Turn more Craft Show Browsers into Buyers by Painting a Picture

At a craft show, you meet more people who love your products and don’t buy, than those who do buy.

And that’s because most craft show shoppers arrive as browsers, not buyers.

They’re not searching for anything specific, but rather, are exploring.

However, you can turn their curiosity into a sale but getting them to the buying mindset.

This article explains how.

How craft show shoppers are different

Craft show shoppers are quite different than mall or store shoppers.

Most craft show shoppers are browsers. They don’t have a specific goal in mind (e.g. “I’m looking for a new necklace” or “I want a floral scented soy candle for summer”).

They don’t know what type of vendors they’ll find at a craft show, let alone the specific products those vendors will have.

They’re there to discover.

A buyer, on the other hand, has a good idea of what they want. Which makes them much easier to sell to.

They can already imagine what they’re going to pair their new necklace with, or when and where they’re going to burn their new candle.

So if you want more craft show shoppers to buy, you need to get them into a buyer’s mindset.

 

How to quickly turn browsers into buyers

Because a craft show vendor has limited space, they often skip the most important elements:

Props that help paint a picture.

When a shopper sees a knitted winter hat stacked on a table, or even one displayed on a hat stand, they likely think:

“It’s a hat.”

But when the vendor displays that same hat next to a bust form wearing a winter coat and a scarf, or displays a photo of someone wearing the hat on a winter day, with a winter coat and scarf, holding a coffee, they get the feeling of “cozy”.

They can also start to imagine themselves in that hat.

The vendor has helped paint the picture of:

• How the hat fits (e.g. is it slouchy or tight fitting)
• How one might style their hair when wearing the hat
• The type of coat it would look good with
• How the hat looks with a scarf (matching or coordinating?)
• How it might feel to wear the hat (being cozy on a winter day)

 

How to paint a picture

Painting a picture to help craft show shoppers imagine themselves using/wearing your products isn’t hard. But it does require a little extra effort.

Here are 4 techniques to use in your craft show booth:

1 – Feeling

Start by thinking about how you want your customers to feel when using your product

For example:

• Bath bomb
  • Feel – calm and relaxed
• Winter hat
  • Feel – cozy and warm

 

2 – Surroundings

Next, think about what your product might be surrounded by when in use.

For example:

• Bath bomb
  • Feel – calm and relaxed
    • Surroundings – water, towels, candle, etc.
• Winter hat
  • Feel – cozy and warm
    • Surroundings – snow, warm drinks, winter attire, etc.

 

3 – Recreate

Now you can brainstorm ways you can recreate a feeling and mimic the surroundings.

There are a few ways to do that:

1. Props – items you can sprinkle into your display to subtly create a feeling or make shoppers feel like they’re in a specific environment.
2. Photographs – if the type of props you might need won’t realistically fit into your display, you can use a few lifestyle photos to help convey a message.
3. Product groupings – the way you group your products together can subtly help send a message. For example, a bath and body vendor may group all bath products in one section, as opposed to blending bath and skincare products throughout the display. If you want a shopper to feel feminine, you may create a product grouping of pink coloured products. The groupings tell shoppers how everything fits together.
4. Signage – the words you use in signs can help paint a picture. Instead of a sign that reads: “Hats – $30”, it might say “Coffee Run Beanies – $30” so shoppers instantly get an idea of where and when they’d wear it.
5. Sales Pitch – as you’re talking with shoppers, make sure you’re helping to paint a picture. Instead of telling shoppers what type of yarn your hats are made with, tell them when you wear the hat and how you style it.

For example:

Bath bomb

• Feel – calm and relaxed
• Surroundings – water, towels, candle, etc.
• Recreate:
  • Props – rolled up towels, a tabletop water fountain for the effect of running water, a bath tray, etc.
  • Photographs – a photo of a bathtub filled with steamy water, a bath tray with a candle flickering a book, and a bath bomb.
  • Product groupings – bath bombs and other bath/relaxing products grouped together in one section.
  • Signage – “Calming Bath Bombs”
  • Sales pitch – work lots of words in that make shoppers think about relaxing in a bath, feeling calm, de-stressing, and get them imagining having a glass of wine in a bath while reading a book or listening to music.

 

Winter hat

• Feel – cozy and warm
• Surroundings – snow, warm drinks, winter attire, etc.
• Recreate:
  • Props – faux snow (e.g. cotton batting), coffee thermos, bust form wearing a winter coat, winter boots, etc.
  • Photographs – someone outside, wearing winter attire, holding a hot coffee, surrounded by snow.
  • Product groupings – instead of each type of product being grouped together (e.g. hats in one section, scarves in another), matching/coordinating hats, scarves, and mittens are grouped and there is a section for each color/color scheme.
  • Signage – Use the words “warm” and “cozy” in product signs.
  • Sales pitch – share stories about where you wear the hat, what type of winter coat it looks great with (color, material, style), and explain why it’s warm and cozy (e.g. type of material used).

 

You have to make it easy for shoppers.

They don’t want to take the time to think about how your products might fit into their lives.

So show them.

Every detail in your craft show display (props, colours, signage, product groupings, etc.) should fill in a piece of the puzzle and help paint a picture.