𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱.

Happy Friday!

Think about the difference between the sweatshirt everyone gets at registration and the jacket someone receives after completing a six-month program.

They may cost about the same.

They do not mean the same thing.

One is something the company handed out. The other represents something the person did.

That distinction matters.

When merch marks an achievement, milestone, level, contribution, or completion, the value is no longer just in the product. The meaning comes from what had to happen before someone received it.

That is why I think businesses often start with the wrong question.

They ask: What can we give people?

I start with: What has someone done that is worth recognizing physically?

Maybe they completed your program or reached a member milestone. Perhaps they finished a challenge or became a long-term client. Whatever the achievement, now the merch has a job.

It is not there simply because you wanted to send something. It marks the moment. And more importantly, it creates a moment.

Because sometimes the reason someone keeps the merch has very little to do with the product itself.

It is how the product speaks to them. It says:

I did this.

I earned this.

I’m part of this.

How do you reward your members?

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