The Christmas season brings the biggest sales of the year for most businesses – but if you’re selling at Christmas Markets, how can you make the most of it? Christmas Markets are often expensive to join as a stallholder, so it’s vital to bring in the revenue and reap the rewards of your annual efforts.
We’ve put together some tips on how best to promote your Christmas events without bombarding your audience or making them sick of hearing the ‘C’ word!
5 ways to amplify your opportunities:
1. Make sure you’re visible online.
- Check into the event on Pedddle.
Click here to view our market timeline. Pedddle stallholder members should check in on our calendar, so that you show up on an organisers’ event page. This helps increase your online visibility, as well as increasing brand awareness and building up trust from your potential customers by being seen on a reputable website.
A screen shot taken off Urmston Artisan Market of just some of the stallholders checked in for the next event.A screen shot from Nettleton Pottery’s page to show the list of markets she will be attending.
We recommend tagging people (event organisers and fellow stallholders at a given event), but please do so with some level of judgement. Tagging once or twice is fine- more than that it could be seen as annoying
Facebook tips:
– Write your own event posts with a beautiful eye catching image. Use @ and tag event/market organisers and friends or fellow stallholders that are selling there. They might share your post too!
– Share the organisers’ event to your Facebook Business account (don’t create your own event – it’s more work and less successful, it won’t be seen as much – but definitely share theirs).
– Share the event to your timeline on your Facebook Business account. Add a really quick, brief caption about the event.
– Comment on the organisers’ event page to say you will be there, so people visiting the page can see your business name. Something as simple as “I am really looking forward to attending this event with my business…” works.
– Comment on any posts that the organiser puts out about the event.
Instagram tips:
– Make sure you tag organisers when posting about the event. Pop it in your Stories and tag them too, then they might share your Story.
– Comment on the organisers’ posts.
– See which stallholders are there and like / comment on their posts too.
Twitter:
Same thing – comment, like, tag and share!
- Write a blog
Write a blog on your website with a list of the Christmas markets that you’re selling at. Make sure you link to the organisers’ website. This creates a back link and will boost your SEO too – click here to find out how to write a great blog. You could also link to both your Pedddle page and the organisers’ event page – we have good SEO so again this will help boost your online profile. Click here to find out more about SEO, what it can do for you and how to improve it.
2. Offer a range of products and consider ‘Secret Santa’ gifts
This idea was one of Leona’s at Indie Roller. Make it easy for people to buy your products. Consider price ranges – do you have gifts under £20? Under £10? Under £5 even? Give customers options. Not everyone’s business will suit the ‘Secret Santa’ market – if not, do you have a Best Seller, or an attention-grabbing product that would make a great gift? Does it have a niche, for example gifts for grandparents, parents, that hard-to-buy-for uncle? Grab your customer’s attention and make it clear to them why they should buy your product.
3. Offer an alternative angle or a gift wrapping service
Make it easy for your customers. An alternative angle will also draw people in to your stand at a market. Gift wrapping is just another chore for many of us, so give customers an option to have it all done for them! This can take up time at a market though, so think about how you could do this if your market is busier – a fancy bag? Special extras to make the parcel look nice? What about offering a service where people write their own tag or stamp a tag? The possibilities are endless.
One tip to save time at a market is to have your stall set out but keep one of everything back (perhaps under the table) – then when you make a sale, give the customer a ready-wrapped one from under the table. Depending on your type of stock and space given you may not be able to do this, but it’s worth considering.
4. Collect email addresses
Use your markets as an opportunity to collect email addresses for your mailing list. You could even make it a competition, i.e. free shipping if they sign up to your mailing list and newsletter, or saying they’ll be entered into a prize draw in return for their email address.
You could leave an iPad or phone out and allow passers by to submit their email, but you may not want to leave expensive technology on the table. You could leave a clip board out for people to write their email addresses, or use a secure box they can drop a piece of paper into. Be aware of GDPR – you’ll need a tick box to confirm they have read the information about how their email address will be used and how you’ll contact them. Keep/archive this information as per GDPR regulations.
5. Don’t get cold!
This might seem obvious, but when you are stood outside in the freezing cold all day, you function badly and make mistakes. It’s so important to stay warm so you perform at your best! Read our blog for some tips on staying warm at an outdoor market.
It might be a good idea to wear fingerless gloves so you can still work card readers, and have your money strapped to you in the form of a bum bag (they’re trending right now so you will be totally cool!).
How can I learn from previous market selling experiences?
Selling at markets is hard and there are a lot of variables that can affect performance on the day. However, if you haven’t done as well as expected, don’t worry – every experience is a learning curve. Ask yourself:
- Did I utilise social media frequently and clearly enough? Did my audience know exactly where I would be?
- Did I send an email newsletter to remind my audience?
- Did I engage with customers in the right way at the market – being welcoming and friendly, saying hello, initiating conversation, sharing stories of your products and their history, and showing them that you love what you do?
- How simple and effective was your stall layout? Was the stall too crowded? Could prices and offers have been clearer?
- How easy are you to find online after the event? Did you have business cards or hand out your contact details? Do you have a strong digital presence?
- We’re you well prepared enough? Feeling disorganised often puts us off – click here for some market checklists to help you prepare better next time.
If you did all of these things then don’t worry – there are so many factors than effect every market’s performance. If there was something on this list that you missed, you know what else to try next time! Read our top 10 tips on market selling for further ideas.
In Summary
The main thing about selling at a Christmas Market is that you’re getting out there – your customers are seeing you! Don’t be disheartened if you don’t sell well – you might have reached a whole new audience that didn’t buy on the day but may do in the future.
There is no better way to sell your products than at a market in real life, but once you have left – how will they remember your name? Did you have enough business cards? Were you and your stall memorable? Ask how easy it is for customers to find you again – this is where being listed on Pedddle can help. Click here to find out more about joining us and the benefits of being a member.