The idea of ordering promotional products is a simple task - you decide what you want, and you put your logo on it. Hardly anything should go wrong, right? Wrong. I have experienced first-hand how projects can quickly veer off-course, and my hope is that you can learn from my mistakes.
As I covered in a previous blog, there are often a lot of "cooks in the kitchen" with promotional product orders. That means what once seemed like an easy order for pens or shirts can quickly devolve into an extremely sensitive situation, where one small misstep can derail the timeline or result in a less-than-satisfactory result.
So, where do things typically go wrong, and how do you fix it? In many cases, it starts with your distributor - and how that relationship is handled.
Miscommunication
At the most fundamental level, miscommunication happens between the client and the distributor. Many times there are ideas in the client's head that do not translate through the dialogue and the distributor does not ask clarifying questions, resulting in an undesirable end-product.
For example, a client recently came to us with a quick-turnaround request for a wristband with a client-provided white logo on it to hand out at an upcoming event. To get the order out in time, we had to use a service that did not allow for a virtual proof, and because the logo was white, it was not viewable in the artwork file preview. This resulted in using an old logo on the product. Luckily, we were able to re-do the order and get it to the customer in time for their event, but be sure that if you do anything, ALWAYS see a proof if possible. Mistakes happen, but if this is a systemic issue with your distributor, you have the wrong distributor.
Inexperience
It is extremely important that you work with a distributor that has done this for a long time (ahem... 15 years?) - not only because they know what clarifying questions to ask, but they have also built up an expansive portfolio of qualified vendors they work with. They should also have the ability to keep those vendors in line when issues arise, and they will be insanely honest when communicating with you or their vendors. The most detrimental disconnect that can happen is with large or complex orders.
Not too long ago, we had a client place a large re-order for apparel. The same vendor that decorated them a year ago was not the same decorator that was used for the re-order, which resulted in some inconsistencies in the thread style, sizing, coloring, etc. Although it is impossible to replicate the exact work of another decorator, I realized that I need to go back and get all of the details (such as the DST files) from the previous orders. That way there would be consistency in brand image and logo appearance, going forward.
If possible, your distributor should use the same decorator for repeat orders, but when that is not possible the vendor should attempt to re-create the original style as closely as possible. Being relatively new to the industry, this was a major lesson learned!