Today’s students are the business owners of tomorrow

This month Folker Stachetzki, marketing manager at Brother, outlines how easy it is to use direct to garment printing for fast customisation for school clubs and where you can find new customers.

The key to success is how to find the right target group for customised clothing. Here I provided an overview of target groups which we summarised a few years ago for our DTG users.

These target groups are just a few examples and for sure there are many more:

Target group examples:

Primary Schools

• School trip shirts
• House team distinction
• Fundraisers
• Parent teacher associations
• Art department

Secondary Schools

• Team apparel
• Class shirts (senior, etc.)
• Clubs
• Band and choir
• Drama/theatre

Higher Education

• Fraternities
• Sororities
• Team apparel
• Campus clubs
• Band and choir
• Drama/ theatre

Furthermore

• Youth groups
• Government agencies
• Local businesses
• Restaurants
• Museums
• Dance studios
• Golf courses
• Tourism places
• Garment designers
• Community events
• Music events

And many, many more…

Today we want to have a closer look at the first three groups of target customers which are all school-related.

The members of these groups are young and open for new creative ideas. They are eager to wear customised clothing sending a personal message to the people around them. For them wearing a simple T shirt can either be fashion motivated or is meant to send a message.

The young people like to form a group and show that they are part of it by wearing a group-specific T shirt or jacket. If all wear the same clothing, this is the easiest way to be identified as a group member, e.g. for the school’s football team or on a specific event.

With the latest generation of direct to garment printers, it is possible to produce high volumes as well as single shirts by customising each shirt with a name, fast and easy. This flexibility makes DTG so perfect for the job.

In addition, students are very keen to use multimedia tools like smart phones almost round-the-clock. For them to find internet shops offering customised clothing is very easy. Many DTG users are having an internet shop responding to this behaviour. Online shops make it very easy and simple to upload unique or own designs for each individual T shirt.

To reach this target group it is essential to become part of their life.

As mentioned before these young people are online nearly all the time so online marketing is the key to success.

A permanent, fresh and young appearance in various social media like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and an up-to-date website are the tools to have a permanent presence in the students’ online life.

Keep in mind – there are already others on the market, so be unique in what you do!

We also know from experience that some students start their own DTG business because very often they are linked to many groups inside their own school or university. Hence, it happens that a school or university has its own print shop run by its own students.

While some start with an online shop only and use a fulfillment center for production and shipment at the beginning, others purchase their own equipment and start a real production business.

Never forget: today’s students are the business owners of tomorrow!