Transcript Planning for Success - Southern Rural Development Center

Helping Artisans Reach Global
Markets
Pamela J. Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor &
Extension Entrepreneurship Specialist (Retired)
Texas Cooperative Extension
Texas A&M University System
Funded through a grant from the Southern Regional
Development Center, Mississippi State University
Community Resources & Economic Development
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
_________
*Presented by Ashley Lovell, Extension Specialist – Economic Development, Texas
Cooperative Extension, [email protected]
Draft 052907
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Marketing My Business
 List all the different
kinds of marketing
you do for your
business
10 minutes
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Are You Flying Blind?
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Do You Have a Plan?
The product
The industry
The customer
The strategy
Marketing is EVERYTHING you do on
behalf of the business
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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!
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Doing Your Homework?
Develop your marketing plan.
Do it before going online!
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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
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Read About an Artisan
Go to these sites:
http://craftsreport.com/october05/oe.html
Or
www.gourmasque.com
Or
www.garyweeks.com/global_village.htm
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Define The Handcraft Consumer
• Demographics
• Identifying AND defining your market
30-50
Affluent
Urban
Educated
• Psychographics – how people use/spend
time
• Targeting your customer
• Form
• Function
Quality
Travel
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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
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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
30-39
50-64
65+
80%
74%
60%
26%
 60% women
 66% men
 Ethnicity
• Whites -68%
• Blacks -42%
• Hispanics -60%
Source:www.pewinternet.com
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Internet Usage by Age Group . . .
Who Are YOUR Customers?
Primary purchasers of craft
*Pew/Internet, Pew Internet and American Life Project www.pewinternet.org
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Target ‘Everyone’ - NO
Segment customers to understand what they want
Caution - Don’t assume potential customers
value:
Good design
Quality materials
High prices
Unique design
Time for creativity/process
Demographics of online purchasers will change as
online use and access increases!
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The “New Normal” American Way of Life
Total U.S. online:
>70 million
Broadband access
will change who
and how people
use the Internet
Source: PewInternet.org, 2005
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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
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Finding Customers
Like 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???
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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
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Will Customers Be
E-loyal?
Multiple retailers
Price
Good service
Emotional connection/loyalty
Relevance to customers
Keep customer as central focus
of e-commerce
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Build customer loyalty – good/bad?
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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
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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?
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Craft Retailers with Web Sites
2001
Surveyed
Websites
91
64
2002
Surveyed
Websites
68
53
2003
Surveyed
Websites
149
102
Source: The Crafts Report, 2004
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Looking at the Competition
New products, marketing ideas, news
Search engine specialties
– Google
– Yahoo
– Excite
– Infoseek
- Lycos
- AltaVista
- Hotbot
- Northern light
www.searchenginewatch.com/
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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
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Activity
List the key information about your
competitors:
– Advertising
– Prices
– Packaging
– Hours of operation
– Target market
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Artists On-Line
Media of Artists with Web Sites in
2003
Full Time
Clocks
Paper
Book Art
Garden Art
Metal
Jewelry
Furniture
Wood
Baskets
Toys
Fiber
Leather
Part Time
Needlework
Paper
Book Art
Garden Art
Jewelry
Glass
Baskets
Wood
Media of Artists Selling Online in 2003
Full Time
Clocks
Garden Art
Toys
Ceramics
Metal
Jewelry
Furniture
Wood
Part Time
Needlework
Paper
Ceramics
Jewelry
Book Art
Glass
Wood
Baskets
Source: The Crafts Report, 2004
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Craft Producers (Artisans) Using E-commerce In Business
Source: The Crafts Report, 2004
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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
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An Example Of A Log
Analysis
www.HerbalTurtle.com
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Log Analysis from Herbal Turtle
Discuss service with
Web Host
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Check This…
www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/software/prin
t.php/3578366
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Are You Ready to Expand The
Business?
Costs
Personnel
Inventory
Sales
Time/energy
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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
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Doing Good Business Practices
www.newyork.bbb.org/goodbusinesspracti
ces/?lid=1&page=sell
www.artofohio.com
www.bbb.gov
www.thecraftsreport.com
www.ftc.gov
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Market Venues
Selling retail vs. wholesale
Exclusivity
Trade Shows
Sales Reps
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Market and Price Potential: The
Marketing Plan
• Define market
area
• Know your break
even point/compare
– County, state,
• Know the price
region, nation, globe
points that WILL sell
• Who is most likely • Include profit!
to use or
• Evaluate/adjust
purchase your
product or
service?
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“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.”
Gary Weeks, Owner
Gary Weeks and Company, Furniture makers
www.garyweeks.com
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Summary
Customers And Competition: Know BOTH
or lose!
It’s your job
Stay current
Listen to both customers and
competitors
Be flexible
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