It's a simple fact that people will find the money to buy things they really want regardless if they need it. Unless you're doing corporate arts/crafts installations to dress up lobby areas, the majority of our customers in the arts/crafts area are driven by desire and not need.
Think about the intrinsic worth of your arts and crafts and figure out if you want to attract value or price-driven customers.
Finding the Best Craft Show Market for Your Arts and Craft Business
If pricing for value, the key is to market your arts/crafts only in venues attracting customers who see the worth of your hard labor and are willing to pay a slight premium to purchase it. Don't bother marketing your arts/crafts in every show in your area. Cheap goods won't sell at high-end shows and vice versa.
If possible, research or attend the particular craft show before you make a commitment to attend it as a vendor. Online you can access the Sunshine Artist Craft Show Review archives to see how other artists and crafters feel about particular shows.
Figuring the Best Price for Your Arts and Craft Items
The other aspect to consider when marketing your crafts is cutting costs in areas which your customers don't appreciate or can't tell the difference. For example, some machine work versus all handcrafted. If you're making necklaces, debate the use of labor entensive handcrafted clasps versus machine-made ones purchased inexpensively in volume. Decide if your target customer will care or even notice.On the flip side add handcrafted value with the associated increase in price for your customers who do recognize the value of an elaborate handmade clasp. Some customer are happy to pay for value. That's the whole theory in the luxury versus economy car debate. Going down the street with my Mother, she always comments on how all cars pretty much look the same. She wonders why someone is willing to pay the premium for a luxury automobile.
Taking the brand name mania out of the equation, there are many issues such as safety (multiple airbags) and handling, that buyers of luxury autos use to make their purchasing decision. Your customers are the same; some will pay more for quality and others won't.
Addressing the Three Fears of Arts and Crafts Pricing
-
Customers Only Care About Price: Using low prices to attract customers can send the message that your products are of poor quality. You have to learn how to emphasize the intrinsic value of your product. By this, I mean showing your customers why your product is worth more.
For example, at craft shows, wise arts/crafts always have a selection of low to high priced articles at their booths. If I were selling knitted scarves, my selection would run from fine gauge cashmere scarves with a knitted-in pattern all the way down to cotton scarves in the simple stockinette stitch. However, the colors I offer would remain consistent from the high to low quality products.
In this scenario, the intrinsic value is the finer quality yarn and more detailed handiwork. Show your customer the difference between the cashmere and cotton. This isn't an unethical form of bait and switch. You're merely emphasizing the difference in quality. Many times a customer who only felt they could afford the cotton scarf will upgrade to the cashmere one if you give them a reason to.
-
Prices Must Stay In-line With My Competitors: Remember, there are price buyers, value buyers and that tricky combination of the two. Price buyers use the cost of the item as their number one purchasing criteria with all other factors running a distance second. Value buyers typically place price below number five on their scale of importance with factors such as quality, convenience, customer service and perceived need weighing higher than the pricing variable.
I'll give you a good example of the hybrid price/value customer. Ever shop online catalogs that allow you to list items by price from low to high and high to low? Think about how you shop. Do you order your selections one way or another? Price buyers start low and don't move too far up the price scale. Value buyers start at the high-end. The value/price buyer starts at the high end and methodically works their way down until they find the item that fulfills their perceived need.
This item may well cost more than they had originally planned to pay. However, the decision to buy is a more emotional one. Once they see just the right item, cheaper versions won't be satisfactory. If you sell online, this is an excellent ordering method for your products.
If you want to attract the value buyers, it's not critical you match prices with your competitors. In the craft show setting, I've seen customers pay a premium simple because the seller's booth was more elegant in appearance than the competition or the item tags were classier or unique. Having a more approachable demeanor than your competition is also very important component to pricing yourself higher than the competition.
- My Revenue Will Drop if Prices Rise: Not all revenue is created equal. If you've been in business any length of time, you know there are easy customers and hard ones. Does it make any difference if sales revenue drops as long as net income increases? Not if you're trying to attract value customers.
Of course, you have to consider what and how you sell. It very well be easier for you to sell a hundred items at $10 rather than 10 items at $100. Maybe you also prefer to sell the lower priced crafts. If not, consider addressing both ends of the pricing spectrum, help your customers decide between quality and price and making a conscious choice to disregard the three fears of pricing.
