Handcrafters may not have any difficulty making crafts and arts, but they may get stumped on how to sell their crafts. The success of clinching sales does not only rely on marketing strategies but also in other methods. There are even handicraft lovers not necessarily makers, who made a successful business of selling crafts.
Generally, there are three “phases” in clinching sales: preparing for selling your craft, the actual sale and of course, post-sale. What are these “phases.”
-> Preparation
Everything starts with a business plan. When writing a business plan, there are several things to consider like your budget, market research about your competition, and never forget to highlight the things that make your business unique. The plan should also include back-up plans to address unexpected events or changes. When unexpected and sudden blunders happen, you do not have to abandon the whole plan.
Whenever you are entering a business, it is important to never undermine or shortchange your competition. You do not have to declare war against your competitor, they are the best source of information about the market. Remember what product or your craft that makes you different from other handcrafting business.
Aside from the competitors, also never assume that you know everything about the market and the customers. Include customer demands and getting to know their behaviour in your market research. To get an idea, attend craft fairs festivals to see what kinds of crafts are getting attention and sales.
A business plan should include plans on whether you will make wholesales, profit margin, maximum or number of handcrafted items you can sell to a buyer, and how will you fulfil orders. One of the biggest problems of entrepreneurs would be failure to follow the business plan.
-> Actual sale
Just because your shop is already open, it does not mean you have to stop promoting your crafts. There are easy ways to continue marketing and promotions without spending too much. Participate to community events like shows, festivals, community auctions, and even school activities. Participation would allow possible customers to know your craft store and your products. You could donate some items as a prize or an auction item.
When attending craft shows and festivals, show and maintain professionalism in your booth design. Make sure to price your products in the same range with that of the other crafts on sale. Pricing it too low can cause speculations on its quality, pricing it too much will drive away customers.
A useful addition to your shop and whenever you are participating in fairs and shows would be a credit card machine. Since most people have credit cards, this would be great way to make a sale. Aside from that, if your crafts cost much then credit cards could provide safety.
Maximize online sales and promotions. Online shopping has increased in popularity because of its convenience. There are also different craft sites where you could advertise or plug your products in discussions and forums. You could also lend your talent and host craft classes to both children and parents.
-> Post-sale
It does not end in selling. Just because a customer bought your product it does not mean that you would stop building relationships with your customers. Craft business could be tough, since stores would build their own niches or place in a market. You need to build a solid and loyal clientele. Handcrafters could conduct post-sale surveys to check the customers on how they could improve crafts and services.
