If your business is not on the high street it may be struggling to get the level of public attention – and business – it deserves. But small businesses can easily use promotional clothing to boost their sales.

This Christmas, above all others, the average shopper is likely to be looking for a bargain. Money is tight and that means that people are seeking the best deal for the cash they have. And small businesses can actually offer more, not less, than their bigger rivals.

How about a free mince pie or foot massage for customers? Hire a couple of students from the local college who are studying to be beauticians for the massage, or catering students to provide food, and kit them out in promotional clothing such as aprons and caps trimmed with tinsel – then let them loose on your customers!

Or link to a local charity and have some ‘Special Edition’ promotional T-shirts printed – say that you’re going to donate 5% of every purchase over £50 to the charity and have somebody from the charity on hand to offer a thank you Christmas card to everybody who spends enough to reach donation level. People love to feel they’ve done some good for others and this creates a relationship in their minds between you and them.

Alternatively, organise something for kids – invest in some plain white T-shirts and fabric pens and ask them to design you a new logo or a Christmas themed slogan – then photograph each entry, display all the photos in your shop or office, and give a prize to the ‘winner’. The kids will never take off their hand-made T-shirts and will tell everybody they meet over Christmas how and where they made it – instant free advertising and lots of brand loyalty from tired parents who will remember that you kept their little darlings quiet for quite possibly the only time that day.

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For a business to succeed, it needs to have a brand, and that’s as important in the food industry as any other. But just having a brand isn’t enough – you need to support that brand by using your corporate identity to remind people of your restaurant or food. And even that isn’t enough – you have to ensure, if you’re in the food or hospitality industries, that your staff meet the demands of legislation in terms of health and safety and hygiene and the demands of your customers who want to be served by clean, neat, professional looking people.

Enter the promotional apron. Food servers, table-clearers, cooks, cleaners, bar staff and so on … they all look neat, hygienic and ‘ready to work’ when they are wearing a smart apron. Add a logo or brand to that apron and you’ve got a perfect promotional device. Also, an apron can easily be removed and replaced with a clean, fresh garment if something goes wrong, unlike uniform wear which is size specific and therefore often can’t be easily removed and changed if a member of staff spills something down themselves. This ensures that you can always meet the health regulations in your area and need never fear the visit from the Health Inspector.

Also, promotional aprons make brilliant gifts. If you have a loyalty card that your customers get stamped each time they visit or purchase from you, why not give them a promotional apron when they fill their card – they will love this idea of taking their favourite food-provider into their own kitchen whenever they cook and if you make a little ceremony of the presentation of the apron, you get great publicity out of the event. You can also give promotional aprons as prizes for competitions or as corporate gifts. Why not sponsor a healthy cooking contest or provide a chef to cook food at a local charity event – when everybody is wearing your aprons as they toss pancakes or watching your chef produce good food, you can expect the local press to give you great publicity.

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