Running a market stall is great. First, you have to source products which you need to then either adapt or put your own flair upon, and then package and sell. But it’s the Small Item Sales which really can make the difference to your overall success in the Market Stall arena.
So are you accommodating Small Item Sales?
If you are an artist or potter and you only have big ticket items on offer, then perhaps you are missing the whole point of customer relations.
Let’s have a look at how the Small Sale can really change things for you.
A Day Out
Imagine you are a customer out for the day. You thought it would be good to wander around the market and take in the sun and atmosphere.
Then you come across a stall with the most amazing art. The colours jump out at you and the images are so real, but you didn’t come here to spend hundreds of pounds/dollars. You came for a day out, and as you look around the stall, everything is 3 figures or more.
You tell yourself that you must remember to come back and visit this market another time and make some purchases especially of the one with the landscape just as you remember from home.
Then you walk on and forget all about it!
All is Lost Without a Sale
So often this scenario plays out time and time again. Within the marketing world, it is said it takes nearly 10 years for an icon to be associated with a brand in the mind of the public.
10 years is a long time, and as a market stall owner, you won’t have the financial backing of millions of dollars/pounds to keep advertising and promoting your business to ensure that brand is always front and centre of your paying customers.
The customer thinks about you and forgets you. If they are regular visitors to your market it doesn’t mean they are regular to your stall and besides, stalls change all the time, the weather and light have a different attraction to different people.
The sale is the connection to selling on to customers time and time again.
There is effort involved, but we are all required to give of ourselves a little bit. To promote our business and ultimately the desire we have to succeed in something we love doing.
Giving is Really Important
When a customer goes to a food stall and there is a taster on offer, that is in effect worth so much more to the Market Stall than one can really quantify.
Why do you think shops have stands for you to try their latest dish?
Or restaurants that you frequent may offer you taster meals so you can see how wonderful the flavours really are?
The giving is part of a sale. It has been scientifically proven that should a waiter/tress offer a mint when producing the bill for a meal, the customer will more likely give a tip in kind. It is a psychological mechanism we all are a slave to.
Imagine if the meal was so tasty, that you cannot wait to return, and the waiter/tress comes over and throws the bill on the table and walks off. You immediately change your mind on your food. Had the waiter/tress handed you the bill with the mints, your thoughts and feelings would be heightened and you would certainly return.
Give a little more from your stall and promote what you have.
The Small Sales with an ‘added bonus’
When you next setup your stall with your 3 figure art or your pottery that has a price tag over $50, make sure you are also selling the $2-$5 or £2-£5 items too. You don’t need them all out at once, have them dotted about the stall for people to find, or to interest someone in as they prepare to walk away.
Show them the item, tell them the cost and offer a way they can use it or display it. It is only a couple of dollars to them and they will be grateful for the advice. You don’t need to be pushy either, just make them aware that there are items that are available for everyone’s wallets.
When they purchase the item, show even more kindness by wrapping it up in a small hessian bag or some special coloured paper that is fragranced. All contribute to the idea that they are getting far more than you are selling.
Finally, and here is where your masterstroke of genius comes into play, give your brand a much-needed boost. Place inside the item your business card or small flyer so that the customer knows where to contact you and what you are offering.
Many people may not initially see what they are after on a day to the market, but will call later on and ask if you have ever painted a portrait of a dog or whether you make teapots from fired clay!
With your details, the small gift they bought and all that love you showered them with, you are going to be first on their list when it comes to that call.
The Caveat
Don’t think you can con people though!
You know as well as I do when someone is being disingenuous and it comes across as a complete turn-off. No one wants to be conned and this is certainly not an article advocating that, but what it is doing is making folks aware of who you are as a person.
So many stall owners are desperately trying to get their amazing work out for the world to see, but no one seems to care. That’s usually down to no one knowing who you are or what you are like as a person.
Show your love for your market stall items, care about how they are displayed and shower your potential customers with love. They will love you back – I promise!
Conclusion
Getting yourself recognised is so important in the market. There may be others who are selling their items, shouting and calling away, there may even be similar market stalls to you, but set yourself apart. Make the Small Item Sales to get people interested in what you are doing and they will be back to visit with you again.
If you are starting out with a market stall and getting going, have a look at the Market Nosh course on How to Start Market Stall for some great ideas. (At least we think they are!) If you have any comments let us know through our social media or use the contact page and ask your questions. We love to hear from you.
