13 ways to make sure promotional apparel is a good fit for your company

By Elise Hacking Carr

Did you know that apparel sales make up approximately a third of all promotional products sales in the industry? We did, thanks to our sister publication, Promo Marketing (PM). Now that you are in the know, perhaps it's time to explore this booming market and dress up a little business of your own. From color trends to decoration techniques, check out PM's collection of hot-ticket sales tips. Now that's a bargain!

ON T-SHIRTS

1. Work the trends.

Ashley Nielsen, marketing coordinator for S&S Activewear, Bolingbrook, Ill., pointed out that basic, crew-neck tees remain popular, but retail trends are gaining popularity among end-buyers with larger budgets. "Those [shirts] that are more retail-oriented and fashion-forward are really what customers are wanting as long as they are OK with the higher price points," she said.

Jeff Scult, co-founder of San Francisco-based Golden Goods USA, agreed. "We are constantly evaluating societal and fashion trends to recommend new approaches of cut patterns and color ways," he said. "For instance, we just introduced a relaxed fit women's collection that is now trending, and washed colors that meet seasonal preferences are suggested to our clients."

– From February 2014's "Let's Go to the Mall"

2. Think beyond the promotion.

Scult suggested asking end-buyers what they want users to do with the shirt after the event or promotion. Do they want end-users to wear it again or donate it to Goodwill? If you can make the T-shirt a favorite of the user, then your client gets more impressions and you get a repeat order. "A T-shirt is just a T-shirt, until it becomes your favorite thing to pull from a warm dryer and wear again and again," he said.

– From February 2014's "Let's Go to the Mall"

3. Mix it up.

There's no reason to believe that T-shirts, which may be more of a stand-alone item, are not versatile as well. A tee can be dressy or casual depending on how it's accessorized. "Throw a T-shirt on with a pair of dressy pants and a nice belt and you look dressed up with a scarf and so forth," said Marcia Cumberledge, vice president of merchandising and purchasing for Cincinnati's TSC Apparel. "Throw that same T-shirt on in two months with a pair of white shorts and flip-flops and you look totally different. I think that's one thing that's so fun in our industry. You can dress things up or totally just slack them down [and] make them as casual as you need to."