Impressions - June/July 2017 - 38

about their success beyond your ability to sell them products. In the
best circumstances, it will result in that highly desired "low-hanging
fruit" - additional profits from a pre-existing client.

Looking Good, Feeling Good

Consider the fact that when a business owner purchases apparel
from you, he may need to sell the product to consumers before
he returns to make another purchase. If your client is a fashion
retailer, he probably has this step under control. But if you're fulfilling an order for a popular local restaurant or gym, the business
likely has little apparel-merchandising experience.
This is where you enter the picture.
We've all seen T-shirts displayed with a poorly lit wire hanger on the wall behind the hostess stand with an accompanying
handwritten price tag. No matter how great the product, if it's
not presented in an enticing way, consumers won't buy. How can
you help your client push sales to benefit his bottom line while
creating a repeat customer for yourself ?
Consider the following:
1. Request a meeting to view your client's merchandise area.
Do research prior to the meeting and come prepared with images
of various retail layouts, storage methods and product packaging.
2. Surprise your client with a gift of free, upgraded
merchandising products. Get a pack of wooden or fabriccovered hangers and add your client's name or logo for a real
"wow" factor. Perhaps he even is open to having your logo visible
to his customers, which makes them your potential customers.
3. Offer additional services to make appealing product
packaging manageable and affordable. It may be worth an extra
$1 per shirt to your client if he never had to fold, box, bag or tag
another shirt again.

Get What You Give

Nonprofit charities constitute a major portion of decorated-apparel
sales. However, many of these organizations inevitably solicit donations or sponsorships with their orders. If your shop grants each
of these requests, you won't be in business very long. How do you
contribute to these programs without gouging your bottom line?

Surprise your client with a gift
of free upgraded merchandising
products. Pick up a pack of
wooden or fabric-covered hangers
and add your client's name or logo
for a real "wow" factor.

Try the following:
1. Instead of cash, would an in-kind donation serve your
client's needs? Every shop struggles with miscellaneous inventory collected over time. Add a mixture of your client's and your own
logos to those products and assemble them into a prize pack for a
raffle. By doing this, you will have turned shop clutter into value.
2. Facilitate new partnerships between clients with
similar values. One of the greatest parts of being an apparel decorator is the broad range of businesses and people you get to know.
Do you print for a family fun park and a kids'-oriented fun run or
event? Perhaps connecting the two directly would provide new marketing opportunities for both.
3. Volunteer for your client's event or program. Show your
client that his mission is important to you beyond apparel needs. If
his mission succeeds, the orders will continue to roll in. Seeing your
face at his event will have a long-lasting impact on who he calls
when it's time to reorder.
4. Share your client's content via social media. Post a link to

Caring for Your Client
There is no shortage of opportunity to find creative ways to serve
client needs in a way no other shop has before. If the only relationship you have with your client is the process of receiving
and fulfilling his orders, you are making yourself replaceable.
When another salesman comes knocking, a better price may not be
as alluring if you're providing value beyond the product.
Some service opportunities are less disruptive to your business
model than others. If you don't have the eye for merchandising,
don't offer that type of assistance. Identify industry aspects
in which you are confident and show your client you're an expert.
If nothing else, become an expert in caring. That seems to be in
short supply these days and rarely goes unnoticed.

P.38

I M P R E S S I O N S M A G . C O M JUNE/JULY 2017

If you're willing to
visit your client's
business or attend his
event, you may notice
room for improvement
in some aspect of his
apparel program.

http://www.IMPRESSIONSMAG.COM

Impressions - June/July 2017

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