Having branded marketing materials such as t-shirts, hoodies, tanks, water bottles, stickers, pens and other tchotchkes is a given requirement for most wellness businesses, no matter your niche and focus, whether you operate a yoga studio, massage therapy business, a gym or other variety. If this isn’t top of mind for you, or you don’t have someone designated to run marketing for you, these factors get deprioritized as you run your day to day operations, teach classes, do the books and other endless requirements of running your own gig. Hosting local and regular events in your space, creating messaging and developing a reputation happens in a variety of forms, and is a never-ending game of ideation and bringing things to life, and filling the customer pipeline, to keep current customers happy and engaged, as well as getting new faces in the door. Let’s take a look at a few ways to do that:
1. Physical marketing materials
These are generally inexpensive, customizable and easy to give away to everyone, both current clients and prospective ones. Whether you have regular presences at conventions and workshops, or have a healthy volume of walk in traffic, these marketing materials can be vital to expanding your reach, both directly and indirectly. These are customized with your logo, a current season’s theme, your next hosted event or a mantra you live and love by. Whether you have one location or multiple locations, building your brand can be as simple as giving out inexpensive, customized stickers to your clientele, friends and family. You can get customized stickers, pens, notepads and other small items from a variety of sources, both online and from local businesses. Finding a business in your local market may be the best option for you, as it serves as a relationship building exchange, or exploring some online resources that are often more scalable for price and turnaround time. You’ll know what’s best for your business based on your volume and immediacy of production and creative design needs.
2. Shirts, tanks & hoodies
This is an amazing and very successfully practiced way to get the message out about your business, no matter what type you have. When people are wearing clothing with your brand printed or embroidered on them, that personal relationship creates a strong sense of brand loyalty and external awareness in the world. Branded clothing is essentially a walking billboard, and an often well intentioned voice for your business. Just as with stickers and inexpensive marketing materials, there are a number of sources, both locally and online or globally, to get these designed and printed from. You can opt to give these away, or sell them at cost or slightly higher for a profit. The most important factor is to have a design that is uniquely your own, and one that communicates the message of your brand clearly. Wholesale apparel by Champion is a great resource and example of options you can choose from when looking for premium items from a longstanding and well known brand to have customized for your business, or a special event.
3. Water bottles
With every event, workout and wellness activity, comes a strongly communicated need for hydration. Having customized, high quality and current designed water bottles to give to new and existing clients is a fantastic way to maintain and renew interest and brand loyalty, cultivate relationships and keep everyone hydrated from a stylish vessel they will enjoy using everyday. Not only is hydration vital to healthy wellness activity, it’s important for an overall healthy life.
No matter your current budget and client base, there should always be at least a small allocation each month for marketing and bringing in new clients. Marketing activity comes from a wide variety of sources, from word of mouth, your online presence and positioning yourself as an expert, and putting your message and brand out into the world via friends and clients in the form of many things including stickers on their cars, shirts, hoodies and water bottles. Upgrading and getting new gear for your business is exciting, both for you as the owner, and your customers!