Custom Branding: How to Distinguish Your Print on Demand Merchandise from competitors? If you are a small business proprietor who buys from wholesalers and sells to customers, you will find competitors selling products just like yours. Even though you’re doing well (for now), you can’t help but ask yourself what you can do to distinguish your print on demand merchandise from competitors selling products like yours. Some of these competitors have the advantage of selling in popular markets such as Amazon and eBay. Others may beat you on design or price. So how can you make your shop different? The key is to find specific elements like custom merchandise online that could potentially separate stores from each other. Some points where you can stand:
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Price and quantity Convenience Customer experience/service Branding and marketing Product details
While that sounds pretty obvious, it's worth considering some pricing adjustments here. Low or discounted prices are always a good way to increase sales, but this strategy may not be sustainable in the long run. Let's take a look at some pricing strategies for custom printed merchandise selling similar products to their competitors:
Low cost to enter the market Once again, this advice is based on the fact that you are selling similar products to your competitors. Therefore, the use of competitive pricing strategies probably makes sense for many stores. If you cannot get the right inclination, you do not want to be frustrated, so invest in a good capo. However, if you are starting a new company, you may want to start labeled products with lower prices than your competitors. As we mentioned above, you can't keep it forever ... and that's it. If you’re a new kid on the block, you want to make a strong first impression and leave your mark on the minds of your audience. When they have bought from you once or twice and have a good experience, they may go straight to your store next time instead of using a search engine to find the best seller.
The cost of the bundle The idea is to sell multiple products simultaneously at a bundle price discount. This works well for businesses that sell complementary products or companies operating in a specific niche. This strategy is similar to up-selling and especially cross-selling.
Subscription cost We've covered this topic in our subscription business blog as well, but the basic idea is similar to bundle prices in the sense that you're offering a discount based on the purchase price. By making the customer commit to shopping at regular intervals (such as monthly), they will pay less than a one-time purchase, while the store will receive a guaranteed income for that period. This is also a great way to increase customer loyalty with your customer base.
Discount in bulk quantities When it comes to quantity, you might want to consider discounts on bulk purchases, just like Alibaba (or AliExpress). These agreement prices are the same, except for the fact that all merchandise are shipped at the same time instead of at regular intervals.
Convenience Many people sell quality products online. Making your shop more convenient than others is another way to differentiate yourself. Convenience is a comprehensive term; it can go in 100 different directions - what does it mean in this context? Some examples would include providing more payment options. If you sell abroad, find out what is the preferred payment option for that market and do your best to make it available for those relevant domains. In addition to payment options, you can specify where your warehouse is located to emphasize that you have a fast delivery time. Showing where your warehouse is located can boost the sales of local customers who want to be more environmentally conscious. Behaving like a green business is usually a good thing, don't you think?
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Highlight your return policies if this is one of your store's strong points. If you guarantee a refund, make sure your visitors see it somewhere on the homepage, product page and during checkout. If you offer gift wrapping, make sure people know it too.
When it comes to delivery, let your customers know that one day delivery is an option. Alternatively, specify if they can choose slower delivery to save money. Finally, if you offer service from a variety of carriers, make it well known. In general, customers like a lot of choices, and shipping options are no exception. Overseas sales? Be sure to offer the site in multiple languages. Offering your products in local / different currencies is also a way to build confidence in new international markets. There are many ways to show your visitors that shopping with you is more convenient than your competition. Make sure this information is visible leading to your homepage and / or your product pages. Well, if you are here because you want to start your own shop online shop, don't forget to read our blog "How to start an online shop: a beginner's guide" and then download its checklist version too!
Customer experience / service We talked about this topic in the previous section, but let's take a closer look. Similarly, for convenience of custom branding, you want your customers to know that your customer service team will help them solve the problem as quickly and easily as possible if something goes wrong.
Print on demand dropshipping Things can break down, get worse, arrive late, and so on. Everyone knows that such things can happen, even for the most famous brands. So, if you are proud of your customer experience, let them know you are there for your customers. You want to include a chatbot so buyers know they can reach "anyone" at any time. Maybe you can add a note in the sidebar that you will get back any customer inquiries within 24 hours. If you have a phone number for customer service, type it prominently in your navigation bar. Displaying your contact details prominently can also be a real trust-builder. Also Read: 7 Things to Consider While Working with Custom Merchandise Online
Use confidence indicators to your advantage Speaking of trust-builders, you can do a lot for your site to build trust with new customers. Unfortunately, negative feedback can sometimes appear in your customer reviews. No fear! If you handle the situation properly, you can turn a negative experience for potential customers into a positive one. If you can solve the problem in time, most customers will be really satisfied. Even after paying for the goods, knowing that it is important to you can mean the world to the (potential) customer. The key is to know how to respond to negative feedback. In addition to handling negative reviews properly, hopefully you've collected a lot of positive reviews as well. All of those positive reviews can really help your website's search engine rankings because ratings have become part of Google's ranking algorithm. In addition, all the "new" and related keywords added to your pages by the constant flow of reviews will also benefit your pages from an SEO perspective.
We have definitely considered customer service reviews in my purchasing decision. It's good to let customers know that others have a good experience with your company, especially when things don't go as planned. In-store reviews are great for your business's reputation but don't forget that product reviews reflect the quality of your product line. In today’s e-commerce world, there must be both store reviews and product reviews.
How do you transform your business with print-on-demand merchandise?