It’s simple and can be boiled down to three things: Image, Money, and Advertising. Custom apparel can have a positive effect for you in every one of these categories.
Image
Unless you live in a nudist colony, you and everyone else for that matter, will most likely be wearing clothes. Like it or not, you will be judge on your appearance…by everyone. Strangers will make assumptions about you, coworkers will critique, and your mom will be the first to notice the hole in your shirt. On some level subconscious or not everyone around you is making assumptions based on your appearance. Having custom apparel gives you direct power over how you are perceived. Whether you’re building a brand or running a business you can choose how people see you. Want your business to look professional? …you got it! Want to look cool, unique, clean, fun, laid back, eco-friendly, or just plain friendly? …you name it and it can be done! By ordering custom apparel you can craft your image to be exactly what you want.
Money
If done well custom apparel can be a great opportunity to add revenue to your bank account. When producing a quality product sold at market prices you could be turning as high as 50-75% profit on your investment. Let me work through the numbers with you. Most of the Tee shirts we produce at Twin City Tees will cost the customer less than $8 per shirt. Even less if the customers read our post on the “Benefits of Buying in Bulk!” With average retail prices for screen printed shirts being around $15-$30, the numbers are self-explanatory. Just as I mention above people are judged upon their appearances and they will go out of their way to make sure what they wear is a self-expression of what they care about. If you have a platform that people are proud of and want to be a part of, you have potential to make money selling merchandise. Before you go out and put the down payment on a self-driving car maybe head over to our post on “How to NOT FAIL at Selling Custom Apparel.”
Advertising
Launching a successful apparel campaign can be like strapping a billboard on the chest of hundreds of people. Unlike TV, Radio, and Internet Ads promotional apparel is a one-time purchase that can provide a lifetime of use. The cost of ordering promotional apparel is relatively small compared to going the entertainment route. Our culture is so sick of media advertisements that we can almost ignore them completely. When was the last time you watched an entire ad on YouTube without clicking the skip button? Fashion is different. Going back to the first topic, we as humans are hardwired to pay attention to appearances. Couple this with a quality garment that people actually want to wear…see our post on “The Higher Gains of Higher Quality”…and you will not only have a walking billboard, but also a talking billboard. If you are providing a quality service through your business or brand people will give in person 5 star reviews to anyone who mentions their shirt. A convincing in person recommendation is more powerful than 100 reviews from anonymous internet people. Over time you might be surprised how well apparel advertisement can work.
Conclusion
Custom apparel can have a multitude of positive effects, but it’s up to you make it happen. In the end it comes down to simple social psychology. Either you want your apparel to say something about you, someone wants your apparel to say something about them, or you want someone to say something to someone else about you….uh….I think I just went cross-eyed. So get out there and order something to say something to someone today to feel the benefits of custom apparel firsthand.