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Sewing Places – Blog Sewing Nuggets 8th September, 2009 Topic: Sewing As A Home Business – Who Will Your Customers Be? Who Will Your Customers Be? Target Markets, Advertising, And Promotion In order to be effective in your business, you will need to decide who your customers will be. In other words, you need to choose your target market or target markets. By having more than one target market, you will be able to serve more people because you will have greater flexibility in your business. For instance, instead of doing only custom sewing, you could also do alterations, or instead of doing only window treatments, you could also make pillows or other home dec items. Within the area sewing-related business, there are countless possibilities for target markets. A sampling is listed below.
When selecting your target market or markets, you can do so on the basis of three things. First, the skills that you possess should play a large part. You can make a list of your particular aptitudes and then decide in which ones you are the most proficient. Also, your desire to do a certain type of work is very important. For instance, you may aspire to sew for the handicapped, but you are only experienced in making clothing for your family. Because of your desire to reach your goal, you can draw upon the general sewing skills you already have and expand into your new area of interest through classes, research, and hands-on-practice. Thirdly, try to determine if there is a need for the service or product you would like to offer. Check newspapers, magazines, and the phone book in your area to see if anyone is already offering your idea. Talk to as many people as you can and consider their responses. Sometimes there may seem to be a proliferation of services or products similar to the ones you have chosen, but the quality is low. If you indeed can offer a better mousetrap, you can succeed. Advertising And Promotion Anyone can start a business, but not everyone can stay in business. You have chosen your target markets, laid the groundwork for your business, and now you need to let everyone know about it by deciding how to advertise and promote it. This will give your business direction and developing a plan of action will enhance your position should you apply for financing in the future. Do everything from the beginning to promote yourself as a professional and people will naturally take you and your business seriously. In the sewing field, this will mean dressing and looking the part, on the job and off. It will also mean educating customers regarding the value of your service. For anyone just starting out, the easiest, cheapest, and most effective way to promote your business is to get business cards. This will give customers something concrete to see and it provides away for them to contact you later. Your name and phone number will be the most important information to convey. Some businesses do not include their addresses but print. “By Appointment Only” in order to discourage drop-ins. You may also add a motto, slogan, picture, or other artwork. Your cards can be as simple or as elaborate as your budget allows, and always give people two cards, one for them and one for a friend. As your business expands, a letterhead and stationery in the same design will add greatly to your overall image. Advertising in the yellow pages is a good way to reach many people because this is the first place many prospective customers will look for a product or service they need. Here again, you must decide whether to print your address and I you are set up to handle walk-in-clientele. Depending on your budget, you can also have a display ad in addition to your regular listing. This will distinguish you from a long list of names and numbers. If you decide to run an ad in the newspaper, you will be paying for recognizability and credibility. It is important to realize that an ad should run at least six times to be effective. This is because the eye will pass over written material that it is not trying to perceive several times before noticing it. Because of this, it is advisable to keep your ad simple noticeable, and distinctive. The ad will need to have individuality so potential customers will recognize it. It will need to have clarity, which is the quality that enables readers to grasp the meaning, and it must appear continuously. Direct mail is another way to get the word out to prospective customers. You can offer a coupon or special sale or simply tell about yourself and your product or service. You can begin mailing to friends and acquaintances. Lists from clubs and organizations are another good source for names. Mailing lists can also be purchased which will contain names of certain socio-economic groups or addresses for a certain geographical area. Look in the yellow pages under “mailing lists.” Ten percent is considered a good return on direct mail, however you could probably expect a higher return if you were mailing to repeat customers. If you are planning to establish a customer list and/or do regular mailings, consult your postmaster about getting a bulk mailing. You will have to presort and bundle correspondence by zip codes, but the savings can be substantial. If you are an outgoing and aggressive person, you may choose to promote your business through phone solicitations and direct sales. Phone solicitations should be done courteously and as concisely as possible. Sometimes called direct selling, this is simply giving a “sales pitch” to a prospective customer on a one-on-one basis. You will want to describe your product or service clearly and present yourself as a professional. Sending press releases to newspapers, writing human interest articles concerning your work, or appearing on a television talk show are excellent, free ways to promote your business. Doing a fashion show, giving a lecture, or public speaking can go a long way to stir up enthusiasm for your product or service. In all these areas, you should highlight interesting facts about your product or work that are of general interest first, and after attention is gained, you can mention your availability for business. In conclusion, although you may be an expert in your craft, advertising and promotion could seem out of your realm. The community college in my area offered a seminar on these subjects, but the times were inconvenient for me. I bought the textbooks for the course and it helped me immensely. You will also find many books that are easy to understand on advertising, promotion, and marketing at the library, and don’t forget the Small Business Administration as an additional source of information. Of course, if your budget allows, you can always pay an advertising agency or publicist for these services. By far, the very best way to get business is by word-of-mouth because you are being recommended by some one who is already satisfied with your work. Word-of-mouth is free and it will spread news of your reputation quickly, whether it is good or bad. Because of this, you should always maintain the highest standards by doing the best quality work. Sewing Nugget:- “Who Will Your Customers Be?” is an excerpt from “Sewing As A Home Business” By Mary Roehr. Mary Roehr, My life and more than 30-year career has been highlighted by creating beautiful, perfectly tailored apparel, studying its design, care, and maintenance, and passing the benefits of my experiences on to others. Growing up in a small Midwest town away from large shopping centers and reaching the height of nearly six feet tall by the age of 14 presented a dilemma solved by my mother and my first home economics teacher who together taught me to sew clothes that fit. What began as a necessity became a passion and I graduated in 1972 from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Clothing & Textiles, and then completed a two-year apprenticeship with a tailor from England. Subsequently, I established a custom tailoring and alteration business, owned a fabric store, taught at a community college, and published books and a video. The culmination and most rewarding part of my career is helping both men and women enhance their lives by doing complete wardrobe makeovers.
“Sewing As A Home Business - Learn How To Make Money Sewing In Your Home” is sold exclusively at Amazon. For further details or to purchase please click on the respective names below: Book Other books by Mary Roehr Altering Women’s Ready-To-Wear Magazine Mary Roehr, contributes to Sew News, Threads, Vogue Patterns, Jo-Ann, Butterick Home Catalog, Sewing Savvy, Notions, and many American Sewing Guild Newsletters. |