When you start a business, you have a lot to consider. What are you going to sell? How are you going to get the word out? How many people should you employ? Even when you have a team, the questions don’t end. You may wonder whether to offer a uniform or let them wear their own clothes. Sadly, we don’t have the answers. These are personal choices which you need to make on your own.
What we do have is a suggestion for how to make uniforms financially viable if you go down that path. After all, blindly delving into a commitment like this without thought could see you out of pocket. But, if you think this through, you can ensure you see back any money you spend here. That’s what we call good business sense, and it’s a goal you should always aim towards.
Of course, the arguments for uniforms are varied. More often than not, your reasoning here will come down to nothing more than wanting your staff to look good. But, uniforms can also increase your profits. At least, they can if you take the following steps.
Buy uniforms in bulk
You’ll struggle to see any profit from this is you spend a fortune on ordering individual pieces. In fact, doing this could fast see you spending a fortune. What’s more, it’ll become a pain in your backside. It could also leave new employees unable to wear a uniform for a week or so after their start date. A better option, then, would be to buy uniforms in bulk. This can reduce costs in extreme ways, as well as ensuring you always have uniforms to hand. It also means you can hand out multiples of each item to make sure staff don’t have to turn up with stains or dirty tops. That would, after all, undo your efforts to make them look smart. When you consider it that way, ordering in bulk is a no-brainer. There are many uniform wholesale suppliers out there. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding one. Then, all you need to do is consider where you’ll store all those spares in the meantime.
Display your logo
When it comes to a uniform which pays for itself, it’s essential you display your company logo clearly. The most lucrative aspect of a uniform is, after all, its advertising capabilities. A plain t-shirt isn’t exactly going to get customers flocking to your products. By comparison, seeing your staff wearing logos as they head to and from work could see new customers coming your way. You may want to go all out with a printed full-frontal design. Or, you might prefer something subtle, like a logo printed on options like the patches offered by Patches4Less. Either way, you need to make sure that potential customers can see what your company do from a glance.
Use uniforms to apply dress standards
It’s also worth noting that uniforms can bring a real sense of professionalism to your team. This, in turn, can ensure that they sell as much as possible. As mentioned above, logo visibility is crucial for advertising. It’s also essential for inviting sales. With a clear logo on display, customers will be able to find your staff with ease. That ensures speedy service which can save walkouts and lost sales. It’s also worth noting that the mere act of getting your staff to dress right can increase your chances of sales. Customer services matter, after all, as does team appearance. A scruffy member of staff will struggle to calm an agitated customer. But, if your employees look the part, it’s more likely that they’ll be able to handle situations like these with ease.
Offer uniforms for sale
This one may seem strange, but it’s a step many companies choose to take. By giving customers a chance to buy some of your spare uniforms, you stand to see real monetary benefits. Not only will you face real profits on each item, but you also then reap the benefits of walking advertisements. Even if you don’t think anyone would buy your offerings, you may be surprised. If customers feel an affinity with your company, they’ll be more than happy to sport clothing with your logo on it. Given that you’re buying in bulk anyway, there’s no harm in listing these items on, say, your online shop. You could even display them in a physical store and see how things go. This can work irrelevant of which products you sell otherwise. What’s more, you’ll find that you can charge a much higher rate for these items than you paid for them in the first place.
Give employees a reason to wear uniform during downtime
Speaking of walking advertisements, it’s also worth giving your employees a reason to wear uniforms in their downtime. If at least your staff are taking your logo on the road, it could see a load of profit coming your way. This is especially likely if you display both your company name and your website. Of course, it isn’t easy to give staff a reason to wear their work clothes at the weekend. Hence why you should think about buying stylish cuts which they’re happy to reach for. Options such as hoodies are also always a good idea. The chances are that your staff would reach for a warm hoodie on a cold day, regardless of it being workwear. At the very least, handing out additions like branded tote bags and lanyards could see staff boosting your reputation without even meaning to. Even if this only draws one or two customers to your company, it’s worth your efforts.
Conclusion
As you can see, uniforms don’t have to be all about leaving yourself out of pocket. By approaching things in the right way, your uniforms could see far more money in your tills than they take out. What’s more, benefits here are long lasting. Over the years, then, your uniforms could well pay for themselves many times over.