If you’ve been asked to source promotional merchandise for your company, you might be wondering – What do I need to know before I ring around to get quotes?
Good question.
Being prepared on how to brief will make your job a lot easier and mean you get quicker and more accurate quotes.
So, let’s explore the questions you are likely to be asked when you get in touch.
What type of products are you looking for? From experience, there are usually two types of inquiries we get – people who know exactly what they want and people who are looking for promotional product ideas. If you know you are looking for branded T-shirts for instance, then you are likely to get a few more qualifying questions re type of decoration/branding and offered a selection of styles/materials to choose from – both of which will impact the overall cost. If you are looking for promotional merchandise ideas, then questions r.e. your target audience (who are they?), the type of campaign (back to school/ staff incentives) and desired outcomes (generate leads/reward customer loyalty) are usually discussed. This allows a selection of suitable merch ideas to be presented that will best suit your purpose.
When do you need them? Time is one of the key factors of any brief. How quickly you need your promotional products will impact where they are sourced from (locally or off-shore) and the total cost (faster lead times or urgent air-freight will bump up the prices). Because the urgency of the deadline usually dictates the terms, it is smart where possible to plan ahead.
How many do you need? The amount of products you need is also key information, as this can impact both where the products are sourced from and how much they cost. All products we supply have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) and this varies depending on which products you are looking at. If you are only looking at a small order or have a tight budget and we can’t assist you, we will happily point you in the right direction of someone who can.
Do you have a budget in mind? How much you want to spend is an important component of any brief as it can determine the type of products we can offer you. Whilst some customers come to us with an overall budget for their merchandise spend for a particular campaign, others might give us an indication of cost-per-unit (i.e. $1 per item). That said, many of the clients we work with don’t yet have a confirmed budget (they are still early in the process) or would like our help creating a suitable budget. Want to work out how to create a range of merchandise to fit your budget? This blog will help.
Where do you need your promotional products delivered to? Most of our clients are more interested in the actual merchandise than the delivery/distribution part. However, working out this component is an important part of your brief that can in turn affect your budget. Do your promo products need to be delivered to different locations? Can multiple items be packed together or do they need to be packaged separately? These are the type of questions it can be good to have the answers to if you are looking for very accurate quoting upfront.
Here at Inck, we are obsessed with helping our clients find and create memorable promotional products that their customers will love. To make briefing easier, we have created a unique discovery process that delivers meaningful results.
Keen to get started? Simply fill out this quick brief and one of the team will get back to you ASAP.
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