8 ms·

1) Wear your Company T-shirt heh. I've actually thought about this a lot. I always wear a company shirt, yeah, but I also tend to wear the same clothing all

by lsc 14y ago

1) Wear your Company T-shirt heh. I've actually thought about this a lot. I always wear a company shirt, yeah, but I also tend to wear the same clothing all the time, too, on the theory that it makes me more recognizable, and that being recognized is good. My theory (which may, of course, be wrong) is that in branding? being consistent and recognizable is far more important than looking good. But then, I'm trying to generate word of mouth for small customers, not trying to get investors, so the rules may be different... but it sounds like she has a similar philosophy.

deleted 14y ago
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Mahn 14y ago
Maybe it's just me, but I always thought wearing your company t-shirt makes you look obnoxious, specially if no one has heard of the company.
- gregpilling 14y ago
  it is just you (kidding). How would they hear of you? Why not wear a t-shirt! T-shirts are a pretty low-cost investment in promotion. I can buy a black shirt with a single color imprint for $3.50 in small runs. A good pen with the company name on it would cost the same. (source: I have been buying giveaway crud for 20+ years) Giving away a metric ton of shirts can have some other interesting effects. In the early days of my manufacturing company we gave away many shirts to people within the industry. We started getting calls about 'our people' attending events that we did not attend. It turns out that some of our customers really saw other customers at trade events, but there were so many people with our company shirt on that they impression was that we were attending in force - we werent at the trade event. After giving away 20,000 shirts in a four year period, our customers started complaining about having too many shirts. So the technique does not last forever. It did always amaze me the delight a grown adult would show when they were given a $3 shirt. Almost always a better investment than a pen. Best ideas: Have a decent looking shirt that people want to wear; change base shirt colors so people can have an option. Some people like blue, some like red. Give them what they want, it doesn't change the cost of the shirt.
  - jjsz 14y ago
    Where do you usually get shirts?
  - lsc 14y ago
    well, for $3.50, you aren't getting a good T shirt, so it'd be better to compare it to the $0.25 pens. Personally, I spend about 3x that, maybe 4x on small runs, and get nice T shirts. But then, it's rare I see people that I don't know/ that don't know they will be seeing me wearing the shirts. (and I've only given out a couple hundred) so it's possible that the 'blanket 'em with cheap shirts' strategy works better.
- RougeFemme 14y ago
  I think wearing your company t-shirt is a good way to get conversations started and would be especially effective if no one has heard of the company.
- lsc 14y ago
  I worry about that, too. The way I see it, if it's your company, it does scream "I /really/ want to talk about my company" which is certainly obnoxious in some contexts... but not in others. The difference, if it's a well known company, is that the talk is much shorter. "Oh, you work for Yahoo?" you know, they have the whole back story there. with my shirt? The conversation is longer, even if the level of enthusiasm is the same. But yeah. It's a good point. And I'd probably have a better non-professional social life if I put some effort in to different outfits for several situations.
sc0rb 14y ago
You wear the same clothing everyday so you are more recognisable? That's not normal and is certainly not required.
- lsc 14y ago
  >You wear the same clothing everyday so you are more recognisable? >That's not normal that's... kindof the point, no? I'm trying to be abnormally recognizable. (I mean, to be clear, I'm not a stinky hipster who goes for months without washing his jeans; I have a whole bunch of these things, and I wash them. They are just all the same.) But yeah, I was joking with someone else I met a bit ago. "Yeah, I wear the same thing every day. Got a whole closet full of these. You know, like Steve Jobs... but without the good taste."
  - sc0rb 14y ago
    Seriously, buy some different clothes...
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - lsc 14y ago
      so... break it down for me. What social advantages do I gain by varying my clothing day-to-day? (I mean, I understand the advantages of fitting your clothing to the situation; that's not my question. My question is, if the situation calls for a suit, what's the problem with wearing the same style of suit every time the situation calls for a suit? the same style of T shirt when the situation calls for a T shirt, etc...) Or, maybe you are just telling me to fit my clothing to the situation. Which I'm not doing right now, mostly as a conservation of effort thing, which is to say, I'm too goddamn lazy to bother. But I understand why, at least.
      - sc0rb 14y ago
        If I wore the same clothes everyday (steve jobs style), I'm pretty sure my girlfriend would start to complain and people would start to notice. I don't think it's a good reputation. You're that uninteresting guy from the office that always wears the same clothes.....

by lsc 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

Mahn 14y ago

Maybe it's just me, but I always thought wearing your company t-shirt makes you look obnoxious, specially if no one has heard of the company.

gregpilling 14y ago
it is just you (kidding). How would they hear of you? Why not wear a t-shirt! T-shirts are a pretty low-cost investment in promotion. I can buy a black shirt with a single color imprint for $3.50 in small runs. A good pen with the company name on it would cost the same. (source: I have been buying giveaway crud for 20+ years) Giving away a metric ton of shirts can have some other interesting effects. In the early days of my manufacturing company we gave away many shirts to people within the industry. We started getting calls about 'our people' attending events that we did not attend. It turns out that some of our customers really saw other customers at trade events, but there were so many people with our company shirt on that they impression was that we were attending in force - we werent at the trade event. After giving away 20,000 shirts in a four year period, our customers started complaining about having too many shirts. So the technique does not last forever. It did always amaze me the delight a grown adult would show when they were given a $3 shirt. Almost always a better investment than a pen. Best ideas: Have a decent looking shirt that people want to wear; change base shirt colors so people can have an option. Some people like blue, some like red. Give them what they want, it doesn't change the cost of the shirt.
- jjsz 14y ago
  Where do you usually get shirts?
- lsc 14y ago
  well, for $3.50, you aren't getting a good T shirt, so it'd be better to compare it to the $0.25 pens. Personally, I spend about 3x that, maybe 4x on small runs, and get nice T shirts. But then, it's rare I see people that I don't know/ that don't know they will be seeing me wearing the shirts. (and I've only given out a couple hundred) so it's possible that the 'blanket 'em with cheap shirts' strategy works better.
RougeFemme 14y ago
I think wearing your company t-shirt is a good way to get conversations started and would be especially effective if no one has heard of the company.
lsc 14y ago
I worry about that, too. The way I see it, if it's your company, it does scream "I /really/ want to talk about my company" which is certainly obnoxious in some contexts... but not in others. The difference, if it's a well known company, is that the talk is much shorter. "Oh, you work for Yahoo?" you know, they have the whole back story there. with my shirt? The conversation is longer, even if the level of enthusiasm is the same. But yeah. It's a good point. And I'd probably have a better non-professional social life if I put some effort in to different outfits for several situations.

sc0rb 14y ago

You wear the same clothing everyday so you are more recognisable? That's not normal and is certainly not required.

lsc 14y ago
>You wear the same clothing everyday so you are more recognisable? >That's not normal that's... kindof the point, no? I'm trying to be abnormally recognizable. (I mean, to be clear, I'm not a stinky hipster who goes for months without washing his jeans; I have a whole bunch of these things, and I wash them. They are just all the same.) But yeah, I was joking with someone else I met a bit ago. "Yeah, I wear the same thing every day. Got a whole closet full of these. You know, like Steve Jobs... but without the good taste."
- sc0rb 14y ago
  Seriously, buy some different clothes...
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - lsc 14y ago
    so... break it down for me. What social advantages do I gain by varying my clothing day-to-day? (I mean, I understand the advantages of fitting your clothing to the situation; that's not my question. My question is, if the situation calls for a suit, what's the problem with wearing the same style of suit every time the situation calls for a suit? the same style of T shirt when the situation calls for a T shirt, etc...) Or, maybe you are just telling me to fit my clothing to the situation. Which I'm not doing right now, mostly as a conservation of effort thing, which is to say, I'm too goddamn lazy to bother. But I understand why, at least.
    - sc0rb 14y ago
      If I wore the same clothes everyday (steve jobs style), I'm pretty sure my girlfriend would start to complain and people would start to notice. I don't think it's a good reputation. You're that uninteresting guy from the office that always wears the same clothes.....