Here are 16 business boosting ideas to get you through the dog days of August. Even though the phrase “dog days of summer” refers to the hottest days of the year that coincided with the rising of the Dog Star “Sirus” (which happens around Aug. 11), it’s probably still dog-gone hot where you are and Wednesday was National Dog Day.
After the great response to yesterday’s video on how to sell more to schools, I thought that you would also appreciate this list of 16 SWEET Business Boosting Ideas for your custom printing business. It all starts with a heat press.
- Create a “premium” version of a standard shirt for a school or organization. The same heat printed design but with foil, metallic, puff or distressed accents. Charge double.
- Offer the “premium” shirt in limited, individually numbered series, like they do with prints of fine works of art. Charge triple.
- Become known for your FREE upgrades to full color logo at the same price as one color.
- Let your customer design their own logo online in your shop using Cadworxlive.com
- Try the “do you want fries with that?” method. Always ask the customer if they would like to see their logo heat printed on a jacket, a cap, an apron, backpack, whatever is appropriate. The same logo can go on lots of items.
- Display unusual personalized items in your store…a beach chair, a water bottle carrier, a CD case, a mousepad, a visor…give your customers something to think about besides T-shirts.
- Don’t forget the female point of view…show samples of fitted women’s shirts in soft, trendy fabrics with v-necks and cap sleeves, instead of just big, boxy, standard t-shirts.
- Think Small! The children’s personalized market is also huge. Don’t forget sample shirts geared towards kids. Today’s parents of young ones grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and want things from those eras on their kids shirts.
- On orders over $200 offer free delivery and/or pick up.
- If you discover the client has a tight deadline, say “no problem” and do whatever you need to make it happen. Offer to deliver the order to the event.
- Promote the fact that you can print on anything—challenge your customers to bring you unusual items to print!
- “Metallicize” “Colorize” “Texturize” “Sparklize” Make up fun, creative samples and show your customers how they can turn an ordinary logo into something new and different. Show them ways to bring their old logos to life.
- Set up a display with reflective logos on backpacks, jackets, running wear, cycle wear. Show people how they can make their loved ones safer by adding a few strips of reflective material or a reflective logo to any item.
- Offer FREE reflective applications as part of a back to school promotion.
- Offer instant, in-store quotes on all jobs. Don’t let the customer leave the store without a concrete idea of how you will be able to get the job done on time and on budget.
- Just Say Yes! You can print unlimited colors, on any item, in any quantity! How can they say no? A heat press makes it possible.