Bob Hamm on wed 2 may 01
In the past when sales have dropped, I went back to the pots to see what =
=3D
was wrong with them. Had the quality slipped, were the prices out of =3D
line, or had the consumer trends moved away from the designs. I always =3D
looked for the problem in the pots. If the problem was in the pot I knew =
=3D
I could fix it. Now I wonder. The book I'm currently reading is called =3D
Marketing Services. While reading how marketing services is really =3D
marketing intangibles, I began wondering if I have been putting too much =
=3D
emphasis on the pot itself. While the object is important, is it really =3D
what the customer is buying.=3D20
I think there are two aspects to a piece of pottery or art. The tangible =
=3D
part which is the form that you can see, touch and hold. The other is =3D
the intangible part, which are the benefits you get from using the item, =
=3D
whether in a functional or visual manner.=3D20
I'll use a coffee mug as an example and use the following definition. A =3D
mug is an item used to contain a hot beverage so that it can be moved =3D
=66rom one place to another without spillage allowing the contents to =3D
consumed at leisure. Based on this definition, a consumer could be =3D
excused for believing the $2.00 mug from K-Mart does the job as well as =3D
a $14.00 mug made by a potter. If we accept this (you can tell me if you =
=3D
don't), then trying to sell mugs as a tangible product is a losing =3D
proposition. If we want to sell $14.00 mugs, we would have to sell the =3D
intangibles. Those are the things that an uneducated customer is =3D
unlikely to see or sense. In fact the only way they are likely to learn =3D
about those unseen benefits is if they use a mug. So how do we sell =3D
intangibles so the customer can use the mug and learn to appreciate its =3D
benefits?
The marketing book I am reading states that in order to sell =3D
intangibles, your customer must like you and trust you. If this is true, =
=3D
then potters are their customers expert advisors on the value of those =3D
intangible qualities. If they trust the potter they may buy, if they =3D
don't they won't. I now know that in the past when a sale started =3D
slowly, I lost confidence in the sale and my ability to sell my work. I =3D
believed it was good work in the wrong place. That belief is frustrating =
=3D
to deal with when your just standing around all day on sore feet. To my =3D
customers I came across as disinterested, lacked conviction, and looked =3D
like I wanted to be anywhere but there. I certainly wasn't friend =3D
material and definitely didn't give anyone a reason to trust me. Of =3D
course sales were bad until the end.
How does this relate to the sales rant and general public threads? Mel =3D
tells us to take very good care of our customers. Become their friends =3D
and teach them to trust us. That's good advice. The problem is finding =3D
them so you can take care of them. The "sales rant" talked of craft =3D
sales and the frustrations and general disappointments inherent in that =3D
type of marketing. I've had bad sales so I know its true. But craft =3D
fairs are still one of the best ways to meet potential buyers if you =3D
choose the right sales.=3D20
=46rom now on I think I'm going to consider craft sales as a marketing =3D
tool I get paid to use. I'll treat everyone like they were my best =3D
friend, whether they buy or not. I have had people, who did not buy at =3D
the sale, call me later and order a dinner ware set. Surprised me! I =3D
didn't even know they were that interested in my work. It pays to treat =3D
people right. I will follow Mel's advice and concentrate on the local =3D
sales and take care of that 50 mile radius concept at the same time.
=3D20
I'll end this ramble with a couple of questions. Are there a lot of =3D
consumers that look at pottery and see objects, and don't see the =3D
intangible qualities that give them value? Is that why so many consumers =
=3D
don't buy pottery or won't pay the price we feel our pots are worth?=3D20
Thank you for reading this. I'm looking forward to your response.
Bob Hamm
Ph (250) 765-8876 Fax (250) 765-0497
email bobhamm@look.ca web site www.bobhamm-art.com=3D20
6750 Highway 33 East=3D20
Kelowna, B.C. Canada V1P 1H9
For information about the Kelowna Clay Festival 2001, go to =3D
www.bobhamm-art.com/clayfest=3D20
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=3D
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=3D
----
NOW THE POINT.
if you take care of business, think of it as a business, your
big problem will be production, not customers.
if your customers care about you, and trust you...production is
your problem, not customers.
mel
kruzewski on thu 3 may 01
Dear Bob,
You wrote:-
> I'll end this ramble with a couple of questions. Are there a lot of con=
sumers that look at pottery and see objects, and don't see the intangible=
qualities that give them value? Is that why so many consumers don't buy =
pottery or won't pay the price we feel our pots are worth?
Tony, my husband, is not a pottery person, or a crafts person. He is surr=
ounded by it in our home and he lives with me, a potter, and is very supp=
ortive - but he doen't "like" pots. There are no mass produced or molded =
mugs in the house - he likes the biggest mugs because they hold more tea!=
He favours one mug I made him because it's a boat or travelling mug - ve=
ry wide at the bottom, pinched in at the "waist" and continuing narrow to=
the neck - it's difficult to knock over, holds a surprising amount of te=
a and keeps it hot for longer. As for the aesthetics of the pot - leaves =
him cold. He has to be dragged into any form of craft market or shop - bu=
t if he sees TOOLS for sale, especially at a market, he's gone for hours.
I've only done a couple of craft fairs - here stall holders largely, thou=
gh not exclusively, sell the toilet roll holders and other naff stuff I w=
ouldn't look at once. When I have Tony has kept me company for part of th=
e time. Some people walk straight on past and he says he can tell that po=
ttery (or ceramics, call it what you will) leaves them cold, so they don'=
t give it even one look. Some people will spend hours at a jewelery stall=
- I never give jewelery stalls a look because they leave ME cold.
There are people who like very fine china with transfer flowers, or bunni=
es or what-have-you, they don't like the thickness of hand thrown pots. I=
might add here that my pots tend to be thinly thrown and could not be de=
scribed as chunky or thick.
I've got one friend who, like an aunt of mine, likes the most awful, luri=
d plasticy, "cute" trash imaginable - some of it is so awful I find it fa=
scinating - and she pays good money for it too. For the majority of the p=
opulus a mug is a round thing that holds their tea or coffee - they'd dri=
nk out of plastic if it didn't have a nasty taste. They'll buy the cheepe=
st in the shop, or better still get a freebee.
These people will never buy our pottery. They may come by our stalls and=
re-arrange things whilst pretending to look, but it's usually because it=
's raining outside (as it often does on the North Wales coast) and they =
are bored and passing time. Often they don't even want to smile or chat -=
try it and they run. Then they go off and spend a fortune on sweets (can=
dy), fair rides and arcade machines.
Take away the people who like pottery and want to buy it but can't afford=
it so don't buy - unlike me -I can't afford it but buy anyway and always=
bitterly regret it if common sence prevails - and you have a very few pe=
ople who like and buy our pots.
Funny thing though. I have a pair of very critical friends - the sort tha=
t will pick out any pin hole or imagined "fault" they can. They didn't ha=
ve hand made pottery in their house, although Georgie did once ask if I c=
ould do some to match her carpet! They and a load of other friends helped=
me move an old electric (to be converted to gas) kiln from my old house =
to my new house. It was a long, hard and involved job. I made them all a =
special mug each by way of thanks. Georgie commented some time later that=
she wanted to buy some more mugs off me because after using my "kiln shi=
fters" mugs they hated using any others! They have a cupbaord full of my =
mugs now and often come to me for presents for weddings and such like.
Our market is out there somewhere - we have to find each other.
Jacqui, North Wales
P.S. I don't just make mugs!
KYancey on thu 3 may 01
Bob Hamm wrote:
>
> I'll end this ramble with a couple of questions. Are there a lot of con=
sumers that look at pottery and see objects, and don't see the intangible=
qualities that give them value? Is that why so many consumers don't buy =
pottery or won't pay the price we feel our pots are worth?
>
> Thank you for reading this. I'm looking forward to your response.
>
> Bob Hamm
Hi Bob, here's my response as a buyer of pots and a potter.
I'll walk into the tent to view the wonderful pots that caught my eye fro=
m the pathway. If the potter is sitting, reading a book and does not ackn=
owledge me, I will begin to really evaluate whether I want a piece or not=
.. If the potter gets up and interacts with me in a friendly way. I'm hook=
ed, evaluation is over, I just purchased a pot. If the potter remains sea=
ted, I leave, planning to view the rest of the show to see if I might lik=
e something else.
If the potter is engaged with another customer, I will wait. If they ackn=
owledge me, and say "I'll be right with you" heck, I'll wait up to 30 min=
utes. If its just a gab session with a friend and not business, I'll only=
wait about 5 minutes
In short, I have to have the intangible quality. I have to have a good ex=
perience buying art or I'll never be able to look at it. Most pottery I p=
urchase are art pieces and not functional. I love sitting in my living ro=
om, all crammed with good experiences. I like to pick up all my acquired =
pots, one at a time. Cradle them. Dust them off, then set them back in pl=
ace. All the while remembering that day's experience. If they were gifts,=
I remember the giver. Because of these reasons, I'm also very prone to =
freely giving pots away to friends who swoon over my stuff.
Ken
friedlover on wed 9 may 01
Ken's reply about the response of the potter affecting his purchase decision
was very interesting.
While I always acknowledge people who visit my booth, I don't stand up
unless they seem to linger and seem really interested. I've had many
browsers who run off if I respond too quickly; you could argue they weren't
really buyers anyway. So I wonder if you'd leave or stay?
kruzewski on wed 9 may 01
I don't know whether or not the British public the like the USA public, but I have
had this happen at every Craft Fair I attended - only three I must admit, I was
just trying them out. I tried to smile, be pleasant, welcoming and say "hello" to
people who stopped and looked - well you'd think I'd bitten some of them. I put it
down to either fear that if they spoke to me I might make them buy something, or
just plain embarrassment - we British are very easy to embarrass.
I might add that the only craft fairs we seem to have here are the sort with the
cuddly toys and the loo roll holders, mixed in with some really good crafts people.
It has changed just over the last ten years. When I started visiting these fairs
locally they were really quite good, now I don't go to them because there's hardly
any potters (if at all) and it's all twee stuff (for twee read cute), with a few
exceptions.
So why did I do them last year? I thought I'd give it a try, and the main fair,
which lasted 10 days, was in my home town, Porthmadog. Porthmadog is a small
holiday town on the North Welsh coast, the fair used to be crowded out with holiday
makers as it was held on the main summer bank (national) holiday of the year. This
year there was often more stall holders than browsers. Many people came in for
something to do - hense their embarrassment - either that or I'm really
frightening!
There are a couple of fairly national fairs every year, one of which is Potfest in
Penrith. This is all pots and absolutely wonderful - I speak as a visiter not a
stall holder. People attending this event go because its all pots and that's what
they want to buy. I got a little dazed by the experience, though, with a limit on
the time and the money I could spend there as we were on our way to Scotland (near
Skye) for our family holiday. Overspent of course and travelled the remainder of
the journey with my feet resting delicately on pots piled up in my footwell. Ahhh -
so many wonderful pots, so little money, so little room in the car and so little
patience from my non-pot loving family!
Jacqui in North Wales, where I've come over all dreamy thinking about those pots -
and where I met Veena this afternoon at Janet's - lovely lady!
friedlover wrote:
> Ken's reply about the response of the potter affecting his purchase decision
> was very interesting.
> While I always acknowledge people who visit my booth, I don't stand up
> unless they seem to linger and seem really interested. I've had many
> browsers who run off if I respond too quickly; you could argue they weren't
> really buyers anyway. So I wonder if you'd leave or stay?
>
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