How to make the most out of selling at markets
5 top tips for selling at an artisan market
Market stalls are great to help your business grow. Through helping you reach new customers to sell to and to help gain exposure. But there are definitely some do’s that can truly help boost what you get out of your market experience.
We’ve compiled a list of some of our key tips you can use to help make the most out of selling at local artisan markets. Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced trader, these tips may be useful for you to consider how to boost your stall!
Advertise and promote
Firstly, let customers know where you are going to be beforehand. If you are active online, whether that be on social media or a website, utilise these platforms to promote which markets you will be visiting next. There are so many ways to help target markets within specific areas thanks to hashtags and geotags. So help customers find you! Even just sharing a promotional image for the market on your story is an easy way to engage with customers and let them know where to find you next.
If they’ve seen how amazing your products look online, you may find customers looking to see you out at your next market. We often get many enquiries from customers asking whether certain stalls they had seen in previous months will be returning.
Furthermore, if you are active online, utilise markets to promote your online platforms. A simple sign or business cards are an easy way to encourage customers to seek out your business once the market is over.
Here is an example of a promo image we use and our traders are welcome to share on social media.
Variety
We get a wide range of different customers visiting our markets so bringing a variety of products with varying price points can be a great idea. It helps to widen the customers your stall appeals to by providing them with various options that could be suitable for them. If you bring products which are all too similar or with not enough variation in price (E.g. all priced relatively high) you may find yourself losing out on customers. Not only that, but variation helps to create a bold and inviting display that helps to grab passing customers attention. Of course, not every product can appeal to every customer. And maybe your business specialises in a particular niche product, but having a variation in price point can again encourage a wider range of customers to be more likely to purchase from your stall.
Speak and engage with customers
Markets are a perfect opportunity to build rapport with your customer base. Let them know the face and team that works behind your products and help to add an element of familiarity and trust to your business. Customers are more inclined to purchase from trustworthy businesses so get talking and building those essential customer relations!
One of the most appealing aspects of shopping at markets as opposed to large high street shops and supermarkets, is that sense of higher sense of familiarity and transparency that customers receive regarding the business and products they are purchasing. Perhaps your business is extremely environmentally and sustainability conscious? The importance of business ethics is a growing consideration for many shoppers and customers. So speaking to customers at the markets really does help them to gain a level of trust in your business and products that perhaps they won’t find at a bigger shop!
Understand your target market
We have a wide demographic that visit our markets, so knowing who your product is targeted on will help you on the day when engaging with potential customers. You don’t want to spend time and energy focusing on customers that are unlikely to purchase or be interested in the product you're selling. Knowing your target market before a market and overall is an important consideration for any business. You might have a very specific audience in mind, or maybe it is a bit more general, but either way, understanding who is likely to be interested in and to purchase from your stall can help to increase your success at a market.
Reflect and review
All businesses go through many iteration cycles and reflect upon performance and seek areas they can build upon and improve. Or maybe, it may be a case of trying something new next time and finding out what works best for your business. Not every aspect of markets are within your control - if only we had a way to control bad weather! - so focus your energy on the things that you can control. Markets are a great way to truly understand what helps draw customers into your stall and business. You may even spot other stalls that give you a spark of inspiration as to how you could take your own display and products to the next level!
Reflecting upon your market experience is definitely a great way to gain more knowledge and experience that you can utilise to boost your next market success even further.
There are a variety of ways you can make the most out of selling at markets and learn from each experience. Hopefully these tips and tricks provide some information you can consider for your next market. We will be creating and uploading many more blog posts that aim to help and provide ideas for artisans and makers. You can view our other blog posts here.