How to make merch for your small business

Decide what the merch is for

Small business merch usually does one of three jobs. Knowing which one you want changes the design, the products and how you pay for them.

• Sell to regulars. People who love your place buy a shirt or a tote and wear it around town. It earns a margin and works as advertising you did not pay for.
• Dress the team. Staff in matching tees or hoodies look like one business. Here you pay, so cost per person matters more than margin.
• Thank customers and partners. A cap for the hundredth visit, a hoodie for a loyal client, a gift for a supplier. Again, you pay, and the gift has to feel personal.

Most businesses start with the first job, because it pays for itself, and add the other two later.

Design from what you already have

You do not need a new brand to make merch. Look at what customers already notice:

• The logo, if it is simple and recognizable. A small chest print and a larger back print is a classic layout.
• A line people repeat: the name of your signature drink, a sign on the wall, a joke from the menu.
• The neighborhood. Street names, the year you opened and local landmarks sell well to people who live nearby.
• Your craft. A coffee roaster's bean, a barber's scissors, a bakery's loaf, drawn simply.

Wearable beats loud. A design people would wear to dinner sells better than a billboard on a shirt. When in doubt, make the logo smaller.

Pick products that fit the business

The right product is one your customers would use on a normal day. A rough guide:

Merch5 prints t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and totes, embroiders caps and makes mugs. Start with two products and add a third once you see what sells. See merch for coffee shops and merch for bars for worked examples.

Choose how you will stock it, or not

A small business has two options. A bulk order gives the lowest price per item, but you pay for the run up front, guess the sizes and keep the boxes somewhere. A print-on-demand store makes each item after someone pays, so you stock nothing and never guess a size.

For a counter display, a few items in hand help people see and touch the product. For everything else, on demand removes the risk. Many shops keep one sample on the wall and a QR code beside it that opens the store.

Set it up in an afternoon

1. Open a free store at app.merch5.com. No card and no contract.
2. Upload your logo or design. Mockups of every product are generated for you.
3. Pick two products and set prices. The production cost is shown next to each one, so you see your margin.
4. Print the QR code for the counter, add the link to your website and your social profiles, and mention it in your next email.

If you have a website, put the store on it with the merch widget rather than sending people elsewhere. Opening and running the store costs $0; printing and shipping come out of each paid order.

Sell it where customers already stand

Merch for a small business sells in person first. The places that work:

• The counter. A sample on the wall and a QR code by the register. Staff wearing the design is the best display you have.
• The receipt or the menu. One line with the store link.
• Your website and Google profile. Add a shop link wherever people look up your hours.
• Your email list. Customers who signed up already like you. Tell them first.
• Events. An anniversary, a local festival or a pop-up is a reason for a limited design. See event merch.

Use the same store for staff and gifts

Once the store exists, the other two jobs get easier. For the team, you can order for each person in their own size instead of buying a box of mixed sizes; see employee swag. For customers and partners, a prepaid gift link lets the recipient choose size, color and address, and you pay only for gifts that are actually claimed; see rewarding customers with merch.

Price it like a product, not a giveaway

Regulars expect to pay for a good shirt. Price close to what similar local businesses charge, keep a healthy margin and use it: a discount for loyalty card holders, a free tote with a bag of beans, a staff discount. Pricing at cost leaves no room for any of that.

Mistakes small businesses make with merch

• Ordering a box before anyone asked. The leftover mediums end up as rags. Test on demand first and order a bulk run only of what already sells.
• Printing the logo as large as possible. A giant logo reads as a uniform. Customers buy what they would wear on a day off.
• Hiding it. A store link three menus deep on the website sells nothing. Put it in the main menu, at the counter and on the receipt.
• Launching quietly. Tell your regulars in person, post a photo of a staff member wearing it and send one email. Then remind them a week later.
• Treating it as a one-off. One new design a season gives regulars a reason to buy again.

How to tell if it is working

Give the merch three months before you judge it. Look at three numbers: how many orders came in, which product sold best and where buyers came from. The QR code at the counter, the website link and the email each bring a different crowd, and the store's analytics show which one actually sells. Double down on the channel that works and drop the product nobody picked. If one design keeps selling at the counter, that is also the one worth a small bulk run for a display shelf.

A simple first-year plan

• Month one: one logo design on a tee and one second product. QR code at the counter.
• Month three: look at what sold. Retire what did not, add one new design or product.
• Your anniversary: a limited design with the year on it, on sale for two weeks.
• The holidays: push gift-friendly products such as totes, mugs and hoodies.