We’re continuing our conversation on planning for the busiest season of the year! In this follow-up episode, Aaron and Terry dive into the second half of our holiday preparation series for garment decorators, screen printers, embroiderers, sublimators, and DTF shops. This time the focus is on what makes or breaks Q4: clear customer expectations, simple and effective holiday marketing, and protecting your sanity while staying profitable. Learn how to set realistic cutoff dates, communicate policies that keep customers happy, and create a marketing plan that helps you stand out during the holiday rush. We’ll also talk about why saying “no” is sometimes the best business decision you can make. If you want to finish the year strong without the burnout, this episode gives you the practical strategies and encouragement you need to thrive this holiday season.
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Dad Joke
Terry: You know when you buy a bag of salad and it turns brown and soggy really quick?
Yeah, a bag of cookies won’t do that
Prepare for An Awesome Q4 for Apparel Decorators
Segment 4: Customer Expectations & Policies
Setting cutoff dates, rush order policies.
Importance of clear deadlines and transparency.
How early communication prevents complaints.
This will not only be appreciated by your customers, but also subtlety let them know you are a serious and in demand decorator.
The big deadline for most of us will be the last day before Christmas so that your customer can still place an order and receive it before the holiday.
This includes the time to get in any product to decorate, and to allow you time to produce the product and deliver or ship in time.
No one wants their order a day late here.
If you’re new to this, pad your deadlines a bit. It’s hard to turn down orders, but better to have a shorter window for placing an order than by missing holiday deliveries.
Be sure to give your regular customers a heads up that the holidays may stretch out turnaround times, so place your orders now so you’ll be at the front of the production line.
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