September 6th, 2013 Show Notes – Niche Markets II
Please find some links and notes from the 2 Regular Guys Podcast from September 6th, 2013, so you can get more details on some of the items we discussed. This is the second of our programs dedicated to the decorating niche markets. This industry is made up of thousands of niches. We will bring you new niches markets once a month.
Niche Markets
Make sure to catch a ton more Niche Markets in Terry’s Weekly Screen Printing Newsletter. Sign-up – HERE
Football Moms and Dads
It’s high school football time. And every parent who has a son on the team wants to show their support and show a little pride at all the games.
Simple plan: Create a graphic in local school colors… all the schools in your area. The graphic can be pretty simple with a helmet and team logo, the name of the school above, and “Football Mom” or “Football Dad” below. If you have the capacity and the motivation, you can also put a name and/or number on the back. If you have a DTG, you can do a player photo and other personalization.
Next, contact the school and find out who is in charge of the football booster club. Almost every school has one, and more often than not, a separate entity from the athletic booster club. Offer to print up a sample shirt and allow them to take orders. Depending on your locale you have the potential of selling packages that include long sleeve tees, hoodies, caps… I did caps when my sons played high school ball that said Blue Valley Football on the front with individual player numbers on the side panel. This is a great foot-in-the-door promotion. The time to give this niche market a shot is…today!
Game Day Packages
People are passionate about sports, and will spend freely when it comes to their passion. You will likely need to partner up with one or more other businesses for this deal, but a game day package is a good way to generate interest and sales. The idea is to combine game tickets, transportation, meals, even hotel reservations depending on where the game might be played, and of course, printed apparel.
The idea is to build a package. One example is a local restaurant or tavern sponsoring a bus trip to a sporting event. The package includes game tickets, transportation to the game, a tailgate party upon arrival, and of course shirts to commemorate the event and to identify members of the group. The trip might be to a professional football game, a college basketball game, or any sporting event that has strong interest in your community. Professional teams and schools will work with you on getting more people to events with ticket packages, preferred seating, parking, etc. The pros and colleges have staff for this single purpose.
Your part of the package is the smallest in cost by comparison, but you can be the participant who plants the seed to create this event. If successful, it can be both an annual event, and a repeatable concept for other events.
Tip: Restaurant gift cards and gift cards/coupons to your own store can be an added enticement in this package.
Gymnastics Events
Here’s one specifically for direct-to-garment. I know a printer who does gymnastic events. He takes pictures of the individual participants and then gets a whole team together for a casual group shot. Here’s the brilliant part. He has white paper and color markers, and asks the kids to sign their names in different colors. He scans this sheet and prints it on the back of the shirt. White tees only… $20.00 for the picture on the front, another $5.00 for the names on the back. This printer has less than $2.00 cost in the whole thing. Use your imagination for similar events.
Halloween Events
OK, here’s your one chance to use that glow-in-the-dark ink the guy at your supply house talked you into buying. There are Halloween events throughout your community that need shirts.
A haunted house in an empty warehouse in the commercial district? They need shirts for their staff and shirts for customers to buy on the way out. Contact them now. Be creative!
Does your local school system have an alternative to door to door trick or treating? Many communities have these events. They need shirts to identify staff. Contact them now.
Local bars and taverns are potential customers for special Halloween staff shirts. Perfect customers for that glow-in-the-dark ink. Contact them now!
We’re just two months away, and with Labor Day just past, people will start thinking of Fall events. It’s the perfect time to print up some creative Halloween graphics and begin knocking on doors, or sending out sample packages.
Other News/Events
- Introduction to DTG Printing – Equipment Zone in New Jersey (outside NYC) – September 13th
- Complete Screen Printing Business Course – Workhorse Products in Phoenix – October 5th and 6th
- Complete Screen Printing Business Course – Atlas Screen Supply in Chicago – November 2nd and 3rd
- Introduction to DTG Printing – Equipment Zone in New Jersey (outside NYC) – November 15th
Shows
- NGN Connect Show St. Louis – Sept. 6th and 7th
- NBM Philly – September 19th to 21st
- ISS Fort Worth – September 26th to 28th
- SGIA Expo (Orlando) – October 23rd to 25th
This show is for the listeners so please make sure to ask us some questions or give us some topics you would like us to discuss. Also if you have any event or upcoming items related to our industry that you would like us to bring up on the show, please contact us via our Facebook Page. Also make sure to interact/follow us on Twitter.