What To Know Before Investing In Wholesale Beanies To Promote Your Brand
By: Melody Posted on: Dec 18, 2024It wouldn’t be wrong to say that marketing a small business in America these days is like a survival game. Small business owners keep trying all sorts of marketing tactics to get their brands some visibility. In the process, they forget something that directly impacts the bottom line of a brand.
Connection.
A few years ago, a survey of over 1000 US consumers conducted by Sprout found that over 75% of consumers don’t mind buying from a brand they feel connected to. When customers feel connected to a brand, 64% of those customers are likely to be loyal to that brand. That’s repeat purchases, brand advocacy, better visibility, and more sales with just a connection.
Consumers develop brand loyalty within the first interaction itself. Something as simple as a customized beanie can turn that interaction into a memorable experience, forming a genuine connection. Sure, that connection will be lost very soon in today’s landscape. But not when something is reminding them of that connection. In this case, the customized beanie.
Custom Beanies As Promotional Merchandise
Small American businesses find it more convenient to spend on online ads and promotions instead of investing in promo products. Many of them don’t realize that a $3 blank beanie can be turned into a branding tool that delivers consistently high impressions for many months.
Let's dive deep into how these headwear pieces amp up any marketing strategy.
Tangible Connections
As we mentioned earlier, connections are how you make your customers remember your brand. It’s one of those factors that promise the true visibility you need for your brand. And that is where promotional caps become more communication tools that enhance the reach of your brand. Much more than any conventional advertising technique can.
By investing in wholesale beanies and customizing them all, you can begin capitalizing on the opportunity to create tangible connections.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just handed out beanies to your regular customers out of the blue? You will likely see it as a means to make that specific customer happy. But that beanie will be going around town, generating a lot of impressions and starting conversations remarking your business. But the data here that you can’t neglect is the cost per impression. It’s low for headwear, considering the exponentially high reach that you get.
The key to maximizing returns on your investment is to get the beanies customized in a way that your target audience will love.
Customize For The Recipient, Not For Your Brand
Many seem to think promo items are those that have a brand logo printed or embroidered on them. That’s not the case. Our goal here is connection. Great experiences build solid connections. Your beanies should be part of one such great experience. Just a logo alone may not carry the message through completely.
Here are a few tips to help your small business nail the beanie branding.
- Match your beanie colors with your brand's color palette
- For designs that can have text & logo, choose locations that maximize visibility
- Pick fabrics that are customization and budget-friendly at the same time
- Add something that makes the beanie not just headwear but also a reminder of something quirky
Pricing and Positioning
If you plan to sell the beanies along with your merchandise, make sure they are priced in a way that balances both the perceived value of the beanies and the actual cost it took you to get them ready. The cheaper a beanie looks, the lower its perceived value. This could impact the entire experience, and you won’t get that connection you seek.
- Include them in bundled promotions: Hand out a beanie with purchases over a certain amount
- Giveaway for loyal customers: Beanies can be a surprise giveaway to regulars and top-tier customers along with a Thank-You note
- Event giveaways: Distribute the beanies at events, so they get your brand some visibility
- Retail sale: Make beanies part of a special seasonal collection or an in-store surprise during special seasons.
Our Customers’ Success Stories
We’ve helped a few small businesses that chose beanies to give their brand a facelift.
Last year, a craft brewery in Portland bought a few dozen OTTO CAP 82-1238 beanies wholesale and embroidered them to be special collectibles with CapBargain’s customization services.
A very passionate retail entrepreneur based out of North Carolina started her own Shopify clothing store last year and chose CapBargain’s blank beanies for customization. We suggested the OTTO 82-1010 Ultra Soft beanie for the job as her total budget was limited. Her customers loved it, and now she sells beanies we customize during seasonal promotions.
We have a few more stories for this year, but you got the point.
Beanies worked for many small businesses. And the key points our customers affirmed are:
- Be authentic to your brand's personality
- Think beyond just logo placement
- Consider recipients’ demographic's style preferences
- Buy in bulk to minimize cost
At CapBargain, for designs that have been already saved by our customers in their free CapBargain account, there is no setup charge after the first customization order. The whole customization process for a saved design they already took, becomes much easier with our in-built Design Creator tool.
For promotions that can hit the mark, we recommend bulk-ordering the following OTTO CAP beanies (in addition to the two we mentioned earlier):
- OTTO CAP 82-1316 Classic Knit with Inside Fleece Lining Beanie
- OTTO CAP 82-480 Superior Cotton Knit Beanie
- OTTO CAP 82-625 Acrylic Knit Beanie
- OTTO CAP 82-404 Acrylic Knit Beanie
If you want to try out beanies from other reputed brands in the market for merchandising, we recommend checking out this blog on wholesale beanies first.
Small businesses aren't just competing on products—they're competing on experience and connections. A strategic investment in wholesale beanies for promotions can make a sizable difference for your business.
Revolutionize your brand strategy with CapBargain’s promo headwear, sourced from OTTO CAP - the largest source of budget-friendly blank & custom headwear in the USA.
If you are new to customizing headwear, you might find our CUSTOM HATS GUIDE informational.