Bottom Line Up Front: In an effort to meet new consumer demands — and add value to their customers’ lives — Thread Mob brought customizable face masks into their offerings. A real-life example of how innovation doesn’t have to be massive to achieve results.
As communities are reopening and businesses are in the process of adapting to consumers’ shifting needs, it’s important to take a moment to acknowledge the innovation we’re seeing.
Sure, it’s the responsibility of each business to remain relevant — but that doesn’t mean we can’t take the time to recognize the hard work, the persistence, and the creativity that goes into each new offering. Product or service, tiny adjustment or complete overhaul, we know that change is rarely easy — and we couldn’t be more impressed with how the apparel decorating industry is wasting no time in adapting anyway.
Just like we’ve been aiming our spotlight on fundraising campaigns and community-minded initiatives, we’re also determined to start showcasing the innovation that’s coming out of our industry. The innovation that’s coming out of all of you.
Because, at the end of the day, our industry’s biggest motivator is the people we serve. If we’re not driven by a mission to add value to our consumers’ lives, then we’re not doing all we could be.
Today’s “˜Spotlight On’ feature is a perfect example of putting consumer needs — and wants — first. Georgia-based screen printer Thread Mob took its capabilities and produced a creative way to add value to its community — and we at InkSoft love to see it!
So, join us in raising a glass to innovation — and get ready to be inspired.
The Method
Thread Mob has long been a screen printer with an innovative spirit. In addition to offering digital printing and embroidery services, the team also used e-commerce to offer their own product lines to different audiences.
One of their online stores, The Cotton Cricket, offers apparel and accessory lines that target families. Items include t-shirts that read “I Run A Girl Gang” and “Mama Needs A Cocktail,” baby onesies that read “Mini Me” (to go with an adult tee that reads “Me”), and a hat that reads “Kinda Care, Kinda Don’t.”
The effect? A fun, quirky, relatable store that offers parents (and their kids!) products that they can smile about.
The online store was already easy to use and convenient to access, but the team at Thread Mob didn’t stop there. They knew that the qualms surrounding public health and city reopenings weren’t just going to up and leave — and that the people in their community needed supplies to protect themselves and others.
So they took on the production of face masks.
But not just any face masks — face masks that would bring their consumers the same feelings, the same smiles, as their other products do.
The Result
Face masks that read “Remove For Coffee.”
Face masks that read “Not Today Corona.”
Face masks that customers can add their own monogram to.
The Cotton Cricket store isn’t just offering masks with fun messaging — it’s normalizing the experience we’re all going through, and it’s connecting us through the strangeness.
And, it’s adding value to its customers’ lives.
Not just by protecting them, and not just by protecting the people around them. But by giving them a way to prioritize public health while wearing something they love — something that shows their personality, and something that makes them smile.
Innovation doesn’t have to be massive to be impactful. It doesn’t have to cost you thousands, and it doesn’t have to shift your entire business. Thread Mob took something they already had and they added on — offering value to their old customers, and bringing in a few new ones, too.-0p0
Take a look at your capabilities, at your products and services on offer, and think about the tweaks you can start to make. Maybe there’s a product (like a face mask, or a thermometer) you can add to your customizable offerings. Maybe you can start offering e-commerce (through InkSoft Stores) to local businesses who aren’t using the technology yet.
There are countless opportunities for creativity — for innovation — and we can’t wait to see how you take this time to grow. We hope this feature gave you a little inspiration — and however you choose to add more value to your customers’ lives, remember: it won’t go unnoticed.
