Art of Turning Lookers into Buyers at Craft Shows
August 14th, 2009
by Shasta McLaughlin
copyright 2008
Just as creating your art or craft is an art, turning a looker into a buyer at a show is also an art. You want to encourage each looker to imagine themselves at home using or wearing your product.
First you need to recognize that every person is bombarded with advertising/marketing materials for hundreds if not thousands of items everyday. They may need or want some of these items but don’t have time to sift through all of the information that they see to find the ones they need. How do you bring customers who are most likely to buy your product into your booth?
Before the Show
Send a postcard to customers in the area who’ve visited your booth in the past. Offer them a discount for bringing in the postcard and a friend.
AutoWebBusiness.com or Constant Contact is a good way to let customers know about upcoming events. I highly recommend you check out these two companies if you don’t already have some kind of automated follow up/email system in place.
Signage
Your sign should be visible from all the sides of your booth that your customers will be approaching from. It should be clean and in a clear font. It should tell the reader exactly what you have to offer them (not your business name).
For example:
If your product is baked goods your sign should say, “Delicious home made muffins, pies, candies, fudges, cakes, and cookies,” not Lacey’s.
If you product is woodworking your signs should say, “Woodturned pen and pencil sets, handcrafted wood utensils, unique wooden dishes, and original knotty pine picture frames,” not Jake’s Crafts.
This way a customer who has never seen your booth before knows exactly what you are selling before they arrive in front of it. By telling them exactly what you have to offer you remind customers interested in your product not to miss your booth from across the building.
Layout and Traffic Flow
The next thing to consider is the layout and traffic flow of your booth. Arrange your booth so that customers can enter (and exit) easily where they will be approaching from. Is there enough room inside your booth that many customers can shop and move easily or will people feel trapped inside?
Selling large items or if you have a large variety of items to sell ask the show promoter for an additional half (or whole) booth. You want to have plenty of space to display your items properly and still have room for your customers to move about freely. You also need a place for customers to make purchases that is out of the way of shoppers but where you can keep an eye on your investment.
Look and Feel
The look of your booth needs to complement your products. Use western style decor for western products, oriental style for oriental jewelry, if your make beach hats and bags you might use a beach cottage theme.
Color can add to or distract from your product so choose colors carefully.
Customers become attached to items through their senses. They see something they like, touch it and feel the texture, and finally try it on. Part of turning a looker into a buyer is to encourage them to see themselves using or wearing the item.
Encourage this process through your display by:
Selling wearables be sure and include a mirror in your display so they can see what they look like wearing the item. Display items in a way that encourages people to try them on.
Selling furniture or home decor display your items as though you were decorating your own home with them. The customer can now imagine how the items would look in their own home.
The smell of food is one of it’s biggest selling points next to a sample of the product.
Display your products with these things in mind and see your sales increase.
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Categories: Art/Craft Show Booth Display, How to Make Shows Better
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