Marketing is something that needs investment and not just in cash terms. In a way, the time you invest in it is more important and, often more productive, than the cash you spend on it. The other odd thing about marketing is that it is a word that conjures up pictures of high bills from advertising and marketing companies. However, in reality, this can be far from the truth. Simply by putting in a little legwork and spending a relatively small amount of time you can achieve a good campaign that will result in an increase in your prospective customer base. All businesses, including embroidery and printing, need some form of marketing - especially new ones.

A typical scenario of a new small business starting out would go as follows: someone, who is quite good at something, decides that it is a good way to earn a bit of extra cash. Starting off by doing a few jobs for friends, things start to escalate until someone will say: "You're good at this. You ought to start a little business." The suggested business starts and the friends of friends keep things going for a while but eventually these leads will run out and you have to start marketing in order to really expand your business.

One way of doing this is to look at a form of marketing that ‘hitches a lift' on the back of another local business.

For instance, look at the type of clientele a general embroidery or printing company is likely to have. They probably fall into three categories: sport related, general purpose and corporate/education (we are leaving fashion out of this as that is a specialised market). The first and third are self-explanatory but "general" deserves a short explanation. These customers are the ones who want small numbers of items for themselves or friends. A good example would be stag and hen parties and it is likely that the main form of marketing that catches them is word of mouth, over which you have little control (except, of course, for creating good quality work). In this instance low cost local advertising is good idea, such as the local magazines that appear all over the country between four and 10 times a year. They are kept by many people, including businessmen, who may use them when they have been let down by their usual embroiderer or printer, or if they simply forgot to order their embroidery or printing. The first and third categories, though, provide a much wider prospective customer base than you may at first imagine.

It does not need a massive stretch of imagination to link embroidery and screen printing. After all they are both forms of garment decoration that are sometimes even used together on the same garment. Many print and embroidery companies already work together, with each company gathering business that is then sub-contracted out to the other. If this is not the case where you are concerned then you need to get out there and come to an agreement with a screen printer or embroiderer whereby you do the work that he can't. This symbiotic relationship works very well, offering more scope for your customers whilst giving the impression that everything is in-house.

However, there is a type of local business that the majority of decorators probably haven't given much thought to - the trophy supplier and engraver.

In all towns and cities there are usually a number of these outlets, which serve a wider customer base than you might at first think. Local sports clubs are the obvious targets, but just think about it for a minute and you may come up with a few more.

Trophies and medals are used in all sorts of situations not directly allied to sport. Companies, for instance, use them to promote competition between employees or as a presentation for a long serving member of staff. Schools use them for events such as the annual sports day or as awards for outstanding achievements. Trophy suppliers do not only deal with sports clubs but, even if they did, how many are there in your area that are not currently your customers?

Most, if not all, of a trophy shop's customers are candidates for embroidery, printing or both. Schools, sports clubs, universities, businesses, can all use garment decoration for uniforms, sportswear, caps ... anything that you can think of really. Trophy shops and engravers can be a rich source of new customers but they will not come to you just because it is a good idea. You have to get out there and convince the trophy shop owner of the viability of the plan and to do that, there has to be something in it for him too.

Back scratching has always been a part of business and that is exactly what this is. The spin-off is that there is a strong possibility of increased business for both parties. Before you approach the trophy shop owner make sure that you have thought it through and have your positive arguments ready - with the prime one being that the trophy shop owner can earn money simply for taking the order.

These two trades are not recognised bedfellows and so the idea of working together may not seem obvious at first but, without a doubt, the benefits can be worthwhile. It allows the trophy shop to expand its business and offer embroidery, while the embroiderer can expand theirs by offering trophies and engraving. No longer need either business say "no" when asked by the local bowls team if they can supply engraving or embroidery. We have used trophy shops as the example here, but the important thing to remember is that this sort of relationship can work with other outlets. All you have to do is think of them.

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