Impressions - Build Your Business 2024 - 19

Rick Roth, president of Mirror Image Screen Printing & Embroidery
(mirrorimage.com) and founder of Ink Kitchen (inkkitchen.com), a
clearinghouse for information for the decorated apparel industry as a
whole. " If you can finance T-shirts, you can finance water bottles, and
it's usually easier to do art for promotional products. "
Another reason, Roth says, is getting more work out of your existing
customers, by offering promotional products in addition to custom-decorated
apparel is easier than prospecting for new ones.
The final reason, he says, is to keep your existing customers happy.
" You have their visual assets, and you can put them on whatever they
want. If they trust you to get it done on time with T-shirts, they'll
trust you to get it done with promotional products, " Roth explains.
Kitson agrees. " If you've already got a relationship with customers
who are writing you a check for screen-printed T-shirts, you may as
well develop the relationship where they can write you a check for
promotional products, " he says.
" Sometimes as entrepreneurs, we can hit a plateau, " notes Colete
Williams, digital marketing manager with the Promotional Products
Association International (PPAI-ppai.org), an international trade
association representing the promotional products industry. " Because
we don't always know what we don't know. When you tap into the
power of promotional products, it allows you to get creative and think
outside of the box. "
Per Williams: " Pair your apparel with new ideas and innovations,
and offer a different package or product line to your clientele. It allows
you to build on what you already have and add some green to
that bottom line. "
" From my perspective if you're exclusively a decorated apparel business-depending
on the markets you serve-you're leaving money on
the table if you aren't considering other product categories, " agrees Zack
Ottenstein, president of The Image Group (theimagegroup.com), a
merch and custom-decorated apparel company the includes the University
of Michigan among its many prestigious accounts.
TWO: Why send business to a competitor?
If there's one thing that defines today's decorated apparel industry
(and the economy in general) it's change. If your own company isn't
keeping pace, you can be sure there's somebody else out there who is.
" It makes sense for screen printers to add promotional products because
if you're not providing them, they're going down the street, and
that guy will sell them T-shirts as well, " says Debbie Pasko, a member
care specialist with PPAI.
" If people are asking you for promotional items, and you don't offer
them, they're going to go to someone who can, " agrees Kevin McGee,
senior account executive and distributor sales with the Advertising
Specialty Institute (ASI-asicentral.com), another trade organization
focused on the promotional products sector.
" By adding promotional products, it's a great way to retain your
customer base you worked so hard to get as well as helping them out.
Now, they're coming to you for everything, and you're driving in more
revenue for yourself, " McGee says.
THREE: Be the one-stop shop.
There's a reason big-box retailers, including stores like Target that offer
everything from clothing to printer ink to groceries, have become such
a dominant force in today's economy-it's just easier for customers to
Above is the actual production tracking and timing form
used by the author. Note the attention to detail.
The author's artwork tracking form is equally detailed. In
both cases this level of detail is crucial to success.
Becoming a one-stop shop is a great way to bring
in customers. Image by Kzenon - stock.adobe.com
A Special Supplement to impr essions
19
http://www.mirrorimage.com http://www.inkkitchen.com http://www.theimagegroup.com https://asicentral.com/ https://www.ppai.org/ http://stock.adobe.com
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