Tips from the pro (episode #10) - Preparing your craft market

Welcome to a new episode of our Pro Tips series produced in partnership with Melanie Jung, creator of the blog Les Pies Bavardes. She gives you her precious advice to make your business grow and move forward on the road to success.

With spring comes the season of artisan markets! In this new video, Mélanie gives us tips and tricks to prepare for the big day. And you will see, it requires a little bit of organization and anticipation...

Organize your market in advance

Before you even embark on this adventure, you need to find out about the markets around you: When is it held? What is the theme? What is the period? What type of public is there? How many people attend? Is it consistent with my offer? etc. There is no need to do all the markets, it is better to target geographically and according to your target customers. If you don't target well, you risk not selling.
Where to get information? At the tourist office near you, at your town hall, in Facebook groups, among your network of designers (word of mouth works pretty well)...

Once you've spotted an interesting market, don't forget to register. It's silly to say, but sometimes you have to anticipate. Be aware of the deadline for applications. Indeed, for some events, you have to register several weeks or even months in advance. Ask the organizer for details.

Registration done? Now it's time to get organized:

• Make abacklog. Starting from the date of the event, write on a chart what you have to do, when, how and the deadlines to do it. Why make a retroplanning? This countdown planning is very efficient to organize your projects without forgetting anything.
• Make your calculations to know your expenses (various expenses, remuneration of the number of hours spent on site, price of the stands, etc.). The expenses will allow you to estimate the number of products to create and the selling price to set to be profitable.
• List your needs and anticipate your orders for raw materials from your suppliers.

Make your creations

At this stage, you have everything you need to create with complete peace of mind: anticipate your needs so that you can make enough products in time. You must make the creations you plan to sell to at least cover your costs and stock (about double your creations).

Don't forget that your creations must be in adequacy with the theme of the market. For example, if you make children's clothes and you participate in a market on the world of babies, only plan to sell baby clothes.

Organize your booth

Think about the design of your booth, making sure that it is attractive and reflects your brand image. Your stand must be readable and must express your universe. Try to create volumes and different levels to create dynamism, but avoid overloading it. Ideally, you should test your stand in real life situations at home or in your workshop.
Plan your exhibition furniture and decoration:

• Choose a stable table.
• Buy nice displays and decorations that will showcase your creations.
• Invest in a barnum to shelter your creations, rather than an arbour: it will look professional, it will be more solid and less likely to fly away.
• Do not neglect the light, it is part of your scenography.
• Do not forget thevisual identity: logo, banner, kakemono...

Select different ranges ofpackaging according to the size and fragility of your creations, the brand image, the season (Christmas gift, flowery packaging for spring, etc.)... To save time, prepare them in advance with a business card, a flyer, a small goodie, a card to explain your reason or with practical information, samples, a discount card on a next purchase...

Plan your means of payment: have a cash register with enough cash to give change, use Sumup for payment by credit card. Contact your bank if you need change and to find out which solution is best suited to your needs.

Take care of your communication

It's all very well to make a deal, but it's important that people know about it. So let's establish a communication plan! Announce your presence on the market by email and on your social networks with an attractive newsletter, a feedback account... Publish little by little, then more and more often.

Provide business cards and flyers with distinctive communication elements: your company name, your activity, your contact information, the address of your online store or website and your social networks. If you don't have enough, check the printing deadlines.

On the market on the day

On site, you'll need to set up your booth the way you imagined it at home. To help you reproduce it, consider taking a picture with your phone.

Bring with you a calculator so that you don't make mistakes when calculating prices, a small notebook to keep track of your sales, a chair to sit on, food and drinks... Make a checklist so that you don't forget anything!
Also make sure you have plenty of stock available throughout the show. But don't unpack everything, it might overload your stand.
Finally, don't hesitate to communicate on your payment methods by clearly displaying on your stand if your customers can pay by credit card.

To attract customers, try to stand out, to catch their attention through animations, contests, workshops... But it can also be with a specific outfit that will not go unnoticed.

Taking stock

After the market, it is important to take stock of this experience: Did I spend a lot of time preparing it? What were the sales? What were the expenses? What is the state of the inventory when I get home? Did I enjoy doing this market? All of these elements put together will help you know if it's worth participating in this event again next year.