Many buyers start with price as the qualifier for the products that they use to promote their companies. It is fine to make products work within your budget, but it may be short-sighted to make price the determining factor in your purchase.

Branded apparel and promotional products are used to connect with your community.

Community includes your

• employees
• customers
• fans
• like-minded individuals.

The more people wear your logo, the more your business will be seen by other potential members of that community. When one of your customers wears a t-shirt with your logo on it, how many people see it? The grocery store, a restaurant, their kids' soccer game, a social event. Each time a person sees your logo, that's what we call an "impression." 

Marketing used to have a "rule of 7" where a customer had to see your product 7 times to purchase it. In these days of short attention spans, that number has risen into the teens. So the more you can get your brand seen, with more impressions, the higher the probability that prospective customers will do business with you. 

Price is definitely a factor, but consider the value of being seen. Over time, those impressions can add up, and as your brand becomes more recognizable, the more customers will flock to your business.

We can always fall to the lowest possible price, but it may not deliver the same number of impressions that a better product may deliver. A better quality garment with unique graphics will be worn and seen many times over a budget weight shirt with simple graphics. We can help you choose items and graphcis to fit your brand and yoru budget. 

How do you measure the value of a branded item? Take the unit cost divided by the number of times it is seen, to get the actual cost of promoting your brand.

Unit Cost / times logo is seen = cost of promoting your brand.  

So let's say a shirt costs 2.26 each. But if one employee wears the item 10 times, the cost is .23.  How many people will see that item during those 10 times of being worn? A lot! When that person donates it or gives it away, the cycle starts over again, and the cost of your branded item could fall to pennies over several years. 

So when you're budgeting for your branded items, be sure to think about the value over time. Choose quality items that people will want to wear and use, and items that will last for even more brand awareness.