The Marketing Power of a T-Shirt

Hey guys!  Today I wanted to touch a little on the marketing power of a t-shirt.  When people think of marketing their business, their minds usually venture towards TV commercials, magazine ads, etc.  Am I right or am I right?  These are usually expensive marketing efforts.  How do you know these are even reaching your target audience?  More direct marketing typically yields much better results.  Oh, here’s a solution…market your product or services on the clothes of your employees, customers, friends, and family.  Let’s face it, we all HAVE to wear clothes every day so it is a win win for your gym.  Also, your supporters will be excited about the new apparel.  They want to wear your gym’s name because they are proud of it, proud of what they do, and proud of their accomplishments.

T-shirts act as walking advertisements and conversation starters.  A few examples from my personal life…I have a stash of blank shirts because when we print designs, I get Joel to make me one, as well.  There is no such thing as too many t-shirts, right?  With that being said, congratulations gym owners, I am basically your personal, walking advertisement.  On to my next story…I was in line at Rouses a few weeks ago, and I was wearing a red Ragin’ CrossFit t-shirt.  And I can name many other stories when I was wearing our other gym's apparel and had similar encounters. 

So, I go to checkout and the cashier asked me my thoughts about Ragin’.  Hmmm…why would he ask me that out of the blue?  Oh yeah, my t-shirt, duh (CONVERSATION STARTER)!  So, I gave him my opinion.  He then responded, “I would love to sign up, but I am not “on those people’s level.”  I gave him a little piece of my knowledge, leaving that conversation knowing that there was a likely chance I changed his perspective.  Think about it, that was free advertisement for Ragin’ CrossFit. 

We are here, not only to print you some badass t-shirts, but also to help educate you about marketing and advertising to help you grow your business.  We run our screen printing business quite differently from most others.  We do not classify you all as customers, but rather our clients and friends.  This makes a huge difference; we are not here to simply sell you products and collect a paycheck.  We are here to guide you and give you our professional advice and provide you with the best possible services throughout the entire process.    

I will leave you with this thought…when it comes to marketing and advertising, do not always focus on swinging for the fences and hitting a home run because you will likely overspend on something that is ineffective in today’s ad-choked media environment.  Instead, focus on the powerful, affordable marketing opportunity of printing your name and logo on any item that can be printed on (t-shirts, hats, jackets, etc.). 

Well…that is it for now; I hope this was insightful.  Catch you next time.