Swag management is a term we rarely see used. Yet, most companies are already managing their swag. Good swag management can lead to tremendous benefits in saved time and increased revenue. This is why so many organizations are using swag automation platforms.
In fact, marketers spent an estimated $24.7 billion on promo swag last year alone, according to PPAI Research. Swag really works. In fact, PPAI also reported that 80% of people enjoy receiving promotional giveaway items; just as many respond to them immediately, according to its 2019 Consumer Study.
What is Swag Management?
At times, the term ‘swag’ often causes confusion, so let’s clear that up. By swag, we’re referring to promotional merchandise or promotional products. Swag can range from custom t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, pens, notebooks, water bottles, backpacks, and much more.
Organizations use swag to raise brand awareness, reward customers and staff, and to attain overall marketing goals. Swag management is the process of purchasing, storing, and distributing your promotional merchandise in an automated fashion. Swag has been shown to be highly effective at generating awareness and revenue, but it’s hard to manage it.
Managing swag requires: Researching suppliers, getting items drop shipped, storing swag, and then packaging items for shipment.There’s also the problem of trying to maintain accurate inventory amounts. Along with time and costs, inventory issues can cost you a lot of headaches and troubles.
All of this can be a huge time suck to whatever department gets tasked with it. That’s where swag management comes in. Manually, this process requires months of hard work. Remove the lengthy process of finding suppliers, getting designers, and searching for printers. This is where a swag management platform comes into the picture.
Why Care about Swag Management?
Swag management makes the process of designing, ordering, shipping, inventory management and receiving of company swag streamlined and simple. Centralize all of your branded swag items in one place and effortlessly send them to prospects, current clients, or employees with one click.
For example, lets say your organization has a couple marketing events a year and also likes to send new employees, prospects and new customers swag. If you’re a marketing manager you have a lot of work on your hands. Each event requires serious planning.
For new swag items a marketing manager has to locate products, design, and then order these items. This is all before even organizing and then packaging up this swag before the event. This is a stressful complex way to go about swag management that leads to wasted time, money, and mistakes.
A Better Way
Having a platform for your swag allows you to store your inventory at a warehouse. Then, with real-time access to your inventory levels, you could ship your swag to your events with a few mouse clicks right from your swag dashboard. No more messy swag closet.
This process alone can suck up hours of time. In a year, it can equate to hundreds of person-hours and thousands or more likely tens of thousands of dollars, depending on how many initiatives you’re running. With all the automation and reporting a swag management platform provides, you can free up your team’s time to focus on their key job functions.
Swag Management and Sustainability
The production of so much swag requires a lot of raw materials, production, and shipping. While producers are making more sustainable materials, what happens once we give out this swag? 79% of people in the 2019 Consumer Study say they pass along promo items (meaning they gift, sell, or donate it), this still means a lot of items handed out are ending up in landfills.
Shipping hundreds of small items around the country can also add up in both shipping costs and carbon footprint. With these facts in mind, we’re taking a different approach to swag management. Making swag more eco-friendly is a great start, but we believe is the best way to keep swag out of the landfill: give the perfect gift.
Typically we pick swag based on what we think our audience will like. Give the audience what they want by letting them choose their own swag. That’s why a digital swag store is a must have when it comes to marketing. Creating a swag store can make the process easy and also is environmentally friendly.
Proper swag management leads to a reduction in landfill waste. New customers and prospects are far more likely to use a swag item they’ve selected personally, meaning it won’t get lost, tossed, or donated. This automation process adds convenience along the way. Ever find yourself standing over a carry-on, trying to make all your swag fit, hoping it fits and if it does is it still underweight?
With a swag management platform, swag can be sent directly to the home or office. This process is totally automated. No need to flood your mailroom with packages. Swag management platforms also lead to a reduction in shipping costs. Sending a large number of T-shirts by freight can be very costly. It is more cost-effective sending swag to someone’s door.
Swag Management and Efficiency
A swag management platform is not only more efficient, it also helps us make this whole process a lot more eco friendly. Having an automated process helps cut back on the amount of wasted swag. An organization can also save a lot of money in their budget with this reduction in excess ordering.
After comparing both ways to handle your organization’s swag, it is easy to see that a swag management platform outperforms the old way of dealing with company merchandise. A swag management platform can save your company time, money, and lead to an overall more streamlined marketing process.
Need a swag management platform?
Here at Youinkit, we specialize in all things swag. Ordering and sending branded swag does not need to be frustrating. We have a solution that takes all the headaches out of organizing, ordering, and sending swag with our swag management platform. Streamline your swag marketing and manage all of your items in one place.
