Promotional product stores are an inexpensive way to get the name of your company to stick in people's minds, as they create merchandise that prominently displays your brand. The most popular product giveaways are branded apparel, pens, bags, mugs and water bottles, but most online stores offer a wealth of other interesting and original items, all of which can be imprinted with your company’s logo.
There are many reasons to buy promotional products. Potential customers who own and use such branded products look at your company’s logo on a regular basis and over an extended period of time. Research suggests that these branded items help support and reinforce more traditional forms of print and electronic advertising. In short, those who may well buy from you see your name over and over again on their promotional products and recognize your logo when they see it in a magazine advertisement or hear it on the radio.
Our reviews of promotional product stores include informative articles and side-by-side comparisons. Promotional product stores PromoDirect, rushIMPRINT and 4imprint place highest in our considerations. These companies offer services that make choosing and creating branded items easy. Their various setup prices are more transparent and less expensive, they offer a wide variety of high-quality and popular products, and the support they provide is excellent.
Promotional Product Stores: What to Look For
There is much to consider before you choose a promotional product store that is right for you, and many of the considerations have a bearing on the finished price. Product and imprint quality is currently less of an issue, as stores now often purchase products from the same supplier and use the same imprint processes and machinery. Here are areas worth considering as you buy promotional products.
Production
The price of the printing on your promotional products ─ be it screen-printing, embroidery or engraving ─ is one of the first things you want to consider in your search for a promotional product site. You want to understand basic setup fees, how much you are charged for each color change and if they match PMS colors. There is a range of setup charges for embroidery in our side-by-side comparisons. You can also use our comparisons to find out if the company offers a full graphic design service or if simple artwork clean-up is offered at no cost.
Item Selection
The best promotional product stores offer thousands of items that you can brand and give away to promote your business. Because the selections offered are often very similar, you want to know if the online store you prefer has a product-price matching policy. We point this out along with which sites allow you to request paid or free product samples.
Shipping
When you purchase promotional products, you want to have them shipped as soon and as inexpensively as possible. The best promotional product stores offer a one-day turnaround on rush orders. You may also want to drop ship your products to two different locations or split your shipment to arrive on two different dates. Some stores even offer free shipping on a selected range of products. And, because you may have a corporate account that offers you significant discounts, you also want to know the name of default shipper for the company you’re considering.
Help & Support
The company you choose to do business with should make it easy for its clients to reach customer service. All stores we review provide telephone and email support. Some go the extra mile by providing live chat services for more immediate support. In addition, the best promotional product stores also provide some kind of a guarantee along with customer-generated ratings or reviews for the best customer experience.
Promotional product stores offer you an excellent, inexpensive way to keep your company’s brand in front of potential customers while minimizing the gaps in advertising exposure. Most stores are now set up to allow you to purchase online, see samples before you buy and rush your finished product to you. Our reviews can help you shop around for such services and the promotional products that best fit your company’s needs.