By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

I talk clients out of buying merch all the time.

Which is a slightly strange thing to admit as someone who sells branded merchandise for a living.

Don’t get me wrong: I love merch. I have a Cookie-Monster-and-cookies relationship with really good merch.

But here’s the thing:

You probably need merch. You just don’t need as much of it as you think.

The Problem With Ordering Branded Merch in Bulk

A lot of companies approach branded merch by asking:

How much should we order?

I’d rather start with:

Why are we ordering it?

Is it for an event? Employees? Customers? A product launch? A community that already loves your brand?

Because if you’re ordering 300 identical branded t-shirts without knowing exactly who wants them, I have a pretty good idea where 225 of them are eventually ending up.

In a storage closet.

In a box under someone’s desk.

Or, eventually, in the trash.

That’s not a merch strategy. That’s expensive clutter.

Better Branded Merchandise Starts With Intention

The best branded merch programs aren’t necessarily the biggest.

They’re specific.

Instead of buying hundreds of products and hoping people want them, think about who the merchandise is for, how they’ll receive it, and whether they would actually choose to wear or use it.

One great sweatshirt that people genuinely want is more valuable than five forgettable corporate swag items they didn’t ask for.

Fewer products. Better designs. More intention.

Print-on-Demand Merch Can Reduce Waste

This is one of the reasons I’m such a believer in print-on-demand merchandise.

Instead of guessing how many smalls, mediums, larges, and XLs you’ll need—and inevitably getting it wrong—you can produce products when people actually order them.

That means less excess inventory, less waste, and fewer boxes of leftover branded t-shirts haunting your office for the next three years.

It also gives brands more freedom to experiment with designs, offer people choices, and evolve their merch as the company evolves.

Sometimes the Best Merch Strategy Is Less Merch

Branded merchandise should make people more excited about your brand.

It shouldn’t exist just because someone decided, We should probably order some swag.

Get specific about what you’re making.

Get specific about who it’s for.

And get very specific about why they would actually want it.

Sometimes the smartest branded merch decision is making less merch.

Love,
The woman who sells merch