A corporate program or “swag portal” is an easier way to manage promotional product campaigns and employee onboarding kits. These centralized platforms take the place of ad hoc ordering, and they streamline the merchandising process for employees and customers. Employers maintain consistency, customers stay loyal, and employees are more engaged.
A corporate program supports marketing and loyalty campaigns. It’s a multifaceted approach that accounts for every step on the merchandising supply chain, albeit without the hassle and distractions that usually accompany them.
Take Foxtrot Marketing’s solutions as an example. We offer several solutions, beginning with a Core Online Store. Designed for companies that want to easily manage and ship branded merchandise, it negates the need for storing and managing inventory, offers shoppers a curated product selection, and refreshes twice yearly with new products.
Larger businesses with greater merchandising needs may benefit more from our Enterprise Online Store. In addition to a completely customizable storefront, it includes various personalization options, multiple user groups, a chat assistant, employee purchase codes, and several shipping options.
It’s one store and one solution for all the business’s merchandising requirements. We hold the inventory and arrange the shipping—you just wait for the orders.
You have a business to run. Every day, you’re juggling customer orders, employee roles, marketing, and countless other tasks. The last thing you want is to manage a large, resource-heavy merchandising campaign. A corporate program will manage the work for you while offering more benefits than a simple, ad hoc approach:
Centralized systems mean you’re not constantly juggling various orders and processes. Instead, you can manage everything through a single, comprehensive dashboard.
If employees are wearing branded apparel, they’re more likely to engage with the company. It also promotes internal branding, keeping everyone on the same page and maintaining uniformity across the business.
Got a big trade show coming up? Need to equip your employees running giveaways for attendees? There’s a lot to consider, but a well-managed corporate program streamlines the process and gives you what you need with a few clicks.
Customers expect consistency. They expect staff to wear branded apparel and use branded goods; they expect to see that brand plastered across packaging and giveaways. It’s consistent, but it also means they’re constantly exposed to your name and logo.
Corporate programs can manage multiple merchandise campaigns, and typically include features tailored toward:
To understand how a corporate program may work for your business, let’s use the Foxtrot Marketing Enterprise Online Store as an example. It’s a complete merchandising solution for brands of all sizes, and offers a greater level of customization than many other corporate programs.
Get started by contacting us and relaying your requirements. From there, we’ll take you through several simple steps to set everything up:
H3: Discovery and Onboarding
This is your time to shine. Tell us all about your business, employees, customers, and goals. We’ll use this information to create a statement of work, and after signing an agreement, we’ll draw up a timeline and confirm your requirements, including any specific logos and artwork you want to include.
Your merchandise website is central to your corporate program. It’s where your employees will purchase branded apparel, and where your customers can spend loyalty points or use discounts.
We’ll work with you to develop the site and will then test it thoroughly.
It’s vital that you work with established and experienced companies, as this process can get very messy if you try to rush it or cut corners. We make sure your site fits your design and requirements perfectly and ensure that every aspect works flawlessly.
Cutting corners could overlook key aspects that leave you with a messy and unfinished site. So, for a seamless process and a site that will function for years to come, stick with professional services like Foxtrot Marketing.
You could design products, work with printers, arrange for a bulk shipment, and then ship products to employees and customers, but it’s a lot of work. Alternatively, you can leave it to us. We’ll handle all of the sourcing and inventory management and can even ship directly to employees and customers.
They place their orders through your platform (with support for purchase codes and a chat assistant), and we ship them.
In addition to working with a trusted provider of merchandising solutions, you also need to think about your branding, messaging, standards, and use cases.
Your merchandise should align with your voice and goals. If your company is cutting edge, irreverent, and humorous, create unique, flashy designs that match your unique voice. If you’re more about a minimalistic and approachable style, keep your designs simple.
Just because it’s not part of your traditional product range doesn’t mean you can treat it any differently. Everything you sell or give away reflects on your brand.
If you receive a swag bag from Apple, you’d expect clean, white packaging and sleekly designed products. If you bill yourself as a purveyor of luxury, don’t slap your brand on cheap plastic pens; if you’re all about the environment, opt for eco-friendly products (seed pencils, bamboo pens, recycled notepads).
Everything that carries your brand should align with your company culture and goals.
They are centralized systems that handle the procurement and distribution of merchandise, combining all aspects of merchandising into one consolidated platform.
It depends on the business’s goals, but branded apparel and accessories are common, as are tech items and health and wellness products.
Work with experienced marketing companies like Foxtrot Marketing. These corporate programs can arrange everything for you and give you storefronts through which customers and employees can order merchandise