Part 2 :
If you missed the Part 1 of How to prepare for a market stall chick here
The following steps will help you to prepare
and cover all the essential tasks you need to do to get ready for your market.
Plan your production activities: Have a plan in placed give yourself at
least 12 weeks to get your stock together if you are a new start. We encourage our creative clients to work on a
90 days plan. If you are going to be
doing markets regularly then you need to keep creating and producing products
to cater for different market events. The key is to plan your activities backward
and then working forward to the final day of the market. By doing this way you will cover all aspects
of the market event.
Stall Layout: Another step to preparing for a market
is the stall layout. When you receive your acceptance it should come with a map
and where you stall will be. This will help you know how much space you have
available. It would be a good idea to map out where you want all your stock to
be. If you take time to make a mock up display of your product in stall before
you leave home, or at least plan your display on paper, your set up on the day will go much easier.
Set up: It is a good idea to store your
unpacking material in the stall as you pack, so it’s accessible when you are
ready to pack up and leave. This is depended on how big is your stall. Some
shows will allocate a space for you to store your boxes and extra stock,
consult your event organiser about this. Make sure you have the basic tools
that you might need during the show and those you need for breakdown when the show
is over. Once your stall is up and nicely displayed with products, spend a few
minutes taking photographs. Keep your stall neat, tidy and free of dust.
Visual Merchandising: Display
your product in the best way you can. Appearance can play an essential role in
making a sale, as is picking an appropriate price to sell your product at. Poor
appearance or too high a price will result in few or no sales. Similarly, you
won't make many sales if you don't make clear the price of an item. Many
customers are too polite to ask or may assume that the price is too high. Add a
small percentage to your sale price which you can allow to be knocked off
should you need to haggle. There are many ways to display your products, you
can group them in a theme or at a price point. For example you can have a
section for “Gift under $20” select an attractive price point or a section for
gift ideas for Mothers’ day etc. Have fun with your visual merchandising.
Review it after you first day of trading if something not working then change it
as you only have a day or two of trading.
Pricing: After you have planned your lay out
of your stall, the next step is to figure out how much you want to price all of
your products for. It might be helpful for the more expensive things to be put
in the front so people have to walk past them to get to the smaller items. You
will want to check with other promoters about prices to make sure that your
pricing isn't too high or too low. It might also be a good idea to reduce some stock
and advertise them for a little less for “Market Special” so people think that
they are getting a good deal. Maybe have the retail
price crossed out with the sale price below it. This will make them want to buy
now rather than if they know that the price on the product is always this price
and they can get it at anytime. This is only an idea for you to attract
footfall into your stall, if you don’t want to reduce your price and that is
fine you too just need to come up with an incentive to attract customers it
could even be gift with purchase or buy one and get the second one half price.
Be creative with your approach.
Promotional Materials: Make sure when planning for a market
to have something for people to take home with them even if they do not buy
from you. Give them something that will make them remember your name: like a business card, a flyer, postcard or
something that has your contact details and your website on it. This way if
they decide to order in the future they can go on your website or call you up. Have
your product kit ready for potential retailera who might be interested to have
your product in their stores.
Freebies: People love free gift as long as you are promoting your business. If you
have a budget get badges or free magnet with your business details on it or if
you have any off cut fabrics maybe you can make little thank you card as a give
away. There are so many ideas you just have to explore it and find what work
for your business
Pens & Papers: Another thing to remember when
planning for a market stall is to always have enough pens lying around so
people have something to write with. Also have a guest book or mailing list
forms on a clip board that people can leave comments and put their e-mail
address on so you can send out newsletter or promotional materials. Keep the
mailing list clip board visible, so people can add their emailing to the list.
It is always a good idea to have a few listing appear on the form this is to
encourage the next customer to fill in theirs.
You know people are sheepy.
Tune in for Part 3 Next Friday
