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Well we did it. All 5 days of it. And it wasn't all that bad!
After every was said and done, it was kind of easy. Now don't get me wrong, the build-up was anything but easy. But once we were there, everything was set and the doors were open, it was easy.
I learned a few things...
- Buyers (most of them anyway) should know what will or will not work in their store, at least by a looks standard. I had a buyer look around, smell, try & then say "I love your products but the packaging is just too simple, clean & medicinal." I was thrilled because that is exactly what I want my packaging to be. Her store was more french country and even if she placed an order, the products probably wouldn't have moved.
- Be happy as long as they give your booth a look. Both good and bad, I was across from a very busy booth. It was great because traffic was hustling and bustling there, but more often than not people looked at them and then got distracted. Now, to their advantage, they did have a large corner booth with a toilet (with flowers in it) on the corner. I found that 100% of the people who didn't look at my booth didn't come in. But that a small % of the people who did look in, came in. Because of this, I made sure that we greeted as many people as we could, just to get their attention. And yes, we did have a few that doubled back to come take a closer look.
- Make sure that your booth engages the buyer from all angles. I had created a banner for the wall that didn't have product on it but once we were there I felt it was just too big so instead I hung our press clippings. The press clippings didn't grab people and worse, they didn't tell people what we had.
Now I know what you're wondering. How much money did she make!?!? I consider it an investment & a learning experience & I feel we faired ok since I hear the going experience for first time exhibitors is to not even make their booth fee. The Mart Legend is that it take 3 showings to let people know you're serious I can't wait to see what January next year does for us.
And yes, we'll be doing it again in July!
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Here we are. The booth is set-up. The marketing & sales materials are snugly in their boxes in the booth. And so far, knock on wood, everything has gone as planned.
A couple of key things that I'm so glad we did...
- I did my homework. I talked with other people who had done the show in the past & listened to what worked & didn't work for them.
- Practice run. For more than a few days (including through a New Year's Eve Party - thank goodness it was for my 3-year-old) our dining room was considered Display Central. We laid the floor, assembled the fixtures, merchandised them, put up signage... Then, when it was time to take it all down we put everything we used in a toolbox, packed according to when we would need things (i.e. the floor was the last thing packed since it would be the first thing assembled on site.)
- Go early. If you can that is. Since we leave not so far away from Atlanta, we started setting-up on Monday. We were about 80% complete when we went in today, while most everyone else was scurrying around like crazy we were able to take our time, chit chat, eat a good lunch complete our 19% & go home. All while some booths hadn't even started setting up.
- Plan time for last minute things. This is the last 1% we have to do. A couple of signs to print. A metal strip to go on our bare wall to display press clippings, 3 labels that we forgot to bring & 2 spreads that we also forgot.
Here is a quick picture of the booth (taken on a cell phone, since the camera was the only set-up thing we forgot in this whole ordeal.)
So wish us luck. We would like to wish luck to a few other designers that we know are going to be there & who advised us, vented with us & befriended us through this process: Flutterbugs, Freshie & Zero & HollyBeth.
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Now that I've got my booth figured out (yea right, at least I have a start though!) I needed to figure out what in the world am I going to hand out?
Pre-Show
I'm doing some pre-show marketing, thanks to America's Mart. They sent me 150 mailing labels (for FREE!!!) of stores that have said they are interested in products in the Body & Soul section. I'm in the process of designing a postcard that I would love to have in the mail in the next 2 weeks. I've opted for the oversized postcard & hope it will stand out from the crowd a bit. I'll be printing them at either VistaPrint or Modern Postcard. I've used both in the past & have been pleased with the quality & turn-around. Gotta love the freebies from Vista too.
At the Show
Postcards - to the rescue again! I'm hoping to be able to use a similar design to the Pre-Show postcard at the show to remind people who they saw & that they want to come back. Pictures are always better!
Sales Fliers - these are going to promote the show specials. Not sure what the show special is going to be yet, but I'm sure going to have one. I'm pretty sure that we'll print these in house (ie on the good 'ole ink jet) since I'm not 100% sure what the special is going to be or how many fliers I'm going to need.
Catalog or Tri-Fold - I'm not sold on the investment (both time & $) in the catalog, yet. I need something to highlight my product groups along with a couple of specific products which I think I can obtain through a tri-fold. But a catalog would be soooo cool! Either way, the price list will be seperate so that I can use any leftovers for either wholesale or retail. I'm looking at Print Place which has phenominal pricing on catalogs... which makes me wonder.
Post-Show
I like to think that I was raised well, and if that's the case, Thank You's are always a must! Postcards or Fold-Overs, probably from Vista Print will do the trick.
This is a great exercise for me to right out my plan to know what I'm doing & to add to the long list of the things left to do.
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Step One - Booth
I am the type of person who has to break everything down, otherwise nothing gets accomplished. After making list after list after list, I figure the best thing to start with is my small piece of real estate within The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market. 10x10, 100 square feet, there should be nothing to it.
While breaking it down, I figured it just made sense to start from the bottom up.
Floor
After attending a few of the markets as both a buyer and observer, I have found that the buyers are always referencing something, putting something away or checking their watches. These actions mean they are constantly looking down & if they're doing that past my booth, I want to catch their eye. So after much research, I've found some suitable options for flooring in various price ranges. My favorites are: FLOR especially the Fuzzy Button ($5.11/square foot) - LOVE the name; the fake wood floors from Mats Mats Mats ($2.60/square foot) - LOVE that it's squishy & of course you can't forget about all of the options from IKEA like the round Ringum rugs ($8.99 each) - LOVE the price.
Walls
It is a huge no-no, it even says so in the exhibitor handbook, to use the stock walls that is provided in the booth, this particular show has white drapes. There are options, not sure which is best yet. The easiest would be to go with the Foamcore walls (for about $300, from what I've been told) that can be ordered directly from the Mart & will be installed by the time we arrive to set-up. But for many reasons, (Eco-friendly; flat walls, color choices...) I'm certainly exploring other options. Once again, I thought I was on track and was going to make amazing drapes out of the coolest fabric (yes, I had even picked it out) until I received my exhibitor packet which states that the fabric MUST be fire retardent. Who knew?!?! So back to the drawing board of fabric options & researcing how to make my original idea fire retardent.
Fixtures
Now this is a challanging area for me. There are so many different ways to take a booth like funky store to clean minimalist space. After a small & purely unscientific poll, I found that clean, oasis, uncluttered were the prefered words to describe what my space should represent. Luckily I have one fixture that is a staple no matter where I go or what I'm doing & will see me through Mart. I call it the Pinwheel of Soap. It was a perfect find at a gift store that was going out of business. Now I have to focus on the other aspects (and products.) After a lot of googling I found a ton of trade show display in a box type options, none of which are going to work. We have a local fixtures store (which unbenounced to me, they are everything so if you're looking for one, just google "store fixtures Atlanta" or something similair & you'll be amazed at what all pops up) which has a million options. They have the grid & slat walls with every imaginable accesory; showcase displays; sign holders... And then, once again I turn to IKEA. I love the Expedit cubbies, the BRODER shelving & love the organic look of the Gorm.
ART
Since it hangs on the walls, I didn't know what else to call it. I am definitly going to have images of the products placed tactfully throughout the booth. I'm just not sure how we're going to do it yet. The final word on the walls will definitly sway the ART decision. I found a great resource for inexpensive banners at ESigns. Their work is great, very inexpensive & fast. I was also considering images mounted on Foamcore (again, I can get these straight from Mart or from an outside printer like Kinkos) or even images in frames... of course IKEA will probably be the source.
From a timing standpoint, I think I'll have an overall design in mind for my space in the next couple of weeks (especially once I'm able get pricing from Mart) and start buying bits & pieces of it. The next step is going to be Sales Materials, so stay tuned.
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I interupt the regularly scheduled program to bring to you that I knew I spoke too soon, I thought I had it all figured out about events. Which ones to do, how to do them, what to take... and I was so excited to be able to share all of the information that I've learned throughout my years. But now someone slipped the rug out from under my feet & threw me to the wolves (OK, so it was me) of Wholesale Gift Shows.
Rinse Bath & Body is going to participate in The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market held in January, 2009. For anyone who may not know, that is where most of the stores in the South East (and even further) go to purchase most, if not all, of their inventory for a good share of 2009. No pressure...
I've toyed with the idea of Mart for many years. I've walked them & even shopped them as a buyer for a boutique. I took notes, gathered info & every time I thought I was ready, I backed away. This showed me that I really wasn't ready any of those previous times. This time around was different. Just a couple of weeks ago, I said to myself "I want to do Mart this year" and rather than backing away an excitement fueled inside of me & I said "Yea, I'm GOING to do Mart this year." So off went my $950 deposit check (Yikes!)
What has changed for me you may ask?
- I have streamlined production, including figuring out how to make bigger batches of products; getting help from stay at home moms & roping my husband further into the business.
- I've done enough events to feel comfortable with them & to feel comfortable changing things up a bit.
- I have crunched the numbers. I used to never be into the numbers - I guess I followed the ostrich phenomenon for a while - if I didn't look at them they couldn't hurt me. But I've got to tell you, looking at them is pretty cool & made me comfortable with my decision. I now know: what my goal is for wholesale sales in 2009; I know how many average accounts I need to get in order to reach that goal & how many average opening orders I have to get to pay for what I'm spending to be at Mart.
- I'm ready for a shift in my business. I LOVE retail shows/markets/festivals but I would like to do fewer in 2009 (yes, I still have 14+ left for this year)
Now this is what I need to figure out (which is totally freaking me out):
- Booth. It needs to be more like a shop rather than craft show'ish. I need a seating area to be able to write orders. Flooring & walls. New signage. And lord only knows what else.
- Pricing. I've been consistent, but is it where it needs to be. If not, it needs to change NOW.
- Sales materials. A brochure/postcard/pricelist. Take aways. Tri-fold, Bi-fold or Flat.
- Marketing plans/materials. Postcards sent preshow - to whom. Materials to hand out at the show.
- Samples. How many. To whom.
- PR. Press kits Press releases. Company info. Press opportunities.
I'm doing a ton of research which includes meeting with other small business owners with similar price points and/or products who have done the Marts to pick their brains. Googling everything from booth displays to floors. Meeting with the folks at America's Mart.
I will detail the chronicles of my journey here and please feel free to share your thoughts & advice too.
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