How To Deal with Competition at a Craft Show
Chances are, you won’t be the only one selling handmade goods under your category at a craft show. If it’s a popular craft show, it will be competitive to get shoppers’ attention and you’ll likely be competing with fellow jewelry designers, knitters, soap makers, etc. at most events.
Most juried craft shows will limit how many vendors there are under each category/subcategory. However, if you’ve found your booth a little too close to your competition, here are 10 tips to make the best of the situation.
#1 – Ask to move spots
If set up has just begun and you notice you’re going to be close to someone selling a really similar product, it may be worth it to talk to the organizer. Politely bring it up and see if there’s an opportunity for you to swap spots with another table that isn’t set up yet; it may have been a simple oversight by the organizer.
If you and the majority of vendors are already set up before you notice or it’s too hectic for the organizer to rearrange anything….on to the next points!
#2 – Attitude is everything
If the layout is set and there’s no way around it, don’t let it get you down. The worst thing you can do at this point is get upset and let it ruin your day. Shoppers will be able to feel your energy and if you’re saying “welcome to my table” but are feeling frustrated, that’s going to come across. Put a smile on your face and fake it ’til you make it!
#3: Rework your set up
You’ve probably practiced and perfected your booth setup but sometimes you have to be flexible. If you have pieces that are different from your competitors, put those in an eye-catching area. You can direct that part of the display towards the flow of traffic so they’re the first items people see or move them higher so they’re closer to eye level.
If you design your setup in collections and zones, it will be easy to shift things around to accommodate each craft show without having to rethink your entire display.
>> Here’s how to create zones: Craft Show Table Layout Tips
#4: Share your story
Getting to meet the maker is a big reason people choose to shop at craft shows. Although the vendor next to you may be selling a similar product, they’ll have a different story and connect with different shoppers than you. Be sure to share your business’s story and show your personality.
#5: Make it easy to shop
This should apply to your booth regardless of where you’re placed in relation to other vendors, but the more your setup allows people to interact with your product, the better. People are more likely to buy if they touch or pick up the merchandise. Make sure it’s not crowded or feeling too fragile; if customers are afraid to pick up items in fear of knocking something over, that could cost you sales.
If you need to, remove some of your product and keep it behind your table. Creating more of a display, rather than a stock room will make your space more refined, more welcoming, and easier to shop.
>> Here’s how to create a display, rather than a stock room: Craft Show Display 5 Minute Fix: Display vs. Stock
#6: Hand out marketing material
The majority of craft show shoppers won’t buy from you. This is especially true if they’ve already purchased a similar product from another vendor (e.g. you’re selling jewelry and they’ve already purcahsed a piece of jewelry from another vendor). But that doesn’t mean they’re not interested in your products.
Have business cards on the end of your table and consider collecting email addresses for your newsletter (here’s a free printable newsletter signup form). Although you may not make as many sales at the event, due to a lot of competition, you may be able to get sales coming in after the event.
#7: Be flexible with type of payment
I lost a lot of sales because I didn’t accept credit/debit cards in the beginning. I even watched one shopper leave my table without buying (because she didn’t have cash) and buy from my competitor across the aisle, who accepted credit cards.
If shoppers need to leave your table to go grab cash from an ATM, they’re more likely to bump into your competitors and find something they like at their booth.
#8: Don’t reduce your prices
It may be tempting to drop your prices at an event to make sales, but this can end up doing more harm than good. Stand behind your work and its value and instead of reducing prices, take more time to explain your product’s benefits and what makes them valuable.
#9: Consider a promotion
Cutting prices and running promotions are very different. Running a promotion still shows the shopper the true value of the item but gives a little incentive to buy now. Again, don’t undervalue your work; make sure your costs are being covered and you’re still making a profit. But think about how you can give the customer a little more value for their purchase. Perhaps you can offer a 10% discount on the second item people purchase from you. This may grab a shopper’s attention to stop and look around as well as increase your items per transaction which is always a good thing!
Hopefully you have extra signage materials in your craft show toolkit so you can whip up a sign to communicate the promotion. Try your best not to make it look like it’s last minute though. If you don’t have extra signage, simply explain the promotion to each shopper after you’ve greeted them and shared your elevator pitch.
#10: Plan for the next show
If you’re at a craft show and too much competition is impeding your sales, there may not be a ton you can do. However, you can start thinking about the next one and how you can create products and a display that stand out, no matter how much competition you have.
Consider if you can target a different market, create a more interesting display, or plan a new product collection.
Competition will always be a challenge in business, but do your best to find the opportunities in those challenges.
Have you been positioned next to a competitor at a craft show? How did you deal with it? Tell me in the comments!
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Hey, I’m Erin 🙂 I write about small business and craft show techniques I’ve learned from being a small business owner for almost 2 decades, selling at dozens of craft shows, and earning a diploma in Visual Communication Design. I hope you find my advice helpful!
I was positioned next to someone who was selling the same items as me. Her style was different, though. But what made it doable was that we both had good attitudes and talked shop between customers. I think we both learned a lot and left friends!
Hey Kristine, thanks for reading! That’s why it’s so great to have a distinctive style, even if you’re next to someone selling the same type of product, you’ll attract different customers. Glad you had a positive experience 🙂
Sometimes it can work in your favour, we recently had a show where we were 4 spots from someone selling the same product. Because ours was more fun and longer lasting, customers got info from the other vendor but then came and bought ours as it must be a hot item if more than one is selling and they liked ours. We ended up having an amazing show even though we thought we wouldn’t.
Years ago I was put beside someone selling crochet items and I was selling knit items. We could have given each other the evil eye but instead we were friendly. Our items were different with different customers. 6 years later and we are still friends and she has been a wholesaler of our felted items for 5 years and has helped us secure other accounts.
Life throws you hurdles, it’s how you handle it that seals the outcome.