Marketing Sales Video

5 Ways to Increase Your Sales at Craft Markets

5 Ways to Increase Your Sales at Craft Markets

Today you’ll learn five strategies to help you increase your sales at craft markets.

Here in LA, when we think about craft markets, Unique LA, Echo Park Craft Fair and Renegade Craft Fair are just a few of the different local markets that come to mind. These markets and others really support a very thriving community for established brands and emerging clothing startups alike. However, there are lots of different markets like this that take place on a national and global scale. How you start to use them can be very, very important to your business. In fact, some of the brands I’ve worked with have developed such a great strategy for markets that they actually continue to do them as a huge revenue stream.

1. Price Competitively.

People tend to walk around to see all the different accessory brands and clothing startups at any given craft market or fair before going back to make their purchases. It’s important to know what other brands are being shown so you’re not the most expensive brand on the block. In fact, you want to make sure that within your pricing categories that maybe you have something that’s for sale, at a discount, or maybe you have only new, full-price stock. However, people tend to visit markets to find little deals- even 10% off, or maybe getting a discount by engaging with you on Instagram and following you. Think about the different ways in which you can price yourself to be competitive.

2. Get Involved with Special VIP Events.

I know Echo Park Craft Fair has a VIP event the night before. Lots of people, like myself, like to check out these VIP events, not just to shop in an environment that’s a little less crowded, but to be able to get some special deals and get to meet some of the artisans that may not be available over the course of the weekend. Having more personalized, one-on-one shopping experiences can be very beneficial for brand-building. It’s very important to build the communication with your customers and really put a face to the brand name. So, find out all about the special VIP events and find out ways in which you can get involved in the evening before or even the weekend before, depending on what that particular event is.

3. Offer the Right Discounts.

Different kinds of special discounts can really run the gamut:

  • two-for-one deals
  • sample sales
  • buy two items, get 15% off…

Founders of clothing startups, get creative. Also, think about having specialty gift packaging available on site, an amazing thing to add as a new delivery item to the customer, especially if it’s around holiday time. And if you’re smart to think a little bit more outside the box, you may want to think about ways of shipping that product to that customer’s home, or even sending a courier to ship it over the next day if it’s local so that they don’t have to walk around carrying all the product.

Not all markets have to be cash and carry, though. Certainly, it’s a great idea to have lots of products. You can definitely do a lot of other selling and shipping mechanisms to get someone to buy without having to walk around with all those bags.

4. Create an Interactive Experience Through Personalization.

One of my favorite stands that I went to at the Echo Park Craft Fair was a woman who was selling gemstones. She was selling all these specialty crystals and part of the offering was that she was going to help tell you what were the crystals that are right for you. She made it into a really amazing interactive experience for people who were able to buy and not buy the product. They walked away with a very strong and positive feeling towards that particular brand and that brand owner.
Think about that in terms of any of the other products that you’re possibly selling.

How can you turn that shopping experience into something that’s more personalized? Are you able to tell them based on, you know, let’s say some Reiki or some Feng Shui in the house, what it is that you think they should be prescribing? Is it that you’re able to offer some kind of tailoring or be able to help take in a garment? Really think about not just closing the sale, but also think about the ways in which you’ll be able to offer and add more value to that customer while they have a chance to get to know your business. There will be several accessory and clothing startups at the market- how will yours stand out?

5. Use Aftercare Sales Strategies.

Make sure you implement a very strong social media and newsletter strategy while you’re selling at these events, because not all of the sales happen on site and on that day.

Have a great follow up practice in mind if…

  • You’re able to get people to follow you on Instagram (and if they follow you they get a special discount)
  • If shoppers sign up for your newsletter today they get a special discount
  • If you host trunk shows and special events and want people to be able to come and attend

Otherwise, all these amazing people who are at your disposal in terms of their information and engagement, will fall to the wayside.

Also think about these markets as one branded touchpoint in a multitude of touchpoints for the particular season or quarter. Markets can be an amazing channel for you. Markets can bring you to that customer. They can also help you understand customer feedback and how they feel about your product. Being able to increase revenue at a market is a simple mechanism, being able to have the right price point, being able to deliver on that product.… Be creative about how you’re servicing customers, and make sure you’re constantly thinking outside the box.

Don’t skimp on how your table is being presented. Pay attention to all of the fixtures, all of the things that you’re able to use for display. All of those are very critical for someone being able to say, “Yes, this person cares about the delivery. They care about their craft. They care about their product,” or they don’t and they’re just putting it up on the tables and stacking them all up. Presentation is going to be a very big way to help convert more of those who are just browsing into potentially long-term customers.

I hope you see all of the amazing ways in which markets can be of immense value to you. Make sure you check out our blog post for more in-depth coverage on how to build a thriving local community for your business in order to really help increase your sales. Make sure you check out our download on how to plan the ROI for your marketing activities. Participating in markets is just one particular sales and marketing channel. We want to make sure you’re planning a return on investment (ROI) for all of the different areas of business that you are focusing on. Clothing startups, growth stage accessory brands… wherever you are in your business’ journey, it’s important that every business move is tied back to a particular return on your investment.

Thank you so much for watching. Check us out on Instagram over @scalingretail – and when you’re ready to launch and scale your business, shoot us an email at hello@scalingretail.com and we’ll come up with a customized solution to help you grow your sales revenue.