DAY 13– SHOW YOUR STUFF
I’ve mentioned this briefly before, but can’t stress enough how important it is to show people exactly what it is you do. People who are shopping for custom t-shirts often don’t know what they really want and need to see samples before selecting the color, type of print, size of print, etc… It’s your job to make it as easy as possible for your cusotmers to place their order. There are many ways to accomplish this:
1) Make up a sample book (we already discussed this one).
2) Display your best work on your walls or create a rack of printed samples of work you have done for other customers. You can put a sign on the rack that says “NOT FOR SALE” and this will draw people to it! When someone sees a shirt they like from the local pizza place, they know you can make a shirt that will represent their business. Showing samples of your work accomplishes two things. First it shows your quality work and secondly, it says that you do business with a lot of people. People your new customers may even know and recognize!
3) Have your employees wear printed shirts. (If you don’t have employees, YOU wear printed shirts! I am always shocked at how many folks with shirt printing businesses don’t even have a shirt with their own business name on it) Your employees are living mannequins for your garments. As an alternative to plain uniform type shirts with a name on the pocket, allow them to get creative and create their own shirts to wear. Let them customize popular stock transfers with lettering, or cut custom designs from Thermo-Flock and Thermo-Film. Encourage them to take current events themes and trends into consideration.
4) Another way to inspire your customers is to use idea filled catalogues or collections that contain hundreds of sayings and suggestions for every occasion. Feature many different lettering styles for fleece wear, T-shirts and uniforms.
5) Make a photo album. Customers enjoy being able to point to a garment and say, I’ll take that, but in a different color. This way they feel creative, even if they needed a little help. If you can’t afford to keep samples of actual shirts you have printed on hand, take a picture of some of the better shirts created in your store and post them where other customers can see. It’s also helpful for you to remember the jobs you have done and what the customer wants when they call in and re-order. They assume you will know!
6) Buy 1 5XL t-shirt in the brightest color and print custom logos all over it. The size of the shirt will grab people’s attention and you can fit a lot of designs on it to tell a story of what you have to offer.
7) Invest in inexpensive molded body forms to showcase your shirts. Cheaper than mannequins, more effective than hangers.
Do you have more ideas? I’d like to hear about your display and “stuff-strutting” ideas. What do you do to tell people you print custom t-shirts?