Most decorators recognize the need to do some form of marketing to get business. But how many decorators have marketing high enough on their long “to-do” lists so that it actually gets done?
By failing to implement a marketing plan, or by shrugging it off because your shop is currently busy, you’re putting future success at risk. Even worse, you’re giving away business to competitors who are marketing their businesses. As any veteran decorated apparel shop will tell you, a big customer will leave at some point, and you’re going to have a sudden slowdown in orders.
If you’ve been implementing a regular marketing plan, you already have a list of prospects to pursue. If you have not developed such a plan, you may find yourself starting from scratch and looking for new work to replace what you lost.
If you have been in business for at least a year, you have a good foundation on which to build an effective marketing plan. Here are some tips on how to do it.
Identify your core customer segment. Take a few hours to identify your top 10 customers (those to whom you sell most frequently and those with the most profit). Are several clients in this top 10 list similar? Are five out of the 10 dental offices? Hospitals? Small businesses? Churches? It’s likely that you’ll see you have one category or market segment that you cater to more often than any other.
Whatever it is, you’ve now identified your niche. Now, get ready to target more clients that fit within this niche. This may be within a 10- or 200-mile radius. Draw a circle on a map to encompass the radius of your top niche customers. Many map programs have this capability; I used Microsoft Streets and Trips for the sample graphic in this article.
Let’s say you draw a circle with a 10-mile radius. Now draw one to include that original circle, but encompasses a 20-mile radius (doubling your original “concentrated client” area); then, draw a third circle to include the previous two, but is at a 40-mile radius (doubling your second number).
This is where you can find similar clients to target. Whether it’s dentists or chiropractors, you have second- and third-tier areas to find new clients who need to hear your story. These are the potential clients who need to learn of your services and how they can benefit from them.
Research prospective customers online. If you are not proficient in Internet research, have any web-savvy kid show you how to use Google to find more businesses within your niche in that 40-mile radius you’ve identified on the map.
You can hire a professional company to do this research for you, but it’s also simple enough to spend some time conducting the searches yourself. For that matter, if you type “How To Search Google” into the search engine, you’ll get a list of articles and how-to websites that can provide tips on getting started. Via Google searches, you should be able to grab business names, addresses and contact information for your potential customers within your defined geographic area.
Visit the business and bring custom samples. Once you’ve prepared your list of five, 10 or 20 businesses, create a targeted sample. For example, if you’re going to visit dental offices, print a T-shirt or scrub top that features a smiling tooth graphic along with a fictitious dental office name.
As apparel decorators, samples are an inexpensive marketing tool we have that most other industry professionals do not. Samples not only show the quality of your work, but also prove that you’re confident enough to give it away to earn business. So use them to get your foot in the door with a prospective customer.
If you feel like a dental office is an especially good prospect, you may even use its company name. Personalization can really impress a potential customer.
Be as unobtrusive as possible. When you drop by to visit, be prepared to wait, and do so patiently. You will more than likely interact with a receptionist. Be friendly and strive to not interrupt the day-to-day business. At a dental office, for example, wait until the waiting room is empty and then approach the receptionist with a sample or a leave-behind, your business card with literature and a brief promotional pitch.
This should be your 30-second elevator speech that concisely tells prospects who you are, what you do and why they should use your services. If you don’t already have this basic tool prepared, start writing and practicing now — and remember to keep it to no more than 30 seconds in length.
Do a website demo. If the receptionist or contact seems interested and has the time, do a quick demonstration on a computer — preferably theirs so the site history remains — showing how to access your shop’s website. Point out where the selection of scrubs or appropriate uniforms is located, where the dental-related clip art is, and the gallery of previous dental office designs you’ve done for other customers. If you offer any type of specials or package pricing, also show where this is located.
Create a call-to-action offer. Samples alone do not guarantee a sale. I recommend giving targeted prospects an urgent reason to call you back. This call to action should be an offer or coupon that encourages them to start doing business with you sooner rather than later. It may be a limited-time offer, such as buy 12 shirts, get one free, or something similar. No matter what, be sure to put an expiration date on it. Your sample will leave a positive impression, and the limited-time offer will take you one step closer to the sale.
Research multiple contacts at the same business. Some businesses will have multiple opportunities to sell decorated apparel. Don’t stop at researching just one contact if this is the case. A great example is a hospital, which has many departments, such as the emergency room, orthopedics, physical therapy, etc. They also have weight-loss groups, wellness programs and other events. Each one should be treated as a separate entity.
Assign someone the task of marketing. Maybe the reason your shop has never done any marketing is that you personally don’t want to do it. If this is the case, my standing rule is, “Hire someone to do what you don’t want to do.” If you have to hire someone to do marketing, then it becomes a cost; however, it is a task that is as important to paying the bills as production. You must always be in the process of developing your business. So if you can’t or don’t want to do it, hire or assign someone in your company who can.
Targeted marketing is not necessarily expensive and is very effective. The major expense is time, with a small amount of supplies going to creating samples. You just have to be disciplined enough to say to yourself, “I’m going to look at my numbers, look at who is writing me checks, and then I’m going to find other people that have the same characteristics, and I’m going to give them the opportunity to write me checks, too.”
Above all else, never fall into the mindset that you are doing well enough that you don’t really need new customers. Every business needs new customers to thrive, grow and realize its potential.
Greg Kitson is founder of Mind’s Eye Graphics, Decatur, Ind. For more information or to comment on this article, email Greg at [email protected] or visit mindseyeg.com.
Develop a Marketing Mindset
Marketing should be a constant top-of-mind activity. Personally, I always think about it. When I’m at a trade show or business networking event, I’m always flying the flag. I wear a Mind’s Eye Graphics polo shirt, and I take every opportunity to discuss what I do and hand out business cards.
For my company, I’ve found that contract printing is our area of expertise. What’s the easiest way to talk to people who are in need of contract decorators? For us, it has been to talk to the suppliers who sell to decorators. These are ink manufacturers and distributors, T-shirt suppliers, etc.
Some of my best friends — and people with whom I enjoy doing business — are the salespeople for the apparel and supply distributors. These salespeople talk to dozens of people every week who have a need for my services.
Every week, a salesperson may get asked: Do you know someone who can print 2,500 shirts for me? If I’ve made a friend of that salesperson, my name comes up as long as I maintain my reputation for reliable delivery. That is how we have other people do word-of-mouth advertising for us.
This specific example will not work for every type of decorated apparel business, but it demonstrates the thinking process that must take place as you identify how to make the most of all your marketing opportunities.
