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The Power of Price Lists and Why They Aren't Perfect...

 Although this 2012 blog post still accurately reflects our pricing philosophy, our detailed pricing info for distributors has been updated here

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With twenty plus years of embroidery expertise behind Eu Inc, I have resisted for many years, on publishing a pricelist. I've taught seminars across the country, mentored other contract embroiderers, educated promotional product distributors, sewn amazingly large orders for apparel manufacturers, licensed pro teams, celebrities and marketing and promotional companies of all shapes and sizes- and throughout all of these experiences- I have never put my pricing on paper.  Instead, I have preferred working closely with a client, quoting their project directly after seeing art and talking numbers, believing that by doing business this way I offer better service, maintain production control and am always talking apples to apples.

We are a contract embroiderer, exclusively. We never sell direct. In addition to selling contract embroidery services, we have expanded our business to offer the latest in retail inspired decorating, laser etching and laser applique. With this expansion, and because we are a SanMar PSST decorator, we have found we are gaining new clients from online marketing. And in this information age, everybody wants everything, NOW, or at least a click away. We have always been tech savvy at EU Inc., running our business utlizing new technology and embracing the new age of digital marketing. So now, due to popular demand we are publishing these pricelists , laser etch & applique, and contract embroidery. 

What these pricelists don't do- is tell our story. It's tough to communicate our uniqueness, attention to the craft, and excellence in a list of numbers. It's also tough to tell you about all the things we DON"T charge you for, while we are listing what we DO charge you for. 

The bottom line is that these pricelists are meant to assist you with the learning process, the quote process, etc. They don't tell you what we do to make your product look it's best, they don't tell you how much money we save you, or the value of creating decorated products your clients love and will want to order more of- this just tells you the nuts and bolts. 

My door is always open, and I arrive at the office early with my still steaming Starbucks drip ( with a red-eye most days..) you can catch me by phone most easily each morning. Feel free to tell me what you think, call me for a customized quote or come by and show me what you have or pick up some price list copies if needed. 

The bottom line. . these price lists are a tool for you- meant to increase your efficiency . Don't hesitate to pick up the phone or shoot me an email if you have a question..

In a recent issue of INC Magazine, the editors discussed " How to Compete on Selling Value and Not Price" and  although I can appreciate the competitiveness of any market- value, excellence, and the highest quality is what we continually strive for- and provide. 

Value we provide. Contract pricing we provide. We provide a quick turnaround with large quantities or small windows, and we always provide the highest level of production expertise. We embroider for other embroiderers, we embroider for promotional product professionals- we won't ever compete with you and embroider for your customers. 

 

 


New Foam Applique and How to Increase Talk Time With Your Customers


Photo We always have something new to talk about at Eu inc.. embroidered QR codes, technology short cuts, laser etching on new seasonal products ( think fleece everything, denim etc.. ) Laser Fabric Applique for sports, school and corporate events, now the latest is foam applique.
This new process, Foam Applique is identical to laser cut applique using fabric, but instead we utilize foam . The look is over the top in 3 dimension- and for clients that like 3d ( puff) embroidery on headwear, emphasize symbols with their logo- or are just cutting edge and looking for something new, vibrant, fun and  different- we are giving you something to talk about! 
If you find yourself competing only on price for decorated apparel, or hitting a wall when it comes to creativity- if you have a client asking " Do you have any ideas?" .. or " We need to do something different.." than this is for you. If you would like to set up an appointment to discuss new techniques, laser etching, laser applique with fabric or foam, how to sell them or putting together a sample line just email us here, to get things started. Let's give you something to talk about... 
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4 Easy Steps to Spark , Engage & Grow Your Business


Photo It’s exciting and fresh,- and your enthusiasm can be contagious. As you educate your customer, You smile, you are focused, the positive and upbeat nature in your voice commands attention, it’s tone compelling as you explain the popularity and success with new technology mixing with promotional apparel. QR codes/ tags, laser etch visibility or the fashion appeal of applique. 

 New ideas can spark conversation. New ideas give you a reason to call that out of reach prospect, touch base with your customer- ENGAGE.  

Everyone is looking to grow their business. These 4 easy steps move you forward. 

  1. Attract: Attract new prospects. 
  2. Convert: Convert prospects into clients.
  3. Expand: Expanding existing business.
  4. Execute: Execute sales/fill orders. 

Positive, successful new trends and ideas attract attention. Giving prospects a new interactive use for promotional apparel and QR codes/tags is a great attention getting tool.

Using laser applique as a way to stand out in the call for embroidered apparel program bids is another way.  

Being the first to combine an attractive, value priced apparel product with the right decoration process and client is yet another way. You can use all of these ideas to get inspired by attending our Open House event Trends & Technology, Wed. June 15th. Drop by eu inc. between 9-11 to get informed, get inspired. 

Visit our EU Inc Open House Page for more info. Hope to see you there!

 

 

 


How to Sell Laser Applique and Make Great $$$

Photo Photo We have a growing number of distributors who are selling laser appliqued apparel- and their customers are loving the unique, new look . These same customers are taking healthy re-orders too and because we don’t want YOU missing out..Here are some tips to help you get started.

  1. Selling something something new and unique gives you a reason to start a new conversation. Pick up the phone and call that old client who may have taken his apparel program somewhere else. Chances are he hasn’t seen this process yet, and you can be the first to introduce it. 
  1. Look for for new prospects. Remember when you first got in the business? Every restaurant you dined in seemed like a new sales opportunity? That is how fresh and exciting laser applique is- because most companies have never seen their logo decorated this way. You have an exclusive to sell, a new technique they have never seen. 
  2. Look at logo’s all around you. Laser applique lets you use radically different textures of fabric to illustrate a logo. There are new prospects all around you that you can approach simply by showing them their logo in a way that has never been seen before. Look for these types of logo’s to get you started selling applique.  

    Logo’s with symbols. Any type of symbol, combined with lettering ( or not) can be       a good fit with laser applique. ( ie; The Mac Apple)  

    Word Art logo’s. Highly stylized lettering can be a great fit with applique. 

    Logo’s with a vintage, or retail appeal. 

    Logo’s with simple art element’s combined. 

    Logo's that communicate a cutting edge, hip, youthful or fashion type  feel.

   Complex logo’s that would typically require a large volume of embroidery stitches
  
( Because applique uses stitched down pieces of fabric pieces to cover large areas    with fewer stitches) 

    Dare to be different. Bidding on a new client? Make a statement by submitting     a sample of their logo using laser decoration. You will stand out , be memorable     and more than likely be the only distributor offering this process. 

 

 


The Business bait and switch......alive and well in today's corporate apparel market


 
Trust The business bait and switch........is alive and well. A client came in this morning to drop off an order of a hundred shirts. The client asked if I had heard of this "new" brand. I didn't recognize it so I opened the box. Upon further inspection I commented that the label had been removed and replaced. Further inspection revealed the hang tag had been removed as had all labeling from the box. Needless to say the client was surprised. Even more so when he ran the RN # through the FTC to find the manufacturer was in North Carolina. So he calls the company to learn that they would be more than willing to sell him the garments. He establishes an account and finds that the shirts will cost him $10.99 NOT the $19.00 that he was going to pay this other sales person.

Another sales rep playing fast with the facts. Doesn't happen too often but then when it does...  

Recently, on my blog small business 101, I wrote about the " trust" factor.. interesting connection. 

 


The Time Suck of Social Media, Why It's Worth it and How to Start

2945559128_53078d246b Most sales people understand the appeal of social media from a basic networking perspective, but what small business owners really want to know is does it drive business? Is it worth the time suck it seems to be? And finally how do I get started?  

The answers are yes, yes and keep reading, we'll show you how.

EU Inc. is a small company specializing in contract apparel decoration. We have a reputation for high quality embroidery and fast turnaround . We also have a new unique decoration process and pretty exclusive program ( laser etch and applique and the SanMar PSST free shipping decorator program) We also have extensive technical experience.

Here is our story. About 60 days ago we fully customized our euinc facebook page using Tabsite . Daily we post sales resources, tech tips, industry tools and news..( and on Fun Friday anything goes.. fishing pics, kid pics, recipes..). We use the page to stay in touch with clients and reach out to find new ones. And it's working. The reality is - as a small business owner you  think about business all the time.. things you should show clients, things you should tell them, tools to share etc.. this gives you a forum to do this quickly and efficiently and not just self promote.

The feedback from our clients has been positive, it's spurred new conversations and new business. We have received unsolicited new business leads via facebook and email. We are engaging our clients in a new and efficient way. We even get to show off our work, and the fact that we have a fun side when we are not pushing to meet deadlines. The presence of our fb page publicizes our openness to new ideas, new technology and new business, and this appeals to a certain demographic of new potential clients . The ROI? Absolutely awesome. 

Getting started with facebook is easy. The new business pages format allows you to interact more as a business. The digital photo album can feature your best work and be shared online. You can use tabsite or other apps to customize the appearance. A quick tip to get you started is to create an event as your personal profile announcing the new business page, thus notifying all your " friends". If you are a sales rep with a huge personal profile following of business contacts there is a now a facebook tool to convert your personal profile into a business page and begin with all of your friends as business page followers. This Download Socialmediaforbusiness will  give you a great visual to get you started in all things social media in one afternoon . You can read this Download Facebook page ebook2011 to see what works in the ways of all facebook business pages, and this to read true Twittertales  sales success stories evolved from Tweets. And to auto connect your facebook  page to a company blog , we like Typepad  for ease of use and getting started.

And finally to soak up some more social media strategy.., join  us tomorrow, April 6th . AZPPA is offering a free social media workshop  by Social Media Master, Dana Zezzo ( like that title, Dana?) . Dana will offer lots of great tips and tools and infectious inspiration to GET SOCIAL!  Don't miss it ! 

 Think smart. For more ideas on being a thought leader, social media and business 101, click here to visit Bruce's Business 101 Blog.. 


Easy Online Image Sharing and Bonus Celebrity Interview..

 

In this business, we move a lot of image files- in and out- to be digitized, approved, processed and even just to show off our work to friends and clients. Here are a couple top tech tools you can utilize, to make it even easier..

The most obvious- yet often overlooked; Facebook. Simply upload your photos or videos to Facebook.com and they will be available to everyone. Each photo can be shared with it's own url you can email, bookmark or post elsewhere. Look for this feature on the photo page. You can download high-res images , there is no storage limitation and the facebook app is widely used on smartphones. Check out our sample album , by clicking the button above. 

For easy viewing of your digitized design, see this free software tool you can download. 


Screen shot 2011-03-31 at 12.36.20 PM To edit your images online, try Picnik.com. This free site has awesome simple tools for fixing , editing and resizing your pics. And now for that bonus celebrity interview.. Click here to see video by star reporter, daughter Olivia - all about EU Inc, a recent Fun Friday post to our Facebook Page

Think smart. For more ideas on being a thought leader, social media and business 101, click here to visit Bruce's Business 101 Blog..