Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020 - 14

THE MARSHALL PLAN

Trust: A great way to build trust is with customer testimonials or videos showing your processes. Trust is your reputation. Without trust, few people will buy from you.
Buy: If I know your company, like what you do, and trust
you can do a good job, when it's time to buy, I'm about 75
percent of the way there and we haven't even spoken yet.
Your marketing plan needs to build out examples for
potential and current customers to know, like, trust, and buy
from you. Plan your marketing a month or a quarter out. What
are you highlighting? What will educate or enrich a customer's
experience? What shows trust? Don't wait until the last minute.
Goal: Build out a marketing calendar that features outbound
messages that will help you with the Know, Like, Trust, Buy
sales cycle. Use a calendar. Assign people to handle tasks with
due dates. Create a template to make social media posts easier.

stack of film that you don't use since you switched to a CTS
exposure unit.
You get the idea. Junk. It's everywhere. In the front office.
Under the dryers. Behind the building. How did all this stuff
get here? Who cares? The problem is that it's in the way.
Your crew has to walk around this stuff every day, which
wastes time. Your customers see this, and it creates a definite
opinion on your craftsmanship in their mind. Immaculate
shop = craftsmanship. Junky shop = carelessness.
Goal: Clean and declutter your shop at least once per quarter.
Label anything you think you might want to keep with today's
date on it. If you haven't used it six months later, discard it.
Free up your space so you can work more efficiently.

WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN

Ever wonder why you do the things you do in your shop?
Often, "We've always done it this way" rules the roost. Instead,
I want you to consider challenging the status quo on why you
do anything. Why are you using that ink? That emulsion? That
computer system? That xyz? Is there something better out there?
Sure, it's easy to be complacent and have the "don't mess
with what's working" mentality. But, there may be a product,
system, technique, method, or idea out there that could impact
your business for the better. What if something existed that
could save you a step or two in a process? What if it eliminated
the need for that process completely? Would you be interested?
Goal: At least once a week, ask "why" regarding a process,
consumable, method, piece of equipment, technology, or
training. Is there something better out there? If so, what do
you need to do to try it out? Once a week means you are
improving 52 things a year.

One go-to question I have for shop owners is, "Do you have a
business plan?"About 60 to 75 percent of the people I speak
with say "no." They've been getting along so far on sheer luck
and determination. That's great, but it will only take you so far.
Here's what a business plan does for you: It focuses your
intent on exactly who your best customer is in the marketplace. When do they buy? What do they buy? How frequently
do they buy? What are their problems you can solve? Is this in
perfect alignment with what you can provide or offer?
Your biggest challenge running your business is time.
There's never enough of it. A well-written business plan helps
you articulate exactly who your best customer is so you can
devise strategies to go after them with laser-like focus.
Goal: Write a business plan that focuses on determining
your best customers, how to find them, and the problems
you're solving for them. Define your "Unfair Advantage"
that you have over your competition. Hint: It cannot be
about price, quality, or customer service.

USE VIDEO IN MARKETING

RETHINK YOUR WEBSITE

I was reading some marketing stats and I came across this
nugget: By 2021, 80 percent of the content online will be video.
Are you currently using video in your marketing? You should.
Think about the power that customer testimonial video
has for potential customers when they rave about your
awesomeness. Video can be used for education and to show off
how a customer's idea is created into a printed shirt. This may
seem scary, but it's doing the scary things that help us grow.
Goal: Create at least one video per month and share it
on social media networks. Envelop this into your overall
marketing strategy. It will be incredibly awkward and scary.
Do it anyway.

What service does your website provide for your business?
Are you making money with it, or is it a business card?
* Does it work on someone's phone?
* Will it load in fewer than three seconds?
* How are you linking sales to your website?
* Is your website built so it shows you can solve your main
customer's number-one problem?
* Is it up-to-date and savvy? Is it optimized for Voice Search?

CHALLENGE YOUR NORMS

CLEAN AND DECLUTTER YOUR SHOP
Let me guess. Right now, on some racks in your shop, is a
skid or two that has boxes of shirts from some order from
two or three years ago. There's some junky equipment in the
corner. Boxes of forms and paper from 10 years ago. Parts
from machines you don't even own anymore. A five-foot-high
14

SCREENPRINTING

The absolute first thing someone does when they hear
about your company is look up your website. What does
yours say about you? Even if your website doesn't have a
store platform, it's still crucial to keep it updated and current.
Do you use Google Analytics? Are you tracking numbers?
Goal: Take some time and assess your website from a
customer's perspective. What do they see? Is it in alignment
with what they are looking for? How do you know? One
of the best questions you can ask is, "How are we getting
eyeballs on our website?" That's lead generation.

Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020