In order to compete and thrive in today’s environment, it’s more important than ever to get into the hearts and minds of your customers. Why do they choose to buy from one source rather than another? Why do they remain loyal to a particular company when they can buy cheaper elsewhere? And how can you persuade other people’s customers to buy from you instead?

Even for those who have been in business for many years, it always pays to revisit the basic principles of marketing as the environment changes and new challenges to your profits arise. By examining the Four Ps: Product, Price, Place and Promotion, you can assess which motivators are influencing customers and ensure that your serviceoffering measures up. Remember that your view of your business may differ substantially from your customer’s view of it. He has expectations that need to be met and, failing that, he will look elsewhere.

Product

What are you selling? As a garment decorator you may answer this by saying that you sell a range of products, which are decorated with logos. This is true but it would be more accurate to say that you are operating in the promotions industry. You are selling a service and that service assists your customer in achieving his objectives.

What are your customer’s objectives? Look beyond the obvious (i.e. he wants three dozen Tshirts with a logo embroidered in two colours and a selection of sizes). If your customer is buying clothing for the workplace, he is looking to increase his business performance by improving his corporate identity. This is your opportunity to show him the various quality tiers that you can offer, from basic low-cost products to premium ranges.

Explain how the low cost option means he can buy more products within his budget, whilst the premium range will offer increased durability and an enhanced image for his company. Illustrate this with examples of previous customers, showing what they decided and how their situation was similar to that of your current customer. You could also consider the position of your customer within his organisation. The motivators of an md will differ from those of a marketing manager. You are selling to the ego of the former but the latter will be looking for an ally. A poor decision could impact on his credibility and it is important to help him with his choice and explain the options clearly.

If your customer is an agency, sourcing product on behalf of his client, he will also need your expertise to advise him of the most appropriate choice. The huge catalogues produced by the distributors these days can be baffling to the inexperienced buyer and you can help greatly by narrowing the choice once you are aware of what is required.

This way of approaching a sales transaction differentiates you from the less scrupulous decorator who might have the “just flog it” mentality which is all too common in business today. It also sets you apart from the anonymous web shop where customers have to make their decisions unaided.

Price

This is the “P” that causes most concern, but not as you might think on the part of the purchaser. The decorator fears price more than his customer does. Customers generally want value for money rather than the lowest price they can get. Trying to compete on price is a fool’s game and discounting to buy business is a very short-term strategy. Remember that you are selling a service, not a collection of products. Your customers are buying you, not just half a dozen Fruit of the Loom polo shirts. The buying experience should be a pleasure from the start, and then there will be no finish – rather a lasting relationship where problems may occur from time to time but they will be treated as an opportunity to show above average service, not as a nuisance, which they could be for those with only transitional customers.

So how do you set prices? It is of course necessary to check the prices of your competitors from time to time – if your prices are more than 20% above or below average, this could deter potential customers – but don’t be obsessive about it. A successful business has to make profit so calculate your charges based on the Cost Plus method. This is where you add up all fixed costs, assume a realistic level of sales volume and calculate a margin based on that. For example, your fixed overheads are £100,000 a year and you expect to sell 20,000 units of product at an average bought in cost of £5. In this case the difference between the bought in cost and your charge out cost represents your profit (and probably your own income in the case of an owner managed business.) Remember to add a sum for marketing. This is very basic mathematics but often forgotten. Once you have this formula, you have benchmarks to check regularly and timely adjustments can be made as necessary.

Place

Place means the way in which you distribute your service. Which channels do you use – and there many more to choose from these days. How far are you prepared to go for orders, which market sectors should you approach and where should you focus your marketing activity? In years gone by, proximity to one’s suppliers was an important factor.We all tended to buy locally and to build relationships with local businesses. Now the whole world is available to us at the swipe of a mouse and we can compare products and prices with ease.

How does the small decorator survive and thrive in the face of globalisation? The answer is that you are actually in a very fortunate position. Your size and your locality are the two keys. Small means flexible and local means personal service and these are the two benefits that you need to communicate in your marketplace. So, rather than going far afield in vertical market sectors, I suggest that you take a look at what business is available on your doorstep. It is difficult if not impossible for a small business to operate effectively on a national basis and the good news is that there is no need to try. Don’t even try to compete with the web shops, as they are essentially product distributors as opposed to specialists in the promotions industry, which we agreed in the first paragraph is how you are now positioning yourself.

List all of the types of organisations that could have a need for decorated garments. Think laterally – just because food manufacturers usually rely on agencies to source promotional merchandise doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider buying directly from a decorator. Your list could include hotels, fitness centres, retailers, beauty salons, utilities companies, schools and colleges, and so on. In fact you should ask yourself which type of company would not want decorated clothing as that list would be shorter than the list of companies that would, or could. The next stage is the fourth “P” – Promotion.

Promotion

This is about getting your sales message out into the marketplace. There are many ways of doing this but, despite now being in the electronic age, I suggest traditional well-targeted direct mail and telesales combined with PR. There are of course costs associated with marketing but you are in an industry with a high potential for repeat business so the cost of acquiring a customer should be viewed as an investment.

Call a list broker such as Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, Which List or Marketscan. Give them the list of market sectors that you have compiled. Ask them to tell you how much data they have within, for example, a 30-mile radius of your premises. Look at samples of the data before you decide to buy a list and only buy an amount that you could expect to handle within 12 months. You probably don’t need to buy anything other than the basic list, which will name a senior decision-maker with a telephone number and address for each company.

Next employ a design and marketing company to work with you on creating a piece of literature that has maximum impact. It should state clearly what you offer and why your business is the best choice for promotional clothing. Make sure that your corporate identity is reviewed during this process. The logo that you have used for the past ten years or that your son designed on his computer might not, with respect, be up to the job any more. After all, you are a specialist in the promotions industry and need to look the part.

Remember that you are promoting added value and service, not just decorated garments. Use the same message on an advertisement for local magazines and newspapers if your budget runs to a regular ad campaign (one-offs are a waste of money) and also for a basic corporate website (although you are not attempting to compete with web shops, a basic internet presence is essential for credibility). If you are using a catalogue from one of the large wholesalers, order a version with a customised cover on it or, better still, get your design company to produce a brochure with your own selection of products in it. The cost of doing this may well be justified in terms of increased sales.

Then call the contacts on your database, establishing that the name you have is the correct decision-maker for you. Ask the decision-maker what his requirements are and, wherever a need is confirmed, send your literature with an invitation to view your catalogue. A small incentive could be offered with the first order. Your marketing company will help you with this. Get into the habit of calling your contact once a quarter. You will be building a relationship so that when a need does arise, your name is the first they think of. And you can be sure that if you do this it will work. Use a card index system if you want to keep it low tech, or invest in Customer Relationship Management software. I recommend Flightdeck by Software Sculptors (www.flightdeckcrm.co.uk) which is very user friendly and inexpensive. This will prompt you to make the calls even when you are busy.

PR is another way of promoting yourself on a local basis. Sponsor a local event or team, send press releases to local papers when you win new orders,get involved in the community, raise money for charity – all of these will raise awareness.

Summary

• Decide that you are a specialist in the promotions industry
• Firm up your pricing strategy
• Help customers by guiding their choices
• Obtain a good database
• Use a design and marketing company to create a professional image
• Keep in regular contact with your existing and prospective customers
• Raise your profile on a local basis

Alpha Design and Marketing is an 18 year old full service marketing and PR company operating in the UK. Textiles is one of the company’s areas of specialism. Elaine Nester is the founding md. Her areas of operation include marketing consultancy, copywriting and creative concepts. For a free appraisal contact elainenester@adm-group.co.uk

01743 236631

www.adm-group.co.uk