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Building a Sublimation Business with Car Air Freshener Blanks – Beyond the Obvious
While most of the population will see the air freshener and automatically think “car air freshener,” you do not have to stay inside the box. In fact, most artists know that bigger profits and more sales occur when they’ve “designed outside the lines”….so to speak.
One of the best ways to increase sales of an item is to sit down and have a good old fashioned brainstorming session. During this brainstorming session, your job is to go crazy writing down as many ideas as possible that answer questions that begin with: who, what, when, where, and why. Such as:
Who Else (besides the owner of a car) would like a small area to smell better?
What Else (besides a dangling air freshener) can this object become?
Where else (besides the inside of a car) could use some fresh smells?
and so on….
Here is what we came up with in one minute of brainstorming:
- Have a camping series! Sublimate different designs with an RV, a Camper and a Tent and market them to campers.
- Sublimate a the image of a Cedar Tree, offer Cedar Fragrance and market as a closet freshener.
- Sublimate a negligee or pretty socks and market as “add your own perfume” for Intimates Drawer
- Welcome Friends – Front Hallway of Home
- How about using it as a Light Fixture Pull Chain? Add some flare by using colored ball chain instead of the cotton string. Like these ones listed on amazon (link to product):
Now if we can come up with these ideas in just one minute, imagine what you can invent if you spend 15-20 minutes thinking about the shoppers that might be attending your upcoming craft show. Bottom line is to get creative, try to stay away from the same old predictable designs and try to expand your target audience through thoughtful design.
Tip for Building a Commercial Client Base Using Sublimated Car Air Fresheners
Finally, for those of you looking to secure repeat business from commercial accounts, these air fresheners can be a powerful tool and I’ll give you some insight as to how you can get started.
Brainstorming is Always Step 1
Once again, allow yourself a 15-20 minute brainstorming session. In this example, I’m just going to use “WHO” and ask the question: Who might be interested in advertising their business information of a hanging car air freshener? Hmmmmm…..how about:
- Repair Shops
- Detail or Car Wash Shops
- Realtors with their Contact info
- Insurance Agents
- Contractors
- Sound System Installers
- Auto-Parts Stores
For demonstration purposes I’m going to use the less obvious idea of “Realtor” and show you how to get your creative juices flowing in order to appeal to this target audience.
The Marketing Concept and Designs – Step 2
The marketing concept is simple. You’ll use your own creative mind and design an “in stock” line of air fresheners. Then, sublimate samples. I suggest a having a line of 3-5 choices that would appeal to the industry you are targeting. So in this example, the industry is Real Estate and so your samples should include designs that show a house, a picket fence, maybe a front door, or sayings like: Home Sweet Home or “New Homeowner Smell”….use your imagination!
The Purpose of using the Phrase “In Stock”
Now you really do not need to have the car fresheners in stock, but you’re making your life easier by choosing a handful of designs that you know are easy to sublimate and you call these “in stock” in order to encourage your target audience to select from the choices provided. No doubt, you will get agents who ask things like: “can you make me one with a pineapple?” or “can you make one with dog?” and that’s where you can charge more for total custom designs (if that interests you).
For this article, we’re going to stick to marketing “in stock” designs.
Creating Your “In Stock” Real Estate Design Samples
Design a handful of unique air fresheners related to Real Estate. At the bottom of each, or on the back of each, (have different versions) sublimate the words “Your Name & Generic Phone Number” Here is a mock up of what one of your samples might look like:
Have 3-5 Different Samples
Create a Printed Out Pricing Guide or Simple Price Chart – Step 3
Its best to keep this price guide very simple so there is no room for confusion. Ask a child if they understand the price levels…that’s how easy the pricing guide should be. Nothing stops sales like confusing pricing! Make it look professional.
Things to Consider When Pursuing Business Accounts
When going after commercial clients (business accounts), it is highly recommended to have a MINIMUM order and create a pricing guide that offers discounts for higher quantity purchases.
You’ll also want to note things that are Free, such as “Your Name and Contact Info FREE, and “Free Fragrance” as part of your marketing.
The sample pricing guide below is just an example and you should price your items according to what your market can support and what you’re comfortable asking. Generally speaking, you give discounts to commercial accounts because they order more, which can result in a huge payday if you get an order of several hundred or several thousand.
Here is a sample pricing model – You would want to add your company name and contact information and say something like “Local Designer” or “Serving (City)” as this goes a long way in appealing to other small business owners or independent contractors.
Get Your Samples in Front of Your Audience – Final Step
Tip 1 – If you participate in craft shows or art shows, I suggest you ALWAYS devote a tiny section of your booth to industry related samples. You’d be surprised how many small business owners attend craft shows or art events. It could be hundreds, if not thousands of opportunities to get a BIG custom order.
Tip 2 – Time to Get Brave. Visit your local real estate agent offices and introduce yourself to the office manager. Ask if it’s okay to leave your samples in the break room for a week or ask if you can be a guest speaker at their weekly sales meeting to show your items. Most real estate office managers hold weekly meetings and jump at the chance to hand over the mic for 5 or 10 minutes.
As an extra special touch, bring the office manager a free sample of something to show off even more of your work.
I’m Way Too Shy to Do That!
If this sounds like you, you have to remember that business accounts are business people just like you! They need sales, you need sales, they get nervous, you get nervous but that is the nature of sales! Try to get past the fear by remembering that every day they are in your shoes, trying to sell something to someone.
Summary
Most people who do sublimate air fresheners think only about designs that appeal to impulse shoppers. And while that can be fun and rewarding, these sales are typically out of your control. For instance, you could be all geared up for the best annual craft show of the year only to have low turnout due to bad weather.
Hopefully with just ONE example (Real Estate Agents) you can see how powerful it might be to acquire a few business accounts that would place large orders on a regular basis. In fact once you land your first commercial order, you may find yourself doing more and more outreach for big, custom orders.
Stay focused, brainstorm, create original pieces, make your prices fair, get your product in front of your target audience on a weekly basis and the success will follow…..and you won’t have to chase the trends.
Happy Sublimating!
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