Have you ever had a little voice in your head whispering to you that you might have outgrown your current branded merchandise provider? Were you so busy doing other things that you pushed it to the back of your mind, promising yourself you would give it more serious thought just as soon as things slowed down?
Did you justify it by telling yourself that things were going “fine”, while thinking the following:
- That the vendor you were working with was doing a “decent” job of delivering on what was promised?
- Were you still unable to completely dismiss the fact that maybe your brand merch program wasa bit stale?
- Did it feel like there were advances you should have been able to make in your brand promotion strategy, but you were not quite sure what they were?
Are your suspicions valid? Here are 3 key signs that you have outgrown your branded merchandise company.
3 Signs Your Branded Merchandise Company Isn't the Right Fit
1. Your Branded Merchandise Company Does Personally Know You
You still don’t feel like your branded merchandise company knows who you are, what you do, and what your goals are, but you have been using them for through multiple brand merch order cycles.
There are many branded merchandise companies who really don’t know that much about brand merch itself. These are some signs to watch out for:
- Some are software programmers looking for the next big wave they can jump on, and then off of, once their business reaches the desired size. They put together snappy websites for selling brand merch and “cool-looking” do-it-yourself design tools for you to use, but the actual process of creating the brand merch itself is not part of their DNA.
- They put together a cookie cutter approach that may not include much more than on-demand screen printed items or swag items. They “allow” you to present your brand merch on their website.
2. Your Branded Merchandise Company Does Not Give You Regular Market Insights and Fresh Ideas on Branded Merchandise Solutions
There is a good possibility that your brand merch provider is not in a position to provide updates on branded merchandise solutions and how those trends can be leveraged for your brand and attract new customers.
This lack of insight might just be the tip of the iceberg; their entire business model may be an impediment. If your branded merchandise company only works in one particular niche, they aren't aware of what is going on and creating the best branded merchandise solutions for your business.
3. Your Branded Merchandise Company Is Not Able to Deliver New, Fun, or Unique Custom Brand Merch
Your provider may do screen printing, but only in a limited capacity. If they do provide other types of brand merch it may be outsourced. Organizations structured like this are limited by the types of brand merch they can provide; the ability to be custom and differentiate your corporate merch is not possible.
Have We Hit A Nerve? How to find the right Branded Merchandise Company
If the ideas in this post ring true, it is highly likely that you have outgrown your current branded merchandise company. There is nothing wrong with that; you are not the first to reach this pivot point.
There are providers available who can join with you as you move your brand merch program to the next level.
Find a Merchandise Company that is a Partner Instead of a Vendor
To re-energize your brand merch program, find a partner, not a vendor.
- Find an organization capable of collaborating with you on what you want today, and where you can go in the future.
- Find a partner with custom branded merchandise solutions embedded in their DNA: find a partner that is more interested in their craft than they are in saving pennies anywhere they can as they prepare for a disposition of their branded merchandise company to the highest bidder.
Find a Branded Merch Partner That Works Across Multiple Industries
Find a partner that is large and diverse enough to work with branded merch programs across multiple industries. Only then will your merchandise partner have sufficient capacity to be well informed about cross-industry trends and the implications they can have for your merchandise program.
Find a Branded Merchandise Company Who Does It All
- A merch partner that can produce any type of custom branded merchandise you can think of.
- A custom merchandise partner that can offload any function you want as you up-level your branded merch program.
- A partner that can free you up to focus on the areas that you want. This type of partner will have a full art department and offerings including warehousing, fulfillment, and even creative financial arrangements that fit how you would like to run your branded merch program.
Conclusion
Your brand merch program can be everything you dreamed it would be when established . You owe it to yourself to work with someone who can help bring your passion and vision to life?
We would love to chat! If you are interested in learning more about what can be done to take your branded merch program to the next level, give us a call at (801) 355-0331 or shoot us an email at info@hugebrands.com, or click this form to schedule a 15 minute chat with Huge Brands.
