Create a swag store that builds brand equity

Learn how easy it is to launch a swag store and sell your company merchandise to the public in an e-commerce-style shopping experience.

Swag Store

Swag Store 

If you want to go the extra mile to promote your brand, you should consider creating an online swag store. Whether it be a swag boutique where you feature various branded items or an online team apparel store just for employees, there are more than enough options for your marketing and culture-building endeavors.

Swag benefits your company for multiple reasons. On the consumer side, swag stores make your business seem more legitimate. If clients enjoy your products or services, purchasing swag may be a way they show their satisfaction with your company.

With internal swag distribution, you can foster more employee loyalty and help create a better work environment. Through inside jokes, employee exclusives, and gifted swag, these pieces of merchandise can bring your employees together. A custom team apparel online store can be exactly what you need to make this work.

When you provide high-quality merchandise, your clients and employees are more likely to buy and use the items you offer. This means there will be a higher chance of people noticing your brand while out and about. Not only will your swag recipients have a positive perception and relationship with your business when they receive high-quality swag through your store, but they will also demonstrate that relationship by wearing or using your swag.

Needless to say, swag is important. Keep reading for further insight and tips about how to improve your brand with the help of an online swag store.

Best Company Swag Store 

Company swag stores are good ways to make your business and brand stand out to clients and employees. Selling high-quality swag products in addition to whatever product or service you already provide can help increase brand awareness and give your company more credibility.

No one will buy your company swag if there was no thought or creativity put into it. Swag, official company merchandise, and any items you post on your company’s brand store should be thoroughly thought out just like any other product or service. The best company swag stores make sure to find the best vendors to put on their site.

This can take the form of higher-end goods, moving beyond just T-shirts. Consider items such as ergonomic keyboards, gourmet charcuterie boards, and dual humidifier-aroma diffusers. These may be a little pricier than a generic branded pen, but the best company swag stands out from the others. Think outside of the box for things you wouldn’t find on any other company’s site.

Don’t be afraid to shop small. Local businesses are a great source for unique items, and it gives your brand a more homey and down-to-earth feel. The best corporate swag doesn’t have to be from a brand-name business. Sometimes, a cookie bundle from the mom-and-pop shop that the company originated from is all you need to stick in someone’s memory. 

Online Company Swag Store

Good online company swag stores are easy to navigate and compelling to whoever visits the site. No one wants to go to a website in hopes of making a purchase, only to get so frustrated that they give up entirely. Making sure your website is clean and up-to-date is essential for your buyers’ experience.

An online swag store also needs a variety of options. What’s the point of having a store if you only have a handful of things to sell? Diversifying your merchandise can also diversify your client base. Just because some people like to wear sweatshirts doesn’t mean everyone else does. But if you offer multiple forms of apparel, as well as maybe drinkware or branded tech, you’ll hit more people’s interests.

Your online company store for employees should center around team members. Consider what you know about your team, their interests, and their needs. Great ideas for team swag come from actually knowing and having a relationship with your employees. Perhaps they are foodies, travelers, book lovers, bakers, or hikers. Use what you know to your advantage when it comes to planning merch for your employees.

Once again, don’t skimp out on the design of your website. Even your own employees might give up trying to find merchandise if the company swag store platform isn’t working correctly or is hard to follow. Investing in a good web designer or utilizing a service like Postal Brand could be a game changer in your swag store experience.

Company Swag

Perhaps you don’t have any idea what to include in your company swag store. The more variety you have, the better, but you want to make sure you’re selling quality products. If all of your items are cheaply made, they might just end up in the trash with nothing but an unsatisfied customer to show for it.

The best swag companies will go all out. This can mean deals with big-name brands, such as Camelbak, or it can mean going more local and finding small businesses to work with for handcrafted items. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, and each will hit its mark with the right audience.

Remember, it’s the thought that counts—but that thought also needs to consider quality. When your business is selling swag online, those products can also serve as future gifts for new clients or employees. These gifts can build even stronger relationships with stakeholders, but also potentially weaken them if you gift someone a low-quality package. A cheaply made gift set doesn’t equate to gratitude or appreciation.

Branded swag companies can be a slippery slope. While there is nothing inherently wrong with using your company’s brand on your merchandise, you also risk looking tacky. People don’t want to feel like walking advertisements, even if their use of company swag ends up serving such a purpose.

Large branding can reduce the visual quality of your products, even if the physical quality is perfectly fine. Including your logo is expected, as it builds your brand and promotes your company. Just remember to be tasteful when considering different designs.

Employee Swag Store 

Consider the best gift you’ve ever received from your workplace. Unfortunately, many employees don’t have a good answer to this question because their employers don’t give high-quality gifts. Many people claim their corporate gifts feel impersonal, cheap, and disposable.

Making an employee swag store is a good opportunity to create a more connected working environment. Taking the time and curating a series of gifts and merchandise that directly relate to your team could take your employer-employee relationship to another level.

For example, consider a T-shirt. The easy way to put T-shirts in an online company apparel store is to slap a logo on it and call it a day. But you need to consider if your employees would actually enjoy a team swag store filled with such items. Creating a custom team apparel store could make your employees feel seen. Instead of a standard branded T-shirt, those shirts can instead bear an inside joke or a common workplace saying. Look at some of the item options in the Postal Swag Store to get examples.

The feeling of exclusivity makes your employees want to own and wear those shirts, as opposed to feeling like the clothes were mindlessly and carelessly thrown together to satisfy the marketing team. 

Online Employee Swag Store

Before anything else, you should consider some of the categories you might want to include in your online employee swag store, such as:

  • Branded apparel 
  • Tech swag 
  • Holiday-themed bundles 
  • Locally-owned business partnership bundles 
  • Drinks and drinkware sets

If you take your swag store online, your options are nearly limitless. Consider using vouchers for your employees for promotions, anniversaries, company-wide events, and other major events. These can serve as employee gifts, offering them a free item from the online company store.

Exclusivity, as mentioned before, is a major component of a successful employee store online. This can be executed in multiple ways, such as having promotional codes only given to employees. Certain merchandise could only be acquired at employee-specific events or occasions. If your swag includes inside jokes or references, just the knowledge of being “in on it” heightens the value of the swag.

Custom swag stores are going to be your best friend. Clothing is an obvious merchandise option, as various apparel items can be personalized to the individual. However, you can take things a step further with personalized gift curation as well.

For example, if your employee hit a milestone anniversary or promotion, consider giving them a customized gift basket with their favorite locally-sourced products. Cheese board bundles, wine gift baskets, and even hometown memorabilia can show that you as an employer know the people who are working for you. 

Swag Bags For Events

The merchandise from your online swag store can be repurposed into swag bags for events as well. A swag bag can be given to employees and clients alike—anyone who attends an event.

This is not just limited to in-person events either. With QR codes, virtual events can also see the distribution of branded swag in an incredibly convenient way. By giving attendees a QR code linking to your swag store, each can pick out their own item to be delivered directly to their doorstep.

These options can extend even beyond what you offer in your main store. An exclusive event series of merchandise can make recipients feel more special, which can further foster a positive environment. These additional options might include swag jewelry, swag kitchen tools, and swag stationery. 

If you want to delve into the world of luxury swag but don’t currently know how to find swag jewelers for your next event, fear not. Postal can help you curate a wide range of gifts and products for your online swag store. Request a demo with Postal to access Postal Brand, which will let you create a branded company swag storefront for employers, customers, and fans to access online.

"Some corporate gifting platforms are insanely expensive. Postal is a no-brainer—it's a fraction of the cost of their competitors, and the customer service is top-notch."
Evoque 4
Alice Stern
Senior Marketing Manager
"There are lots of other fancy gifting platforms out there, but none as easy to use, attentive to customer need, or eager to please as Postal."
Fivetran 3
Casey Patterson
Manager, Account Based Marketing
“I have used a couple of corporate gifting tools and Postal is truly *unmatched*. From the ease of sending to the ease of training new senders, the whole experience is enjoyable."
LeanData
Brooke Rhoades
Customer Marketing Manager

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