Shownotes
Resources for Growth of Your Handmade Biz
5 Rookie Mistakes Webinar (FREE) Start with Confidence Networking Ninja Content for Makers Inspired! Daily Planner Makers MBACheck out the Merch Shop
Gifts for you or your biz friends that will make the days brighter and add a touch of inspiration and happiness. Enter the shop here.Join our community of handmade product makers
Gift Biz Breeze is an active and inspiring group of creators at all levels of business development. Ask questions, see what others are working on, and learn new things - it's all there and we're waiting for you to join us!Finally, would you please leave a review? Thanks!
It helps other makers like you find the show and build their businesses too. You can do so right here: Rate This PodcastTranscripts
Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:before we get into the show today,
Speaker:I want to make sure that you know about the newest
Speaker:thing happening over here.
Speaker:It's called the gift biz bash a zoom party that turns
Speaker:into a podcast episode.
Speaker:Several weeks later,
Speaker:the party consists of a short training with Q and a
Speaker:from yours truly.
Speaker:And then an opportunity for you to give a shout out
Speaker:about your business.
Speaker:You can tell us about a promotion you currently have going
Speaker:on or share a collaboration that you're considering so that you
Speaker:can find a perfect partner for the event.
Speaker:A little bit of learning and visibility for your business.
Speaker:What could be better?
Speaker:There is a catch though spots are limited to keep the
Speaker:party to about 45 minutes or so.
Speaker:That means you should grab your spot right away.
Speaker:It's totally free to make sure you're included.
Speaker:Why not do that right now?
Speaker:Pause this episode,
Speaker:go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash bash to sign up and then come back
Speaker:and listen to the show.
Speaker:I'll see you at the bash.
Speaker:Are you a lurker or a loyalist?
Speaker:I'm going to venture to say you're both,
Speaker:depending on the situation,
Speaker:let's define a lurker as someone who observes,
Speaker:but doesn't participate and a loyalist.
Speaker:I think this is self-explanatory a lurker.
Speaker:That could be you.
Speaker:If you go into a retail shop,
Speaker:just to look around,
Speaker:to pass time before meeting a friend for coffee or something,
Speaker:it could be you in a Facebook group,
Speaker:observing what others talk about and taking in new ideas and
Speaker:thoughts, but you never participate.
Speaker:It could be you looking at products on a website,
Speaker:reading a blog,
Speaker:watching videos on YouTube and being entertained and informed in all
Speaker:sorts of ways through someone's content.
Speaker:It's great to have access to all these things.
Speaker:However, when you're a business owner,
Speaker:it can be discouraging.
Speaker:People come into your shop or your show booth,
Speaker:pick things up,
Speaker:chat for a while,
Speaker:and then leave without buying.
Speaker:Or your Facebook page may have hundreds,
Speaker:even thousands of followers,
Speaker:many who even contribute by posting and commenting,
Speaker:but they never support you through sales or take part in
Speaker:your special promotions,
Speaker:or there's a lot of traffic to your website.
Speaker:But conversions to purchases are few.
Speaker:When you do the lurking,
Speaker:you're scoping things out,
Speaker:deciding if it's right for you and grabbing all the value
Speaker:you can from that spot after all it's out there for
Speaker:everyone. Right?
Speaker:And that is perfectly okay.
Speaker:Here's the thing of all the people who interact with you,
Speaker:regardless of how so in-person or online only a small percentage
Speaker:of them will ever buy from you.
Speaker:It varies by business and product,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:but let's say a good average is about three to 7%.
Speaker:Some offers for sure will do better than others.
Speaker:And certain times of the year will produce greater results.
Speaker:But over a calendar year,
Speaker:consider that somewhere between three to 7% of all of the
Speaker:people who find your business will actually buy,
Speaker:it might even be lower.
Speaker:And that feels like a super low number.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:but that's the truth of it.
Speaker:So what do you do about this?
Speaker:What should you do specifically with your lawmakers?
Speaker:Here's my answer,
Speaker:everything and nothing.
Speaker:You might have a tendency to say.
Speaker:I put so much work into writing my blog,
Speaker:doing reels,
Speaker:other social posts,
Speaker:putting up images on my website and I'm done.
Speaker:It's not worth it because nobody's buying consider this just last
Speaker:month in preparation for my son's wedding.
Speaker:I finally purchased two dresses from a company whose catalog and
Speaker:Instagram account I've been lurking on for at least two years.
Speaker:If they had chosen to stop their marketing efforts to me
Speaker:or their posts on social media,
Speaker:I wouldn't have remembered to check them out when I had
Speaker:the need for their gorgeous clothes.
Speaker:What my lurking did was reinforced that I love the brand
Speaker:and I've come to trust them and also can accept their
Speaker:higher prices and feel like they're deserving because I've learned about
Speaker:their social give back.
Speaker:And I've also learned about the quality and dedication and the
Speaker:commitment they have for their materials and the style for them.
Speaker:It's probably way too long,
Speaker:a time to roll over one customer.
Speaker:But to me,
Speaker:it was just right.
Speaker:And guess what?
Speaker:Since then,
Speaker:I've been back for another more casual style purchase.
Speaker:That's the way businesses you offer.
Speaker:And then they buy when they're ready.
Speaker:But this only happens if you stay in front of your
Speaker:potential customers and keep offering content that they find interesting,
Speaker:entertaining or educational,
Speaker:you have to make it worth their time to stay connected,
Speaker:or you will completely miss out when they're ready to buy
Speaker:bottom line,
Speaker:respect your lurkers.
Speaker:Now let's talk about the loyalists.
Speaker:These are the folks who press the buy button,
Speaker:swipe their card in your store and open your emails regularly.
Speaker:They reply to your posts and leave reviews.
Speaker:They are the gems and deserve all of your attention.
Speaker:I have certain brands,
Speaker:including many handmade makers,
Speaker:whose products I support over and over again.
Speaker:I bought a jewelry,
Speaker:travel pouch for myself and loved it so much.
Speaker:I've repeated this gift for many,
Speaker:many friends.
Speaker:I'm obsessed with a certain sugar scrub and order,
Speaker:probably about a dozen jars at a time and have for
Speaker:years, I also have a favorite popcorn and to my way
Speaker:of thinking,
Speaker:nothing else compares when it comes to cheddar customers like this
Speaker:are the ones who deserve your attention.
Speaker:I know you know that it's a lot easier to get
Speaker:new orders from an existing customer.
Speaker:Why then do we focus so hard on always getting new
Speaker:customers versus doubling down on our current supporters?
Speaker:Specially when the conversion rate of lurkers is so low and
Speaker:repeat customers is much,
Speaker:much higher.
Speaker:If you're one who has unintentionally ignored your loyalists,
Speaker:here are some things you can do to correct this wrong
Speaker:one, pick five customers a week and either call them or
Speaker:send them a message on their social account,
Speaker:telling them how much you appreciate their business,
Speaker:no sale pitch here to send an email to your existing
Speaker:customers, offering them something special.
Speaker:This doesn't need to be a product discount,
Speaker:even though it could be.
Speaker:What about a download you created that shows updated new ways
Speaker:to wrap your shawls or creative storage ideas for jewelry or
Speaker:give them first access to your new holiday sense before they're
Speaker:even available to the public.
Speaker:Here's another one.
Speaker:Tell existing local customers that if they come to the next
Speaker:craft show,
Speaker:you're at,
Speaker:you'll have something special waiting in the booth for them.
Speaker:I know you can think of all sorts of ideas on
Speaker:this front.
Speaker:The trick is to actually do them,
Speaker:not just think about them lurkers and are important to your
Speaker:business, but you shouldn't treat them equally.
Speaker:If you switch up your energy investment to weight it towards
Speaker:your loyalists,
Speaker:I think you'll be surprised by the reactions you get and
Speaker:the numbers will speak for themselves.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
