Every Craft Show Table Should Have a Gateway Product

When a consumer first comes across your business, they’re unlikely to invest in your core products; they’re considered a cold lead.

Cold leads are people who have the potential to be your customer, but are unfamiliar with your business, brand, and products; they’re discovering them for the first time.

You’ll come across cold leads at a craft show.

(Online, when marketing through social media, most people who see your posts will be cold leads.)

Since the majority of people who come across your business will be cold leads/new shoppers, it’s important to consider how your product line appeals to them.

Imagine you’re not in the market for a new wallet, but you come across a business selling wallets.

You love the style and functionality of them…but again, you don’t need a new wallet.

You’re unlikely to be ready to spend $30 – $50 on a new one.

If that craft show vendor only has $50 wallets for sale, you won’t buy anything.

But if they also have items in the $10 – $20 range, you might buy something.

It’s better to make a sale than not.

This is where gateway products come in.

 

Benefits of getting people to buy (even if they only spend $5) with you

Some makers neglect offering smaller items because they’re focused on making the big sales. But here are a few reasons you should add lower-priced items to your product line:

• Commitment – when a shopper goes from browsing to buying, there’s a psychological shift that happens, and they’re now justifying their purchase and why it was a good idea to spend money with you.
• Trust – once they’ve handed over their money, they’re committed, and they’ll stop questioning…Is it a good price? Do I need it? Is it worth it? Their questioning turns to trust.
• Top of mind – if a craft show shopper simply walks by your booth, they’re unlikely to remember it. If they stop and browse, or have a conversation with you, they’re more likely to remember it. And if they buy, they’ll be reminded of the business every time they see the item they purchased. If they never think about your business, they won’t come back to buy.
• Word of mouth marketing – if they’re excited about the item, they’re going to show it off to others (“Look at what I found at the market”). And if it’s an item they’ll wear or use in front of others, those people may notice and ask about the item; free marketing.
• Follow-up marketing – it’s easier to get someone on your newsletter list when they’re a customer. And then you have an opportunity to stay in touch with them.
• Builds momentum – it’s easier to sell to an existing customer than to a new shopper/cold lead. Once they’ve decided to buy (even a small item), you’ve gained their trust, and they’ll feel more comfortable buying (again) from a brand they know and trust.

 

Why would people buy your gateway products?

You may be wondering why someone would want to buy a smaller (seemingly less significant) item when it’s sitting next to your big shiny products. Here are a few reasons I (and many others) buy lower-priced products:

To support you

When I meet a business owner or discover a business that I love, I want to support them in any way I can (even if it’s small). I may not always be able to buy their core product/service, but being able to show my support in a smaller way is important.

If you’ve made a connection with a craft show shopper (here’s how to do that if you hate selling), they’ll feel even more compelled to support you in some way, even if they can’t afford/don’t need the main item you’re selling.

To tide them over

When I come across a product I love, but that I’m not ready to buy, I love it when there’s a lower-priced option that’s like a snack to tide me over.

There’s an exciting feeling that comes with buying something new. A smaller item can evoke some of that excitement until they’re ready to buy the bigger, more expensive item.

As a reminder

There are hundreds of items on my wish list. Products I stumble upon on social media, courses I want to take, restaurants I want to check out, etc.

I can’t remember everything I want to spend money on. So sometimes, a smaller item (that I’m prepared to buy) can act as a reminder.

When I use that ruffled tea towel, it reminds me of the ruffled apron and oven mitt I want to purchase.

To be the first

There’s a sense of pride many handmade supporters have…of being the first to discover a business or a cool product.

Having a smaller item, until they’re ready to buy the bigger item, allows them to show off a new product and let their friends and family know; they discovered you first.

 

Key qualities of a gateway product

When brainstorming what to make to add a gateway product to your lineup, keep these points in mind:

1 – Lower priced

What’s considered “lower-priced” will depend on your product line and your target market.

It should be a price that people don’t need to think twice about.

For many craft show shoppers, that’s in the $5 – $20 range.

That price range may be higher if your core products are hundreds or thousands of dollars.

For example, if your target market is comfortable spending $500 on the types of products you sell, $50 may feel noncommittal to them.

As a handmade business, you don’t really want to go lower than $5, because you risk the items holding very little value to the customer.

 

2 – Even priced

Many craft show shoppers will pay in cash. So pricing your gateway product at an even number that matches common bills (e.g. $5 or $10 rather than $12) will make the decision to buy even easier.

When someone can hand over a single bill and be done, there’s very little friction.

>> Here are 3 steps to remove buying friction at craft shows

If they, or you, must stop to search for change, it can create a barrier and interrupt the buying momentum.

 

3 – Smaller

A gateway product should be easy to grab (or cheap/free to ship). If a craft show shopper must lug a big item around a busy craft show, they’re less likely to buy it.

It should be easy and convenient to buy.

 

4 – Exciting

You don’t want your gateway products to feel like a consolation prize. It should be just as exciting and on-brand as your core products.

For example, if a vendor is selling high-quality, hand-stitched leather wallets, a paper bookmark won’t be very appealing to the customer interested in leather products.

But if the same materials and quality craftsmanship are applied to a money clip or keychain, they’ll get to enjoy the qualities of that smaller item just as much.

 

5 – Related

One of the main benefits of selling a gateway product is that it will act as a reminder and encourage customers to come back and buy a core product.

So the gateway product should have some connection to your core products.

If I buy a money clip from the leather wallet vendor, I’m going to think about that wallet I really want every time I use the money clip.

On the other hand, a fridge magnet or calendar won’t create that same connection.

 

6 – Lower profit margin (optional)

Ideally, your gateway product will be profitable, but smaller profit margins may still be okay if the sales of your gateway products more often than not lead to the sale of your core products.

You may want to sacrifice some of the profits on your gateway products to keep their prices lower…so they’re more appealing to buy.

However, don’t price your gateway products so low that they make your other products seem overpriced.

If a money clip is only $5 and a simple single-fold wallet with minimal pockets is $50, customers will wonder what makes the wallet so expensive.

>> You can learn more about loss leaders here: 6 Ways To Use a Loss Leader to Make More Money

 

Track Sales

You may not know where every lead comes from or always know if a customer is new or repeating. But you may be able to implement some tactics, so you know if your gateway product is doing the trick, or if you need to try something different.

Once you introduce your gateway product(s), pay attention to sales stats. Is your gateway item selling? If you have multiple gateway items, which one is producing the most sales?

At a craft show, take the time to chat with shoppers, so you know if they’ve heard of your business and/or own one of your products already.

Online, you may add a short field during the checkout process that asks how the customer heard about your business. “I already own a product,” would be one of the multiple-choice answers so you know if previous sales are creating repeat customers.

This is where coupon codes can come in handy too. When you share a specific coupon code with people who purchased a gateway product, you’ll know when they use it and that the new sale is likely because of the gateway product.

I share more about coupons and how to turn more gateway product customers into repeat customers in the article:

>> How To Turn $5 Craft Show Sales into High-Value Customers