17 Oct Creating the perfect Market Stall
Our tips on creating your dream Market Stall…
Hold up! Is your product suitable for a market environment? This is an issue a lot of stallholders find, and wonder why they are not gaining worthy sales on a busy market-day Saturday. Your product strategy should consist of selling more than 1 item category. Sell a variety of colours and styles, with varied price points. We have created 3 main categories in terms of how to work within these price points
Bread and Butter items – in order to draw the customer in, look at creating a tier price scale. You may find these items are the ones that can generate higher turnover, resulting in less profit margin. Although these items individually have a smaller profit margin, they can also gain you a higher profit at the end of the day.
Mid-range items – The bulk of your work. The reason you do what you do is to create that profit margin that is worth it. You can start selling this item, once the customer is drawn in by the bread and butter. These items are special, yet affordable – meaning more of a profit for you!
Highlight pieces – The ‘wow’ factor items. Your high-end customers may be the ones drawn into these items. They may generate less sales but with a higher profit.
So, you’re after some examples? If you are an artist that creates beautiful illustrations, your exclusive framed prints would be sold as your highlight pieces, a variety of sizes of your unframed prints (possibly on canvas) as your mid-range, and greeting cards as your bread and butter.
Stand out from the crowd
Here at Redsteps, we are all about being UNIQUE. In order for your potential customers to make the stop at your stall, we have put together a few tips to stand out.
Whilst market events are about supporting the community, you are also competing with the other stallholders. Why would a customer buy from you and not another stall?
Do some research, look at other market and craft events, check out store and gallery merchandising methods and check out design blogs for inspiration. Keeping up with the trend is key, if you manage to do this, we can assure you will turn some eyes. We don’t advise spending big on you market stall. Get creative, use knick-knacks from around your house, spend a couple of hours making a stand yourself with some cool wood you found in the garage (or even Bunnings) and get working! If you have the passion for standing out, it will take some work, so be prepared to put time aside in bringing your stall to life.
Offer multiple payment options:
Let’s be honest, it’s 2016 and not a lot of buyers are interested in carrying cash around these days. Depending on the market, an Eftpos machine may become extremely handy to have when it comes to the payment process with your customers. Think about the location of the market first, and decide from there. Hint: Markets within 20k from the city = EFTPOS!
You don’t want customers bailing and saying ‘we’ll be back’ when you know they won’t be.
If you are not interested in signing up to a mobile eftpos terminal, consider offering PayPal payments.
Offers and specials: Good or bad?
You don’t want to come across as though you are a garage sale to your customers, so where is the line of offering special discounts on your items without coming across cheap?
There are some classier ways you can introduce some market deals and make potential customers feel a little special! Consider creating a classy offer that does not sound too good to be true. Our favourites:
- Buy a product and receive something complementary
- Take-home goody bags with every purchase
- A unique gift to fit with the season – i.e. organic sunscreen for summer
- Special 2 for 1 offer
These specials can be a great way for you to grow your customer base.