Discuss the fun task of marketing a t-shirt shop. Where to advertise, local marketing tips, word of mouth, press releases, search engine marketing, keyword advertising, magazines, etc.
So Here's a hypothetical question, that I would like advice for.
lets say I own a small t shirt brand, who's demographic is skateboarders and surfers, most males, between 14-20 years old.
now lets say I wanted to get my t shirt line into some of the skate and surf shops around the town I'm in.
do you guys think it would be best to approach the shops and give the a sales pitch,
-or-
do you think I should get some stickers made and put them up in the area of these shops, so when I go in and say I'm from company XYZ they will say "oh yea I've heard of you, or seen your logo around, show me what you have"
I guess I could have been more clear, I'm asking, should I stick some stickers around the area of these shops before hand, so that when I go in to give my sales pitch I will have a logo that they recognize? or should I give my sales pitch with out the stickers posted before hand, knowing these shops will have no clue who I or my company is?
Just go in there and let them know about your company and leave them with the sticker or just make a shirt and give it to them to see if it sells, and call back at the end of the week to see if the shirt sold and if they would like to order them.
LaTonya
By the way you are presenting this, you seem to want to use the sticker approach. IMO, go for it; but dont expect it to help you much when you do go in for the pitch. One thing i would do is call ahead. Just politely introduce yourself, tell them what your doing, and ask for a good time to meet them at their shop. this is proper business etiquette. they will appreciate it as well. dont worry about being to formal about it, just give them a heads up.
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By the way you are presenting this, you seem to want to use the sticker approach. IMO, go for it; but dont expect it to help you much when you do go in for the pitch. One thing i would do is call ahead. Just politely introduce yourself, tell them what your doing, and ask for a good time to meet them at their shop. this is proper business etiquette. they will appreciate it as well. dont worry about being to formal about it, just give them a heads up.
I would def. recommend doing both things. I would put stickers and flyers all over town to get your name out (just make sure you do it legally). I would also do what sturifidness said above in the quote... I would most certainly call ahead of time. Also when you go in to meet the shop owner or manager, dress to impress. You don't have to be in a suit (if you don't want) condsidering they are surf and skate shops. That style is my style.. Very laid back and casual. Something cool might be to wear one of your shirts with a casual blazer of it, to "model" your product to the people are you are pitching it to. Then you can show how nice it fits, looks.. etc.
Good luck, keep us all posted.
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with out the stickers posted before hand, knowing these shops will have no clue who I or my company is?
I wouldn't bank on a few stickers changing that.
I doubt the stickers will make any difference, but it's not expensive, so if it's something you want to do anyway, go for it.
Presenting a professional line (i.e. having professional collateral (which can include stickers ) and knowing what you're talking about) will be worth more than any short term promotion though.
the pre-sales pitch idea is great. it's never bad to have free advertising, and recognized brands sell better than new ones, even if the person hasn't seen it before (just heard about it).
the only thing you need be careful of is where you place the stickers. if they are intrusive, or someone has to peel them off something, they will hate you forever.
You should consider sending the retailer a catalog (w/ contact info of course) and a shirt by mail in a package. Shops like Urban Outfitters and Zumiez suggest this method; for smaller shops, the preferred method varies. After you send the package, they may follow up with you if they like your products. If not, just call them after a week and let them know that you sent a package. I'm not too sure about posting stickers to try to get retailers to wanna by your products, but you can go try it out, though.
You should consider sending the retailer a catalog (w/ contact info of course) and a shirt by mail in a package. Shops like Urban Outfitters and Zumiez suggest this method; for smaller shops, the preferred method varies. After you send the package, they may follow up with you if they like your products. If not, just call them after a week and let them know that you sent a package. I'm not too sure about posting stickers to try to get retailers to wanna by your products, but you can go try it out, though.
Great advice. Quick question (if you know) where can one get a decent catalog made? And do you recommend it even if you only have say 5 shirts total at this point in time? (Sorry, not trying to change thread question, just curious)
Thanks!
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Do you have the tees in different colors, or are you capable of doing that at this time? If so, you should get a catalog made, even if you have 5 tees, but show the different colorways (so it looks like more than 5 tees). You can get a catalog made at lulu.com. You should create the pdf for the catalog on Adobe Acrobat (you can just get the free trial if you don't wanna buy the full version).
One word of advice--not Aristotle or anything--send out a free sample with promotional materials. We've earned some really nice accounts just by simply sending our prospects the product. People like to touch + feel + see firsthand what the product looks like. They're going to know if they want it or not within the first few minutes. Not to mention, they love to receive a FREE product -- I mean who doesn't, right?
Yes. LuLu.com is a great manufacturer of "Look Book" style catalogs. These are essential marketing materials if you're looking to earn those bigger retail accounts.
One great method we like to emphasize for advertising is our hang-tag; with its double-function, it's actually a peel-off reflective, vinyl sticker. So not only are we advertising our product when it's in a boutique or small retail store, but after the consumer purchases the shirt and takes it home, they'll peel and apply the hang-tag sticker somewhere for others to see: on their dorm room mirror, on a locker, on their car bumper, on their school books, etc. -- it's sustainable advertising.
before going retail, should I ? 
) and knowing what you're talking about) will be worth more than any short term promotion though.
