Customer Rapport At Craft Fairs: How To Make More Money
So, you made all of your inventory, packed up, set up at your craft fair venue and now what? Customer rapport is extremely important at craft fairs and it can make a huge difference in the number of sales you make for the day. Here are a few tips for you that might help you to make more sales. You might want to try some of these tips out at your next craft fair and see if they help you to make more sales and thus, more money that day. Here goes!
Greet each customer that comes to your booth with a friendly hello and smile. Just looking friendly will help customers to feel welcome. This versus being unengaged and bored looking just at your phone.
Strike up a conversation with your customer. For example, “Nice day isn’t it?” Or something generic. This shows you are warm and friendly. If it is a seasonal craft fair such as Christmas time, you could ask them if they started their Christmas shopping yet and give them some great gift ideas from your booth.
Beware of the customer who takes up all of your time and attention. I once had a customer that came and asked all kinds of questions about a custom order she was interested in. She pulled out many items and told me to put them on the side for her. She took up over half an hour of my time while other customers were there and left. In the end this customer never made a purchase and I probably lost out on a lot of sales because it was a really busy night. In this case, what I should have done was politely excuse myself and greet the other customers. This customer finally left my booth. The rest of the night was busy. At the end of the night, while it was time to pack up, this same customer showed up at my booth asking if she could come to my house and take a look at all of my inventory. I declined the offer. She kept talking. All of the other vendors packed up and left and I was the last vendor left. Finally, she asked for my business card so that she could contact me further. I quickly gave her my business card and she left. I finally packed up for the night about an hour later. The next day, this same customer emailed me saying that my phone number was not on my business card (yes, I do that on purpose). I politely told her that she could correspond my email. The customer never did buy or order anything. There are customers who can take up all of your time and attention. Be sure to pay attention to every customer who comes to your booth and not let any one customer monopolize your time. This can result in a loss of sales.
Beware of the acquaintance who stops by your booth. It is inevitable that you will see people you know at the craft fairs. They may come by and talk story with you. I was once at a two hour market. There was only two hours to make all of your sales. Half an hour into the market, someone I knew stopped by and started talking. She talked on and on and customers came and went. This took up a good hour. Needless to say, not many sales were made that day. If that were to happen again I would keep it brief and tell them that I’d talk to them later and to have a good day. A fair is not the time to chat with friends. It’s a time to market and sell your products.
Beware of the creepy dudes. Sometimes there are customers whose actions are totally inappropriate. Do not engage in conversation with them. Keep your talk brief and move on to another customer. I once had a creepy dude keep coming back to my booth and he didn’t intend to buy anything. So ignore them, be firm, or call security. Engaging with these people will not gain you any sales.
Recognize repeat customers. You will soon learn to recognize repeat customers. You may want to reward them with a discount or a free gift or just a plain thank you. I had a customer show up once at my booth and I commented on how beautiful her earrings were. She replied, “Yes, you made them.” On closer inspection, I realized they were mine! She told me she bought them from me at another fair. You may not realize it, but the same customers may come back to shop from you. It might be good to start or to have some type of rewards program for your business.
Living in Hawaii, I have been a vendor at many craft fairs in Waikiki. It is always an interesting conversation to see if the customers are tourists or locals, and I always ask where they are from. This lets me know what they might be interested in purchasing as well. I’ve met customers from Israel, Australia, Japan, France, Italy, the continental United States, and more.
Customers are a vital part of your business. It is a good idea to spend time greeting and establishing rapport with them. You may find that your sales will increase as you do so.