Series: Trends in Professional Crafting
Part 1: Specialized Marketing for your Crafts
Investing thousands of dollars into a large trade show is not necessarily the best route to high profits these days. Due to imports and manufactured goods, which are prevalent at large well-known markets, crafters are turning to more un-traditional markets to sell their wares.
Lower your expenses:
From towels to furniture, the market is quickly becoming
gridlocked with poorly made, underpriced goods. To compete many craftspeople
are spending less to make more at shows. This is due to
the high costs of the nationally renowned trade shows. If you are
marketing a hand-made product, you won't necessarily find
your customer base at these shows. I'm not saying that you should
never attend these events, I'm just pointing out that high expenses
don't always mean high profits. In fact, the KY Crafted Show is one of the most profitable
wholesale markets that I have attended. It's also
the least expensive!
Here's why:
Promote the Crafts, not the Promoter!
Craft shows often sell more than crafts. For starters: booth spaces, electricity, rented carpets, tables, chairs, hotel rooms, gasoline, concessions, fast food, and parking spaces! (Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Uncle Sam is at most large shows to make sure we pay our fair share to him too.) After a craftsperson gets through paying everyone who has their hand out, expenses alone can often ruin what would have been a profitable show.
Lower booth fees:
Back to why I like this show (and others like it) so much. The KY Craft
Market is a state sponsored craft
program whose purpose is promoting Kentucky-made crafts, not making profits.
Therefore, booth fees are very inexpensive (about 1/10 of what I've
paid to attend the larger shows).
High Quality Products:
Since this is a "handmade in Kentucky" show,
I'm not competing with imported garden tools, watches, cigars, and any number of
cheap non-craft items.
Due to the high standards of their jurying process,
my booth is surrounded by only quality goods. The buyers that attend this show
know that they are seeing only high-quality handmade crafts. In fact, to the
buyers that I've spoken with (Asking your customers what they like? It's unheard of!), that's why they attend events such as these.
The result? Almost every buyer in attendance is the kind of buyer many
of us dream about. The kind that is shopping for quality, hand-made crafts.
Travel/Lodging Expenses:
Another thing that helps me to achieve higher profits at this show is the lower
traveling expenses. You see, this show is located in Louisville, KY,
which is only a three hour drive from my home. Whether we fly or drive,
an 1100 mile trip will always cost more than a 200 mile trip. If you can find a
profitable show that is located near your home, you can lower
expenses and increase profits!
And here's yet another thing that can dramatically sway the profit margin of overnight shows: Lodging expenses. I've stayed at places that charge $200 per night and I've stayed at places that cost $25 per night. The way I see it, if the rooms are safe, clean, have a shower, and you can get a good nights rest at a low cost, you've got a reasonable place to stay. I know that Hyatt Regencies are nice, but save the vacation mindset for vacations. This is business! The show I have been referring to, and lots of others, will work out deals with local hotels to give exhibitors lower rates.
Find your clientele:
OK. Now the specialized part of this feature. Do you sell candles?
Towels? Baskets? Beanie Babies? (From what I saw in Chicago, if you sell
Beanie Babies, you can probably sell them anywhere. At least for the next
few months.) Anyway, what type of shows would your products sell best at?
If you have a lower-priced products (around $5.00 or under), you could
feasibly make a great profit-line at flea markets or festivals. Great! These
events are often more common and less expensive than most shows. However, if
you sell higher-priced products, you will probably be more successful at
fine craft shows, art shows, museum festivals, and other prominent events.
Who are your customers? Where do they shop for your products? Malls?
Everyday craft fairs? After you analyze your customers, you can weed out
the shows that you don't think you will do as well, and find the shows that
will be great. Just keep in mind, that a phenomenal show for one exhibitor,
might be an all out BOMB, for another. Do not simply go on what someone
else advises. There are a lot of folks in this business who, with good
intentions, will unintentionally lead you to a poor show. Make decisions
based on what works for you, not what works for someone else.
To wrap it up, here it is:
Less expenses + More of your Clientele
= Higher profits
High profits + Crafters = Happy Crafters!
Got it? Great!
I've tried to put a lot of information into a small space here. If you would like me to clarify upon a point or would like to make a comment, please email me and I'll be happy to give any help I can.
