Check out Inktavo's tools and resources for the branded merchandise industry!
Check it out!
Back to all tools and resources
As the year winds down, it can be exciting to look ahead. However, as a business owner, looking ahead requires some additional planning and strategizing so that you’re making the most of every week and hitting the ground running after the holidays. Whether considering new product offerings, investing in new equipment, hiring new staff, or revamping how you market to customers, having a plan in place can make a world of difference.
Whether you’re a two-person operation or a massive contract decorator, you can take a few core steps to ensure you’re set up for success every year and ready to reassess.
If you’re ready to jump in, read on for five key steps to planning a successful business year.
It’s no secret that modern shoppers want the convenience they’ve come to experience in B2C, and custom-branded merchandise business owners can benefit from finding ways to tap into those trends.
“I have seen a big shift toward automation, with shops using tech to speed up production and cut down on manual tasks,” says Craig Mertens, Inktavo Director of Product Education. “AI is making big waves, helping businesses optimize everything from design to purchasing. With more consumers buying online and expecting an Amazon-like shopping experience, shops have had to step up their e-commerce game to compete.”
Part of meeting modern demands also means getting creative with your budget too. Whether it’s fluctuating interest rates, the rising cost of labor, or the continued increase in raw materials, print shops have had to rethink how they allocate funds.
“I think folks are having to get smarter about money,” says Bruce Ackerman, founder of Printavo. “Overhead has crept up with salaries increasing and interest rates making equipment more expensive too. Folks seem to have now to push harder on sales.”
Part of staying nimble means knowing what worked well in previous years and what didn’t. The quicker you can narrow down these factors, the easier it is to plan out a year’s worth of promotions and customer orders.
The upside is that as a shop owner, you already know your strengths and where you could stand to improve. The end of the year is an ideal time to reassess your business, get feedback from your team, and calibrate your strategy for next year so you can hit the ground running.
Here are a few steps to start next year strong.
If you haven’t already started planning your marketing and promotions for next year, now is the time.
A couple of big things you’ll want to do for the coming year are to see which seasons were your busiest and start contacting the customers who had the most jobs during those times as soon as possible.
For example, even if you’re printing uniforms and jerseys for your local Little League team every spring, don’t assume they’ll call you back this year. Ensure you’re staying on their radar by being the first to reach out and going one step further by providing mockups, and product ideas, and asking them if they know of other teams that need custom gear.
InkSoft proposals are a powerful tool for selling to new and existing customers. Here are a few big benefits of combining proposals with an online store:
Providing product ideas before customers place orders helps open doors to bundles they might have yet to consider.
Maybe they’re always used to ordering custom-printed hoodies, tote bags, and drawstring bags from your business, but didn’t know you also offer drinkware, headwear, and premium embroidered polos. Upsells inspire your customers, boost your bottom line in the long run, increase order sizes year-over-year, and generally make you more profitable, so always be ready to suggest applicable add-ons.
Plus, if you pitch bundles to customers like schools or local governments, they have set budgets yearly, so the sooner you can contact them, the better.
A visual representation of the whole year is a great way to stay on course, so make sure you and your team take a broader look at every month in 2024 and highlight key dates. A physical calendar is excellent, but consider having a digital calendar through a platform like Google Calendars so everyone on your team knows what’s planned for the year.
Ensure you’re checking in with customers like your local city events department or Chamber of Commerce so you’ve also got key event dates on your calendar. Those are prime merch opportunities.
If you want a more shop-specific layout, production, sales, and receiving, you can use tools like Printavo’s Power Scheduler to map out production and assign dates to customer jobs. Those jobs can be broken down into production tasks so production, sales, and receiving know what is due when. This keeps everyone on schedule, so you’re meeting deadlines.
Power Scheduler works well for several types of apparel decoration, including screen printing, embroidery, and DTF. This demo shows you how to streamline your production process and maximize efficiency:
Not an Inktavo user yet? Contact us today to learn how our platforms can help you grow and scale.
Inktavo’s family of companies develops software solutions that help print shops, promotional product distributors, and branded merchandise businesses succeed.
Get Your Copy Today
