Questions You Should Know about Bulk Supply of Magic Towels for Large Retailers
Aug. 06, 2024
21 Essential Questions to Ask Your Wholesale Supplier
To ease things up for you, we&#;ve put together the most important questions to ask your wholesaler .
Goto Dongshan to know more.
If you&#;re a newcomer to buying wholesale , chances are you neither have an idea where to start looking nor know what criteria to have in mind when the time comes to make a choice.
However, not all wholesalers contribute to these satisfying numbers. Therefore, it&#;s important to bear in mind a few things instead of jumping headfirst.
You can only imagine the number of sales made on a global level.
As reported by Statista , the US wholesaler sales have reached an estimated amount of around 670 billion USD with an increase of around 10 billion USD within one year .
The reasons behind this preference are numerous, but we won&#;t go into detail since the sales numbers can speak for themselves.
It&#;s no secret that wholesale is classified as one of the most preferred supplying methods among others, such as dropshipping .
How long have you been offering wholesale services?
The best way to verify that the supplier you&#;ve chosen to collaborate with is reliable and sells genuine wholesale products is to find out as much information as possible regarding their experience and work history.
Wholesalers who have secured a network of loyal clients and have been on the market for some time are certain to be more trustworthy and provide you with better wholesale service.
Of course, you can always do a full investigation by yourself by:
- looking at their website
- browsing the company&#;s name on Google
- reading reviews on Trustpilot.
However, it&#;s even better to ask them directly as they may share details that haven&#;t been published online which could end up being decisive information.
What merchandise do you sell?
Understanding the merchandise your wholesale supplier offers is crucial for aligning their inventory with your store&#;s needs.
When selecting a supplier, ask for a comprehensive list or catalog of the products available. This list should include detailed information like product categories, materials, sizes, and variations.
For instance, if your niche is high-end fashion, you&#;d want to know whether the supplier provides a consistent supply of luxury clothing, accessories, or footwear, and if they carry premium brands or focus on unbranded items.
Additionally, inquire about new product launches or seasonal collections to ensure your store can keep up with market trends.
Don&#;t forget to ask about quality control measures and how they ensure the merchandise is free of defects.
How do orders work?
Understanding the supplier&#;s ordering process is vital to maintaining efficient operations and meeting customer expectations.
Begin by asking if there is a need to create an account on the supplier&#;s platform. If so, this may require you to provide some business details, such as your name, number, address, business name, business permit, or business registration number.
Once your account is verified, you&#;ll probably gain access to their wholesale catalog, where you can browse the full range of products available.
in most cases, you can put products you want to order in your shopping cart and finalize your order by paying with card.
How often do you update your inventory with new products?
Besides making sure the supplier has sufficient experience, store owners should prioritize finding vendors for your business that offer new clothing arrivals on a regular basis.
For every store out there, the main source of success comes from keeping customers content which is best done when providing them constantly with the latest products.
This recurrent update on items will continuously draw their attention, making them keep coming back to your shop and eventually turning them into a regular clientele.
Do you offer diverse products?
It goes without saying that product diversity plays a crucial role in retaining customers and preventing them from checking out competitors&#; stores.
That&#;s why in your search for the finest wholesaler you should never forget to ask potential suppliers about the variety of products they have at your disposal and estimate if that amount would satisfy your customers&#; needs.
Therefore, don&#;t rush into choosing a supplier before confirming that they offer a wide-ranging portfolio of brands and products that&#;ll not only bring you happy and loyal customers but also assure you notable revenue growth.
If you are getting into the fashion industry, make certain your supplier of choice covers enough categories of winning products for both men and women to be able to meet shopping enthusiasts&#; expectations.
Are the products you&#;re offering authentic?
In case your niche consists of selling high-end fashion products, it&#;s of the utmost importance to verify their authenticity as there are many suppliers offering knock-off items that you may end up purchasing without realizing they&#;re counterfeit goods.
So, when browsing for wholesalers of luxury brands, remember to look for suppliers that stand behind their products&#; authenticity and would stock your store with genuine brands.
Could you provide me with a product catalog?
The product catalog is every wholesaler&#;s most significant part of their website, giving prospective customers a sneak peek into their inventory, enough to make a general evaluation of the items they&#;re selling.
However, many business owners may stumble upon wholesalers that offer an extremely limited preview of their catalog, making the rest of the products available only after one decides to use their services.
So, try to avoid these suppliers and stick with those who give clients access to check out their merchandise by registering for free like BrandsGateway and their catalog of the latest trending clothing items.
Is there a minimum order quantity?
The minimum order quantity can vary tremendously from one wholesaler to another but it mostly depends on the type of products being sold.
For instance, expensive products usually have a higher MOQ than those sold at cheaper prices because they&#;re high-quality authentic products that are obtained from authorized entities.
Thus, it&#;s best when clients are informed upfront about the MOQ in order to be able to calculate in advance their order expenses and see if they can fit them into their budget.
Where is the merchandise sourced from?
The location where the supplier&#;s merchandise is produced can say a lot about the quality of the products.
Although many suppliers source their goods from authorized vendors and then sell them to retailers, outlet owners, or eCommerce stores, an even bigger number source them from unreliable manufacturers, some of which are known to have significant disadvantages such as the cons of Chinese suppliers.
Because of that, it&#;s highly recommended to check where your wholesale supplier sources their merchandise from prior to buying a poor-quality bulk of items.
Where are your warehouses located?
The whereabouts of your potential wholesaler&#;s warehouses are another thing clients should take into consideration, especially because it can greatly affect the delivery time.
In addition to the price paid when purchasing the products, the buyer is also required to cover custom duties for exporting and importing merchandise from one country to another.
That being the case, try to opt for a wholesaler who has warehouses in several places around the world, such as BrandsGateway, which will not only reduce your expenses but also provide you with fast and convenient delivery services.
What is your shipping policy?
Another vital thing wholesale suppliers should inform you about is the approximate time it would take for them to deliver your orders.
You wouldn&#;t want to find yourself in a situation in which customers can&#;t make a purchase of a certain item because your store is out of stock.
Therefore, just like previously mentioned, when choosing a supplier, keep in mind both the location of the warehouses and the time it might take for orders to be handed over to you.
Can I track my orders?
In order for you to be able to keep an eye on your packages, ask your wholesaler if they offer the possibility for you to track your delivery.
In that way, you can be kept posted on the status of your order at all times and be notified almost instantly in the case of any shipping delays.
Hence, make sure to pick out a supplier that would provide you with a tracking number, as BrandsGateway does with its clients, so you could constantly be kept updated on where your order stands.
Do you ship worldwide?
Before trying to figure out delivery costs, order tracking, or shipping time, you need to find out if the potential suppliers you&#;ve been looking into ship globally or just locally.
If they don&#;t ship to your location, you&#;d only be wasting your time with them.
You shouldn&#;t be surprised if you ever come across wholesalers who limit their shipping abilities and offer delivery services only within the countries their warehouses are situated in and sometimes including neighboring states.
For that reason, always make sure that you work with a supplier that ships worldwide so that you can build an international eCommerce business.
What are your return policies?
Being aware of return and refund policies is crucial in the event of having to deal with damaged goods.
Thus, it&#;s important to have a clear understanding of how your supplier manages situations when clients wish to return products or cancel orders.
Some might offer monetary reimbursement, some may provide store credit, while others might give out coupons or discounts.
In addition, be on the watch for any hidden fees or additional charges that could be imposed by the supplier.
Who covers the costs in case of returns?
In most cases, suppliers rarely offer freight-collect services concerning the return of products.
In other words, the buyers are the ones responsible for covering the shipping costs when sending items back to the wholesaler.
However, there are suppliers that do bear those costs in the event of merchandise that is faulty, has been damaged, or wrongly shipped.
In order to benefit from a full refund in cases like these, suppliers are likely to ask you to provide them with photos of the products concerned.
After they&#;ve accepted your request, they&#;ll be able to reimburse you for your loss.
Therefore, have a good look at the terms and conditions of your wholesaler and take careful notice of the returns and refunds sections.
What payment methods do you accept?
One more key question to include in your list is regarding the payment methods of the wholesalers you have set your mind on working with.
Taking into account the pros and cons of various payment methods, depending on your preferences and possibilities, you might find some of them are less while others are more suitable for your business.
Thus, it&#;d be wise to opt for suppliers who present clients with the opportunity to choose among different types of payment.
In this manner, you&#;d have the freedom to determine which option would work best for you.
What do your payment terms involve?
To avoid any inconveniences, it&#;s essential to settle the payment terms with the supplier, meaning, to agree on when payments should be installed.
Usually, wholesalers have clearly defined payment times that clients are expected to respect.
However, for different types of items, there may be different payment terms to be met.
Hence, it&#;s important to inform yourself thoroughly about invoice deadlines so there won&#;t be any confusion or unexpected situations.
What are the anticipated profit margins?
Do you offer discounts?
When purchasing products in bulk, luxury brands particularly, wholesalers try to abstain from giving discounts.
It&#;s an industry standard that has been around for a long time and suppliers attempt to stick with it.
Nevertheless, during the holiday shopping season, chances are you&#;ll come across discounts for particular categories of products and brands.
So, stay in tune with your supplier so you don&#;t miss out on those opportunities.
Do you provide customer service?
You know that a wholesaler is worth doing business with when they not only supply clients with excellent products but also have at disposal exceptional customer service.
Whether it&#;s about the above-discussed delivery issues, merchandise troubles, or something else, clients should always be able to lean on customer support for any kind of problem that may arise.
In that way, they can keep steady communication with the supplier around the clock.
Do you have customer reviews available?
Last but not least, customer reviews and references exert an astounding influence on clients&#; decisions.
In a survey conducted by PowerReviews, 98% of consumers said that reviews are an indispensable step when purchasing merchandise, thus, giving them a decision-making role in the purchase process both in the B2C and B2B marketplaces.
So, it wouldn&#;t be a bad idea to request from suppliers credible reviews. To illustrate, wholesaler BrandsGateway supplies interested retailers with such testimonials, furnishing them with evidence that BrandsGateway is legit.
Final thoughts
As your store grows and expands, you&#;re likely to constantly come across new wholesale suppliers.
Some of them might emerge immediately as the perfect match, while others might not be up your alley.
To be 100% sure that they are someone your store would benefit from working with, we recommend putting these questions to use when business talks are in progress.
Thus, we advise you to have this list on hand so you can come back to it whenever you need to evaluate new partners and verify the reliability and authenticity of their services and company.
How To Start A Towels Business
When it comes to starting a towels business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some big decisions.
You may be asking yourself:
- What's the first step in establishing my business?
- How much will it cost to start my towels business?
- How do I price my towels business?
- How do I market my towels business?
- ... so much more!
We walk you through all of the steps; from idea &#; starting &#; launching &#; growing &#; running your business.
The purpose of this guide is to act as an outline for the steps you'll need to take to get your business running successfully!
&#; Introduction To Starting A Towels Business
Is Starting A Towels Business Right For You?
There are many factors to consider when starting a towels business.
We put together the main pros and cons for you here:
Pros of starting a towels business
&#; Flexibility
You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
&#; Meaningful business connections
You never know who you will meet as a towels business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!
&#; High customer retention rates
Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.
&#; Easy to encourage "impulse buy"
In the towels business, you have a much higher chance of encouraging your customers to buy on impulse - you can easily alter the price, placement, packaging, and promotional value to influence the decision of your buyer.
&#; Unlimited income potential
With starting a towels business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.
&#; Amazing perks and discounts
Working in the towels business comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts.
&#; Predictable income stream
Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!
&#; Higher likelihood of getting referrals
This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.
&#; Simple business model
A towels business has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.
&#; Greater Income Potential
With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.
&#; You can promote and sell your product on Amazon
Although there are some disadvantages to consider when selling your product on Amazon, there are also a host of benefits. Mainly, Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, so you're bound to tap into new business and reach an entirely new audience.
&#; Can build solid foundation of clients
It's unlikely you will have one-off customers as a towels business. Typically, you have a solid foundation of clients that use your product and services regularly.
&#; Low maintenance customers
In this industry, customers are known to be very appreciative and low maintenance. This can help with your stress levels and allow you to focus on growing your business.
&#; Results and revenue happen quickly!
Unlike other businesses, it can be relatively quick to start seeing results and revenue. As long as you follow all the steps to validate your idea before launch, you are likely to see quick results and ROI.
Cons of starting a towels business
&#; Motivation of employees
If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.
&#; Low margins
The gross margins for your towels business are typically around 20%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.
&#; High employee turnover
In the towels business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.
&#; Taxes
As a towels business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.
&#; High overhead expenses
With starting a towels business, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below.
&#; You may need to charge sales tax
If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article
&#; Churn
In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.
&#; Time commitment
With starting a towels business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.
&#; Difficult to build trust with your customer
With starting a towels business, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.
&#; Impatient customers
You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.
&#; Difficult to scale
With a towels business, it can be challenging to find ways to scale. Check out this article that discusses scaling your business and the challenges that come with it.
&#; Learning Curve
When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.
&#; More challenging to earn passive income
It can be more of a challenge to make passive income in this business. Often times, the amount of revenue you bring in is limited by the amount of time you have in the day.
Players
Big Players
Small Players
Search Interest
Let's take a look at the search trends for towels over the last year:
How To Name Your Towels Business
It's important to find a catchy name for your towels business so that you can stand out in your space.
Here are some general tips to consider when naming your towels business
- Avoid hard to spell names: you want something easy to remember and easy to spell for your customers
- Conduct a search to see if others in the space have the same name
- Try not to pick a name that limits growth opportunities for your business (ie. if you decide to expand into other product lines)
- As soon as you have an idea (or ideas) of a few names that you love, register the domain name(s) as soon as possible!
Why is naming your towels business so important?
The name of your business will forever play a role in:
- Your customers first impression
- Your businesses identity
- The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
- If you're memorable or not
It's important to verify that the domain name is available for your towels business.
You can search domain availability here:
Find a domain starting at $0.88
powered by Namecheap
Although .com names are the most common and easiest to remember, there are other options if your .com domain name is not available. Depending on your audience, it may not matter as much as you think.
It's also important to thoroughly check if social media handles are available.
As soon as you resonate with a name (or names), secure the domain and SM handles as soon as possible to ensure they don't get taken.
Here's some inspiration for naming your towels business:
- Soft Fabric
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- Sanitary Essentials
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- Sympathy
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- The Soft Clothing
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- Smooth
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- Blankets Co.
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- Health Tissues
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- Fit Wipes
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- Insecure
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- The Wiped
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- Dishrags
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- Feather Duster
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- Table Linen
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- Rub Down
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- The Swabs
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- Towel Pats
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- Clear Up
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- Tidies
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- The Take In
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- Towels Blocks
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- Toweling
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- Polished
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- Clean Space
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- Cleaver Hub
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- Dries Off
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- Makes Dry Co.
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- Brushings
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- Shine Bright
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- Smoothings
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- Clean Loofas
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- The Bath Sponge Co.
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- The Clean Towel
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- Flannel
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- The Moist Toiletries
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- Thin Beach
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- Wide Pears Co.
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- The Cart Tissues
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- White Rags
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- Harmony
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- Hot Tub Essential
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- The Clean Briefs
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- Oversized Tissue
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- Warm Spot
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- Wagging Rags
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- Sterilized Skin
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- The Wet Coating
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- Cracking
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- Wide Space
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- Nice Co
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- Truly Yours
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- The Perfect Gift
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- Happening
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- Extra Blue
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- Perfect Towels
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- Blank Co.
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- The Monochrome
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- Baggy Toiletries
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- Odd
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- Satisfying
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- The Glee
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- Perks
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- Pure Cosmos
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- Circular
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- Life Matters
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- Preserve
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- Former
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- Vibrant
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- Vital Comfort
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- Durable
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- The Life
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- True Comfort
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- Habitual
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- The Grace
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- Spot Life
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- Nice
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- The Unfolded
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- Tough Tapestry
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- RoughTowels
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- Warm Napkins Collective
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- FibrousTissue
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- Thin Toilet Paper
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- Nice Nightgown
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- Lacking Napkin
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- Rolled
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- Nappy Co
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- ColdTowels
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- Threadbare
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- Turkish Bath Towel
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- The Monogrammed Bath Towel
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- Large
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- Individual
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- The Thin Briefcases
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- Huge
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- Iced
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- Nice Nappes
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- Bone Collective
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- The Heavy Rags
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- The Associated Cell
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- Sterile Pieces Pro
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- Semiarid Place
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- Ovarian Somatic Collective
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- Injured Somatic Trading Co
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- Jet Sere Pro
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- Sterilized Briefcases Co
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- Damp Pieces
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- Pretty Serviette
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- Old Rags Spot
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- Rough Goats Spot
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- Sanitary Briefcases Co
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- Napkins Group
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- Tissues Co
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- Glandular Skin Group
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- Square Nappy
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- Soaked Briefcases Group
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- Skeletal Somatic Spot
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- Soaked
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- Nice Pieces Place
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- Turkish Pears
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- Green Bath Towel Spot
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- CorticalTissue
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- Moistened Blankets Pro
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- Pads Pro
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- Nervous
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- Turkish Toilet Paper
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- Threadbare Tubs
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- Crumpled Pieces Spot
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- Surgical Rags Place
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- DishTowels
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- Goats Pro
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- The Folded
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- Folded
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- Cheap Pieces Co
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- Big Bath Towel
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- The Separate Rags
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- Normal Cell Place
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- Wet Napkins
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- Used Napkins Collective
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- The Green
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- The The Seaside
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- Clean Cloths Spot
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- Happened Napkin
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- Folded Blankets Spot
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- Laundered Briefcases
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- The Plain Pads
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- FoldTowels
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- Thick Goats
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Read our full guide on naming your towels business &#;
How To Create A Slogan For Your Towels Business:
Slogans are a critical piece of your marketing and advertising strategy.
The role of your slogan is to help your customer understand the benefits of your product/service - so it's important to find a catchy and effective slogan name.
Often times, your slogan can even be more important than the name of your brand.
Here are 6 tips for creating a catchy slogan for your towels business:
1. Keep it short, simple and avoid difficult words
A great rule of thumb is that your slogan should be under 10 words. This will make it easy for your customer to understand and remember.
2. Tell what you do and focus on what makes you different
There are a few different ways you can incorporate what makes your business special in your slogan:
- Explain the target customer you are catering your services towards
- What problem do you solve?
- How do you make other people, clients, or your employer look good?
- Do you make people more successful? How?
3. Be consistent
Chances are, if you're coming up with a slogan, you may already have your business name, logo, mission, branding etc.
It's important to create a slogan that is consistent with all of the above.
4. Ensure the longevity of your slogan
Times are changing quickly, and so are businesses.
When coming up with your slogan, you may want to consider creating something that is timeless and won't just fade with new trends.
5. Consider your audience
When finding a catchy slogan name, you'll want to make sure that this resonates across your entire audience.
It's possible that your slogan could make complete sense to your audience in Europe, but may not resonate with your US audience.
6. Get feedback!
This is one of the easiest ways to know if your slogan will be perceived well, and a step that a lot of brands drop the ball on.
Ask friends, family, strangers, and most importantly, those that are considered to be in your target market.
Here's some inspiration for coming up with a slogan for your towels business:
- Haggardness no more
- Wipe it, look fresher
- Your tool to freshness
- Comfy and light towels for you
- Hypoallergenic and stylish
- Premium towels for your family
- Long-lasting towels at an affordable price
- Affordable price for a comfortable feel
- Will never irritate your skin
- Making your shower time extraordinary
- For a more satisfying shower time
- Towel of all sizes on hand
- Your shower buddy
- Easy to use and wash
- Unending comfort since day one
- Fluffy and tender surface guaranteed
- Feeling fresh every use
- Sewed to perfection
- Towels that last for a lifetime
- Trendy towels that work
- Colorful towels, stylish you
- Elegance after taking a bath
- Gentle on skin
- Absorbs significantly better
- Drying made easier
- Pat it or wipe it off
- Durability is guaranteed
- 100 percent absorption
- Your buddy in your sweaty adventures
- The best way to freshen up
- All-purpose towels for you
- Amazing designs that you'll love
- Freshen up anywhere you are
- Towels that impress
- Attractive towels minus the hefty price
- P-P-P-Pick Up A Towels.
- Post Of The Pads
- Clean Dishpans Are What We Do
- The Towels People.
- Towels With Water
- Towels With Clothe
- Towels - You See This Name, You Think Dirty.
- Towels Will Get You More Girls.
- From Dry To Tipsy
- Towels Is Rolling, The Others Are Stoned.
- Clean Towels, We Are Here
- Truly Towels.
- Warm Huggies Are What We Do
- Sterile Dishpans Are What We Do
- Towels. The Power On Your Side.
- Hot Bed Linens Are What We Do
- Sanitary Toiletries Are What We Do
- All You Need Is Towels
- Feel It - Towels!
- Be Consistent
- What Is Towels?
- Towels For When It's Quitting Time.
- Seat Of The Rags
- Towels For Hire.
- Towels For President.
- Wet Linens, Soft Pads
- Warm Tarps Are What We Do
- Station Of The Cloths
- Towels With Slate
- There's Only One True Towels!
- Towels New And Improved.
- Towels Will Be For You What You Want It To Be.
- The World's Local Towels.
- Towels - You See This Name, You Think Dirty.
- Towels With Sun
- Live In Your Towels, Play In Ours.
The Brick & Mortar Business Model
When deciding whether or not to start a towels business, it's important to first decide what type of business model you want (brick and mortar, eCommerce, or both)!
Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering a Brick & Mortar store:
If you do plan to open a physical store, it's important that you find a spot in a high-traffic area. This is a great way to gain exposure for your business and also get new customers.
It's also important to consider the higher costs associated with operating a physical store (ie - employees, rent, utilities, etc) and the long days/hours associated with running a store.
The main benefit, however, is that customers love being able to see products in person. It's important to recognize that although some people enjoy shopping online, there will always be the shopper persona that likes to touch, feel, and see the product they're buying.
Learn more about starting a towels business:
Where to start?
-> How much does it cost to start a towels business?
-> Pros and cons of a towels business
Need inspiration?
-> Other towels business success stories
-> Marketing ideas for a towels business
-> Towels business slogans
-> Towels business names
Other resources
-> Towels business tips
-> Towels business manufacturers
&#; How To Start A Towels Business
How Much Does It Cost To Start A Towels Business
If you are planning to start a towels business, the costs are relatively low. This, of course, depends on if you decide to start the business with lean expenses or bringing in a large team and spending more money.
We&#;ve outlined two common scenarios for &#;pre-opening&#; costs of starting a towels business and outline the costs you should expect for each:
- The estimated minimum starting cost = $62
- The estimated maximum starting cost = $69,947
Raising Money For Your Towels Business
Here are the most common ways to raise money for your towels business:
Bootstrapping
You may not need funding for your towels business.
In fact, many entrepreneurs take this approach when starting their own business, whether they have a little amount of cash or a substantial amount to get started.
So what exactly does the term "bootstrapping" mean?
This method essentially refers to self-funding your businesswithout external help or capital and reinvesting your earnings back into the business**
Bootstrapping means building your company from the ground up with your own, or your loved ones, personal savings and reinvesting all earnings back into the business
Here are some tips to consider when bootstrapping your business:
- Use your savings as your capital - one of the best ways to bootstrap your business is to collect your savings and use them as startup capital. This will also help you avoid using your personal or business credit cards when getting started.
- Determine exactly how much capital you need and how much capital you have to get your business off the ground. Generally, when bootstrapping your business, you may want to consider starting a business that involves less startup capital.
- Consider starting a business that will generate immediate returns so you can put money back into the business
- Be as lean as possible - this refers to cutting down expenses as much as possible, such as payroll, fancy software tools, unnecessary travel, renting an office, etc
- Consider outsourcing instead of hiring - in the beginning, you may not need to hire someone permanently to help run your business. It tends to be much less expensive to outsource work to a freelancer and hire someone permanently down the road!
Want to learn more about bootstrapping your business? Check out this article
VC Funding
VC funding is a traditional and long process, but an effective way to raise money for your business.
For more information, please visit Bulk Supply of Magic Towels for Large Retailers.
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The term "VC funding" refers to venture capital firms investing in businesses in exchange for equity.
The VC's (venture capitalists) are an individual or small group investing in your business and typically require substantial ownership of the business, with the hope of seeing a return on their investment.
VC's are typically the best approach for businesses with high startup costs - where it would be very difficult to raise the money on your own or through a loan.
When deciding whether to take this approach, it's important that you have a few things in place first, and know what you're getting yourself into:
Determine if your business is ready
Having an idea is not enough to get VC funding.
Typically, VC's will check to make sure you have these things in place prior to closing any deal:
- An MVP (Minimal Viable Product)
- A founding team with all proper documents in place (articles of organization, business formation)
- A validated idea with actual customers buying your product/service
Get everything in place and build a pitch deck
A VC individual or firm will be expecting a fine-tuned presentation that gives an overview of your business.
Here's what you should consider including in your pitch deck:
- Management team, their previous experience + current roles in the business
- Market challenge and solution
- Company financials - including a P&L statement, cash flow statement, and projections
- Company progress
- Investment amount - how much do you need and why?
Research the right VC to fund your business
Research the types of VC investors out there and what niche they focus on.
Then, put together a list of target VC's you want to approach and your strategy around setting up meetings.
Be sure you have everything in place (as discussed above) before setting up any meeting!
Make sure the terms and expectations are right for your business
Committing to VC funding is a big deal and a decision that should not be made lightly.
Although the money and experience from VC's can help your business quickly grow, you are also giving away a stake in the company, and the money comes with strings attached.
Be sure you do your due diligence in finding the right investor - one that truly believes in the growth and success of your business.
What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Towels Business?
As a towels business, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.
Let&#;s look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:
Self Motivation Skills
Self motivation and discipline skills are critical in order to become successful in this field.
It's likely that you will find yourself starting and running your towels business from home, which could mean there are more distractions for you.
Here are the basic skills needed for self motivation & discipline:
- Becoming a self starter: It's important that you are capable of independently completing a task without the help or direction of anyone else
- Listening and following directions: When you are given direction by others, it's critical that you are able to follow directions and ask the right questions in order to get your job done
- Taking the initiative in problem solving: Instead of taking the easy route, you'll need to learn to troubleshoot issues on your own as much as possible.
Customer Service Skills
Friendly communication with customers and the ability to address service issues is a critical part of the job.
Here are some customer service skills you may want to consider prior to starting a towels business:
- Professionalism: The way you act, present yourself, and respond to situations all leave an impression on your customer. It's important to stay professional at all times when handling customer requests or issues.
- Problem-solving: When issues arise, it's important that you are able to think quick on your feet and address the situation with a calm and clear solution
- Friendly-manner: This is an obvious one, but customers truly appreciate someone that can respond in a quick, efficient, and friendly manner.
- Proficient in writing: These skills include the ability to write well-crafted emails, service tickets, and any other programs used by the business (ie. chat functions, SMS texting)
Business Savvy Skills
When starting a towels business, there are a few fundamental business skills you will want to learn in order to be successful:
- Leadership and training skills: A great team starts with YOU. Make sure you have all company policies and training procedures in place prior to hiring your team
- Decisive and self-confident: Over the course of your career, you will need decisions that could impact your business significantly. It's important you are able to think clearly and rationally about these decisions.
- Ability to understand the financials: You don't need to be an accountant, but it is important that you are able to clearly understand and define metrics such as expenses, revenue, profit, margins, COGS, etc.
- Strategic Thinking: Setting clear goals and benchmarks, identifying opportunities, risks. Ability to effectively communicate these insights to your team.
These are a few of many business savvy skills you should have (or work on) when starting a towels business.
For a full list, check out this article here.
Advice For Starting A Towels Business
We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.
Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a towels business:
Andy Jefferies, founder of Dock and Bay ($450K/month):
Don&#;t be put off by the big picture, doing all the small steps first allows you to get started. Things like deciding on a company name, registering your company, purchasing your domain, designing a logo... All of these small steps can get you inspired and help you move forward with your goals.
Read the full interview &#;
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Andy Jefferies, founder of Dock and Bay ($450K/month):
If you have a product-based business that is growing fast, be super wary of the impact your stock buying decisions can have on your future cash. Especially if seasonal.
Read the full interview &#;
-
Grace Druecke, founder of The Bali Market ($12K/month):
Learn the retail basics. I know my retail background helped me create an eCommerce store that has a sturdy foundation. Laying the foundational work first means you&#;ll have a better chance at success later.
Read the full interview &#;
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Write a Business Plan
Writing a business plan from the start is critical for the success of your towels business.
Why?
Because this allows you to roadmap exactly what you do, what your overall structure will look like, and where you want to be in the future.
For many entrepreneurs, writing out the business plan helps validate their idea and decide whether or not they should move forward with starting the business.
You may want to consider expanding upon these sections in your business plan:
- Executive Summary: Brief outline of your product, the market, and growth opportunities
- Overviews and Objectives: Overview of your business, target customers, and what you need to run your business
- Products and Services: Specifics on the products and services your business will provide
- Market Opportunities: Analysis of customer demographics, buyer habits and if your product is in demand
- Marketing: Outline of your marketing plan and how you plan to differentiate yourself from other customers
- Competitive analysis: Analysis of your competition and the strengths and weaknesses therein
- Operations: Hierarchal structure of the company and what it will take to run the business on the day-to-day
- Leadership Team: Detailing roles and responsibilities of each manager based on their specific skill-set
- Financial Analysis Understanding of all expenses, operating budgets, and projections for the future.
Learn more about how to write a business plan here
Determine Which Business Bank Account You Need
There are hundreds of banks out there, and it can be overwhelming to find one that's right for your business.
Here are some factors you may want to consider:
- Location - Is your bank close enough that you can easily make deposits or get cash?
- Low Fees - Make sure to understand any and all fees associated with setting up and maintaining your bank account. Ask for a list - banks usually try to keep this hidden and in the fine print.
- Online Banking Services - Make sure you can easily navigate through your online portal and you have easy access to everything you need.
- Line of Credit - What do your options look like (even if you don't need this now, you may need this down the road).
- Every bank has something that differentiates them from the rest, so make sure whatever that is applied to your needs and values.
Check out this list of the 13 Best Banks for Small Business in and what makes them so unique.
Setting Up Your Towels Business (Formation and Legal)
When it comes to setting up your business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some financial and legal decisions.
The first thing you'll want to decide on is whether you want to be an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp.
These three options are found to be the most common when starting a small business, and all serve to protect your personal assets and also provide you with certain tax benefits.
- LLC: All income and expenses from the business are reported on the LLC personal income tax return.
- S corp: Owners pay themselves salaries + receive dividends from profits.
- C Corp: C Corps are separately taxable entities that file a corporate tax return (Form ). No income tax is paid at the corporate level and any tax due is paid at the owners individual expense.
Depending on where you're conducting business, you'll also want to consider securing the proper permits, licenses and liability insurance.
Learn more about securing the right permits and licenses &#;
Need to start an LLC? Create an LLC in minutes with ZenBusiness.
How Do I Pay Myself As A Small Business Owner?
Most entrepreneurs start a business to do something they love- but at the end of the day, you still have bills to pay (maybe now more than ever).
But it's important to strike the right balance - if you pay yourself too much, you could be putting your business at risk.
There are two common ways to pay yourself as a business owner:
1. Owner's Draw
Many entrepreneurs pay themselves through an owner's draw. This means that you are technically sean as "self-employed" through the eyes of the IRS and are not paid through regular wages.
At the point that you collect money from the draw, taxes typically are not taken out - so make sure you are prepared to pay these taxes once you file your individual return.
As an owner who takes a draw, you can legally take out as much as you want from your equity.
This type of compensation is suited for Sole props, LLCs, and partnerships. If you&#;re an S corp, you can pay yourself through both a salary and draw if you choose.
2. Salary
If you decide to pay yourself a salary, you will receive a set and recurring amount. This will be taxed by the federal government and the state you reside in.
The reality is that it can be really complicated to set your own salary, so we have some tips for you to consider:
- Take out a reasonable amount that allows you to live comfortably but also sets your business up for success
- Consider the number of hours you are working weekly + the type of duties you are performing.
- Set your salary based on your industry-standard, location, and profits (or projected profits)
- Look at your P&L statement: Deduct your own pay from that amount. This is important so you can first tackle important business expenses, and then pay yourself from the amount leftover.
- Pick a payroll schedule (and stick to it)! In the US, it's most common to pay yourself and employees twice a month.
To learn more about how to pay yourself and what is a reasonable amount, check out this article.
How To Price Your Towels
One of the most challenging aspects to starting a towels business is determining how much to charge for your towels.
When businesses under-price their product, this can be extremely detrimental to their bottom line and reputation.
Often times, businesses under-price their products to drive demand and volume, but that last thing you want is for customers to view your product/service as "cheap." Additionally, this can have a big impact on the type of customer you attract, which can be difficult to recover from.
On the other hand, when businesses over-price, this tends to be just as damaging to the business.
When customers buy, it's likely that they will explore the internet and look at other competitors to ensure they're getting the best value + deal. This is why it's so important that you research your competition and understand where you land in the marketplace.
Here are some factors to consider when pricing your product:
Understand your customer
It's important that out of the gates, you identify the type of customer you want to attract and how much they're willing to pay for your service. One great way to do this is by surveying your customers. Here are some important items you'll want to takeaway:
- Customer demographic: Age, gender, location, etc.
- Buying habits of your customer: What they buy + when they buy
- Level of price sensitivity with your customer
All of these segments will help you identify the type of customer you're attracting and how to price your product accordingly.
Understand your costs
When pricing your towels, it's critical that you first identify all of your costs and consequently mark up your towels so you can factor in a profit.
The actual cost of your towels may include things like:
- The actual cost to make the product (ie. raw materials, supplies, manufacturer).
- Shipping + overhead fees
- Rent
- Operating costs to run your business
You may want to consider creating a spreadsheet with every single expense involved in operating/owning your business. This will give you an idea as to what you need to generate in order to at the very least, break-even and will help you price your products to factor in a profit.
Create revenue goals
When determining the price of your towels, you'll want to create goals for revenue + how much profit you want your towels business to make.
This process is simpler than you may think:
- Think about your breakeven cost (by completing the above step).
- Create a revenue goal based on your break-even cost
- Evaluate the # of items you plan to sell in a given period (make sure this is a realistic number)
- Divide your revenue goal by the number of items you plan to sell
This figure will help determine your estimated price per product in order to meet your revenue goals.
Evaluate your competition
The last piece in determining how to price your towels is by simply looking at your competition.
The best way to do this is by finding like-minded businesses that offer product(s) with similar perceived value. Then, you can compare prices of the different businesses and determine where your towels fits best in the marketplace.
All of these factors play an equal part in pricing your towels, so it's important you evaluate each one individually to come up with an accurate price that will help optimize your business from the start.
Case Study
Understanding Your Costs
Example from Ishan, founder of Ugly Duckling
First objective: profitability
Our profitability is OK at this point but definitely not where it should be yet. To this day I have not paid myself a regular salary yet...and it&#;s been 4 years!
The problem is not the cost of goods which are well under 20% of sales, which is good by any standard. The problem is fulfillment costs. In we transitioned from our first fulfillment company to a much bigger company. We did this because we wanted to provide faster shipment speeds and a better quality of packaging. In hindsight, we chose a company which would have been more suitable for a larger company with bigger volumes. We ended up being tied in with some pretty large minimum monthly payments. So currently fulfillment costs are currently around 45% of sales...way too high.
We are now looking to transit to another fulfillment center. Our target is to get our fulfillment costs down to around 30% of sales which I believe from what I have researched, is possible.
Just to be clear, when I say fulfillment that includes transportation costs also - FedEx, USPS, etc. Not just storage, picking, and packing. I am pretty sure that it is possible to get fulfillment costs down even lower, and I suspect that some large pro sellers on amazon.com work with around 20-25% of sales.
So our target P+L for looks something like this:
- Cost of goods, including inbound freight and clearance - around 22% of sales.
- Fulfillment - around 30% of sales.
- Digital Advertising & Promotion - around 15% of sales.
- Other marketing and office costs, including salary costs - around 10% of sales.
- That would leave us around 23% of sales - enough to pay me a liveable salary and for the company to make a profit and finance future growth.
full story &#;That's the first objective for : to right-size the P+L so that we are profitable at our current sales level
Ishan Dutta, on starting Ugly Duckling ($60,000/month)
Gross Margin Calculator: How to Calculate The Gross Margin For Your Towels
Our calculator is designed to be simple and easy to use.
The goal is to help you set realistic expectations and understand what is considered a healthy gross margin for your towels business.
Calculate your gross margin and profit margin here.
What Type Of Customers Will Buy Your Towels
It's important to first establish who you will be selling to, whether it's to businesses or consumers.
Typically, in this industry, products are sold to B2C markets (business-to-consumer).
Let's take a look at what this means for your towels business:
B2C (or business to consumer) is a transaction where businesses sell their products or services to the consumer directly.
In this market, consumer behavior is the primary driver for your business decisions - so it's important that you truly identify who your customer is, and what their buyer habits are when building your product/service.
The advantage
B2C is that you are able to cast a very wide net when targeting your customers. Your product may interest a large number of consumers or a specific niche.
The disadvantage
B2C is that consumers hold all the power - so if your website is not the most user friendly, or does not rank in the top search results on Google, chances are, your customer is going to shop elsewhere.
When building your towels business, it's critical that you hone in on who your target audience is, and why they need your product over your competition.
Here are some items to consider when identifying your buyer persona:
SourceDesign A Prototype
Turning your idea into a reality can feel like a daunting task - but it's critical that you have an idea of what your product will look like (even if it's just a sketch) prior to finding a manufacturer.
Here are some common ways you can design your prototype:
- Draw Your Initial Design on Paper
- Form pieces of fabric together
- Consider Taking A Generic Product And Putting Your Own Brand On It
- Try Making the Product Yourself
- Consider Building A Prototype With A 3D Printer
To learn more about how to design and prototype a product, check out our latest guide here.
Andy Jefferies, founder of Dock and Bay dives deep into the process of designing and prototyping their product:
Case Study
We didn&#;t have any experience with any of this stuff - design, manufacturing, accounting...
The process was very much randomly pulled together. We had our designs made abroad through a company called UpWork, a freelancing tool where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely. Then it was a lot of going back and forth sending feedback on the samples we received. It wasn&#;t a slick process at all since we honestly didn&#;t have any experience so it was very much trial and error before getting a product Ben and I agreed was right.
We actually made out that we were a bigger company than we were to the manufacturers so they took us more seriously. They say fake it &#;til you make it, right? We wanted to make sure each part of the product was exactly how we wanted it and we were sent rope samples for the bags, stitching samples, material samples&#; I remember we actually spent a week staring at our screens agonizing over towel colours and then once we were satisfied, the sample was sent to us and the colour was completely different in person. It was all a massive learning curve.
We kept all of the decisions between Ben and myself because it can get over complicated when you ask for too many opinions. I&#;ve seen others become too clouded by other opinions that you actually lose sight of the product you originally wanted to make.
When we started, Ben and I initially gave $10K each to make our first order, creating the website and for basic marketing costs. We created a few adverts on Amazon but the majority of the costs went on product orders. We could have potentially patented the printing method for our towels as it&#;s quite unique but chose not to purely due to costs. We weren&#;t that bothered about patents since it&#;s more important to keep designs new and fresh anyway, especially in retail.
full story &#;Andy Jefferies, on starting Dock and Bay ($450,000/month)
How To Find A Supplier For Your Towels Business
Here are the steps to consider when finding a supplier/manufacturer:
Know your design
One very critical step to finding the right supplier is having an initial idea of what your design/product will look like.
Sketching is one of the most simple ways to get started in the design phase.
What's great about sketching is that you can practically do this anytime, anywhere - even on the back of a napkin.
To get started, all you need to do is pick up a pen and paper and start drawing - or if you are working on a virtual/software product this can be a diagram that outlines the user interface or experience.
Decide your supplier type
You'll want to identify the type of supplier you are looking for.
Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself prior to searching for a supplier
- Are you looking for a manufacturer to produce your product idea?
- Do you want to find a supplier that can simply purchase existing products for you?
- Do you want a drop-shipper to supply and fulfill orders?
- Do you want a domestic supplier or an overseas supplier? Read more about the pros and cons of each here
Where to start your search
Once you have an understanding of what type of manufacturer/supplier will be best to bring your idea to life, there are several areas you can start your search:
Domestic Suppliers
Overseas Suppliers
Manufacturing Your Product In House
It's also very common to manufacture your towels on your own - either from your home or in a commercial space.
In order to get the product right, you may want to consider experimenting with different designs and recipes until you find the perfect one.
Some founders choose to manufacture their product in-house so that they can control quality, manage costs, and easily handle production/logistics.
Down the road, you can always choose to outsource your towels.
Case Study
Leslie Eisen, founder of AlmondClear discusses how to manufacture products in house
If you want to start a line of unique products, then you have two basic options: you can make them yourself, or you can find a manufacturer to work with that creates custom formulations for their clients.
I knew that I was trying to build a larger-scale business and that the home-made model wasn&#;t right for me, so I had to find the right manufacturing partner. It took a lot of research, calls, and emails before I found the laboratory that met my needs.
I wanted to create unique products (as opposed to private label), so I worked with the manufacturer&#;s chemist who specializes in skin care formulations. This process takes some time!
First, you have to tell the chemist what kind of product you&#;re looking for, the ingredients that you want to include or leave out, and what you want the final product to look like/feel like/smell like, etc.
Then, the manufacturer sends you the first sample, you try it out or give it to others to try, and then provide feedback for revisions. In my case, the first two products came together fairly easily because I only needed to make small changes to stock formulations.
There are many, many rules and regulations around cosmetics and skin care products. If you want to sell products that contain FDA regulated ingredients then you have to register and get a permit.
My products aren&#;t FDA regulated, so I didn&#;t have to go through this step, but I did have to be aware of the many guidelines and standards around labeling and safety warnings. Some people hire a lawyer to help them through this process, but my manufacturer was able to guide me through the regulatory process.
The entire process, from researching labs to work with to having the first finished products shipped out to me, took around six months.
full story &#;Leslie Eisen, on starting AlmondClear ($15,000/month)
Purchasing Inventory For Your Towels Business
When first starting out, it's important to start small with your overhead to get a gauge for what people want.
Just remember - if you order a line of items that don't sell, it's nearly impossible to recoup the money lost.
Buying the right inventory takes research and planning in order to get it right.
- Identify your target audience: Identify the age, gender, annual income that you will be selling to. This is a defining factor in ordering the right inventory that will sell.
- Research your competition: Conduct market research and identify the different types of styles, price points, and materials being used. This will help you see what's trending and ways that you can improve/stay ahead of the competition.
- Create an inventory wishlist: Identify what you need for the launch of your business and create a budget that you will stay within. Remember, it's okay to start small.
- Find a supplier Make sure to first compare prices and analyze different options.
- Delivery timing: Schedule the inventory delivery to match with seasonality and trending buying seasons
Pro-tip: It's easy to become biased based on your own fashion preferences on what types of shoes/apparel to purchase. This is where a lot of fashion businesses go wrong. It's important to base purchase decisions on current buyer behavior, trends in the market, and specific to your niche.
Case Study
Erin Hooley, founder of Bailey's Blossoms tells us how poor inventory projections led her to lose over $2M
When we first launched Peyton Bre we did so in a social or direct sales model.
Through poor inventory projections we were forced to change models but only after losing $2 million dollars.
It was a devastating time for us and one we were not sure we could survive.
I have since become very intentional about the way that we project our inventory needs and we continue to refine that quarterly and even monthly. We have created a KPI for the cost of goods sold to help us hold ourselves accountable.
Ultimately, the better we manage our inventory the less we have need to discount and the healthier our profit margin becomes.
This is, of course, a very high-level overview of the importance of inventory control.
To see the full breakdown on how to manage inventory, check out my guide over on my blog..
full story &#;Erin E Hooley, on starting Bailey's Blossoms ($750,000/month)
&#; How To Launch Your Towels Business
Build A Website
Building a website is imperative when launching your business, and with the right tools in place, this can be a simple task to check off the list (without having to hire someone).
- Pick a domain name that's easy to remember and easy to type
- Choose a Web Hosting Plan (ie. Shopify, Squarespace)
- Make sure you choose the right theme and design
- Implement the proper page structure (ie. about page, contact page, pricing etc)
To learn more about how to build a stellar website with little stress, we give you all the details on this step-by-step guide.
Web Design
Once you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.
Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.
One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.
If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.
Launch Strategies For Your Towels Business
There are various different ways you can launch your towels business successfully.
Here are a few different strategies to get customers excited about your towels business.
- Build hype with a landing page: you can effectively do this through waiting lists, discounts, countdown timer etc
- Create a teaser video: even just a 30 second video is a great way to exposure for your towels business, and possibly even go viral
- Reach out to influencers: The right influencer for your product has the ability to reach your audience with just one post, and because of their loyal following, this could lead to a big return for you.
- Get Press: Whether you plan a PR stunt or get exposure through a popular news outlet, this is a great way to attract initial customers
- Launch on popular sites: A great way to get buzz about your towels business is to submit your launch to popular startup sites.
Here are a few popular sites to launch on:
Learn more about how to launch your business successfully &#; here
Andy Jefferies, founder of Dock and Bay dives deep into the process of launching the business:
Case Study
Ben is the man behind setting up our website. We used Wix.com when we first started but it was quite basic without any fancy features. All of our photography was done by Emma, Ben&#;s (now) wife and the products in our imagery really stood out.
We then went to Bigcommerce but we needed something that could handle multiple warehouses, currencies, and countries. Ben set us up on Magento which provides us with everything we need.
Our very first day launching the towels was our biggest day of sales for the first few months and we sold out in three months. A big lesson for us was understanding timelines better. It was important to spread the word with family, friends and use social media to attract new audiences.
We underestimated the success of our products and initially missed the Christmas shipping deadline meaning all of our products arrived after the holidays. At the time, we thought our stock levels were plenty and didn&#;t think we&#;d need to re-order anytime soon but, as a result, we missed an entire season. Then another delay came along; we hadn&#;t realized that manufacturers in China close during February for Chinese New Year - an error we definitely won&#;t be making again! Plan for success. If things start going well, you should have a plan!
Our sales soon picked up again in Summer which was our first full season. We initially launched with two designs (across many colors) and expanded with more 18 months later. We needed to wait due to the cost of gaining new high-quality designs, only to realize later that you could actually buy designs for an affordable price that could be used on products. Now we&#;re releasing lots of new colours, designs and products. We&#;re definitely always learning.
Biggest lesson during launch? Make sure someone is inspecting your stock before it leaves the manufacturer. A third of our stock from our first order was faulty when arriving with our customers but we had already paid for it. A lot of time and money was wasted fixing the problem.
full story &#;Andy Jefferies, on starting Dock and Bay ($450,000/month)
Make Sure You Get The Package Design Right
The way you package your towels business is often the first impression your customer has - so it's important to get it right.
You may want to ask yourself these questions:
If my product is on a shelf next to hundreds of other similar products:
- Will my towels business stand out?
- Will the branding/packaging create a connection with my customer, and hence, lead them to buy?
There are hundreds of tools you can use to help with packaging and design:
- Canva - Allows non-designers to create beautiful Instagram/Pinterest posts, flyers, business cards, etc.
- Stickermule - High quality custom stickers you can include on or in your packaging.
- Noissue - Custom tissue paper and compostable mailers
- Rollo Label Printer - A great tool to print all shipping labels at home
Case Study
Sheets & Giggles explains the motive behind their "Premium Unboxing Experience"
I had a particular vision for our packaging centered around one goal: because we were a DTC company and wouldn&#;t do physical retail in year 1, we needed to focus entirely on an incredible unboxing experience that made the product feel as premium as possible.
Outside: a white box, nice wax coating, logo front and center with no other copy, easy to open, nice and sturdy.
Inside: make people smile from the get-go, have a social call-to-action, include free extra surprises (a knapsack that wraps the sheets and an eye mask), put funny copy all over the place, and add a donation bag that people could use to donate their now-defunct cotton sheets (sheets & blankets are the #2-most-requested item at shelters behind socks).
full story &#;Colin McIntosh, on starting Sheets & Giggles ($200,000/month)
Marketplaces
There are various different marketplaces that you can effectively sell and promote your towels business, whether that's local or online!
Here are some of the most common ones:
- Your own website! Shopify is known to be the best for e-commerce stores
- Local places! Gift shops, farmers markets, festivals, grocery stores etc
- Etsy - E-commerce website for craft supplies
- Craft is Art Marketplace to buy and sell handmade crafts & fine art
- Aftcra Online marketplace where you can buy and sell handmade products
- Storenvy Marketplace for authentic brands
- Amazon
Etsy Tips From Founders
Etsy is one of the most common marketplaces for this business type, however, there are some tips and tricks from other founders you'll want to consider prior to listing:
Case Study
Financially speaking, Etsy is a really great way to start a business because it&#;s essentially free until you start selling. It cost nothing to launch besides my 20 cent listing fees.
Etsy has been encouraging free shipping with a lot of pushback from sellers, but I built everything into our prices about a month ago and introduced free shipping shopwide, which seems to have improved conversion rates and search visibility already.
I honestly attribute the bulk of my success to photography. I was a photographer first so obviously very lucky to have no issues launching with great images and it&#;s something I consistently produce.
With Etsy especially, there are a ton of mediocre amateur photos so it was an easy way to set myself apart from the start, and I don&#;t think Etsy themselves would feature my products and market them so often otherwise. We&#;re also able to compete fairly well on price because 80% of customers are American, and our dollar is much weaker.
full story &#;Sasha Weekes, on starting Timber Grove Studios ($6,500/month)
Case Study
One big mistake I&#;m seeing from other people selling handcrafted items is regarding Etsy. I&#;m seeing people do one of two things:
- Under-utilize the platform
- They are solely using the platform
What I mean by this is that I&#;m seeing a whole lot of handcrafters that only use Etsy because it&#;s easy. But referring people to an Etsy page as your webpage isn&#;t as professional as a dot com webpage, plus, Etsy&#;s fees are much higher than Shopify. Also, when Etsy makes changes to its marketing structure, I&#;ve seen people who have no other website get absolutely screwed and their shops go under.
The other camp is those that refuse to use Etsy at all. Etsy is a marketplace, with a built-in audience that is often searching for exactly the product you make! Both camps are making the mistake of not diversifying their markets. Use Etsy, it&#;s an amazing sales tool, but don&#;t rely on it solely.
full story &#;James Wolfer, on starting Valhalla Wood Forge ($8,500/month)
Get Press Coverage For Your Towels Business
The more buzz around your brand - the more the phones ring, the more traffic to your website, and the more customers as a result.
Here are a few ways you can get press for your business:
Press releases:
Press releases are a great way to share big announcements or news, but in order to get any traction, you'll need to find a way to make your press release stand out amongst others.
Try to convey a story that really matters, not just to you, but to the reporter and to their audience.
Here are some things to consider when submitting a press release:
- Craft a catchy subject (keep it short and sweet).
- Acknowledge the journalist's past work and interests - this is key!
- Include the main point of the story in the first paragraph, heck, even the first sentence. Reporters want to hear the juice first and foremost.
- Focus on the facts and try to limit the amount of jargon used.
- Pitch yourself! Help them put a face to the story.
- Make sure your topic is newsworthy. If it's not, find a way to!
- Try not to include any attachments of your release!
is one of the most effective and preferred way to send your press release, so as long as you keep your pitch brief, interesting and personalized (no cold emails), you should stand a chance!
Get Press Using HARO
HARO, otherwise known as "Help a Reporter Out" is an outlet for journalists to source upcoming stories and opportunities for media coverage.
The best part is, HARO is free to use! There are, of course, premium versions you can purchase, but the free version is still an accessible way to get press.
Once you set up an account, HARO essentially will you based on stories (that are relevant to you) that need to be covered where you will then have a chance to essentially "bid on the story."
Here are some tips when crafting your pitch:
- Discuss your experience and expertise in the space. Make sure it's obvious why you're relevant to this story.
- Answer the question in 3-4 sentences. Try and be as direct as possible
- Offer to provide the reporter with more information and make sure to give them your contact info
Plan a Publicity Stunt
Planning a publicity stunt is an effective and quick way to raise awareness for your brand and gain some traction from the press.
If you're looking to plan a stunt, the objective should be to be bold and create something memorable
However, being bold has a fine line - it's important that you consider the timing of your stunt to ensure you don't come off insensitive or unethical. For example, timing may not be in your favor if you plan something during the general election, or in most recent cases, a global pandemic.
In order to measure the success of your stunt, it's important that you first determine your end goal, for example:
- Is the stunt aimed to raise money for your business or a particular organization?
- Is the stunt aimed to drive more traffic to your website?
- Is the stunt aimed to get more followers and engagement on Instagram?
Here are a few tips for creating a great publicity stunt:
- Research to ensure that there haven't been similar stunts done in the past by other businesses - this could easily turn off journalists and your audience.
- Make sure you can explain the stunt in one headline - this will help grab the media's attention. In other words, simplify!
- The stunt should be related to the product you are promoting. Even if the stunt is a success in terms of viewers, but it doesn't tie back to your original goal, then it's not useful.
- Keep the stunt visual with videos/images.
- Leverage the internet and social media platforms for your stunt by sharing your message across a variety of audiences. This will help with word of mouth and the overall success of your event.
To learn other strategies on how to get press, check out our full guide here.
&#; How To Grow Your Towels Business
Consider Selling On Amazon
In addition to selling your products directly on your site, you may want to consider selling on Amazon to reach a wider audience and attract new customers.
Here are some pros and cons of selling on amazon:
Pros
- Easy and seamless process to get your product listed on Amazon
- There are roughly 100 million thoroughly committed prime customers, so you're bound to tap into new business
- Can help grow your business exponentially and reach new audiences
Cons
- You may encounter some "copycats" and counterfeit products
- Amazon owns the relationship with the customer (you lose control over product reviews + customer service)
- If you already have a low-markup, amazon may not wrth your while and you could end up losing money
- Commissions and listing fees are high - it's easy to lose control of your offering
Follow these instructions to get your product listed on Amazon or check out the video below on how to get started:
Case Study
Cory Stout, founder of Woodies ($250K/mo) provides us with specifics on how to rank better on amazon:
Our main product is walnut wood sunglasses that I sell for $25 on Amazon and Woodies.com.
I dedicated myself to becoming an Amazon expert. I listened to all the podcasts and read all the blog posts I could find. Shoutout EcomCrew I took the basic fundamentals that are out there and I added a couple of my own twists.
Amazon brings me, 100 brand new customers, every day for very little acquisition cost. If I tried that on my own, it would take a TON of work and it wouldn&#;t be nearly as effective as Amazon, so I took the easy road on this one.
Here's an article I wrote on how to rank better on amazon (30+ Tips):
5/5: ESSENTIAL
- Beautiful images (minimum 5 images) especially lifestyle images I use UpgradedImages.com for product photography (hey Ken!)
- Keywords in your title (but it still needs to sound human)
- Competitive price (contributes to high conversion rate)
- NOT having 1-star reviews
- DON'T STOCKOUT: it's such a killer and if you DO stockout, definitely DON'T raise your price right before you do, if anything LOWER your price for the last 10-20 units before you stockout, each ASIN has a 'memory' for when you do get back in stock so that will help you regain ranking quickly
- DON'T VIOLATE AMAZON TOS: just don't
- Perform QC on your stock before you send it in (I sent in a wrong box once and I had to 'remove' over 3,000 pieces so I could sift through them and remove the 150 contaminated pieces 0/7 would not recommend
4/5: Pretty Friggin Important
- Minimum 10 5-star reviews (do this before you do anything below this)
- Well optimized PPC campaigns (could do a whole post on this, keep ACOS under 40%) here's a screenshot of some of my campaigns I use a combination of manual campaigns with exact phrases and high bids...and auto campaigns with a broad range of products and very low bids
- Turning on FeedbackGenius for auto review requests (it's not as good as it used to be, but it's still worth it)
- Get a trademark and get Brand Registry, this protects you from hijackers and other unscrupulous sellers
- Quick response to customer messages (under 12 hours) here are my stats my mom does all my customer service "Employee of the Year" status
- Drive outside traffic (amazon loves outside traffic because they don't have to spend so much to acquire customers) Facebook, Instagram, and Google Adwords are the usual suspects
- Use ocean shipping to save mucho $$$ on unit costs (use flexport)
Read more about amazon tips here.
full story &#;Cory Stout, on starting Woodies ($190,000/month)
How To Market & Sell Your Product To Grocery Stores
The goal for most towels businesses is to be able to sell their product in grocery stores and other marketplaces.
With a bit of time, research and energy, you can make this a reality for your towels business!
Here are the steps you should consider taking when you are ready to market your towels business to grocery stores:
1. Permits: Make sure you have the right permit by contacting city and state officials
2. Creative label and packaging design: Your packaging should be functional, creative and also meet all U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling guidelines
3. Price your product appropriately: Make sure your product pricing is fair but also allows for you to make a profit. Check out what other towels business's are selling for at grocery stores in the area.
4. Create a target list: Conduct research in the area and decide which grocery stores you would like to sell your product to.
5. Contact stores and present your product: Introduce yourself and request a meeting with the grocery stores on your list - bring a presentation with the market research you've conducted and samples of your product.
Consider Working With Instagram Influencers
Partnering with like-minded influencers (within your industry) is one of the most effective ways to grow your social media organically.
Industry influencers already have an established and loyal following. With one post, your product immediately establishes a connection with a brand new audience. It's that powerful.
When finding influencers to promote your product, do your research and make sure that their following will actually be interested in your product.
It's easy to be blinded by any influencer with a huge following, but if those followers don't resonate with your product, there may not be any value there... so make sure you do your research!
Case Study
Evan Marshall, founder of Plain Jane discusses how "micro-influencers" have impacted his business:
Influencer marketing has been huge for us. Our approach is pretty simple. We give out samples of our products and ask people to post about us on social media aka a micro-influencer strategy.
We really like this approach because we get authentic stories and content. We cannot really control the messaging so the product has to speak for itself. We don&#;t really take product photos at all. Our customers take the photos and we ask to reuse them.
With any influencer strategy, you have to be very sure you&#;re targeting the right people and engaging with them. You can make sure you&#;re targeting the right influencers by looking through their posts and then looking through the profiles of their engaged followers.
It takes more time per influencer but the payoff is certainly worth it. Make sure their followers look like your existing customers.
It takes a ton of time and work to grow a social media following this way but it&#;s worth it. Other accounts have tried to grow themselves through botting or other manipulations. As a CBD company, we didn&#;t want to give Instagram any reason to shutdown our account so we&#;ve done everything through content and real engagement. It&#;s not magic to make this happen. You just have to post consistently and then reply or like every single comment you get. It takes months but it works
full story &#;Evan Marshall, on starting Plain Jane ($275,000/month)
Experiment With Pay Per Click Ads (PPC)
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.
Here are some tips to consider:
- Consider connecting the ad to your corresponding landing page so that the audience receives the necessary information after clicking on the ad.
- Conversion Tracking: When running PPC campaigns, be sure to run the ads with conversion tracking.
- Focus on quality keywords, even if there are few as this will save you time and money. When assessing the performance of a keyword, it's important to track the expense, conversion, and cost per conversion, as well as the ROI.
PPC advertising can be a very important lead generator as long as it's done properly. Your PPC campaign is intended to drive traffic to your website and help the business scale.
Additionally, if the campaign is not having the desired results, you can make the necessary changes immediately to improve them.
Case Study
Ryan Schortmann, founder of Display Pros talks about their investment in PPC Ads:
My name is Ryan Schortmann and I&#;m the founder of Display Pros. We are a custom trade show display booth company offering easy to use portable display &#;kits&#; for small and medium businesses wanting to get into the trade show game.
It did not take long to come to the realization that to compete at any reasonable level, we were going to need to take the plunge and invest in Pay Per Click ads and display.
From experience, I know that it is important to give Google&#;s hivemind some time to settle in before each campaign starts seeing consistent results (this is largely dependent on budget).
A certain amount of PPC budget must be viewed as a &#;marketing research&#; expense and then you can look at the analytics data and make informed decisions on where to refine, tweak or plain scrap an idea.
Google Shopping was an entirely new concept for me. You can&#;t assign keywords to products so at first, I was asking myself &#;How the hell do you refine these?&#;. Then I found some good reading material and courses and learned of some advanced methods that the pros are using. It turns out you can utilize negative keyword lists combined with the priority setting on each shopping campaign to &#;shape&#; the keywords that are coming in and how much you are spending on them.
To learn more about PPC Ads and Google Shopping, check out this video to learn everything you need to know!
full story &#;Ryan Schortmann, on starting Display Pros ($30,000/month)
Improve your SEO
SEO is not just about driving traffic to your site, it's about driving the RIGHT traffic to your site, and ultimately, converting leads into customers.
One of the most important aspects of SEO is understanding what your customers are searching for, otherwise known as "keyword research."
Here are some tools that can help you choose the right keywords for your towels business.
- Google Ads Keyword Planner invaluable for discovering search trends.
- Google Search Console is very helpful once your website is up as it shows you what words/phrases are generating traffic.
- Ahrefs and SEMRush are paid tools that allow you to look at results of your competitor's website.
Publish Great Content
Finding keywords is an important piece of the puzzle, but Google also ranks your site based on the actual content you produce, as this is what your customers are reading and engaging with.
There are various different "forms" of content that you may want to consider diversifying on your sites, such as blog posts, articles, studies, and videos.
So let's discuss what google considers "good content:"
- Length - This will vary depending on the page, however, generally having a sufficient amount of content helps search engines recognize that your site is a good source for a specific topic
- Engagement - The longer people stay on your website to read your content, the higher Google will rank your website. It's important to have informative and "thick" content that keeps people reading
- Avoid Duplicating Content - Google will recognize this and may consider your content to have low value
- Ensure pages load quickly - This will also help with engagement and time spent on your website
- Shareability - Create content that people want to share, and is easy for them to share, especially to their social media accounts (ie. "click to tweet" is a great example of this).
Another element of creating good content is creating consistent content.
If (and hopefully you are) publishing content frequently, it's important to stick to a schedule - this helps build brand trust and easy user experience with your customers.
Planning out your content with a content calendar is key to staying consistent.
Here are a few great content calendar tools that can help you:
- Trello
- Airtable
- If you prefer to keep it simple, your average spreadsheet is just as useful!
Backlinks
Backlinks are an important piece to SEO, as they allow for other websites to link to your content.
Search engines recognize that other sites are essentially "verifying" your content and essentially rank you higher because of this.
Of course, some links are more valuable than others and can affect your site in different ways.
For example, if a highly valuable and credible site like the New York Times links to a page on your website, this could be remarkable from an SEO perspective.
Aside from organically getting mentioned from other sites, there are other ways that you can increase and earn backlinks:
- Create infographics with relevant data that people want to share
- Promote your content on different sites/look into "guest blogging"
- Contact influencers/journalists/bloggers and ask them to mention you!
- Write testimonials for other sites in exchange for a backlink
- Leverage existing business relationships
Learn more about the fundamentals of SEO &#; here and check out Neil Patel's 3 Powerful SEO Tips below
Build A Blog
One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness and grow your business is through consistently blogging.
We've outlined some useful tips for you to consider when creating content:
Consistency and Quantity
Quality is important, but it should be the standard for any content you publish.
What&#;s more important is consistency and quantity.
Consistency is as simple as committing to publishing and sharing a certain number of posts per week. For me, that&#;s three per week right now.
This kind of commitment is key, because one day, a random post will blow up, and you will have never expected it.
Oversaturation
The easiest mind trap is to think "I&#;m posting too much", and &#;I need to give my readers/audience/this platform a break&#;.
This is nonsense.
There is no such thing as oversaturation. Well, there is, but it is just someone else&#;s opinion.
For every person that tells you you are posting too much, there is another person that wants even more of your content.
You should ignore people&#;s opinions on how much you post.
Patience & Persistence
Keep posting, keep trying, and keep putting out good content on the regular. Your time will come, and when it does, it will change everything.
The only thing you have control over is your content.
You can&#;t control how people will react to it. You can&#;t control pageviews, likes, or shares.
So the only metric you should focus on is how much content you can put out in a week, month, etc.
Where to share your blog content
Mailing List
I know it sounds obvious, but the best places to share your content is on your mailing list. It is guaranteed traffic and it is a great way to get rapid feedback from your most loyal readers.
Send newsletters often. I have done once a week since starting, and I&#;m moving to twice a week soon.
Work on increasing your mailing list as well. Look into ways to increase your conversion rate to your mailing list. I added a flyout popup thing to my site and now I&#;m collecting ~30 emails per day.
An newsletter is one of the most powerful assets you can have and it is worth its weight in gold.
Reddit is one of my favorite places to promote content.
It is a very scary place because you will often get banned or heckled, but it can really pay off.
Create social media accounts for your blog, the main ones I use:
Twitter Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Set up Buffer and share all of your blog posts to all of your accounts. All of these little shares really do add up.
Automate this as much as possible. I automated all of my social media for Starter Story.
Facebook Groups
When I started out, I put together a spreadsheet of relevant Facebook groups for my niche, and I would post to these groups whenever I had a big story I wanted to share.
Grow Your List
The more engaged list of emails, the more engaged customers, which ultimately leads to more sales.
One of the best ways to start growing your list is by providing your customer with something free (or discounted) in return.
This could also be anything from:
- Ebook
- Fascinating case study
- Video series
- Free week of the product
- Discount on the product
Learn more about how to grow your list and improve marketing &#; here.
Case Study
Dylan Jacob, founder of Brumate states their collection tactic that is proven to work:
We use Spin-a-Sale for this (you spin a wheel for a discount code in exchange for subscribing to our list). This has been the best -collecting tool we have found because the customer truly feels like they won a prize rather than just a coupon code.
Even if a customer doesn&#;t convert right away, if we have their we have a 19% chance of converting them into a future customer whether that is through future promotions, new releases, or simply just sending an at the right time for a purchase to finally make sense for them.
We also have a return customer rate of over 14%, so one out of every 6 people we convert will end up buying from us again with an average order value of over $60.00.
full story &#;Dylan Jacob, on starting BrüMate ($12,000,000/month)
A great way to double, or even triple, your opt-in rate and to grow your list is to add an exit-intent popup to your site, and offering a discount or content upgrade for subscribers.
Here's an example of what that might look like:
Case Study
One thing that I spent years NOT doing, that I now kick myself about, is adding an "exit intent pop-up" to our site, which lets people enter a sweepstakes to win a Xero Shoes gift certificate.
That one idea has added over 100,000 subscribers to our list, which is one of our most effective marketing channels.
full story &#;Steven Sashen, on starting Xero Shoes ($4,000,000/month)
Improve Your Marketing
Different types of emails
Here are the most common types of campaigns you can send to your customers and their benefits:
- Welcome emails - the perfect way to provide information from the start with a clear CTA. Make sure to tell your customer everything they need to know about your product or service.
- Newsletters - a great way to give customers updates or send out your latest content
- Product launch emails - the quickest (and easiest) way to increase sales is by selling to current customers. Make sure they're the first on the list to know about your new product
- Promotional emails - promote discounts, deals coupons etc. Try and make this feel exclusive and for a limited time only
- Abandoned cart emails - give your customers a reason to complete their purchase!
Here's a great resource for finding curated designs, for all types of campaigns!
Abandonded Cart Flow
The abandoned cart workflow is one of the most effective strategies for turning your lead into a customer, and a powerful tool to have if you're an e-commerce business.
Think about all the times that you went on a shopping frenzy only to add items to your cart and then either forget or realize nows not the right time to pull the trigger.
Then, minutes later you receive an saying "Hurry up! Your cart is waiting - and we want to provide you with 20% off your order."
Maybe that's the special touch (and discount) you needed to pull that trigger.
Implementing this workflow can automatically trigger this for your business every time a customer abandons their cart.
Here's a great example of an abandoned cart from Brooklinen:
Things they do well:
- Showcase 5-star reviews from other customers
- Offer a small discount + free shipping
- Great design + clear call to actions!
Social Media Advertising
Social Media Advertising is one of the leading ways to get the word out when it comes to towels business.
There are various different Social Media platforms available to you. Some may be more critical for your marketing efforts than others, however, it's important to have an understanding of what's out there and available to you.
Let's talk about a few of the main platforms and what makes them unique:
- Facebook Advertising - more than 2 billion monthly users. Facebook is the best for lead generation + capturing addresses for e-commerce businesses.
- Instagram Advertising - approximately 500 million monthly users and has a higher audience engagement rate than any other platform. Instagram ads are best for linking to a product page or landing page and reaches the 18-29 age group most effectively.
- Twitter Advertising- Small businesses typically use twitter ads to drive brand awareness, but the platform is meant more for organic engagement (and is not as heavily used for paid advertising)
- Pinterest Advertising - 175 million monthly users and most effectively reaches the female audience. Pinterest is great for promoting products without "promoted". The promoted pins have a way of blending right in.
- LinkedIn Advertising - 227 million monthly users and is geared towards the B2B market and generates the highest quality leads. Great platform for recruiters, high-end products and services that will help businesses
It's important to first define your goal/objective so that you don't waste time and money into the wrong platform:
Here are some different questions to ask yourself as it relates to your goals:
- Do I want to simply drive brand awareness?
- Do I want to drive users to my website to gather information?
- Do I want to increase sales and get my customer to take action?
From there, choose the platform that targets your audience best and start experimenting!
Learn more about social media advertising &#; here.
Case Study
Founder Andy Hayes talks about mastering FB ads and the pixel:
The biggest bang for your buck will likely be mastering Facebook and it&#;s platform - which we all know is pay for play, so you&#;ll have to come up with a small amount of budget to start for marketing.
We&#;ve spent countless hours (and paid numerous coaches) before we cracked the code that works for us on Facebook, but it is working really well for us now.
Some of the most important things to know when it comes to FB Ads:
- Start with retargeting (that&#;s showing ads to people who already know you but did not purchase). Master this - and start building information on your Facebook Pixel - before you do anything else
- Once you have that down, try working with the 1% &#;Lookalike&#; audience to prospect for new customers. This may take awhile because your pixel audience is small, so try layering on interests - 1% Lookalike and your largest competitor, for example. Don&#;t use interest-only targeting until you master this.
- Great photography and videography is key, as is smart copy. Research what&#;s out there in your industry and constantly test - what works for one company may not work for other people.
- Make sure you have good offers. For example, we have a $5 trial for our subscription, which converts affordably - if we promoted our subscription with the standard $30 front charge, it wouldn&#;t be as cost-effective.
Andy Hayes, on starting Plum Deluxe Tea ($75,000/month)
Host A Social Media Giveaway
People love free stuff and love competition. Giveaways and contests are a great way to create awareness for your brand, grow your list, and eventually convert leads into customers.
If your goal is to gather addresses, make sure the entry criteria is to "enter your ." You can do this by leading customers to your landing page where they can then enter their to be in the giveaway.
One of the most important aspects of promoting a successful giveaway is having an amazing prize. The better the prize, the more engagement you'll get.
This doesn't necessarily mean choosing an iPad or an expensive/trendy watch, but instead a prize that is actually relevant to your brand/target audience.
Case Study
Giveaway Example and Tips
Example from TJ Mapes, founder of RIPT Apparel
Our most recent successful giveaway was when we gave away a PS4 + the new Spiderman game. I hosted the giveaway on our site and then let our audience know about it via /social channels.
Entrants earned different amounts of entries for entering in different ways (tongue twister!), for instance; enter via , get 10 entries. Follow us on Facebook, get 5 entries. Subscribe on Messenger and get 25 entries.
I also built out a drip sequence in Klaviyo that contained four emails to encourage entrants to take more action, like referring friends and liking us on social.
#1: Thanks for entering!
#2: Explained how to earn bonus entries:
#3: About us
#4: Coupon for entering
This last in the sequence just thanked them again for entering and also included a coupon to a specific (related) collection of designs with an expiration date on it to incentivize purchases.
(this screenshot is actually a flow from when we gave away an xbox, but you get the idea - huge open and click rates &#;&#;&#;)
PS4 Giveaway Results:
We ran it for 2 weeks and recorded results in a meticulous spreadsheet to analyze the data. Here are some of the highlights:
- Giveaway page pageviews - 67,355
- Total entrants - 26,137
- Conversion rate - 38.80%
- Total entrants in Klaviyo (not suppressed) - 24,515
- New emails acquired - 16,363
- Emails we already had - 7,521
- % of new emails - 66.75%
- Cost of item - $350
- Instagram visits - 10,618
- Instagram followers gained - 3,496 ( total followers lifted by 6.9% )
- Twitter followers gained - 4,194
TJ Mapes, on starting RIPT Apparel ($200,000/month)
&#;&#;&#;&#;&#; How To Run Your Towels Business
How To Retain Customers For Your Towels Business
Retaining customers is one of the most effective ways to grow your towels business.
Oftentimes, it's easy to find yourself focusing on generating new customers, vs retaining your current ones.
Look at it this way - you are 60-70% more likely to sell a new product to an existing customer than you are a new customer.
That's not to say that finding new customers and revenue streams is not important, however, the easiest (and most inexpensive) source of new revenue is right there in front of you.
Here are some ways you can retain customers for your towels business:
- Responding to comments on social media
- Send discounts (or freebies) to loyal customers
- Provide valuable content, for free
- Write a hand written thank you note
- Provide awesome customer service and build relationships with customers
To find out more tips and tricks on retaining customers, check out this article &#; here
Andy Jefferies, founder of Dock and Bay dives deep into the process of attracting and retaining customers:
Case Study
In product, the power of online marketplaces like Amazon has been a huge game changer for us. To gain that extra reach and exposure is priceless and something we wouldn&#;t have been able to achieve on our own. We built our success and product awareness from Amazon and using their Lightning Deals, Buy It Box and seasonal promotions, we can get our products in front of hundreds more people than we would be able to from our own website.
Use the power of social media to your advantage, it&#;s amazing what you can achieve with a well-focused advert. They can out-perform any other form of marketing with great exposure to people quickly and cheaply.
Social media adverts is also a great tool for small businesses as you can reach a lot of people without using too much time or money. The power of these adverts mean your products can be in front of people&#;s faces all the time. We use our professional lifestyle photography to show our products (a bonus of having half the team living by Australian beaches) and they instantly look great by the pool or on the beach. We find lifestyle images work a lot better than cut-outs as our audience like to envision the products in use. Reviews and showing influencers with our products work well too.
Launching new products, keeping your offering fresh is also essential. It wouldn&#;t give us as much business to simply sell towels as the need to purchase more isn&#;t as strong as a consumable. We&#;ve just launched quick drying hair wraps, for example, which changes the game for us as it&#;s not a season-based product. The hair wraps are light, compact, absorbent and combats frizz. They can be used at the beach or pool so they fit well into our brand, but also are perfect post-shower so they can be bought all year round, and it introduces us to the beauty market.
With new products comes the ability to retarget existing customers, new customers and new markets. Even if it&#;s the same product with a different purpose or new design.
We sometimes work with influencers to gain extra exposure and produce fresh, high-quality content. This summer we did the Colour of Summer project where we chose six brand ambassadors from a competition who fit the Dock & Bay aesthetic and flew them out to Bali for a week. It was so much fun!
We had different activities happening each day like cycling through rice fields, hiking to waterfalls, sunrise yoga, and a massive pool party - we even had a private chef! All inclusive for our ambassadors, all in the name of creating great content for our blog, imagery, and video archives and firming our status as a real, up and coming brand!
full story &#;Andy Jefferies, on starting Dock and Bay ($450,000/month)
Diversify Your Product Line
Adding new products to your business is a great way to expand into new markets and grow your business.
It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.
Here are some reasons you may want to considering adding/diversifying your product
- Meeting the needs of your customers
- Establish yourself as a top provider in your industry and stay ahead of the game with competition
- Resistance to downturns/trends fading
- Create new revenue streams
Provide Great Customer Service
Providing exceptional care and creating relationships with clients is a great way to build your reputation and retain customers.
Whether you are an online business or a physical business, it's highly important to communicate with customers and make them feel like they are the priority.
Just remember: customer service represents your brand, values, vision and YOU as a person.
Build a Referral Program
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get the word out about your business and acquire new customers. Especially when you are starting out, it&#;s important to build a solid referral program to encourage existing customers to help you find new ones.
A great way to do that is by offering a reward (ie. credit on your service or cash) to customers that refer you to their friends and family.
A fantastic referral program will help with clout, credibility, and establishing yourself in the space.
Authenticity
As a brand, you want to deliver an experience that authentic, honest and transparent.
Don't make the mistake of giving your audience less credit than they deserve.
Case Study
Be Authentic
If you go around chasing every trend and only focused on yourself and money, you&#;re going to lose very quickly.
There have been many times where we have been tempted to do this but stayed true.
Sure we sacrificed sales, but we kept our integrity, played the long game and people saw and appreciated that, and really began emotionally investing in the brand.
full story &#;Valentin Ozich, on starting I Love Ugly ($300,000/month)
Word of Mouth
The most tried and true way to grow a towels business is through word of mouth - some entrepreneurs would say it's more important than all social media.
Why you should focus on word of mouth:
- Consumers trust word of mouth above all other forms of marketing
- 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising
- 64% of marketing executives indicated that they believe it is the most effective form of marketing
Learn more about word of mouth in our guide: 30 Ways Founders Grow Their Business &#;
How To Crush The Sales Process For Your Towels Business
You may find yourself in a spot where you're ready to hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process.
Regardless if you have one or thirty salespeople, it's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.
Mike Korba, co-founder of User.Com walks us through the entire sales process and which teams are responsible for what:
Case Study
User.com Sales Process
Each user and account is qualified with a specialist. For business leads, they are handled by the sales team, and if they are qualified we give them a demo, more than often at the end of their fourteen-day trial. If they&#;re happy they&#;ll add a payment, and get an account manager, so a customer support and success team who will help implement the solution and to use the technology.
Sometimes, users will convert naturally on their own, after using the freemium product and finding it to be something that they will find beneficial.
After they convert, we help with onboarding, give them some personalized tips for their specific business or industry to grow plus all kinds of support, for whatever they need - something we take huge pride in.
The team is right now more than 30 people, with more than half working on the IT and product side, and the rest are in three teams: Support, Marketing, and Sales who all work together very closely.
full story &#;Mike Korba, on starting User.com ($100,000/month)
Resources
We put together the best resources on the internet to help you start your towels business.
Tools
Books
Web Resources
Videos
Case Studies
meet the author
Pat Walls
I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.
For more Compact Magic Towels for Wholesaleinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
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