Are you an enthusiastic soapmaker who'd like to your fledgling hobby into a serious business? One of the best places to test market your handmade soaps is your local farmer's market. Most cities have one of these vibrant and eclectic markets where you can buy anything from fresh produce to handmade jewelry. Selling handmade soap at a local farmer's market gives you the opportunity to interact with a wide range of potential customers while getting invaluable feedback on your product. This will enable you to fine tune your product and determine precisely who your market is. This kind of information is invaluable if you plan to sell handmade soap as a serious business.
The first step to successfully selling your handmade soap at a farmer's market is to visit the market and get a feel for what types of products are being offered at what price. Determine how many other vendors are selling handmade soap and what prices ranges they're targeting. Talk to as many vendors as possible during your visit and try to get an idea of how successful they are at selling their products. Ask the vendors to direct you to the person responsible for signing up new vendors and inquire as to the availability of space. Try to get an idea of how much traffic you can expect and how much your table will cost. Ask as many questions as you can before signing up.
Once you've made the decision to sell handmade soap at your local farmer's market, give some thought as to how to display your handmade soap. You need a display that's artistic and appealing, yet easy to transport. Remember, people buy on the basis of emotion and will be drawn to your booth by an appealing presentation. Make sure your signs are professionally created and are consistent with your general theme. Consider adding artistic touches such as handmade papers from your local craft store to your display or adopt a natural theme by adding touches of the outdoors such as pine cones and florals. If you sell handmade soaps with all natural ingredients, a nature themed display would be a good fit.
Display your soaps in an uncluttered manner with prices clearly marked on each item. Nothing confuses customers more than a disorganized, cluttered display with soaps that have no prices. Make it easy for your customer to shop by keeping your display simple, elegant, and orderly.
If you sell handmade toiletries in addition to your handmade soaps, have sample bottles available for people to try your products. Nothing attracts shoppers or sells more items than a display of testers. Encourage people to freely sample your wares and ask for feedback regarding what scents they enjoy and any future products they'd like to see. This is important information to know if you plan on developing a serious business selling handmade soaps.
Keep track of what type of person is attracted to your booth and who purchases from you. This will help you to identify your target market. Do your soaps appeal to a younger audience or are most of your customers over forty? How do they dress? Do they pay with credit card? Keep a record of this in a special notebook so you can refer back to it later. To successfully sell handmade soap, you need as much marketing data as possible. Be sure to have a book prominently display on your table for capturing email addresses. You can use these addresses to send an email newsletter once your business is established.
Selling handmade soap at a farmer's market can be a fun and helpful way to introduce your products to the public. Plus, it will provide you with invaluable information you can use to make your soap business even better.
