social media.”
Additionally, one of the best ways to show off your new capabilities is to make some promo products for your own company. Picker’s advice? Don’t just decorate the items with your logo. Instead, make the design generic — such as state pride — and make your logo a secondary feature of the design.
“I think that's a good opportunity to drum up business and to lead by example, not just ‘Hey, we offer this now, order it,’” Picker says. “You show them, maybe once every quarter … [something like] a full sublimated fleece blanket and send it to [your] top customers. Whether they use that product or not, it's going to get their mind rolling for other things.”
10 Promotional Items to Add Right Now
By Gabby Houck
Still not entirely sure what sorts of products you should be looking at to expand your promotional product offerings? Don’t worry, we made a list.
Bellavita Double Sided Bath Robe - Protowels
If you’re an apparel decorator that offers embroidery, have you thought about getting into the spa and lifestyle space? This 100% ring-spun cotton robe screams luxury, and even better, it’s unisex so it can serve more than one audience. Because in reality, who doesn’t like feeling pampered?
Collapsible Can Cooler - Koozie
A screen-printed can cooler like this is a great jumping point for apparel printers just getting into the promo space. If you’re making shirts for any sort of outdoor outing, how much would your customer love if you could throw these in too? They’d do great in the summer and during the fall during football season.
Prime Line Standard Non-Woven Tote Bag - alphabroder
As we steer away from plastic bag usage, tote bag popularity continues to boom. Why should you miss out? You can get started today with a 200-pack from alphabroder. This bag is made of material made from 10% post-consumer recycled content, which is recyclable.
Tuscan Apron - Beacon Promotions
People are constantly making memories in the kitchen, and you can help them do that by offering aprons. This durable polyester/cotton canvas this apron is filled with features, and the colored ties are adjustable, making it a one-size fits all for most adults. Whether with silk screen or heat transfer equipment, an apron is something your business should consider.
14" x 18" Premium Felt Banner - Pepco Poms
Who’s number one? Your business if you add this! By adding things like felt banners and pennants you can help your customers root for their favorite teams. And if their team loses and the banner needs to go down, don’t worry, the soft plush felt material can be rolled without damaging the imprint.
Pens: a great, low-cost, start in promotional products. This pen from Alexander is screen printed and is a classic promotional tool that will always be needed.
School Golf Umbrella - SouthernPlus
How many times have you gotten caught in the rain without an umbrella? There’s a good chance it’ll happen to you again, but your business can be the reason someone doesn’t get soaked. Umbrellas are a unique promotional tool that could potentially be a great addition to your business.
1/8" Rectangle Screen Printed Mouse Pad - Custom Crest
Now that it seems that almost everyone either works from home or has a hybrid schedule that has them home two or three days a week, why not give people the option to spruce up their home office with a personalized, screen-printed mouse pad?
Therm-O Super Snack - BagMakers Inc.
Now, totes are cool. But a tote style lunch bag? Even cooler (literally). Don’t get tunnel vision when it comes to your bag offerings, bags like this are great for picnics, sporting events, and more. So, don’t miss out.
Convoy Trucker Cap - Hit Promo
If you’re an apparel decorator and you’re not offering accessories like hats, you should really consider it. Hats are an amazing promotional tool, and if you have heat transfer equipment laying around then you can accomplish a hat like this one.