What do decorators need to know about marking up patches?

Value is a tricky thing. Is a patch worthless because we can’t get garment-level markups on each one we sell, or is it worth more because we don’t have to tie up capital sourcing product? Both can be true, but a customer’s concept of product value is always up to us. In my career, patches have been measurably profitable, but not without finding markets in which they made sense to price them accordingly and selling their unique value to the customer.

Value is the story you tell presale, backed with the utility and quality you provide on production. Share your work, show what it can do, and believe it enough to back it up. Any product you promote has a better chance of making money than the one you wait for the customer to ask after.

If you’re not convinced of the product’s value or can’t create a compelling story describing how a customer would best use your product, you aren’t ready to promote it and probably shouldn’t bother adding it to your offerings. Being able to show a customer the better life waiting on the other side of their purchase is a must for any pitch.

—ErichCampbell.com