Craft Focus - Dec/Jan (Issue 70)

ask the experts Leading industry experts answer your craft and retail dilemmas JORDANA JOHNSON Marketing Manager, CHSI Stitches chsi.co.uk Jordana Johnson is Marketing Manager at ICHF Events, organiser of CHSI Stitches. Next year’s show takes place from 17 th -19 th February 2019 at NEC Birmingham. How can I make the most of exhibiting at a trade show? In our increasingly connected world, exhibiting at a trade show remains more relevant than ever. To make the event work its hardest for you, make sure you’ve these key areas covered: 1 The stand. This is arguably the most important element. We get some incredible stands at Stitches, but it’s not all about being the largest. Think about having interactive elements, demos and samples. 2 Pre-book appointments. This almost goes without saying, but make sure you invite key customers to your stand and make time for them. Often, a quiet area is useful for discussions and deals. 3 Amplify your presence. Join in all the chat on social media about the show. Find out which hashtags are being used in advance. Stitches welcomes many journalists, bloggers and influencers each year so it’s worth making sure you talk to them about your brand – they can reach thousands of customers! Trade shows make business sense. As well as investing in your stand, you need to put in the time to make the most of each event. A little pre-prep can hugely increase your impact. MARK WILSON Director, Creative Products Distribution creative-distribution.co.uk Mark Wilson is Director of Creative Products Distribution. The company will be attending this year’s CHSI Stitches on stand A08. As a shop owner, I find it hard to predict what’s going to be a hit with my customers. What’s the trick to identifying the products that are going to sell successfully? There’s no easy answer, but if you know your customers and you are prepared to walk your feet off around some trade shows you can find some real gems. Think about your current products and which categories they fit into – are they core, commodity or luxury? Core might include paper and envelopes or beads and sequins, while commodity could be glue and luxury might include Christmas gift ideas. Consider product life cycle. The speed at which an item can go from being a cash cow to obsolete is massively increasing. To reduce the risk, try to buy your core or commodity items in smaller quantities. Easy winners will include seasonal lines themed around events such as Valentine’s, Father’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, teachers’ gifts and baby items. Keeping up to date with Facebook and Twitter is useful, but in my opinion it’s not an ideal way of tracking trends. These sites can give you risky information because they are reactive to the current market. Pinterest is a great source of information if you can find the right suppliers and channels to follow, as is LinkedIn, which is useful for finding core buyers and management. Trade shows are useful for identifying upcoming trends but be aware that not everything you see in the USA will automatically translate to a winning line here. Find suppliers that will work with you by offering: • Small pack quantities. • Demonstration stock. • Low value carriage paid orders. • Diversification. • Does the supplier innovate or is it just a follower? Think about first-to-market advantage. • Next-day delivery. • Good quality products with excellent customer service. • High-resolution images and product videos that you can use on your website and social media. • Information on best-selling lines. 112 craft focus