Impressions - June/July 2013 - (Page 34)

top tips continued: 3. Always know what your competition is charging. Whether through an anonymous quote or by digging into price lists posted online, staying aware of your competitors’ prices is imperative to knowing what to charge for your services and products. It requires extra time and research, but make the effort to collect pricing data on your competitors at least once a year. Then, you can see their year-over-year percentage increase and know how to competitively price your own goods. Also, if you notice that your com- 4. Do not post or mail out a price list. One of the best ways to avoid complaints about price increases is to custom quote all of your orders. However, not having a published price list also prevents customers from making purchase decisions at 10 p.m. if they have to contact a salesperson for a price quote. You may have a client who remembers the ballpark price she paid last year for her cheerleading squad’s spirit T-shirts and she may ask why you are charging her more now. But overall, 5. Hold a meeting to prepare your staff for price increases. One of the worst things you can do when a price increase goes into effect is not properly prepare your employees, particularly your sales and customer service staff members. Hold a meeting that includes every staffer to review your price increases and implementation strategy. Will your website manager need to post an updated price list? How will your sales team need to handle pushback from customers? Will you train them so that their client communications are consistent? These are the types of questions you must be prepared to answer at the meeting. In addition, and as a baseline strategy, 34 Impressions | June/July 2013 petitors’ prices are much higher than yours, it’s likely that you’re underpriced. If your fees are much higher on average, then you’re overpriced. Use this data to see where you may have gone wrong in your pricing strategy. But don’t get stuck in the mindset that you need to charge just a little bit less than your competitors; avoid the nickel-and-dime scheme. Be aware of all the minor services your competitors offer, too, which may influence pricing. For example, how does their shipping cost compare to yours? Do they charge extra for a set-up fee, for example, when it’s included in your base cost? Cover all the angles to get a realistic view of how your prices compare and then make adjustments as necessary. customers do not remember exact costs, and as long as you provide goods and services to them at a value and price they perceive as reasonable, you will not receive much pushback. However, many decorators have had established price lists available for years and it’s often not easy to pull that list from your website or remove it from a client’s files. If you find yourself in this situation, consider reconfiguring your price list instead of just hiking up prices and re-issuing it. To reconfigure your price list, consider your cost per unit and how you can extend it. For example, you may charge $10 per unit for 50 items, $7.50 for 100, $5 for 200 and so on. Consider expanding your per-unit options, which is a sneaky way to charge more: Continue charging $10 per unit for 50 items, but add in $8.75 per 75, $6.25 for 150, etc. Clients often will see the bargain of purchasing at a higher number than they need, which may help you cover your bottom line and then some. Adding these levels also will make your pricing that much more attractive to your customers. prepare your sales team to sell memories, not just T-shirts, to your customers. A business that markets its product as something to which a client can tie emotion will be far more successful than one that is just selling a product that can be purchased from thousands of other businesses. Last but not least, be smart with your price increases. Sometimes, all you need to do is make small adjustments on certain services or specific per-unit costs, and not across the board. By staying abreast of your costs and desired profits, you’ll know the services or add-ons for which you can charge a little more, and the ones you can leave as-is. All in all, do not look at price increases as a necessary evil. This attitude will be reflected to your staff and customers. Remember, you and your employees deserve to get paid a fair price for the services and goods you provide. As ink and screen costs, hourly wages and rent charges increase, so do your prices. It’s a simple fact of business. A repeat customer may ask you why you’re charging more. Simply say, “In order to provide the level of service that you have come to expect from us, we find it necessary to increase our prices this much.” This reaffirms your high level of customer service and commitment to your client’s happiness. Greg Kitson is founder of Mind’s Eye Graphics, Decatur, Ind. For more information or to comment on this article, email Greg at greg@mindseyeg.com or visit mindseyeg.com. Hear Greg speak on apparel decorating topics at the 2013 Imprinted Sportswear Shows (ISS). Reduced workshop and seminar rates are available if you preregister: issshows.com. impressionsmag.com http://www.mindseyeg.com http://www.issshows.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - June/July 2013

Impressions - June/July 2013
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conferences
Outfitting Tots & Teens
Is the Price Right?
Heat Printing for Friday Nights
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Online Directory
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Technique
Tech Tips
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - June/July 2013

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