Marketing your screen printed goods to hotels, resorts, festivals and other destinations can open up big sales opportunities for your business.

Do your research

A successful pitch to a local resort or tourist destination begins, like most good pitches, with thorough research. Know when the business’s peak season is and the demographics of the people they generally attract. You’ll want to know the ages, gender and income bracket of the tourists who will be purchasing gear, as well as the times of year that traffic is highest, so you’ll know what types of gear is appropriate to pitch. Knowing the amount of visitors they see and peak season also will help you determine the best time to pitch products, recommend purchasing volumes to the business and know when to follow up with that business.

Identify the best gear for the business you’re targeting

One of the best ways to show your value as a screen printer is to present yourself as an advisor. You know what styles are trendy, and when you combine that with the demographics of the destination you’re pitching to, you can make great recommendations for the types of gear they should sell. Before you contact your target business, you should know, at the very least, a basic lineup of products that would sell well in their gift shop. Make sure you’re offering something for everyone in their demographic; a family ski destination, for example, would do well with fleeces ranging from child sizes to adult plus sizes. If it’s a destination whose visitors are likely to take home gifts, you might want to consider printed gifts for children, grandchildren and spouses, even if they fall outside the destination’s demographic.

Go beyond the basics

Don’t just focus on selling t-shirts, sweatshirts, beach coverups and hats; think beyond the basics to provide some innovative options to your target business. Businesses want to provide their customers with great souvenir options they know their customers will wear when they go home. To help ensure their visitors are advertising their destination, businesses have to go above and beyond with the gear they offer. Your job is to show destinations some of their options. Think of garments with trendy fits, premium fabrics or special effects graphics. Try to pitch substrates and looks your target business won’t be seeing from your competitors.

Create a catalog and/or samples to market your ideas

Showcase the logoed possibilities to your target hospitality business. Create a catalog or lookbook so they can see all of the souvenir options you think would help them promote their business and run a profitable gift shop. You can print a few samples so they have a physical example of the products you’re presenting.

The resort and hospitality market provides a major marketing opportunity to screen printing businesses. Successfully tapping into that market involves doing your research so you can present your local destination businesses with the best items for their gift shops. When you present those businesses with high quality, innovative options they’re not seeing from other people, they’ll view you as a valuable partner for marketing their destination.

Want some more ideas on how to market your screen printing to new types of clients? Check out these blogs:

Tips for Marketing Your Screen Printing Toward Corporate Clients

6 Steps to Marketing Your Screen Printed Apparel to Schools

Screen Printing on Campus: Taking Advantage of the College Market