Many of us will feel business slow down during the summer - (and who doesn't want to start planning their next vacation?) but it's a great time to get a head start on planning for Q3 and Q4, including your promotional product shopping. Below are some suggestions to consider before making your next purchase.

1. Determine your budget and timeline. Ordering in larger quantities and well in advance of your deadline will result in significant cost savings. If you're thinking of placing an order with a specific event or use in mind, consider if you can use the same items as part of other events or giveaways. If you can, it'll save you money over the long term.

2. The product should align with your brand. For example, a doctor's office or insurance agent will probably want to avoid promotional items associated with alcohol consumption featuring their logo. Instead, health and safety related items are likely a more natural fit to represent your brand and what you want your audience to associate it with.

3. Put yourself in your audience's shoes. What will they enjoy receiving and get use out of? Is it something they'll hang on to and not throw away as soon as they get it?

4. Only order from a promotional products distributor you trust. We hope you find Lifetime Creations a trustworthy partner, but even if you shop elsewhere, make sure it's a reputable company that will back its products and services and promptly help you with any issues. Solely focusing on price is a mistake many people make at some point when purchasing, and unfortunately it can be an expensive one.

5. Ask for a proof. It's typically standard for this to be offered, but you'll want to ensure your logo looks perfect before heading to production.

6. Provide vector artwork and PMS colors. Vector artwork is always the preferred file type as it's easier to manage and produces the highest quality results. If you do not have vector artwork, then a high resolution file is the next best option.

If your logo will be in color, make sure you provide your PMS colors so that it can be matched. If you don't have or know your PMS colors, your distributor should be able to assist. This is important because different production processes and different manufacturers can produce a wide range of color variation from the same file. What one supplier prints may look blue, and another supplier's final product may look purple. PMS matching helps avoid this.

Lifetime Creations is a promotional products distributor and online retailer of personalized gifts. Join our email list here to receive news and insights for your business/organization.