As a small business owner, custom t-shirts may be low on your list of priorities as you focus on building your brand and growing awareness of your company. The good news is custom t-shirts are the perfect thing to aid in marketing and promoting your business. Many charities, organizations, brands and community initiatives leverage the power of custom t-shirts for promotion, drive awareness and grow recognition of their brand.
Every small business owner knows attracting new customers is essential for growth. This is typically done through advertising and marketing campaigns through radio, social media, TV or print. However, certain advertising channels may be too expensive or tedious for your small business to manage.
That's where custom t-shirts come in. This is an affordable, long-lasting way to promote your business, build brand recognition and develop your company culture. Further, custom apparel can be an additional revenue source as you grow your customer base.
Below is a list of ways custom t-shirts can benefit your small business:
You must update your marketing campaigns regularly so they remain fresh and relevant. With custom t-shirts, a simple design with your logo helps drive people to your business long after they've been printed. The shirts you sell or give away today will remain wearable for years after their initial launch.
Custom t-shirts can give your marketing efforts significant momentum, even years after you've released them.
Keeping costs low is always a priority for a business owner. Custom t-shirts are an affordable marketing method that has long-term benefits. While there's an upfront cost to customizing t-shirts, they can last a long time, are still one of the most affordable promotional items to invest in and have various uses.
The cost per shirt decreases when you order higher quantities. You can also reuse designs. Once you've invested in the initial design work, you can save on costs when re-ordering shirts. A big part of the affordability of custom shirts is that they're versatile — you can use them as employee uniforms, hand them out as promotional gifts to existing and potential clients or make them a competition prize.
Uniforms ensure your team has a consistent look and creates unity. Custom-t-shirts are an affordable and easy way to have a professional uniform. In most cases, simply adding your company logo to a shirt can easily communicate your brand.
T-shirts are comfortable, easy to work in and available in various sizes and styles to suit everyone on your team. You can choose from professional polo shirts or casual t-shirts based on the look you want to achieve or the event your team is attending.
Depending on your business type, you can have your staff wear the shirts daily to eliminate the hassle of choosing what to wear for the day or have special days where everyone wears their company shirts. Consider getting additional custom apparel such as scarves for colder weather for a year-round uniform.
People who are aware of your business are more likely to research your company and potentially buy from you. You can easily use custom t-shirts for brand awareness. When your employees are at work, branded uniforms can help identify who they are and the company they work for. If your staff wear their branded shirts during their personal time, they could show friends, family and others who they work for.
A great way to drive brand awareness is to attend or volunteer at local events such as cleanups or food drives. Get your team to wear their branded t-shirts to help your business stand out and get noticed. Plus, you can show the community you care and want to give back. Custom t-shirts can also help your team drive brand awareness at other events such as conventions, tradeshows and conferences.
The same is true of any members of the public who wear your t-shirts when they're out at events or just running errands. When they wear your branded shirts, others see them, helping your brand reach more people.
In the same way they can help with brand awareness, you can use custom t-shirts for brand recognition. Once people know your brand, they need to start recognizing and trusting it. People buy from brands they know and trust. The more often people see your brand on t-shirts worn by others, the more recognizable and trustworthy your brand may seem to them.
If you're also running social media and traditional marketing campaigns, custom t-shirts can help reinforce your brand. Potential customers may see you on a social media site, read about you in the local magazine and then see others wearing your shirts. This will build their familiarity and curiosity about your business, potentially leading to an increase in sales.
Selling custom t-shirts with your company logo and slogan can create an additional revenue stream for your company. Consumers are willing to buy branded t-shirts from businesses they're loyal to and passionate about.
Consider your business type and if people want to purchase custom shirts with your branding. You can even have shirts for different seasons or holidays. Create fun, dramatic or heartfelt designs that appeal to a wide range of consumers.
Selling branded t-shirts provide your small business another way to interact with your customers while providing extra income. More people wearing your t-shirts increases brand awareness and recognition, which may lead to more sales for your business.
Everyone loves a free t-shirt. They're functional and can be used when shopping, going to the gym, out at events or just around the house. This is what makes them great giveaway items. Customers and clients will appreciate a gift they'll use, helping improve customer loyalty and retention.
If you're a new business, hold a soft opening and hand out a limited amount of free custom-t-shirts to your first few customers. You can entice customers and generate word of mouth. You can also hold social media competitions where people can win a custom t-shirt. This is a great way to quickly and affordably boost visibility on social media and create interest in your business.
If your company goes to corporate events like seminars, conventions or conferences, t-shirts are a great way to get your small business noticed. You can hand out shirts to people who visit your stand, offer them as prizes in a competition or add them to swag bags.
Custom t-shirts are powerful tools that can help you establish a sense of community and unity amongst your team, creating a strong feeling of teamwork. Wearing the same uniform or t-shirt can help promote communication and strengthen employee relationships. If your business is the type where t-shirts aren't considered appropriate work wear, branded t-shirts can be worn at casual company events or on specific days.
There are different approaches you may take to enhance team unity with t-shirts. You can have one shirt color with your logo for everyone to wear, making everyone feel like part of one team. Alternatively, you can have different colors for different departments for each team within your company, giving staff a feeling of connection with those they work most closely with. Your approach will depend on how many members are in each department. The same shirt can work for everyone if you have small teams of one or two people.
Positive emotions energize people, and happy workers are more productive than unhappy employees. Satisfied, engaged workers can help companies outperform their competition and achieve above their industry benchmarks.
Custom t-shirts are a great way to boost company morale by showing employees you care about them and are confident in them being representatives of your company. Showing your belief in your team tangibly can help them perform better.
There's a lot custom t-shirts can do for your business. They help with brand identity, team unity and marketing efforts. When deciding on branded shirts for your company, you must choose the ones best suited to your needs. Here's what to think about as you browse and design custom t-shirts:
The first thing you'll need to consider is the type of business you have and how you'll use the shirts. For example, if you run a landscaping business, you may want shirts that are easy to clean and affordable to replace. T-shirts used as retail uniforms may need to be more durable and long-lasting.
How you use company shirts will also impact the type you choose. You may want more appealing designs on shirts you sell as merchandise than on shirts you use as uniforms. Uniforms can be relatively simple with a brand logo, motto and image. If you're handing them out at events or as promotional items, add extra information such as phone numbers, websites and addresses.
Here are some common ways your small business may use branded shirts:
Once you've worked out how to use custom t-shirts for your business, you need to focus on your budget, how many you want and when you need them. Your budget significantly contributes to how many shirts you'll get and how they'll look.
The more intricate and detailed your design, the more expensive printing shirts may get. Also, while the cost per unit goes down when you order more shirts, you may end up with more shirts than you need, so you must carefully balance price and quantity.
Different t-shirt cuts, materials, styles and even colors have varying prices. The higher the quality of the shirt, the more expensive it will be. This is why you must decide how you'll use the t-shirts. You want to avoid giving out low-quality shirts, but you also need to keep your budget in mind.
Designing and printing take time. Make sure you start well in advance to give yourself and your printers enough time to prepare your shirts. If any issues pop up, such as delivery delays or design changes, they'll have a limited impact on your schedule.
Designing your shirt is the most exciting part of creating custom t-shirts. It allows you to get creative and show off your company. You need to consider a few points when coming up with your design:
Always make sure your design is easy to see and understand, so you can get the most benefits out of it.
Are you looking to use custom t-shirts for business promotion campaigns? Partner with Diehard Custom! Our simple four-step process makes choosing, designing and ordering quick and efficient.
We leverage our design experience and create multiple free designs for you to select based on your ideas. Once you've reviewed your design and selected the best one, you can place your order. With two-three week turnaround times, you can prepare your shirts on time for any event.
We also stock a range of t-shirts for you to consider, including knit polos, crew tees and tank tops. Contact us today to get started on your custom t-shirts!
