Scratching your head over new ways to raise funds for your business?
Try offering merchandise. Branded merchandise can directly raise additional funds and also drive brand awareness, leading to more customers for your business.
Not convinced? We’ll show you how to use merchandise for raising funds below.
Design It
Before you can offer merch, you’ll have to design it. But that doesn’t need to be difficult.
You’ll want to include your brand logo on any merchandise. But you should also think about what will speak to your customers. If you have a catchy tagline or iconic mascot, make sure to put it in there.
Find a way to speak to your customers. Memorable quotes and a sense of fun can go a long way. Ask for feedback on what they’d like to see to increase its selling power.
Sell It
Naturally, the easiest way to raise funds with branded merchandise is to sell it.
Include an online store as part of your website. Promote it along with your other offers. That way, your fans can easily locate your merchandise and buy it.
Offering discounts for frequent buyers or new customers is a great way to sell more merchandise and get more people to your storefront.
If your merch can stand alone, it’s a brilliant way to bring in new customers. But even if it only appeals to existing customers, you’re still giving them another opportunity to spend.
Try being open about the purpose of your merch. If customers know they’re helping your business stay open, it may sway them into buying your merchandise.
Offer Freebies
Heading along to a trade show? Pack some T-shirts, mugs, and pens.
Branded merchandise makes a great freebie at a trade show. People love getting free stuff, so they’ll want to engage with you on that alone. But giving a gift also makes you memorable – doubly so when your promotional products have your name and logo on them.
Trade shows are often a whirlwind of names and logos, so your merchandise acts as a little “remember me!” jolt for anyone who carries it away with them.
Gift to Customers
Again, people love free stuff. Paying customers love to feel rewarded.
Try sending your branded merchandise along with your product. Include something small like free stickers in every parcel. Or you could offer out larger items to repeat customers.
The trick is to find what you can afford and balance it with your returns. Remember: goodwill is a currency in itself. In this age of social media, your fans will expand your reach by sharing the cool merch they’ve received.
And that’s leaving out the chance of something going viral – that could transform your reach overnight.
Raise Funds with Branded Merchandise
So why not give it a go? There’s a huge range of printing companies to choose from, so find the one that works for you and get designing. You could extend your brand awareness like you never believed.
Want to get started? Take a look at our graphic design services.