#1 – Ignoring the Tried & True Styles: When you go to a Hockey Game or shop on the weekend you see people wearing company jackets and baseball caps, why? When done well those items get worn repeatedly and the brand is seen by thousands of people. Many buyers get focused on the “latest and greatest” gadget, chachki or gizmo. Why not try something classic and well proven? In this age of Twitter & Blackberry I stand out by giving people an old-fashioned gift (good quality metal pen) that I know gets used.
#2 – Buying for yourself not your audience: If you are buying golf shirts for your mostly middle-aged conservative men and women then please don’t pick the sportiest Adidas wicking performance fabric shirt. It probably fits too tightly and the sheer fabric only flatters the uber fit. If your company sells Arena Flooring Systems and your team is very athletic then the Adidas shirt probably works. Bottom line is that in every product category there are conservative styles, athletic looks, contemporary, cutting edge and classic. Fit the product to the Audience.
#3 – Buying a Kia and expecting a Rolls: The adage you get what you pay for is always true. If you have three options for corporate gifts and they all look similar but one is at $10, the second $15 and the third $20 then you can assume they rank the same as good, better, best. Please don’t buy the $20 and expect it to be the same as the $10 unit.
#4 – Not planning ahead: When I first started ten years ago we’d take orders and ship product 6 weeks later. Now the ordering cycle has been shrunk to 6 days on average. The ideal order cycle is at least 3 business weeks. Unfortunately under tight deadlines there is a greater chance the item will be out of stock (and there’s no time to wait for replenishment) or a there will be a mistake in production. Lastly, you always pay more for production and shipping when rushing.
#4.5 – Sourcing Out of State/Province or Country: For our planets sake let’s source and ship products locally. Most major cities in Canada and U.S. have terrific brands with local warehouses full of Corporate Gifts, Apparel and Schwag. Where possible we should only use those brands and decorators (embroidery/screenprinting) that are within 50 miles/km of the final shipping destination.
For help overcoming one or more of these pitfalls please contact rich@pattersonbrands.com or jen@pattersonbrands.com