Small companies with big ambitions are always on the lookout for ways to develop their brand identity. They recognise that public familiarity with their products or services (and, crucially, their own business’s role in the marketplace) is a route to success. However, some businesses struggle to balance between the need for developing their identity and maintaining the brand’s integrity. So, how can corporate clothing help and how can you keep your ethos on display at the same time?
Start by asking yourself what branded clothing is going to achieve in your business. There are several reasons businesses decide to have a standardised approach to clothing, but chief amongst them is the fact that branded clothing links directly in to your brand identity. It’s a furthering of your business aims, but in clothing form. Ideally, you need your brand to speak clearly across all mediums available to you. Make sure it’s coherent, right from the basics such as using the same logo on your stationery as you do on your branded shirts up to the type of language used.
Branded clothing can demonstrate to clients that you’re running a united company. More than that, it conveys the same thing to your employees. Businesses only thrive when all involved in them recognise that they have a stake in any success. Ensuring that they feel part of that success is therefore a key part of it. It’s an excellent, and sometimes very economical, side effect that branded clothing also results in heightened awareness of your brand.
Some businesses, however, might think that the possibilities of branded clothing don’t involve their sector. Perhaps you think it’s all branded workwear, polo shirts, or baseball caps that look a little shoddy. That’s not the case. Thanks to innovations in printing techniques, far more materials can be printed on quickly and effectively than they were in the past. For businesses battling with reduced budgets, this also has a positive effect on the financials of branded clothing.
Your brand identity isn’t something that sprang up overnight, got itself a coffee the next morning, and decided to stick around. It’s something that you’ve developed alongside your vision of where you want your business to go in the future. Implementing a branded clothing strategy is only part of this, but it can be a fundamental part if you implement it effectively.