Here is the final part of Josh Ellsworth’s Predicitions for 2012. Part 1 talked about Articulating your Message through the use of video online. Part 2 covered how to Distribute Your Content online. And today we come to the most important concept…how to turn all that into sales. Because what’s the point of making videos, interacting on Facebook, doing email marketing, etc… if you are driving people to a website that won’t let you process custom orders? Josh predicts it will become easier than ever to create and manage a sales website for your custom apparel business in 2012.
If you don’t already have a website that allows customers to create custom designs online, consider linking to www.easyprints.com, a non-branded website from Stahls’ Transfer Express that will let your customers browse thousands of design ideas and even create their own artwork for custom transfers online. And if you–or your customers—want to create custom art online, you can also go to www.cadworxlive.com and discover how easy it is to create custom artwork for any type of output device. Both of these services are free. We will keep you posted in 2012 about the latest in website formats designed specifically for custom apparel specialists.
Josh Ellsworth predicts it will be easier than ever for you to update your website and sell online in 2012.
Realizing the Sales…
Prediction: eCommerce Design and Order Processing Providers will emerge
- So far we’ve articulated the message and distributed the content, now we just need a way to realize the sale. Historically, a phone call, a series of emails, a fax or a meet-up would be required to write an order for customized products. While this way of conducting business certainly won’t become extinct, decorators will look for ways to cut waste out of the ordering/proofing process and simply secure an order online. The growth of online apparel design generators will continue and the availability of all inclusive solutions for your web store will grow as well. In 2012 it will be simpler than ever to create a website that includes a design tool for customers to upload art, preview it and ultimately process the order without ever calling your phone. Savvy apparel decorators will weigh the pros and cons of a licensed solution versus a custom built solution, but agree that this capability is critical to writing orders at a scale like never before.