Decorators using their dye-sublimation equipment only for branded apparel could be missing out on a significant opportunity to upsell.
Think about it, says Tim Check, senior product manager, professional imaging, at Epson America: The same customers who are buying shirts, hoodies, and uniforms for their businesses are likely also buying mugs, plaques, and office décor from a different vendor.
“By leveraging sublimation with hard goods, you keep that work in-house instead of letting it go to online suppliers,” Check adds. “This isn’t about chasing new customers. It’s about not leaving money on the table.”
Most customers don’t want the complexity of working with multiple vendors, so if your company can offer more of a one-stop shop solution, by expanding into hard goods as well as apparel, the likely result is stickier clients and more revenue, Check says.
“The shops that grow fastest don’t pitch this as something new,” he adds. “They say, ‘We already do your apparel; let us handle the rest.’ That’s an easier sell, a stronger relationship, and steadier work.”
Plus, says Emily Wines of ThatShirtShack in New Philadelphia, Ohio, if you’re willing to do some “trial and error” on a variety of products to see how well they work with sublimation, you could become one of the first decorators in your region to offer something unique. “And then you’re going to be exclusively selling it until everyone else figures out how to do it,” she adds.