Open a Shop vs. Online Marketplace (or Both)
You've got options.
What we established earlier is that you want to expand your business beyond what you can sell in your booth at artisan markets. This means that you need sales between the market events, which is the challenge. Maybe you don’t have a gallery or storefront, or maybe it is not in a good location. We also know that you need to have your products in front of the right type of customer, which means you need either very high volume or a very targeted group of prospects. This brings us to the next opportunity – selling online.
When deciding to sell products online, there are a few questions to consider:
- Is a Marketplace right for my business? – Have you ever bought a calendar at one of those kiosks in the shopping mall? Why are they there? Quite simply, because that is where the foot traffic can be found. It’s the same reason why you have a booth at an artisan market or similar event. Online markets offer the same benefit. They invest in advertising and have built a business reputation as a destination for unique products like yours. As a result, they have a following of potential customers. Some of these online market places are Etsy, ArtFire, Amazon Handmade, eBay and ShopHadmade … to name a few. The alternative to using a service/site that has existing visitors is to build and market your own site. There are pros and cons for each.
- Are commissions and fees going to be tolerable? – Nobody likes to pay fees and commissions, but it is how business is done. The real question for you is if you can take it out of your profit margin, or will a price increase likely result in poor sales. If this is a real problem, then you may need to try to sell through your site directly, but you will need to advertise and get site visitors on your own. (Part of what you get from the fees/commissions is the volume of existing customers.)
- Will you be able to ship your products at an affordable rate? – Often people price their product for a face to face sale, but when you add shipping costs it changes the deal. Buyers look at shipping as part of the total cost of the purchase. If you have a product which people may buy more than one, then you can offer shipping incentives for bulk purchases. If you have a large object to ship, it may need to be pretty unique to offset the shipping costs. Either way, you may want to look into shipping costs for your product(s) before you jump in and find out that it costs too much. (Don’t forget to get prices for boxes, labels and packing materials.) There are some good shipping suggestions and calculators at com.
- Should I have my own e-commerce site? – The question is not “Can I…” but “Should I…”, because there are many new solutions available for this purpose, so you certainly can. The better question is whether you should. While marketplace sites offer the benefit of potential customer traffic, and reduce your need to advertise. The downside is that you are selling in a crowded marketplace and it is easy for customers to start browsing your products, and all of a sudden, they are distracted and they’re gone! The e-commerce solutions make it easy to create a site and shopping experience online, but you need to set everything up and promote your site. The Field of Dreams quote “If you build it, they will come.” does not apply to websites. At the time of writing this eBook, there are an estimated 94 billion websites on the Internet. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create your site; it just means that you need to be intentional about promoting your site. Some of the easiest commerce solutions are Shopify, WIX, BigCommerce, Squarespace, and Weebly. Each has different pricing, templates, and customization features.
- What payment options can you use? – Since we are talking about selling online, we need to consider alternatives to cash. Fortunately, there are lots of options available today, but like selling fees and commissions, there are transaction fees. You need to look at the fees with each service to makes sure it is not going to cut into your profit too much. Also, check the details, because some transactions are higher than others. For example, PayPal takes a percentage of the total sale for some transactions and a flat rate for other types. Some of these options are already included with online marketplaces, which again is part of the convenience. However, if you are selling through your own site, you may need your own solution. Some to consider are , PayPal, Square, Google Checkout, Amazon Payment, Dwolla, and Stripe. Note: There may be similar services and fees with e-commerce providers that have bundled services.
Leveraging Your Network & Connections
You have a network, even if you don’t think you have a network. Family, friends, loyal customers, business partners, etc. are all part of your network. Most of them use social media of some sort. Also, you probably have a mailing list from the markets that you’ve attended. It’s time to put these connections to use. You can use your email as a straight forward way to upsell or resell your products. Maybe you have a product that is more unique, so re-marketing to the list isn’t a big opportunity. But you can use the list to ask them to share across their social connections. Give them a picture or something to share, a link back to your website with a sharing button. What you are doing is making it easy for them to help you with word-of-mouth advertising. Tell them how much you appreciate customers like them and ask them to share their experience with your product with their friends. Maybe you offer an incentive for sharing, such as a discount on repeat purchases or $5 gift card for coffee. The idea is to get a referral network going and creating some follower to generate interest in your product. You can also keep the communications very simple and alert them to your next marketplace appearance. Whatever you found to be successful in the past, do the same, but expand the reach with your network.
Targeting & Advertising to Customers
If you don’t have much of a network or even if you do, you will likely need to use some promotions to create more awareness of your products. Your initial network may give you a bump in business, but it will not likely be a sustained level. No problem, you can advertise online to expand your reach. Unlike TV and print advertising, the cost can be much more manageable. With online advertising, you can be very selective about geographic area, demographics, and budget. The online advertisements are not too difficult to set up, but you will want to run a few small campaigns to see which message and creative designs create the best response. One of the easiest ways to get started is with Google. Google AdWords are those sponsored text ads that you see in search results. They are cost effective, but you may need to be very selective with your keyword selection for popular topics, like “chocolate.” Don’t forget, you’re an artisan. Your products have a unique appeal that is best communicated visually, so consider some targeted display ads. You can still use Googles network to place them, and all of the same targeting tools with the benefit of a visual display of your craft.
