marketing custom

[figthnbullrider]

hey guys. i was wondering how you guys go about your marketing. i know once you get started and get a reputation it is easyer but when you are just getting started how did you go about it. any tips will help. thank you.

[UKRay]

hey guys. i was wondering how you guys go about your marketing. i know once you get started and get a reputation it is easyer but when you are just getting started how did you go about it. any tips will help. thank you.

Marketing depends largely on knowing who your customers are - or who you think your customers might be - and precisely what they want to buy. IMHO you would be best to do some market research and find out what people want to buy first. When you know what they want it is much easier to sell it to them than to try to sell 'em stuff they don't need.

I don't know what you make, figthnbullrider, but you might want to start out by getting some great photographs done of your products - a friend with a decent camera, a set of lights and a burning desire to create is an asset. You can use these pictures to develop all kinds of marketing collateral such as postcards for putting in store windows and to be handed out everytime somebody asks why your hands are that funny color...

You could also put cards onto noticeboards at colleges and big office complexes. Find friends who work in these places and persuade them to pin cards up for you. The simple approach is best. I used to have cards with the words HANDTOOLED LEATHER in big letters at the top and a couple of nice pictures underneath that brought me in loads of work. Best still they got people to call me to talk about stuff they wanted. I couldn't always help but after a chat they often came back with other ideas.

If you are a computer nerd get a copy of MS Publisher (or any other desk top publishing package) and create yourself a three fold flyer with pictures. You can get a load of items on one of these and best of all you only need print what you need. They look good on noticeboards too.

Re-enactors have always been a great source of business for me. I love 'em all but I don't expect them to have big bucks. If they are your target market then you might want to think about the sort of stuff they might need and produce yourself a mini catalog of good leathery things for distribution at Ren Fairs and the like. You will be surprised how these catalogs are kept safe until the cash is found to make a purchase.

I really enjoy the marketing side of leatherwork and can't wait to try out new ways of reaching out to potential customers. The trick is to stay focused on the client. Always try to make what they want (which is not necessarily what you want to make) and make your marketing materials look as good as your leatherwork!

Edited July 22, 2008 by UKRay

[IanCantwell]

Sounds like good advice Ray, i'll put it to use. I've just ordered a side of heavy leather for my next saddle and was wondering what to do with all the off-cuts. Trouble is it will be mostly neck/belly and 13oz. although I do have some lighter stuff.

Looking through all the old post for ideas, like those zippo holster key fob things recently posted. If anyone has any ideas/patterns I'd be most grateful to hear from you but please suggest the weight of leather you normally use.

I'm going to have a few weeks yet before my tree arrives so want to get stuck in and make box loads of bits for a craft fair. Thanks in advance. Ian.

[JRedding]

Not that I'd recommend doing what I did but I started out making up a few saddles putting them in the truck and driving until they were gone. I've sold them at ropings, stores, and gas stations, sometimes three states away. A couple times I was away a while before I could clean out my stash but I vowed to stay gone until they were gone so I could do it again. The only dependents I had at the time were a Ford pickup, one sorrell and a grey, so I had the freedom to pull something like that. Looking back it should have never worked but some of the people I met called later and some of the stores I sold to right off the street sold out and re-ordered until I had enough going to stay home. My method sounds like a better way to go broke than get started but it did work twenty years ago.

[rickybobby]

Not that I'd recommend doing what I did but I started out making up a few saddles putting them in the truck and driving until they were gone. I've sold them at ropings, stores, and gas stations, sometimes three states away. A couple times I was away a while before I could clean out my stash but I vowed to stay gone until they were gone so I could do it again. The only dependents I had at the time were a Ford pickup, one sorrell and a grey, so I had the freedom to pull something like that. Looking back it should have never worked but some of the people I met called later and some of the stores I sold to right off the street sold out and re-ordered until I had enough going to stay home. My method sounds like a better way to go broke than get started but it did work twenty years ago.

JRedding,

I am considering putting some saddles in feed and tack stores on consignment. When you do that is there a contract that should be filled out by both parties. My concern is I go in and the saddle is gone but no one knows where it is, sold, stolen, borrowed, ect.

How can I protect my merchandice? Or is that possible? What has worked for you? I have just moved to this area (Anthem, Az.) and do not know what shops are reliable yet. Any thoughts will help.

Thanks, Rick Jorgenson

[JRedding]

Rick, I've never consigned a saddle anywhere, I've seen too many kids with sticky hands jump on saddles in tack stores and whip and spur like it was a plastic pony in front of Wal-Mart so I always had the jeebies about the condition I'd come back to find it in. I know people who do, Sawtooth Saddle Company has a couple dealers they'll consign to and have for years so there is a way to do it. If you had a reputable dealer who would take care of your merchandise it could work out. I've never seen a feed store I'd trust, and if a tack shop takes consigments and is very good with a pencil they'll know to push their inventory ahead of yours because they'll make more money turning over their stock and letting yours set so you could get disappointing results through no fault of your own. Back when horses were still good property to own I used to trade saddles for horses on occasion. I grew up a horse traders kid so trading for horses, shaping them up and re-selling them was an every week occurance to me, often making a profit on the saddle when I traded it and then it made another opportunity to clear a profit on the horses. At that time a saddle that would have sold for 1500.00 cash could be turned into 3000.00 in the right trade, but today people are trying to give me horses and I turn them down so it's not easily done anymore. But there are a lot of ways to sell a saddle if you're willing to get a little creative.

[UKRay]

JRedding,

I am considering putting some saddles in feed and tack stores on consignment. When you do that is there a contract that should be filled out by both parties. My concern is I go in and the saddle is gone but no one knows where it is, sold, stolen, borrowed, ect.

How can I protect my merchandice? Or is that possible? What has worked for you? I have just moved to this area (Anthem, Az.) and do not know what shops are reliable yet. Any thoughts will help.

I have just had a difficult time with a small store that had some of my goods on consignment. They closed up and vanished overnight and it took me almost five months to track the people down all the way from the UK to the US. I was lucky and eventually got all my stuff back but it has made me very wary for the future.

[rickybobby]

Thanks JRedding and UKRay for your information,

I will keep my items under my control and run ads and photos with #pull tags hung on feed store boards.

Take care and thanks again,

Rick Jorgenson

[PeterD]

hey guys. i was wondering how you guys go about your marketing. i know once you get started and get a reputation it is easyer but when you are just getting started how did you go about it. any tips will help. thank you.

Art Vincent of Cedar Ridge Leather wrote an article for Leathercrafter magazine a few years ago on how he got started. He mentioned two interesting things.

1. He went to events he was interested in making things for (archery in his case) and gave a deal to the top competitors for quivers, bracers and things with the proviso they hand out his card when asked about the quiver.

2. He went to craft fairs and put his stuff on the table. When asked about the price he would say. "It isn't for sale. I do custom leatherwork and these are samples of what I can do. If you would like something, we can discuss it and settle on a price and I will make it." I always thought this would be a neat way to get started. There are always craft fairs around and once people start seeing your work others will call. I am not in business and still get requests from people for things. Especially if you are in a specialty market like archery, SAS, or the like.

[Spider]

That's funny cause that's what i do. I have samples and sales pieces on my table. I promote custom work. I also do some tooling at the fair so people see that it is hand made. I talk to people when they approach the table and explain the process so they know more of what it takes to make custom leather items. Sometimes I also have a slideshow of stuff I've made and sold.