Differentiating Quality Still a Challenge for the Promotional Products Industry

Of all the costs that go into making a promotional product, quality costs are often the hardest to appreciate. If we do our job well, the product simply looks good and works. But if we don't, if a product breaks, parts don't fit together well, ink dries out, seams tear, imprints are crooked—the defect stands out like a black eye and does double damage. The flawed product disappoints and it reflects poorly on the company who gave it away—exactly the opposite of what promotional products are supposed to do. And now, with ever increasing product safety regulations upsetting norms, threatening the industry, raising calls for indemnification and changing the way we source products, quality has been catapulted front and center as a critical and urgent topic for promotional products professionals. Yet amidst all of the attention, it remains a significant challenge for our industry to differentiate the highest quality products from the similar looking but lessor products, particularly when they often appear even to experienced buyers to be the same.