If you’re in marketing, then you know that brand engagement is essential for growth. More than ever, making meaningful connections with your customers, prospects, employees, and other key audiences is good business. That’s because authentic engagement helps build trust and promote brand loyalty. And branded swag—promotional products, apparel, and gifts—is a proven tool for making that engagement happen.
Why branded swag?
We all like getting free stuff. And when we receive an item or gift from a brand we love, it ups the happiness factor. But, beyond its feel-good appeal, marketing swag is a standout tool for brand recognition and promotion because it is practical, versatile, offers excellent ROI, and provides a tactile, ongoing interaction with your brand that lasts well beyond the initial contact.
- 60% of consumers keep a promotional product for two years
- 53% of people use a promotional product at least once a week
- A single promotional item averages 344 impressions per month. (PROmotion Marketing, LLC)
Why use an online swag store?
When managed well, an end-to-end branded e-store program can make your life a lot easier. It can help you promote, protect, and maintain brand consistency using swag while saving time and money. Like a DTC shopping experience, it puts your brand in the hands of your audience quickly. Plus, less oversight and administrative time required for program management improve everyday efficiencies, freeing your resources to manage other tasks. It’s a solution that helps you work smarter.
How to use your online swag store to grow your brand.
Among other functionalities, a turnkey branded swag store is an uber-efficient online platform allowing you to easily promote your brand and automate your marketing program. Here are some examples of how to use your branded e-store to make tangible connections with your stakeholder audiences.
Recruitment and onboarding.
Using employee welcome kits as part of a robust onboarding experience is no longer a nice-to-have perk—it’s a must-have for businesses vying for top talent. Plus, 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for 3 years if they experience great onboarding, and 58% more likely to be with the organization after 3 years (SHRM). We know that employees today want to feel connected to the companies they work for and the brands they represent. And a branded swag/gift experience is a great way to initiate that connection.
Use your swag store to quickly assemble curated onboarding gift kits packed with branded apparel, workplace essentials, tech gifts, and more. Then, drop-ship the branded boxes to new hires at their office location or remote workplace with a few simple clicks.
Employee rewards.
Did you know that 59% of employees who receive swag from their employer have a more favorable impression of their workplace afterward? So whether you’re awarding your employees for service milestones, contest wins, or delivering a seasonal pick-me-up, using branded swag is ideal for creating and reinforcing corporate culture.
Give your employees access to shop for themselves in the company e-store. Or use the platform to create prize packages shipped to their offices: No matter how you choose to use it, your online swag store is the ideal platform for creating a rewarding and memorable employee experience.
Employee uniforms/apparel.
Offer premium quality apparel that represents your brand. Make your team stand out. Let them choose uniform options that suit their style and body type. For these reasons and more, using your all-in-one online swag store to manage employee uniforms and apparel is a real game changer. The platform gives you greater control of product choices and inventory, streamlines the order and distribution process for time savings, and saves money by eliminating excess inventory.
Customer engagement.
Brand swag is an effective marketing tool to increase brand recognition for businesses of all sizes and in every industry: 90% of people who receive a promotional product can recall the brand’s name. (Source: PROmotion Marketing, LLC) Use your e-store store to order and distribute apparel and giveaways to various store locations or drop-ship swag to special events—choosing from an approved selection of on-trend items makes the process quick and easy.
Brand ambassadors and influencers.
A growing number of brands use ambassadors and influencers to help expand brand exposure and build credibility among customers and prospects. If you’re working in that space, using an online swag store is an efficient tool for helping to put your branded swag in their hands.
By assembling custom-branded swag kits with your products, you can create memorable, enticing unboxing experiences that have become popular—and effective—on social channels: Over 90,000 people type ‘unboxing’ into YouTube every month. There are almost 40 videos with over 10 million views. (Packhelp)
Gifts or prizes.
Whether you need to send gifts to your suppliers or drop-ship branded prizes to sweepstakes or contest winners nationwide, an online swag shop platform can help you manage it all from the same interface. You might assemble an assortment of gifts for sales reps and franchise owners. For contest winners, you might provide access to a dedicated store page that allows them to select their prize and manage quick checkout: The beauty of a full-service online swag store is that you can designate user access features to facilitate all your marketing touches from one online portal.
Trade shows and conferences.
Special events like tradeshows and conferences are ideal opportunities for lead generation. So, to attract your audience to your booth or table, use the right giveaways. ASI reports that 99% of people are willing to go out of their way to get a promotional product. Using a branded swag store to manage promo giveaways can save you time and money: Select relevant and trending products for your e-store and then let your team order their materials and drop-ship directly to the venue so there’s less hassle.
How to choose the right online swag store partner.
There are a lot of promotional product distributors out there. But a successful swag store experience is more than trendy brand merchandise and flashy apparel. Because a company e-store is a lot more than just shopping, look for a full-service resource that offers it all. Personal product experts, quality brand offerings, competitive pricing, secure data management and online payment services, custom packaging capabilities, full-service printing, dedicated fulfillment and distribution, professional shipping, and customer service support.
The right e-store solution is about perfect balance, creating happy users while giving you the tools you need to make intelligent decisions about your marketing spend while maintaining brand control. At Shamrock, our swag store management does it all. We have a team of product experts at the front of the house that source the best in trending merchandise. We offer a customizable technology platform purpose-built for e-store operations. Beyond those program essentials, we proactively address 20 areas of analysis in our online store programs to help our customers improve service and productivity—for a better user experience—while saving them time and money.
If you’re interested in boosting brand engagement, it’s a solution worth looking into. To learn more about our turnkey company e-store solution, reach out for a quick online demo @bdegarmo@shamrockcompanies.net.
