Many people in the craft biz are worried. Their target market, the baby boomers, is getting old.
Baby boomers are approaching retirement age, or already in it. They’re downsizing instead of buying. They’re traveling instead of making a home. The biggest and most powerful demographic in our country’s history is no longer acting on its purchasing clout.
Combine this with the glut of craft shows across the country, all fighting for fewer customers, and the flood of cheap imports and knock-offs from other countries, a younger generation of buyers who are simply do not want or appreciate find American handcraft, and what do you have? Disaster, right?
Not.
This is based on my personal observations and experience, but I firmly believe if people are not buying your work, it has nothing to do with all the things that are wrong with them. It has everything to do with trying to forge a connection that just isn’t there.
There’s an amazing new book out called “He’s Just Not That Into You” by Greg Behrendt. His message is, if you have to make a million excuses why that guy you’re dating can’t make time for you, can’t make a decision about you, can’t commit to you, you need to walk. Why? Because the reason he’s acting that way is simple—he’s just not that into you. Stop kidding yourself, Greg says, let go and look for someone else who will be.
Maybe the same principal applies to our customers.
If you are complaining your customers don’t understand you, have no room in their life for your work, don’t get what went into your work, don’t see the value in your work, you might to examine your excuses. Maybe they just don’t like your work.
Does that mean there’s something wrong with your work? Maybe, maybe not. But if you’ve been selling the same design for 20 or 30 years, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to think about a sea change, or at least freshen the line.
Lots of people don’t like my work. But then, lots of other people do. I focus on selling to the people who do like it. I tend to sell mostly to people who LOVE it, or people who buy it for people who love it. (And usually even those people like it a lot!)
My customers range from tweens to retired folks. It's about what they see in my work, and how they respond to it, and whether a connection is made and then enhanced by the story.
If the work seems expensive, we can get around that. Perhaps a smaller piece, or a layaway plan. But they have to really, really want it before anything happens.
Younger people simply can't find us, or aren't even looking for us, and maybe that's because they aren't aware of us. People who shop at craft fairs or craft stores are a self-selected group. They're looking for handcrafted work (even if some of have the misconception it will be a "bargain"...) and seeking us out.
To grow a new, younger audience, you have to go where they already are. Amy Peters (www.amypetersstudio.com) has gotten very, very good at marketing to a younger crowd. She's given a lot of thought to who they are, where they shop, what magazines they read, and who their media heroes are. She's constantly aware of what's hot in that market though as far as I can tell, she uses it to "tweak" her work and keep it fresh, not follow the trend blindly. She also has a strong message built right into her jewelry. Remember when Elizabeth from the first "Survivor" series wore Amy's necklace to the island? That was a powerful connection!
