Tshirt.com.au, S&G Products

Sydney NSW, Australia

Testimonial

 

"DecoNetwork is an easy to use, cost effective tool which has helped to increase our business by 20%. Like our company DecoNetwork is constantly evolving.

We have virtually gone from laying people off to putting on more and more staff. I'd never go back to bricks and mortar business, I mean why would you?"

Greg Casson, S&G Products

Case Study:

Greg, owner and founder of S&G Products has had a long history in retail but after 4 very successful years building an online business.
 

Having run a very large contract embroidery business for over 20 years, Greg saw the writing on the wall with his embroidery orders dropping 30% and on a downward trend with fewer orders and lower quantities. As more and larger embroidery jobs went offshore, S&G needed to reinvent themselves.
 

This was the catalyst for change. Previously Greg’s son Paul had joked that Greg’s computer was simply an “oversized paperweight”, in fact it wasn’t even plugged in. But seeing the need to adapt to change, Greg set out to learn the world of online retailing.
 

Has it been successful? In Greg’s understated words, “Well yes, we started from zero. But we have virtually gone from laying people off to putting on more and more staff”.
 

Paul and Greg started with one Direct to Garment Printer and now have 5 staff operating 3 Direct to Garment printers with another twin head on the way to keep up with demand. This success has all been due largely to S&Gs custom shirts web store and online advertising.
 

S&G signed up to DecoNetwork in late June 09. In about 3 ½ months they have increased their sales by 20% and are one of the top 5 sellers of t-shirts in the country. Having previously used an alternative system for their online customer shirts store, they found DecoNetwork superior for several reasons.
 

Since having DecoNetwork.com they have seen an increase in orders and also an increase in the quantities per order. They put this down to a better online designer and the ability to have quantity discounts. They also find it a huge timesaver that the orders can be quickly downloaded and printed, without the 15-20min prep time they previously had.

Some other key benefits Greg and Paul mentioned were: easier and quicker for the consumer to use, backend really easy to create products and manage orders, art files are included, embroidery is supported, can offer quantity discounts, the Affiliate stores are a huge plus. They also appreciated the prompt and helpful local support. S&G had their site up and running in a day and were taking orders from the get-go.

So how did they do it?
Besides an initial mail out to existing customers, the only marketing they do is through search engine optimising, Google Adwords and email newsletters. In Greg’s words: “A website is never finished. We’re always tweaking, trying to improve our keywords, site information, etc”.

They are also acutely aware of the differences in online consumers, compared to traditional retail. “Consumers are very concerned about quality when buying online. They are still a bit nervous about it and need to know you are credible and reliable”. Greg and Paul believe excellent customer service is crucial when selling online. It’s important to provide assurance of quality and service through the content of the website.
 

Online consumers are also looking for a bargain. Greg acknowledges that this is a fundamental expectation of people buying online. “If you buy from our showroom the average custom shirt is $24.95. On our DecoNetwork store it is $12.50”. Selling online, which reduces the customer service and artwork prep time allows them to be very price competitive.

Greg & Paul now have a steady flow of repeat business and new customers with a lot of word of mouth. They send out monthly e-newsletters and offer regular specials. S&G Products are set to soar even higher. With their fresh approach, willingness to adapt and commitment to constant improvements they are an inspiration to anyone wanting to build a successful online t-shirt business.