Promoting your brand entails many processes, prompting you to engage in exhausting brainstorming and production processes. All these are necessary to ensure that your products and services sell. However, did you know that another way of efficiently making your brand known to the general public is through merchandise?
Commonly known by its shortened form, merch is items sold towards your target market, but they are separate from your usual lineup of products and services. You may have seen some shirts with the printed logo of your favorite soda pop upfront. In that case, the leading brand is the soda pop company, and their main products are flavored sodas. The shirt in question is their official merchandise, sold separately from their main products.
You can very much do the same thing from your end, as you make sure to offer new items to your customers and provide your company extra publicity, especially if your merch goes viral.
Creating Trendy Merch: What to Know
There are a couple of things to consider before you can even succeed in making merch that resonate with the general public. The following are just a few of the recommendations that you may try for your brand.
Interact with Your Target Audience about What They’re Willing to Buy from You
Once your brand has established itself in the public eye, it’s time to take it to the next level. You may send out a survey to your customers and ask them if they will be comfortable wearing any clothing or apparel with your brand or logo on it.
If you have a considerable following, the apparent answer to this would be a resounding “Yes!” The next thing that you should ask would be their preferred apparel and clothing. Shirts would be the usual answer, but do not close out on the possibility of creating wallets, keychains, and even bracelets and necklaces.
Design Your Own Items
No one else will distinguish and recreate the core feel of your branding other than you. You do not even need to go far to find a designer for your merch, as you likely have an in-house team of creatives. Allow them to put their creative juices to work and watch various designs formulate right in front of you.
Don’t roll these out yet, however. You must discuss the prototypes with your executives and get their word on which one they think will garner more sales. After that, finalize a design and have them made into actual samples. Feel free to make changes while they’re not being sold in the market yet.
Collaborate with Another Trendy Brand
This may seem counterproductive at first, but you do not have to collaborate with a brand that directly rivals your products and services. Remember the soda pop example from our intro? If you happen to have your soda brand, you may collaborate with a clothing company so that they may take on the responsibility of selling your merchandise in their physical stores.
The great thing about this is that they usually have branches in various commercial establishments, like malls. This will make your merch more visible to the general public, further promoting your brand and products in the process.
Conclusion
Creating merch that will interest your target market is an excellent way to gain publicity while simultaneously making a profit to your business. It may not be a simple task, but with the help of consumer feedback, creative decision-making, and cross-promotional collaborations, you may just pull off a triumphant wave of new products that reflect your company’s core message better.
If you need help creating custom merchandise, Akby offers you the right people for the job. We specialize in designing and sourcing custom branded goods for your venture, helping you build brand recognition and customer loyalty. Serving Kansas, USA, we’ll make things happen for you—reach out to us today!
