For most apparel decorators getting started in promotional products will not be as difficult as it is for someone starting from scratch, since the first step will likely be offering them to existing customers. What will be a challenge, though, is learning the nuts and bolts of the business, i.e., dealing with things like suppliers and pricing, and identifying the kinds of products your customers are going to want.
The good news is you don’t have to do it alone. Manufacturers and distributors selling to apparel decorators like you have a vested interest in your being successful. A rising tide lifts all boats.
“The suppliers are outstanding about offering their expertise,” says Zack Ottenstein, president of The Image Group. “We have great relationships at The Image Group with our core supply-chain partners. They were willing to make the investment to help us get up to speed on the key things we needed to be successful.”
Joining ASI or PPAI
Beyond that, the quickest way to shorten the learning curve, minimize beginner mistakes and take advantage of an abundance of resources, including education and networking, is to join the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) or the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI).
“You should join one of those if you want to do it right. Memberships are not expensive, and on day one after you join, you’ll have access to all [their member] vendors,” says Rick Roth, president of Mirror Image Screen Printing & Embroidery and founder of the Ink Kitchen.
Along these same lines, Greg Kitson, a retired screen printer and consultant with 43 years’ experience, says the cost of joining one of these associations should be regarded of as a kind of tuition.
“Otherwise, the cost is a surprise $1,500 freight charge you can’t pass along to the client because they’re not expecting it, or a $5,000 redo because the colors weren’t specified, or a fuzzy image reproduced at 72 dpi when you sent them a high-resolution image but didn’t see a notation on page three of the terms and conditions that high resolution costs $300 more,” Kitson says.
Know Your Clients
As for the kinds of products and markets it makes the most sense for you to focus on, here’s a simple truth: the more you know about your customers and their needs, the better job you can do.
Case in point: Andy Lantzman, a self-described “promotional therapist” who closed his screen-printing shop after 25 years and currently works for Geiger, says he focuses on four niches: automotive, car racing, fitness and utilities.
“During COVID, I lost between 60 percent and 70 percent of my business, because so much of it was event and gym related, and everything was cancelled or closed. So, I spent a lot of time networking.”
Central to this effort, Lantzman says, was looking at his connections to see who they were friends with. He would then email each of these friends in order to get an introduction to the best person in the various companies he was targeting to send his pitch. At the start of COVID, he had around 800 connections. He’s now up to 1,900.
There’s money to be made with mugs and the wealth of other blank products available these days. Put in the work and expanding into merch can be a great way of growing an existing decorated-apparel business. Image by Luis – stock.adobe.com
In terms of the companies he’s most interested in, as an established promotional product distributor, he says he is no longer looking for small fry. Instead, he has learned who the bigger players are in each of the niches he specializes in, and that’s who he targets. He has found that in his own case, at least, dealing with smaller companies takes more time and results in less money.
“I cherry pick the companies in my niches. I know everyone involved, where the money is, and who has lots of employees. These are the people I want to work with,” he says.
As for the tactics decorators should use when approaching a prospective customer, Lantzman recommends the following:
1) Do your homework: Go to each company’s website, check to see if they already have any kind of company store. Review any and all information you can find on them in LinkedIn as well. From these sources, you will see the type and quality of merchandise they’re interested in, how many employees they have and the best people to contact, a purchasing manager, for example.
2) Identify pain points: This is done by interviewing your contacts. Ask them what they’re already buying, what events they have coming up, what their needs and what they want to accomplish. Once you know the pain points, you will know what you can bring to the table in terms of the products that will solve them.
“Once you know the demographic, all you have to do is look at similar ones that use the same model. It might be a weekend volleyball tourney or club softball. You already know what type of gear bags they want and if they want shirts for fans and family to wear while watching games, etc. It’s an instant match proposition,” Kitson says.
Along these same lines Roth says, “Initially, it starts with what you already know about the niche and then asking questions. For many of my customers, they want something sustainable and made with good labor. So, you have to dig into what they mean by ‘sustainable.’ For example, I might present a water bottle that has a plastic liner that isn’t recyclable, but it’s made from recycled materials. It’s also made well and will last a long time.”
Similarly, it’s important to make sure you understand the ultimate objective each client has in mind with respect to their promotional products efforts. Are they looking to work on things like self-promotion, team unity or employee recognition. Or are they looking for ways to add to an existing revenue stream?
“I would ask, ‘How do you use promotional products? What is your perception of a promotional product and what do you want it to do?’” Kitson says, describing what he regards as a kind of “guided discovery” process.
Interestingly, Kitson says he will often find customers willing to share any number of different “horror stories” with him, that or customers who could just never seem to find the time to get a promotional products program going. This, he says, presents a golden opportunity for you to explain the reasons why the client should do business with you.
“Keep them on topic, but just let them talk, and they will give you the keys to getting their business,” he recommends.
Another benefit of asking questions is figuring out if the customer in question is someone you really want to do business with. For example, if the client is telling you a horror story, is it a legitimate one? Or are they being unreasonable in their expectations? You may, in fact, find you are merely the latest in a long line of promotional-products providers the client has contacted because they are never satisfied. “With difficult clients, sometimes you are just trading dollars, and it’s not worth it,” Kitson says.
Reflecting on his own market-research efforts, Tom Rauen, president of 1800Tshirts.com, a company that is actively working to increase its promotional product sales as well, says, “We’re identifying our top clients and finding out what they are ordering and where they are getting it from…We’re working on learning how to better serve them and bring all their orders in-house. A lot of times we hear, ‘I didn’t know you could do that” and that’s because they think of us as only a T-shirt printer.”
Something to keep in mind: while there is a perception that promotional products are only for corporations with 100 or more employees doing safety and staff programs. However, Rauen, unlike Lantzman, say his small to mid-size customers represent a wealth of sales opportunities as well.
“We work with plenty of places like a small bar or restaurant, and they order a lot of things. Koozies, pens, drinkware, etc. Whether it’s a construction company or any of the trades, they’re ordering things to give away,” he says. According to Rauen, he also does a fair bit of business providing products like sunglasses, socks and water bottles to organizations like school booster clubs.
Bottom line: getting started in promotional products does not mean you have to have high-volume orders. Some suppliers have a minimum of 72, while others are as low as 36. It depends on the vendor, but there are suppliers offering smaller amounts than before because there’s a lot of print on demand.
“I know of one or two vendors where you can get single pieces. We’ve done those for specialized gifts,” says Rauen. Describing a marketing event he recently went to in which another attendee shared the fact his company doesn’t accept new clients unless they’re buying at least $100,000 a year, Rauen remembers responding, “Send us all of your smaller customers, because that would be all of ours.”
The Value Proposition
In addition to finding the niche, or niches, that works best for your company, one of the most important lessons Kitson says he has learned over the course of his time in the business is that if you want a customer to buy promotional products from you, you have to offer a value proposition.
“Anyone can buy golf balls, send in a logo and get it taken care of. The reason a client might buy from you is to have you take that off their plate. They don’t have to worry that they don’t know how to specify colors or provide artwork in usable form,” he says.
The goal, Kitson says, is to establish yourself as a professional. By doing that, you are offering a value-added service that will result in customers continuing to do business with you.
The promotional products industry has evolved to a point where there is a seemingly infinite number of options. Your job as a decorator is to help your customers make sense of it all. Image by Adam – stock.adobe.com
Best of all, he says, once you have established a rock-solid business relationship, price becomes a nonissue. Customers trust you to deliver on time and with no issues, something they are willing to pay for.
Speaking of price, Kitson warns against going after those type of customers who are simply looking for the lowest price. The reason? If you are trying to get more business by being the cheapest, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
“The client who buys from you because you are a nickel less is going to go online and buy from China. They can have it in three or four days,” he says, though he warns that same client will have no idea what the product is and no recourse if it ends up not being what they wanted.
“If you can sell from a point of strength, of being an expert and ensuring the right product is delivered on time, you can develop a really good following,” Kitson says.
“Simply providing the product isn’t enough anymore,” Ottenstein says. “Like the decorated-apparel industry, promotional products are evolving. Buyers are looking for a vendor-partner who can offer them differentiated value. The primary way we differentiate is through value-added service, especially in a market where e-commerce solutions are emerging every day.”
“You can’t just focus on price, or you’ll lose,” Roth says. “And you can’t focus on doing everything. You’ve got to pick a specialty and develop a good relationship with a select group of suppliers. Really learn about that niche, its suppliers and the customers in it.”
Beyond that, Roth emphasizes the importance of meeting deadlines and being truthful. “Be transparent about your pricing. Having good artwork and being creative is another plus. Even if it’s a water bottle, try to do better than just printing a basic logo on it,” he explains.
The good news is that when done right, there’s nothing like venturing into the area of promotional products to boost your decorated-apparel company’s bottom line.
“Right now, promotional products make up about 15 percent of our business,” Rauen says. “But every year, we’ve been putting a little more focus on it. I see the opportunity for it to be much higher.”
Best of all, Rauen says, even if he succeeds in, say, increasing his promotional products to 40 percent of total sales, it’s not in any way taking away from his existing business. You’re not robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak. It’s all to the good. What’s not to like about that?
Deborah Sexton is a former editor of Impressions Magazine and now owns her own company, Saracen Communications, doing digital media marketing, copywriting and public relations work for companies in the decorated-apparel industry. You can reach her at [email protected].
