As part of our ongoing TrendWatch webinar series, we recently discussed online stores for corporate customers and the benefits of marketing these tools to your customers. 

Both Inktavo and S&S Activewear collaborated on this informative class, which provided detailed tips on key factors and best practices for leveraging corporate web stores to enhance the customer experience, drive sales, and create a strong brand presence. 

Watch the recorded presentation for free here! 

Once you’ve watched the webinar, grab a free copy of our Corporate Gifting Marketing Kit, featuring essential tools for marketing bundles and online stores to corporate clients.

The Potential of Corporate Online Stores

When you hear the term “corporate,” you might envision office buildings and one category of customer, but corporate stores cover a broad range of industries, including the following: 

  • Technology
  • Healthcare and related businesses (pharmaceutical, physical therapy, sports medicine, etc.)
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Retail and Franchises  
  • Manufacturing
  • Construction (mainly commercial construction)

Corporate Gifting

Products for Corporate Online Stores

You can use corporate web stores for items like uniforms, company-branded swag, and incentive products in these diverse markets. Depending on the application for that store, the items featured can be promotional goods for customers, branded goods for employees, or a mix of both. 

Here are a few items that work well in corporate online stores: 

  1. Branded Apparel: Customized T-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, and even jackets embellished with corporate branding help create a sense of unity and professionalism among employees and heighten brand visibility.
  2. Uniforms: Custom-branded uniforms for employees in retail, hospitality, and healthcare give corporate customers a consistent way to reinforce their branding and help drive a professional image to that company’s end customer.
  3. Apparel Accessories: Headwear, gators, scarves, beanies, and other wearable soft goods make the perfect companion to shirts and jackets and allow shops to offer their corporate customers branded bundle ideas.
  4. Drinkware: Personalized drinkware is always an excellent addition to a corporate web store for a few key reasons: it’s relatively easy to customize, is popular all year round, and meets the needs of a massive range of business types.Tumblers, coffee mugs, or water bottles, customized drinkwear featuring a company logo can serve as practical gifts for employees and clients and promotional giveaways at events, maintaining brand visibility.
  5. Customized Stationery: Personalized notepads, pens, and office supplies with the company’s logo are simple, effective brand drivers for internal and external communication.They’re also the perfect strategic promotional item at trade shows or corporate events since attendees typically need some writing material to take notes.For businesses that don’t have the equipment to print this swag in-house, there are several options for outsourcing custom stationery.
  1. Tech Goods: Like customized stationary, shops can offer branded tech goods via outsourcing options, giving corporate customers a whole other set of unique, trending items to carry in their web stores.Products like phone cases, laptop bags, and chargers with corporate branding provide functional and stylish accessories and are also the perfect fit for corporate customers already in the tech sector.
  1. Totes and Backpacks: Like apparel, custom-branded backpacks or totes serve similar purposes as employee incentives, loyalty swag for customers, or promotional items for events. 

Staying Creative & Maintaining Engagement with Corporate Web Stores

Part of managing successful corporate online stores is offering unique, creative options that keep customers interested. Some common ways to do this include offering themed collections, seasonal or event-driven products, and employee recognition items.

You can also tie in corporate web stores with local athletic teams to offer products that employees would proudly wear outside of work.

  1. Themed Collections: Themed collections allow you to offer a comprehensive set of products that align with timely trends, seasonal holidays, or industry themes.Strategies could include tapping into a local sports team’s recent win, offering fall-themed products, or timing a healthcare client’s bundle around a timely event like Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
  2. Seasonal and Event-Focused Products: Timely merchandise might mean you need to readjust what you’re selling every few months, but it also keeps you front of mind for customers who need a fresh set of products that align with seasonal themes.These promotional goods might target traditional calendar holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July or more client-specific dates like tradeshows, fundraisers, and other public events.
  3. Employee Recognition Items: Employee recognition items are another excellent driver of a corporate customer’s branding and help maintain company morale. Common products include personalized gifts, custom awards, or plaques.Print shops that offer these items provide corporate clients with meaningful ways to acknowledge and reward their employees’ hard work and dedication.
  4. Tying in With Local Athletic Teams: Collaborating with local athletic teams for custom merchandise offers print shops a unique opportunity to create products that resonate with the community and promote team spirit.Businesses can attract corporate clients who want to engage with the local community by designing local team-affiliated apparel and accessories.

Staying Relevant and Flexible

Successful corporate web stores also require regular refreshes. That includes offering backup options and aligning products with current trends, whether fashion-forward looks or trending brands. 

Here are a few key ways to maintain and refresh those stores: 

  1. Managing Inventory and Offering Backup Options: Offering backup options is a great way to navigate disruptions in supply chains and ensure you still deliver customer orders on time, even if their first choice product option is unavailable.Having that reliability also helps foster trust between you and your clients.
  2. Aligning Products with Fashion Trends: Refreshing web stores allows print shops to align their product offerings with current fashion trends and industry preferences.By staying current on trends, you can offer merchandise that resonates with corporate clients and their employees, enhancing the perceived value of the branding solutions.
  3. Incorporating Technology-Driven Fulfillment Methods: Leveraging technology-driven fulfillment methods, such as automated order processing, inventory tracking, and print-on-demand ensures consistency, minimizes misprints, and helps contribute to a seamless customer experience. 

Streamlining the Customer Experience

By providing corporate customers with a seamless online experience, you’ll help establish long-term loyalty and grow your customer list through referrals from those larger-scale clients.

Want to learn more about how to use corporate online stores as a profit driver for your shop? Sign up to watch our full presentation below, where you’ll learn about critical tools you’ll need to seal the deal, including online design tools and simple reordering options.

You’ll also learn about best practices, such as mobile optimization for your sites, clear product descriptions, and a secure payment process.

Sign Up to watch today!