How to obtain more/new customers.

Prosperi-Tees's picture

Interested in a discussion on how obtain more/new customers. Me being part time we rely on alot of word of mouth and after about a year it is starting to pay off. What are your tactics?

Location: 
United States

I'm very interested in that also.

I know that as soon as people found out I had my own embroidery machine they started asking me to do work for them. Even though I was offering that work before. Something about doing it ourselves gave it a legitimacy I guess. So, I think that if I opened a store front it would bring in more business... but I could be wrong.

"you don't need a hook for the worms to dance."

Prosperi-Tees's picture

spotcolorsupply wrote:
Under promise... and over deliver... :D

I actually do that . I tell customers it will take me 10 days to do a job and get it done in 4 or 5 and throw in some free sublimated products with their design on it.
spotcolorsupply's picture

gerryppg wrote:
I actually do that . I tell customers it will take me 10 days to do a job and get it done in 4 or 5 and throw in some free sublimated products with their design on it.

Customers love freebees.... :D

And when things do go wrong (Eventually they will)...... Correct it quickly, and professionally, and brownie points can still be gained... ;)

Brannon Mullins
Spot Color Supply
770-329-8243
51 Aiken St
Cartersville, GA 30120
spotcolorsupply.com
sales@spotcolorsupply.com

pwalsh's picture

spotcolorsupply wrote:
Customers love freebees.... :D

And when things do go wrong (Eventually they will)...... Correct it quickly, and professionally, and brownie points can still be gained... ;)

Brannon: It's a bit of a cross post, but you've just defined a very successful customer service strategy. Things will go wrong, and it's how you respond to the problems that shapes peoples opinion on the type of company you are.

Peter G. Walsh
Vice President & General Manager
Nazdar SourceOne Shawnee Kansas
913-422-1888 x2020 - 913-579-6662 (cell)pwalsh@nazdar.com - SourceOneOnline.com

“The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of the Nazdar or Thrall Companies.”

spotcolorsupply's picture

pwalsh wrote:
Brannon: It's a bit of a cross post, but you've just defined a very successful customer service strategy. Things will go wrong, and it's how you respond to the problems that shapes peoples opinion on the type of company you are.

Exactly.. And hopefully they will tell their friends (printers talk ;) )!! The easiest customers come from referrals!! My service business has benefited greatly from happy customers telling their friends...:D

Brannon Mullins
Spot Color Supply
770-329-8243
51 Aiken St
Cartersville, GA 30120
spotcolorsupply.com
sales@spotcolorsupply.com

pwalsh wrote:
Brannon: It's a bit of a cross post, but you've just defined a very successful customer service strategy. Things will go wrong, and it's how you respond to the problems that shapes peoples opinion on the type of company you are.

I guess this is how Printex is setting the world on fire one customer at a time.......
Starting with Inkman

tonypep wrote:
I guess this is how Printex is setting the world on fire one customer at a time.......
Starting with Inkman

That could also be said of other suppliers also, but this is not the thread for me to complain about another auto manufacturer.
Prosperi-Tees's picture

Yes taking care of issues right away regardless of you losing money can really pay big dividends in the end.

What else can we do to drum up more business for ourselves?

Use as much as Social Media u can use...............by Social Media Marketing, i mean niche marketing in FB, Twitter, Linkedin and Yahoo groups as well....

In actual u need time to do that and i can assure return to you if you spent time on that

David - Embroidery Digitizing
davidoakeas@gmail.com
$25 for Hat or Chest
$75 for Jacket Back

It's not how many customers you can gain, it's more important how many you keep.

Further to that, quantity is important in terms of risk dependency and being tied into one type of industry or client, but rather than thousands of small clients you can be better off with just a couple of decent quality customers.....