When it comes to promoting your business, team or professional association, you need a reliable supplier. If you sell promotional goods or coordinate large events, affordable promotional items are essential. How will you select your supplier?
You can be a demanding customer as long as you remember the importance of establishing a good relationship with your suppliers. You can be as demanding as you need to be to meet the needs of your business. However, it helps to clearly state your quality and time needs so that they can be reasonably accomplished. Let’s briefly look at ways a great supplier can improve your bottom line.
Great Products
Select a supplier who can provide quality products that participants will use, wear or display, otherwise it defeats the whole purpose. Patches, belt buckles, medals, wristbands and other popular items should not just be a temporary item to pass out at events. Turn them into teambuilding tools that clients and participants make an emotional connection to.
For this, quality material and workmanship is crucial. According to top promotional producer GS-JJ, “Carefully crafted custom patches can represent your organization in a good way because they strengthen corporate identities based on distinction and quality.”
Quality
Supplier components impact the quality of the products. Participants use higher quality promotional products longer, which draws more attention to the brand, event product or organization you’re promoting. Request multiple samples from the supplier to enjoy consistent quality.
Timeliness
Ask around and make sure the manufacturer you choose can deliver the goods well ahead of schedule. Fast turnarounds are key, especially when event dates and venues can change at the last minute.
Competitiveness
Work with an organization that can produce quality products people talk about. For example, customized patches can be attached to bookbags, jackets and accessories, where they’re seen by more people. The right manufacturer has the reliability, pricing, technology and industry experience to help you push ahead of the competition.
Innovation
Experienced suppliers contribute to new product development. They live and breathe the product and can help you understand what works for your event or organization. Just as importantly, they clue you in on what’s been overdone.
Financing
Once you hit growth mode, you need a supplier who can help you out in a cash crunch. A larger operation that you have a standing relationship with, can postpone payment, extend the financing of new purchases or help you with creative discounting to secure your future business.
Find an experienced supplier with decades of experience and an existing manufacturing chain with the above advantages. Establishing a relationship with one major player can work to your advantage in so many ways.