Ever wondered why Starbucks needed at least 3 cup sizes for their customers to choose from? The Starbucks menu was designed with one thing in mind: to make you feel better about buying their coffee. They want you to spend a little more — while making you feel like you are spending less.
“I’ll take the Grande!”
When making purchasing decisions, people don’t usually choose the extremes. This tendency is called the compromise effect, because it means compromising between two extremes.
Marketers exploit this desire to compromise by starting with the product they want you to buy, and construct extremes around it to make it more appealing. Starbucks wants you to choose the middle option. It’s the option that would generate the most revenue for them.
Here’s how this works.
Let’s pretend these pricing details are true. Assume that latte costs 25 cents per ounce. This makes a Tall latte $3.00, a Grande $4.00, and a Venti is priced at $5.00. Opting for different sizes involves certain trade-offs. If you choose a Tall over a Venti, you miss out on 8 ounces of the beverage. Conversely, picking a Venti instead of a Tall leads to spending an extra $2.00.
But which loss will be worst? Loss of money? Or the drink quantity? Which would you choose? Spend a little extra money and get a larger drink, or save a few but get less portion of your drink?
Most people would fear the loss of quantity or quality more significant than the loss of money which makes them tend to avoid the least expensive option.
So how can you apply this method to your print shop’s leverage?
Just like the Tall, Grande and Venti cup size strategy, you could start to introduce bundle deals to your customers with 3 different pricing packages. The package could include whatever products and services you offer.
This attraction effect would frame your customers’ choice between the middle option and the larger extreme. Let’s take a look at how the packages could be priced, with 100 sample customers.
| Package | Price | Customers | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | $200 | 33 | $6600 |
| Gold | $270 | 33 | $8250 |
| Diamond | $340 | 34 | $10200 |
| TOTAL | $25050 |
Now, let’s change the price. We’ll drop the price of the Gold and Diamond packages a little, so it looks like this:
| Package | Price | Customers | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | $200 | 20 | $4000 |
| Gold | $265 | 50 | $13250 |
| Diamond | $335 | 30 | $10050 |
| TOTAL | $27300 |
Now the Gold package is a much better deal than Silver, and Diamond is still a good deal. When you look at this price set, the total revenue is still roughly the same.
Let’s make one more adjustment. Maintain the price of the Silver and Gold, but we’ll lower the Diamond package a little bit more:
| Package | Price | Customers | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | $200 | 0 | $0 |
| Gold | $265 | 50 | $13250 |
| Diamond | $300 | 50 | $15000 |
| TOTAL | $28250 |
THAT looks like an amazing deal!
- The Silver package is still the same price as it’s always been, but it does not look like a great deal anymore.
- Dropping the Diamond package price makes the Silver package an unfavorable choice, turning the three-way choice into a no brainer between the two most expensive options.
- In this third example, by lowering the Diamond package closer to the Gold price, your print shop has bumped up revenue from $25050 to $28250
- That’s a 12.78% increase, just for using a price change to reframe a decision.
- To simplify what’s going on: the difference between the Silver and Gold packages are bigger than the difference between the Gold and Diamond packages.
- This effectively, and immediately excludes the lowest priced package from being chosen. This is called the attraction effect, and it is exactly what you want. You want your customers to choose the higher priced packages.
“.. And Would You Like Fries With That, Sir?”
In the printing industry, there is always something else you could offer to your customers. A football team ordering jerseys? Offer to print embroidered hats for their supporters, at a discounted price of course — or tell them you can print on shoes, mugs, towels too. Anything, everything!
For example, your print shop could create a bundle deal like this, while enforcing a minimum purchase order to reach your target revenue as simple as ABC. Should your customer be enticed to purchase this deal, you are able to make $2500 from a single order, and that’s easily a $1550 profit made in one order.
| Item | Cost Price | Selling Price (Bundle) | Profit (MOQ 50 units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blank Gildan Tshirt + Transfer | $7 | $25 | $900 |
| Blank Mug + Sublimation | $5 | $10 | $250 |
| Cap + Embroidery | $7 | $15 | $400 |
| TOTAL | $1550 |
Most of the time customers do not know what other services your print shop could provide. This is the chance to tell them what you could bring to the table, and giving great offers along your bundle packages will most likely close the deal. Think of it as a combo meal, but for printing.
Pro tip: Never pressure your customers into buying or purchasing what you suggest. Always let them decide on their own. You only want to plant the idea that they could get more and get grab the better deal while they are at it.
Reward the Regulars
When you already have a good customer base, try to forge super close ties with your regulars. As a business owner of any kind, you don’t only need new customers, you would want to retain the ones you already have.
- Get to know their likes, dislikes, and always take their feedback with high regards. Tailoring your service with a personal touch can lead to more orders.
- Come up with some loyalty perks to retain existing customers and entice those new comers, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a loyalty perk? It’s like a high-five for being awesome and loyal.
- Take a look at Amazon and its Prime membership scheme. They charge their subscribers $119 annually or $12.99 monthly for multiple benefits. Members can enjoy access to Amazon’s acclaimed streaming platform, early deal alerts, and many discounts with partners like Whole Foods.
- Amazon Prime has evolved into one of the world’s most effective loyalty programs, largely because of these perks. Despite its cost, customers find significant value in subscribing. Prime focuses on consumer convenience with its rapid delivery and curated suggestions. The program regularly introduces new, tailored benefits for its subscribers. This creates a sense of excitement and anticipation of what’s new to come.
Implementing this to your print shop will definitely help to boost revenue in more ways than one. Your customers will stay loyal and return to put in more order, and you could even encourage them to bring in their pals. Maybe throw in a thank-you discount for every new face they introduce. Talk about a win-win!
New is Always Fun
Apart from restructuring your prices, implementing upselling techniques, and also incentive programs, your print shop could also start something new. Besides the common list of services, take advantage of fresh and exciting approaches that your competitors aren’t even thinking of.
One of the highest ROI your print shop can leverage is from DTF printing. Sure, DTF machines can be pricey but DTF printing is a huge trend in the industry right now, and for many good reasons too.
- DTF printing yields amazing end results
- Versatile, durable, and high-quality outcome
- Ideal for printing designs on apparel, hats, bags, and many other products too
- Consistent quality across every job, with no waste or added cost to your business
- Save printing time, only worry about heat application
- Save valuable production time
- No maintenance = no downtime
- Almost anyone can do it — train your staff in mere minutes!
DTF printer prices depends on the specific model, features, and abilities of the printer. In general, DTF printers price range from $10,000 to $30,000.
Your print shop can generate a lot of revenue if you decide to offer DTF printing. Here are some of the many ways you can make money with DTF printing:
- Custom printing services to individuals and businesses
- Create and sell own designs on products such as t-shirts, hats, and bags
- Team up with other businesses to provide custom printing services for their products
Now let’s delve into the potential of DTF printing and how it can actually help your print shop increase revenue.
Imagine that a print shop called Studio Noah is going to print this image of a fluffy cat on a bicycle on 100 Gildan T-shirts, and assuming that Studio Noah is paying a maximum of $4 per Gildan tee. Let’s look at the breakdown.
With a DTF printer, you could print out 100 transfers in a few hours. Pressing the film on to your blanks will be a day’s job at most. This means you could get approximately $1,500 profit for a day’s work. If you invested in a high end machine at $30,000, with these numbers, should you be able to perform consistently with such jobs every week of the year, you could make up to $79,000 per year!
Now that is one powerful and strong ROI!
Invest in tech
When you are investing in your print shop, machine and equipment are not the only parts you should look into. Softwares that could streamline your workflow and processes are critically essential too.
As your print shop grows and expands, you will need the appropriate technology to assist you into providing better services and support that could be extended to your customers.
An easy-breezy online ordering system can make or break your customers’ satisfaction — and yours. Find smarter, cost-effective ways to work. Bulk buying can be your new best friend. Simplify your everyday tasks. If it’s time for a tech upgrade, YoPrint has got what it takes to bring your print shop to the next level.
When your print shop is generating more revenue, it would also mean that you will have more orders coming in. Considering to invest in a tech support that could enhance your work and make everything better and easier would definitely help you in the long run. Feel free to ask us how YoPrint can help make your print shop glide like butter.
Now who said you need new and more customers to level up your print shop? Don’t be afraid to get creative with what you already have, take leaps of faith and invest in things that actually matter. You can turn your print shop into a buzzing beehive of activity and profits. Remember, it’s all about adding more life to your existing relationships and ensuring every visit to your shop is like a party they can’t wait to come back to. Now, ready, set, print!
