How to Order Promotional Products
Key Points
- Begin by deciding what you want your merchandise to achieve. This helps you choose products that fit your goals, whether that’s raising awareness, giving gifts, or providing uniforms.
- Pick branding that matches both the item and its purpose. For example, embroidery works well for clothing, while full-colour printing is great for detailed designs.
- Plan your schedule early and choose a supplier you can count on. This helps make sure your products are made smoothly and arrive when you need them.
If you’ve never ordered promotional products for your organisation, it might feel overwhelming to choose the right items and branding. But with help from an experienced team like ours and our new website features, ordering or getting a quote becomes simple and stress-free.
Decide on the Merch First
Before you order, the first step is to always decide on what merch to get. If you’re ordering for an upcoming trade show or event, go for affordable, high-volume giveaways like keyrings, stressballs, or pens (if the event requires attendees to sign up or take notes). Swami Rossat, one of our account managers, noticed that aside from the mentioned items, clients like to order small, handy items for events like sticky notes, stress balls, stickers, and phone wallets.
If you’re looking for gifts for VIP clients, Swami recommends:
- Gift sets (IT or wellness gift sets)
- Golfing equipment
- Wines
- Picnic essentials (BBQ sets, blankets)
For those firms that want to give out gifts to all their clients, bottles and umbrellas are cheaper options. Think about why you want marketing merchandise. Are you giving customers small rewards with their purchases? Do you want to boost brand awareness with event swag? Or maybe you need new uniforms and gear with your logo for your staff?
What Design Would You Like Branded?
The next step is to determine what you actually want to be added to your promotional items. If you have an event and would like to give away a cotton tote bag to attendees, then it is a no-brainer to have your event logo and details screen printed on the side to promote the event.
If you want to promote your business on uniforms, you might choose to have your logo embroidered for a polished look. Or, if you want to add a photo to mark a special occasion, pick products that allow for full-colour digital printing.
Why is knowing what you want on the promotional items (even if it’s just a basic concept) so important? It allows the branding specialists you work with to ensure you’re picking the right products to support the design you want. Additionally, they can suggest similar items that will make your design look even better, or suggest additional products if you’d like to provide gift sets or a matching range of goodies.
When Do You Need Your Items?
It’s important to know when you need your promotional products delivered. If you have a last-minute event, your supplier can help meet a tight deadline. If you’re flexible on timing, you might get better prices by waiting a bit longer for delivery.
Work With a Supplier You Trust
