Branded and protected: how custom workwear builds unity

Modern companies are increasingly turning to custom branded workwear to help build their brand. By combining safety, aesthetics and comfort across apparel and PPE they are creating a unified look and a strong sense of community that reaps rewards in loyalty, productivity and brand visibility.

What is branded workwear?

When you think of branded workwear, you might well picture a polo shirt or sweatshirt with a company logo on the left breast.

But, with modern branded workwear, the possibilities go far beyond this stereotype of what workwear should look like.

Indeed, forward-thinking businesses are increasingly flexing their creativity to come up with striking designs that in time become instantly recognisable as representing their brand.

How? Read on to find out more…

Custom workwear: The art of the possible

Designing custom workwear for your organisation is a great way to stand out in a competitive marketplace.

Businesses can choose fabrics that exactly match the pantones of their brand colours and add custom text and imagery to create overall designs that are truly unique to their organisation.

These days, branding doesn’t necessarily have to be small; many companies have successfully rolled out polo shirts and jackets with full-sized branding to the back.

But the small details do matter, and those preferring the personal touch can choose to add staff names, colour-code by department or seniority level, and feature details like client logos to increase the kudos of their brand by association.

Executed well, pretty much anything goes. But whether you decide to go big or more modest with your ideas, the key is to be creative – this is one area where you want to stand out from the competition.

What workwear can be customised?

This is a question we get asked a lot and the answer is: anything you like! From the traditional polo shirt to work trousers, softshell jackets, hi vis clothing and heavy-duty outerwear, you can apply branding in some form to any type of garment.

The only limitation is potentially in the choice of method for how that branding might be applied, as some types of materials are more suited to one application type than another. For most items of clothing, though, businesses will be able to choose between embroidery or print as a method of applying their branding. Find out more about the benefits and drawbacks of each of these methods here.

The benefits of custom workwear

We’ve already talked about how creating a unique look for your corporate clothing can help your business stand out against its competitors. But how exactly does it achieve that? Some of the ways include:

• It increases your brand visibility – When they are wearing your branded workwear, your employees become a walking, talking extension of your brand, enhancing its visibility to customers and prospects. A distinctive aesthetic can help your company with brand recognition, while an eye-catching design will also lodge your brand in people’s memories, enabling you to spread the word further and faster than ever before.
  
  Our tip: Invest in good quality workwear. A comfortable branded jacket, for example, might be something your employees choose to wear outside of the workplace on their commute or in their leisure time. If they do, this will further increase exposure to your brand.
  
  
• It strengthens your brand image – Branded workwear makes your employees look smart and professional, which improves public perception of your brand. First impressions count, and the quality and care you put in to clothing your employees will be seen as indicative of the quality, care and professionalism of your products and/or service.
  
  
• It bolsters customer confidence – Creating a consistent look for your employees makes them instantly recognisable. As well as being invaluable from a health and safety point of view, making them immediately identifiable in a crowd in the event of an incident, this will put your customers at ease, as consistency suggests reliability. Research suggests customers view people who wear branded workwear as being more professional and having deeper product and/or service expertise. They’ll find your staff more approachable and will feel confident in their ability to meet their needs. They’ll be more confident in what they can expect from engaging with them, as they’ll associate them with your business’s core values.

Custom workwear: Additional benefits

Designing custom branded workwear doesn’t just help with a business’s outward appearance – it can also help improve its internal culture, ways of working and overall productivity.

Clothing your employees in company-branded clothes is a leap of faith; you’re trusting them to represent your business in the best light at all times through the way they look, speak and act.

But research shows that employees typically respond to this trust being placed in them with increased loyalty, and by working harder and more collaboratively.

Wearing a uniform to work can foster a sense of pride at being part of a team working together to achieve common goals. There’s no peer pressure and there are no hierarchical barriers to overcome. This creates a more positive work environment, with better communication and cooperation.

Your employees will feel part of your mission, vision and values and therefore hold themselves responsible for their part in helping to uphold them. They will want to represent your company well, and this will positively influence the service they strive to provide your customers.

What’s more, by investing in good quality branded workwear that fits well, looks good and is comfortable to wear you are telling your employees that you care about them, and research consistently shows employees that feel valued at work are happier and more productive.

Custom workwear: A low-cost, high impact way to boost your business

It’s clear that businesses with the vision and confidence to invest in custom branded workwear for their teams reap the rewards.

Implementing a high quality, eye-catching uniform is a relatively inexpensive way of boosting unity and morale among internal teams, while also enhancing public perceptions of your company’s capabilities.

To find out more about custom workwear and how we at iSB Group can work with you to design and deliver a completely unique look for your business, why not give us a call? We’ll be happy to talk you through the options.