By: Charlene Dunbar
“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”
Processes, communicating and customers were three key words from this definition that I missed the boat on in the early phase of my business. When I became more intentional and consistent in those areas and truly began marketing my product, my suakoko betty sales doubled and became more consistent. Potential customers who were just “interested” before quickly became paying customers. My process for making new styles became easier and less expensive because instead of trying anything to make a quick sale, I knew who I was designing for. Bigger and better opportunities came my way from people and other businesses who liked my brand (Hey, when did that happen? We’re a brand now!!) because they could trust me and my product.
As creatives, it’s easy to default to our strong suit of design and to treat marketing as an afterthought or to give it “hit and run” treatment. Don’t fall into that trap; you’ll miss out on the full potential of your creative business and customers who love what you do will too. I wasted a lot of time trying to design away problems that needed to be solved with marketing. If you are just starting your creative business or you’ve been going for a while and feel stuck, consider your marketing strategy.
Who is your target customer? What are her needs? How will you reach her? How will you build a relationship with her? How much do you need to invest in marketing? Reading articles, following marketing experts, observing your favorite brands or taking a marketing class are all great steps toward answering those questions. I am excited to share more of my marketing journey and teach four tried and true marketing hacks for growing your craft business on March 10th was at Craft Savvy Market in Decatur, GA (register here). Stepping up my marketing game propelled my business and connected me with customers I had only dreamed of. Armed with knowledge, tools and discipline, you can do it!