About Jason McGee

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5 Ways to Drive More Sales to Your Print Shop

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Being in business requires sales and growth. Doing both can either come naturally, or be painstakingly difficult. We at Printavo are always looking for ways to boost our user base, and have also implemented plenty of strategies over the years in screen printing shops. Here are 5 realistic ways to help drive sales to your screen printing shop.

Sales Representatives
One of the most effective ways to bring in business is through sales representatives. This is a traditional strategy that has proven the test of time. For print shops, it can be implemented in a number of different ways. One way to leverage the sales rep to boost your business is to place them in locations you may not normally have an opportunity to gain business. Shops often place them in different cities, states, or embed them on college campuses. By doing this your business can be local from wherever you are, and still provide close customer contact while placing you into previously unreachable markets.

Sponsorships
Sales is often driven by marketing. An easy way to increase the visibility of your business is to place your name directly in front of the consumer. Sponsorships can be highly valuable when placed in front of your target audience. Brand visibility is half the battle, and this is especially true for print shops. Evaluate where your customers are typically derived from, and look for opportunities to place your name in partnership with those consumers.

Newsletter
Gaining a customer base is no easy task. When acquiring customers it is vital to maintain a relationship with them. A newsletter provides a pressure-free, non-solicitation forum to keep customers abreast of the latest happenings within your company. It gives your screen printing company an opportunity to become familiar to the customer, inform them of potential deals, and any other meaningful information that shapes the image of the company and brand. Consumers like to do business with people and organizations they feel a connection to. Use the newsletter to build that connection.

Rewards Program
A rewards program is a major tool for many large coporations. Small businesses have yet to jump on the bandwagon as qucikly as their larger counterparts. While there are reasons why a smaller business is less inclined to have a rewards program, I believe it is still a powerful advantage to the average small business. By enrolling customers into the rewards program, your print shop gives its customers an incentive to return to your business routinely while building store equity. The rewards of the program can vary. The key is making it clear to the customer that in the long run they win by sticking with your screen printing shop.

Referral Program
Every print shop knows the value of gaining business from positive word of mouth. Take it to the next level by offering an incentive for those positive experiences. By turning your customer base into your sales force you are able to gain credibility at the door. Let those who know your work best tell their friends, family, and co-workers why they need to become your customers as well. Trust is hard to acquire, but easy to lose.

If you have any other tips people might find useful, post them below!

Starting a Screen Printing Company: Building Blocks

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Are you thinking about starting a screen printing company? Screen printing is one of the most sought after small business ideas. It has an inviting do-it-yourself image that appeals to individuals willing to try their hand at an activity that nearly everybody will encounter at some point in their life. Requiring a relatively small capital investment, starting a screen printing company can be achieved in a short period of time. When thinking about whether or not this is the business for you, please take these foundational building blocks into consideration.

Obtain a business license
A business license can be an asset as a screen print shop owner. A key to any business is being able to make a profit. In order to meet this objective expenses have to be less than revenues. By obtaining a business license you will become eligible to open accounts with distributors and suppliers who can offer wholesale-like prices on core products such as t-shirts. While you don’t have to buy inventory at wholesale prices to turn a profit, it will increase the ability for you to maximize your margins and scale your business.

Determine a Price Structure
Screen Printing is a competitive business. Because barriers to entry are relatively low, competition is likely to be plentiful. It is important to decide how affordable you plan to make your services, keeping in mind that expenses are constant, and larger shops are likely to have a scalability advantage that enables them to offer bargain-basement prices. While the attractive thing to do may be attempting to offer the best deals in town, evaluate the impacts this may have on your business and determine its sustainability.

Market Position
Who does your company cater to? Is your goal to attract college Students or the townspeople? Do you offer high quality products that may cost a bit more, or affordable options that may appeal to a broader base?  In your mind you may be saying “all of the above”, but how does that translate to staking out a market position? How will you be identified from competitors?  When a prospective customer asks what makes you different, what will your answer be? This is crucial.

These are a few building blocks of a screen printing business that you will want to work on when determining if this is the business for you. These are straight-forward yet important factors to consider as you plan your foray into the industry. Hopefully I have given you food for thought.