Impressions - March 2012 - (Page 65)

Digital Decorating talking SHOP How To Market Your Digital Printing Services Marketing has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. There are more options than ever and the trick is ﬁnding what works for you. By Kevin Kelly, Contributing Writer Joining business groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Business Networking Intl., and Rotary clubs gives you a chance to make contact with like-minded people who can help you with referrals and advice. f you want to sell digital printing, you have to market it. People have to know you have it, what it is and why they need it. If you are adding digital printing to your existing decorated apparel business, you’re going to have an easier time with marketing than if you were starting from scratch. In fact, adding a new decoration medium gives you a great opportunity to contact all of your existing customers to let them know about your new service. When I added digital printing in 2006, I had built a solid business starting with screen printing and later adding embroidery. I had great news for most of my customers. They were used to having a 48-piece minimum, and now I had a new impressionsmag.com i decided before you start marketing. My customers were well aware that we were adding this technology months in advance of my ﬁrst digital printer purchase. As a result, we were busy from the day we started. Regardless of whether yours is a new or existing business, your starting point will be with personal contacts, friends and family. Mention it during any business contact you have, as the more seeds you plant, the more potential orders you’ll reap down the road. The next tier to pursue is networking. This involves joining local business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis or Rotary clubs, Business Networking Intl. (BNI), etc. By attending functions hosted by such organizations, you are put in contact with like-minded people who have the same goals as you and who can help you with referrals and advice. This continues to be an easy way to market your company. If you are diligent about it, you will make good connections that will bring you business. medium with no mininum! However, if you are new to the decorated apparel industry, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Ideally, you should put together a marketing plan before you buy equipment. Determining your customer base is a critical piece of infomation you need to have before choosing a machine because it determines whether you purchase a low-volume or high-volume production model. Your choice could mean a price tag difference of $50,000 or more. Whether you want to pursue lowervolume small business and Internet markets, or higher-volume clientele like licensed properties and retail designers also dictates whether you can work out of your garage or an industrial location. All of this should be USING THE INTERNET I don’t believe in traditional print advertising for my business. All of my marketing efforts have gone into Web-based promotion. In my opinion, pay-per-click — if done correctly — is one of the leastexpensive, easiest methods to get visibility for a new business. People are going to the Internet to get information. The big advantage of payper-click advertising is that it is easy to tailor to your budget. You can set a per-diem amount, which may be as low as $15 or as high as $1,500. Spending $500 to be in a phone book with a display ad is a prehistoric way of marketing and is not a worthwhile investment, in my opinion. However, with that being said, I’ll readily March 2012 | Impressions 65 http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - March 2012

Impressions - March 2012
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
ISS Conferences
Product Gallery
What Women Want
Fashion Meets Function
The “Blingifi cation” of Decorated Apparel
Online Directory
Shop Spotlight
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Tech Tips: Embroidery
Tech Tips: Embroidery
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Production
For Screen Printers Only
For Screen Printers Only
Tech Tips: Screen Printing
Tech Tips: Screen Printing
Digital Decorating
Digital Decorating
Business to Business
Business to Business
Classifieds
Classifieds
Ad Index
Ad Index

Impressions - March 2012