The customized gifts business is gaining popularity in the past few years and is going to grow more. By the end of 2025, the print-on-demand businesses shall reach worth $10 million. A lot of small and large printing companies are venturing into bespoke gift items. It is high in demand, especially during the festive season.
Whether you have ventured into the custom printing business or have amplified the exiting one – constantly look for specific points to avoid. Let’s discuss the possible mistakes to look out for and easy steps to eliminate the same.
What NOT to do in the printing business?
- Set up a Storefront: It is good to be positive and confident but, confidence bites. Start with commitment for your business but avoid overdoing it. Printing on demand is undoubtedly a profitable business, but it takes consistent time and perseverance to succeed. However, it is unfortunate that only 1 out of 10 become very successful. That is because many of you consider selling gifts as an easy and petty task, but printing is like any other proper business.
- Go generic: Many on-demand printing companies offer gifts and other promotional items online. It is the reason that being generic designs and offering mediocre quality will pull you back. The product printing industry is large and is always on a boom. Create a niche of designs and add something extra with every delivery. Keep a check on the market trends for designs and the latest fashion demands to stay competitive.
- Compete with prime companies: You have the best-personalized designs and great market reach, but still, it is not a great idea to compete with the prime companies for deliveries. Shipping is a great challenge for any customized business. But there are companies like ‘Amazon’ who have the quickest delivery system. Therefore, avoid promising fast shipping time and instead be honest with the delivery date and time. Focus on communicating the product’s correct details, creating unique designs, and sticking to the right shipment time.
- One man business: The biggest mistake people must avoid. Running any business calls for a team activity, even if it’s a small business. Promotional item printing and gifts are one of those businesses which call for a combination of great designers, queens printers, delivery people, and administrator teams. It is very remote that a great entrepreneur is also an exceptional designer and perfect marketer. Hire a professional team and nurture it.
- Set policies: Make a clear distinction between what you are offering and what you are not. Do not present confusing policies. Your customer has the right to get correct information about what is the entire process. Outline every step online and stick to it. Keep your clients informed if there is any change. Keep the shipping details clear, return policies proper, transparent privacy policies, and other vital disclaimers understandable for better customer service.
- Overcommit: You might have the trendiest designs to offer but stick to the catalog. Do not overdo by offering beyond the capacity of the printing company. It could be for colors, quality of material, or design choices.
- One product line: Any business especially customized gifts, requires the offering of more and more options. Your specialty may be in personalized bulk custom t-shirts, but it is always advisable to offer more products like coffee mugs, bags, hoodies, pillowcases, and phone cases.
- Advertisements: Marketing any business is crucial. You must invest in great advertisements and marketing strategies to ensure a more comprehensive reach of potential customers. Make use of social media networking to expand the custom gifts and promotional material. Posting pages on Facebook, spreading the product information through Twitter, and sharing pictures on Instagram are just a few options.
- Underestimating customers: Never underestimate the power of clients and potential clients. Always stay in touch with the present customers and gather reviews and feedbacks. A products review is a great testimonial to work on the missed features and services. It boasts future sales and builds credibility to the business. You can add a small note section after the order page or mention a follow-up email to give the customers a better reach.
- No follow-up: Print on demand is a customer-centric business. Be open to the customer’s feedback and follow up with it. Listen to the customer experiences, whether positive or negative. You can make use of social media to get instant likes and comments. It will also affect future customers. Put a humble request to the current customer to spread the word and get more customers. Once, this happens you can repay the previous customer by offering a discount on the next sale or some small giveaway.
Digital printing is undoubtedly one of the best business options with the changing work culture. You have everything online, and the creative business is interestingly profitable.
