pamela j. brown, ph.d. associate professor & extension entrepreneurship specialist (retired)...
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Pamela J. Brown, Ph.D.Associate Professor &
Extension Entrepreneurship Specialist (Retired)Texas Cooperative Extension
Texas A&M University SystemFunded through a grant from the Southern Regional
Development Center, Mississippi State University
Module 3*How To Market Your Craft Business Online
Objectives– Develop a market plan– Conduct simple market research– Understand e-commerce trends– Identifying target craft consumer– Marketing online and offline – Application to craft business
Marketing My Business• List all the different kinds of
marketing you do for your business
10 minutes
Do You Have a Plan?The productThe industry
The customerThe strategy
Marketing is EVERYTHING you do on behalf of the business
Hobby Or Business?• Are you a hobbyist – making craft
that you hope will sell,OR
• are you an artisan that makes what will sell?
As an artisan, the answer should shape your marketing plan!
Know Your Industry• Hobby crafts• Fine art• Tourist souvenirs• Museum art• Furniture
• Interiors• Toys• Gifts • Folk art• Wearables
Activity: Search for information:
Size, location, support, competition, trends, types of ecommerce
Read About an ArtisanGo to these sites:
http://craftsreport.com/october05/oe.htmlOr
www.gourmasque.com Or
www.garyweeks.com/global_village.htm
Define The Handcraft Consumer• Demographics
• Identifying AND defining your market
30-50 Urban Affluent Educated
• Psychographics – how people use/spend time• Targeting your customer
• Form Quality• Function Travel
More Resources for Artisans• Texas Commission on the Arts
– www.arts.state.tx.us – www.arts.state.tx.us/craft/ciform.asp
• A registry for Texas artisans
• American Crafts Council– www.craftcouncil.org
• Craft Organization Directors Association– www.coda.org
Who is Using the Internet? GLOBAL 445 Million people 51% of most
developed countries
– Source: www.clickz.com
U.S.• 81% of teens• 63% of adults
• 18-29 80%• 30-39 74%• 50-64 60%• 65+ 26%
• 60% women• 66% men• Ethnicity
• Whites -68%• Blacks -42%• Hispanics -60%
Source:www.pewinternet.com
Internet Usage by Age Group . . .Who Are YOUR Customers?
*Pew/Internet, Pew Internet and American Life Project www.pewinternet.org
Target ‘Everyone’ - NO
Caution - Don’t assume potential customers value:Good design
Quality materialsHigh prices
Unique design Time for creativity/process
Demographics of online purchasers will change as online use and access increases!
The “New Normal” American Way of Life
Total U.S. online:>70 million
Broadband access will change who and how people use the Internet
How Are People Buying?• 28% of online consumers do not buy online• 59% search aggregate sites, not merchant sites• Value the in-store, personalized experience• Delivery costs and time• Credit security• Delay in purchase satisfaction• No credit• Seeing is believing• Too complicated
Finding CustomersLike fishing, you have to think like a fish
to catch a fish!– Think like your customers, not as an
artisan• What do customers want?• Where do they shop?• What do they shop for?• What do they search for online?• More???
Why Consumers Don’t Buy On-line• Cost of connectivity• Access at work?• Disrupts home/work routines• Too complicated• Communication challenging • Ordering not dependable• Trust • Overall consumer-buying experience
Will Customers Be E-loyal? • Multiple retailers• Price • Good service• Emotional connection/loyalty• Relevance to customers• Keep customer as central focus of e-
commerce
Activity• Do a search to find your business’s
target market characteristics.– Hint:
• Search for demographic info• Search for psychographics • Search by age, location, income, ethnicity,
etc.http://americandemographics.com http://cyberatlas.com
• Resources to learn about customers– Research publications– Trade Journals– Conferences– Periodicals
Search Results• Who are your potential
customers?• Where do they live, what will they
buy?• What are their favorite activities?• Are you offering what they want
at the right price?• What can you do to “target” these
folks?
Craft Retailers with Web Sites
• 2001• Surveyed 91• Websites 64• 2002• Surveyed 68• Websites 53• 2003• Surveyed 149• Websites 102
If it was this much in 2003 imagine how many Web sites are available today.
Looking at the Competition• New products, marketing
ideas, news• Search engine specialties
– Google - Lycos– Yahoo - AltaVista – Excite - Hotbot– Infoseek - Northern light
www.searchenginewatch.com/
Find Your Competition• List competitors• List keywords to describe
your products/services• Use metasearch engine to
search keywords http://dogpile.com
• Use other search engines: www.ceoexpress.com
Activity
List the key information about your competitors:– Advertising – Prices – Packaging – Hours of operation– Target market
Artists On-Line• Clocks • Paper• Book Art • Garden Art • Ceramics • Metal • Jewelry• Glass • Furniture • Wood • Baskets • Toys• Fiber • Leather
These represent both full and part – time online artisans.
Reasons for Not Having Web Page
• No knowledge• Lack of resources• Inability to connect store and web• Lack of training• No plan• Lack of flexibility
Art Organizations as Promoters• www.artofohio.com• www.tamarackwv.com• www.arts.state.tx.us/txoriginal/index.asp• www.niche.com • Other: Depts. of Tourism, Art Commissions,
Guilds, Cooperatives, Art Associations, Colleges/Universities
Doing Good Business Practices
• www.newyork.bbb.org/goodbusinesspractices/?lid=1&page=sell
• www.artofohio.com• www.bbb.gov• www.thecraftsreport.com• www.ftc.gov
Market and Price Potential: The Marketing Plan
•Define market area
– County, state, region, nation, globe
•Who is most likely to use or purchase your product or service?
• Know your break even point/compare
• Know the price points that WILL sell
• Include profit!• Evaluate/
adjust
Gary Weeks, OwnerGary Weeks and Company, Furniture makers
www.garyweeks.com
“The Internet has been the source of much of our business. Patrons find us
in a search of rocking chairs. When someone calls from Jerome, AZ or
Ketchikan, AK and says, “I found you on the web and I’d like to order a chair,” it feels a little like hitting a line drive into
the gap in left field.”
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