The original blog post for this topic was published on Dec 3, 2022 and converted into a podcast episode on Mar 7, 2024.
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Unlocking the full potential of your business often comes down to mastering the rhythm of your product offerings and sales strategies. In this episode, I delve into creating a consistent and enticing product lineup that not only captivates your audience but also ensures your inventory is always a step ahead of demand.
Weekly runs keep the excitement going and a consistent new offer. Products are rotated through a "New Release" collection. If you haven't read "10 reasons to have weekly runs", jump over there, then come back when you finish.
Your weekly run isn't the end-all, be-all. The second kind of offer is known as your standing offer.
The art of balancing your product availability is crucial to maintaining customer interest. Standing offers play a pivotal role in this dynamic, providing a reliable shopping experience for your audience. These are the evergreen products that form the backbone of your offerings, ensuring that your customers always have something to purchase, regardless of the timing. It's about strategic thinking and ensuring that these standing offers remain fresh and appealing without compromising the urgency and exclusivity that your weekly runs provide.
Shop Anytime
Using the weekly run model, you post a new offer every Tuesday and close on Sunday. What if a customer hits your site on a Monday, but there is nothing to buy, or your site is locked? The customer will bounce, and you may lose what could have been a sale. Imagine you had a standing offer organized in different themed collections they could shop from. What if you want to take a week off or get behind on your weekly runs? You risk an entire week of not having something to offer your customers, but your standing offer would still be available. Over time, your standing offer may become bland towards your customers, so you can work to move them to the clearance section and use your weekly run to spice up your website.
What kind of products should be in your standing offer? Let's cover those next.
Extra
When placing your weekly run order with a vendor, a good technique is to order an extra print if there is one that sold well. Ordering an additional print can create a margin for me if there are any mistakes made on the press. If no mistakes were made, you can list it on your site as limited stock. Ensure it is listed on your website with a quantity of 1 vs. unlimited. Be mindful of the price you list it for, if you recently just did a weekly run order at a higher price.
Remind your audience during your weekly runs that you can't guarantee that print will be offered again. However, it should be a surprise when you list it as an extra.
Unlimited Stock
Some vendors offer prints (Screen Prints, DTF or Clear Film) that don't run out of stock often or are good about restocking. Once you identify those vendors, you should list their mock-ups as a standing offer on your site. Unlike the extra screen print listing example above, do not add a quantity to your unlimited stock listings.
The unlimited stock gets tricky when running weekly runs, as you must be mindful of your cut-off time and material orders. You can place your order every Monday like you do your weekly runs, but this could affect TAT if a customer order Tuesday and you wait a week to order. You also want to avoid placing multiple screen print orders too. Further, what if you have five different vendors listed for your standing offer and get five other orders with one print from each vendor? Shipping costs will be high.
Ultimately, stick with 1-2 vendors max for your standing offers.
In-House Creation
I love making bleached tees and vinyl tees. My favorite part of offering items I can make in house is getting an order, creating my materials the same day, ordering the tees, and receiving them the next day with S&S Activewear. Also, my TAT is significantly greater when I use screen prints. If you have created products you can make in-house and don't rely on another's vendor's stock, these mock-ups make great standing offers. The more mock-ups you start, the bigger your standing offer collections grow.
If you offer both vinyl and sublimation in-house and order screen prints, make your vinyl and sublimation products your standing offer with running screen prints weekly.
Seasonal
The weekly runs with the Product Drop Organizer provide a new theme every week for 2024. Christmas is dedicated to its week to run. However, this is one theme I recommend running for more than a week, then closing. This is an example of a seasonal offer. Consider adding more mock-ups to the drop and offer a bit longer or adding extras to your standing offer.
However, you want to watch deadlines because it is easy to get stuck with seasonal inventory. Staying ahead of the timeline with sales and destashes will significantly reduce the likelihood of being stuck with this inventory come tax time.
So What
Don't overlook the importance of crafting events like 'Tee Parties' to bolster customer engagement and sales. These unique sales events give your audience a reason to celebrate and engage with your brand on a regular basis, creating a community buzz that turns casual shoppers into loyal fans.
The success of these events hinges on their careful integration with your standing offers and weekly runs, allowing you to maintain momentum and keep the sales energy high.
Ultimately, creating weekly runs compliments your standing offer. You don't have to worry about there ever being a time a customer has nothing to buy. As a bonus, you will find a solid routine that makes it stress-free, trying to decide what to run each week.
I'd love to help you plan your drops and dive deeper into creating a standing offer in my Product Drop Organizer club.
Links mentioned in this episode
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