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

Are You Flying Blind?

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!

Doing Your Homework?

Develop your marketing plan. Do it before going online!

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

Build customer loyalty – good/bad?

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.

Craft Producers (Artisans) Using E-commerce In Business

Now imagine the

increases in recent years.

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

WWW.HERBALTURTLE.COM

An Example Of A Log Analysis

WWW.CLICKZ.COM/STATS/SECTORS/SOFTWARE/PRINT.PHP/3578366

Check This…

Are You Ready to Expand The Business?

• Costs• Personnel• Inventory• Sales• Time/energy

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 Venues

• Selling retail vs. wholesale

• Exclusivity• Trade Shows• Sales Reps

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.”

SummaryCustomers And Competition: Know

BOTH or lose!• It’s your job• Stay current• Listen to both customers

and competitors• Be flexible