How to Make your Handmade Business Stand Out from Competitors

We’re taught from a very young age to follow rules and fall in line so it’s no wonder we’re a little timid when it comes to questioning the rules, stepping outside the box and wanting to stand out.

 

My favorite story that teaches us the importance of thinking for ourselves is about a mother and a ham. Yes. A lot can be learned from ham 😉 There are several versions of the tale but the basics are:

 

A mother is cooking a ham and cuts the ends off before putting it in the pan. Her daughter asks why she cut the ends off and the mother replies because that’s what my mother always did. The daughter asks her grandmother why she cuts the ends off and she replies because that’s what my mother did. The daughter asks her great grandmother why she cut the ends off and she explains that her pan was never big enough to fit the full ham.

 

Had the daughter not asked, this ritual of cutting the ends off would have continued to be passed down, wasting a perfectly good slice of meat and letting all the flavorful juices drip out during cooking 🙁

 

So when it comes to your business, ask yourself…..

 

 

WHY IS IT DONE THIS WAY?

Is there a method to your madness? Is it the tried and true, best way of running your handmade business or creating your handmade products or have you just always done it that way?

 

The next question to ask after “why?” is:

 

DOES IT NEED TO BE DONE THIS WAY?

Maybe the great grandmother had a good reason for cutting the ends off the ham that applies to future generations, regardless of pan size. But does that mean the ham can’t be improved upon?

 

Why mess with a good thing right? I get it. But unfortunately in this fast paced world, when it comes to your handmade business, you need to adapt or you’ll become extinct, just like Blockbuster.

 

The last important question to ask is:

 

HOW CAN IT BE DONE DIFFERENTLY?

When running a small handmade business, we have a tendency to look to the big businesses for how it’s done. But I want to encourage you to break that habit and the mold on best practices.

 

Instead of checking out another company’s products, the way they tweet, how their website is set up, etc. in an attempt to mimic them, check them out to see how you can differentiate your handmade products, business and brand to stand out from them

 

Sure there are some rules that everyone follows because it’s the best way but it’s worth exploring whether it’s the best way for you and if all of the rules apply.

 

Maybe a website’s pages are always best displayed in the header of the site but do you need the same categories as everyone else for your handmade business’ website? Can you play around with the wording, order or nesting?

 

If you sell handmade jewelry and rings are your best sellers, you may consider having a tab for each type of ring and nest all other jewelry categories under one tab so that your rings have prime real estate.

 

You don’t want to go so far out of the box that you confuse your shoppers, but be sure you’re adapting to get results and to stand out.

 

Are you inspired? Keep reading and follow the steps below to brainstorm how to better your handmade business and products and stand out from your competition.

 

STEP 1

First, look around the room. Focus on a common household object and ask yourself “what if?” to discover how it could be different. What do you wish the item could do? What are the issues you have with the item? Come up with 3 – 5 ideas to completely change it. They don’t need to make sense and you don’t have to worry about logistics. This is just to get you thinking outside of the box.

 

For example:

Common object: a coiled notebook

  • What if it were a different shape?
  • What if it didn’t use coils?
  • What if you could do something with it besides tossing or storing it once it’s filled?
  • What if I could create and adjust the dividers to suit your needs?
  • What if you could store your laptop in it?

Next, brainstorm some answers. How would the object have to change in order to have a solution to your question?

 

For example:

What fun shapes could notebooks come in? Which materials would make it more environmentally friendly? Maybe notebooks could be sold with a wick and wax so you could roll the notebook up once you’re done with it, dip it in melted wax and burn it as a candle.

 

Go as far as possible outside of the box to get your mind loosey goosey for the next step.

 

STEP 2

Now let’s look at your handmade products and business. Write down all areas of your business you work in, day to day, to create its main categories. I would suggest you take a close look at each category by breaking it into subcategories. You don’t need to bite it all off at once. Work on one area per week, month or quarter.

 

For example:

  • Products – the way they’re made, the materials you use, the selection you offer, etc.
  • Packaging – they types of containers or boxes your items are sold in, the way they’re wrapped after a sale, etc.
  • Website – the design, functionality, copy, photos, etc.
  • Customer service – the way you interact with your fans, how you deliver your products, your policies, etc.
  • Sales – the platforms you sell through, your selling techniques/pitches, the customer experience, etc.
  • Social Media – the look of your pages, the content you post, how often you post, etc.

 

STEP 3

Consider the way you currently run each area of your handmade business and ask why it’s done that way, if it needs to be done that way and how it could be different.

 

If you were the customer and anything was possible, what would you wish your handmade product would do or be? Imagine there were no limits.

 

Again, start as far outside of the box as possible, you can always reel an idea back in to make it more realistic but don’t let norms and how it’s always been done hold you back.

 

STEP 4

Now go through each area of your business again and look at businesses similar to yours. Write down similarities between them all. What’s the norm when it comes to your field?

 

Do they all offer similar products? Are they all aimed towards the same type of customer? Maybe their websites tend to use the same colors, have the same vibe or use really similar wording. Is their branding or packaging lackluster or maybe even non-existent?

 

Once you have some similarities listed, swing your ideas in the complete opposite direction. How can you be different to help you stand out?

 

For example, if you checked out 5 of your competitor’s websites and they all use soft pastels, delicate fonts and are lacking personality, you may stand out by making your website bold and colorful with copy that might not appeal to everyone but definitely catches your ideal customer’s attention.

 

Again, it doesn’t need to make complete sense at this stage, just get crazy with your ideas and think of what the exact opposite of your competitors would be.

 

STEP 5

The last step is to analyze each idea and consider whether it’s a viable option to implement and if it will really help your handmade business stand out.

 

Read over the ideas you jotted down in step 3 and 4 and see if any could actually work for your handmade business. Would they work with your brand? Will they be profitable? Will they appeal to your ideal customer?

 

Take any viable ideas and write them down to either research further, implement at a later date or get started on right away!

 

 

How does your handmade business or products stand out from the competitors? Tell me why shoppers choose your products over a competitors in the comment section below.

 

      

 



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3 Comments

  1. Chris Cortese Krazy Minds Designs says:

    Hi Made Urban!! Thank you for a great article. I love the idea of thinking out of the box. My way of thinking out of the box, was to work with all of you at Made Urban. Because of Made Urban, I feel that I have completely stepped of my comfort zone. I have grateful for all that I have learned and put to good use. Keep up the great work.

    Chris Cortese
    Krazy Minds Designs

  2. Made Urban says:

    Hi Chris! Thanks so much for reading, glad you liked the article! We’re so happy that you joined our community to grow along with us. So great to hear you’re finding the advice helpful and are putting it to use!

    Erin

  3. Anabel Lemus says:

    Hi,
    my name is Ms. Lemus, I would like to know, can I add a poster with my logo name and a pic. To make it stand out with a short note,
    Saying how I my self created, my Accassaries Jewelry,

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