3. Target Audience: Discover Who Wants Your Crafts!

I went to a handmade fair even though I had promised not to go. This time, Sara, the girl who approached us at the New Year’s fair with her doll sewing kits, joined us. Her business partner, Kate, who came with her last time, backed out at the last minute, not wanting to spend the whole day “for no reason.”

So Sara suggested that I go, and I agreed. The only problem was that I had no one to leave my baby with.

“Hey, Sara,” I greeted her. “Listen, I have this problem. I don’t have anyone to look after my baby. Do you think I should take her along?”

Come on! If she gets too difficult, you can go back home with her. I can come here and handle the booth alone – “Sara offered shyly.

In just 15 minutes, we were parking the car in the yard. The back seat was full of boxes of sewing kits.

“At least it isn’t raining today. Hopefully, more people will come to the market now,” I remarked cynically.

“Well, let’s see,” – Sara replied hesitantly.

The market was held in one of the shopping centers in the center of our town. People were browsing the various crafts on the tables despite the early hour. There was a decent crowd even in the morning. A gleam of hope came to our eyes that this day might prove favorable and we can profit at least.

Our spirits were good, but a clawed thought flew through my mind: How long will my child tolerate it? It was already 2:00 p.m., and we had sold only one set. It wasn’t much. Again, we expected more; that is what we always expect. The same thought crossed my mind, too, as they do every time, but I still didn’t pay attention to it. This would be the last market, I decided. I looked at my daughter’s longing gaze and wondered how to keep her occupied. 

“Mom, I’m so bored here. I want to go home,”—that was all she said sadly. But what do I plan to do to entertain her? Then, a brilliant idea hit me hard in its center! 

“Sara, can I buy one set from you?”
“Really?” Sara replied with confusion. 
“Yes, I’ll start being your customer,” I giggled. 
“Why? 
I need something to keep my child occupied. We could open up a set and sew a doll together. She can play with it.” 

Sara’s face lit up kindly. She loved my little girl to bits and didn’t mind indulging her. My choice was made: one of the kits—a doll with dark hair with a pink dress. On first look, it even resembled my daughter pretty well. 

We opened the box and examined its contents: The fabric body of the doll carefully cut felt dresses, woolen threads for hair, miniature shoes, beads, and ribbons to decorate the dress. I thought again: “Wow, it takes so much time to assemble one set despite it being such a small task!” 

My daughter immediately became alert, taking the flesh body of the doll into her hands, and asked excitedly, “Mom, are we going to sew her dress?” 
“Yes, dear; let us now read the instructions and see what we need to do,” I replied agreeably. 

And so we began making the doll. To attach the eyes next, we sewed them on, then attached the hair by twisting the strands with many pins placed close together, giving the dress its finishing touch from all sides till we crafted the shoes using black pattern paper marked with dots neatly.

– Target Audience: Discover Who Wants Your Crafts!

I glanced up and noticed a woman carrying a baby coming our way.
“Hi! What are you doing?” she asked curiously.
“Making a doll,” I said with a smile.
Sara walked up and explained, “These are special doll-making kits. You can buy them and sew them together with your daughter.”
“I don’t want to buy one as I won’t be able to sew it with my child. I don’t have time; my hands aren’t skilled enough. Could you sew them together now with her?” the woman asked.

“We don’t usually do workshops…” Sara began to reply,
“Yes, we can! – I shouted.
The kit, along with a sewing session, is $100. You can relax for forty minutes.”

“That sounds great!” she replied, handing the money to Sara. Sara was impressed! She had been selling the kits for $70, and they weren’t selling at all. We had two people at our stall: me sewing with my daughter and Sara with the other girl.

“What an awesome idea!” Sara commented.
“Yeah, at least we will cover the rent,” I added cheerfully.

“Hey, do you have an A4 sheet of paper and a marker?” I asked Sara.
“Yes, I do,” Sara replied.
“Give them to me. I have an idea!” I took the marker and wrote in big letters on the paper: “A $20 Puppet Maker’s Class for Kids! Enjoy an Entire Hour of Freedom!” Then, I placed it on the table prominently.

The day is ended. Everybody was packing their tables. We were tired but happy! We did over ten sewing sessions and earned enough money to pay for the rent and add joy to the girls. My daughter fell asleep in the car, holding the cute doll she had made.

THE VALUE OF YOUR OFFER: YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE

This article will discuss how defining your target market for your craft business may help you grow your business. 

When you run a handmade business, you aim to make money with your business, sell the product you make yourself, and have an income based on your labor. To help your business thrive, you need to figure out what kind of person might want or needs the good you are selling—let that be your best customer.

Market research can help you define your target market in several ways: what people need, their preferences and characteristics, and so on. You can create a business that works exactly, not just for you but also for those who might benefit from it. 

Let’s look at a few things someone running a home-based business could offer their audience. Expanding your list of offerings to your audience and approaching it strategically has increased your sales.

Handmade goods / Services:

There are many ways to make money from your knowledge and skills. Are you using them all? You must incorporate other aspects into your business to increase your income quickly.

The creative mind often thinks that their products should sell themselves. They expect people around them will be magically drawn to their work, fall in love with it, and buy it. But this is not a good idea! It’s important to remove these rose-colored glasses!

You’re an unknown, unskilled, inexperienced person for most people. So why should they give their money to you? If you haven’t thought about this, go and do so now! The initiative must come from YOU. Your customers and potential customers play a huge part in your project. They represent your target audience. What does this mean, and how can you find your target audience?

Target Audience for handmade. Who is your current target customer?

When running a small business in the craft industry, you need to know your target market and who you are marketing your products. Your ideal customer is key to marketing strategies, brand development, and product showcasing.

Your target audience is a persona of people with a common behavior (socio-demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral). Here’s the good news: You do not have to find your target audience; you decide who it is.

You define who to target, for whom to work, and for whom exactly to sell. What better way to think about it? Think like a radio or television station as a source of information; think about what type of person would enjoy “interesting shows” because that’s your market offerings on some level, the presentation of data, and the communication tone you strike with those customers.

Client’s perspective:

How do you understand what people truly need? What motivates them to spend their money on your offer? It’s more complex than it may seem. You need to identify people’s deepest needs, which typically revolve around:

Let’s consider an example from the fair. We were selling the same doll sewing kit. In the first case, we said:

However, in the second case, we emphasized:

Reflection allowed us to present this idea to our targeted audience. You can also look at the needs of your target customers. When choosing a target audience, consider behavioral factors instead of focusing solely on their location, age, or income.

Your product should solve customer’s problems:

Only then will customers be willing to spend their money? To address this, use the CBV technique:

Characteristics, Benefits, and Value

You can test your product or services based on customer background verification. This way, customers will understand why they should buy from you and accept your offering as the best choice in their current situation. Having all this data available while creating content for your various communication channels lets your customers see why they need your services and which advantages you provide over other sellers.

TO MAKE CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND WHY THEY NEED YOUR PRODUCT AND ITS ADVANTAGES OVER COMPETITION, you should establish communication that aligns their perception of the product with yours. Only then will customers realize your product is excellent and beneficial, leading them to purchase.

Benefits can extend to time, individuality, design, and so forth. Explain and show these benefits to your customers. Such explanations will help you relate with the customer better and guide them toward a buy.

– Target Audience: Discover Who Wants Your Crafts!

Another aspect of attracting your target audience is explicitly stating whom you do NOT want to work with. Clearly define the psychographic characteristics of people you prefer not to engage with and avoid communication with such individuals.

Where can you find your target audience?

First and foremost, identify aggregators – platforms where your potential customers spend their time, both online and offline. 

How can you find aggregators? 

1. If someone has already purchased or is considering your product, explore their interests. Check their social media accounts to see who they follow and what they are interested in. If this person fits your target audience and follows a particular group, that group becomes your potential customer—an aggregator for your target audience. Forums, blogs, social networks, and even competitors can serve as aggregators for your audience. For offline aggregators, explore exhibitions, shows, shopping centers, residential complexes, business forums, master classes, and other events or locations.
2. Craft shows and craft fairs are great opportunities to showcase your products and connect with your customer base. These events attract crafters and individuals interested in handmade products, providing a specific market for your business. By participating in these events, you can gauge the reaction to your craft, interact with potential customers, and even conduct market research in real-time.

From fairs, you can also thoroughly research your target market and create a marketing plan that differs from other businesses in the area. Their age groups, interests, and spending habits will give you ideas on what products they will likely buy.

Assignment 3. Determine with whom it is advantageous or disadvantageous to work. Pay particular attention to psychographic and behavioral factors.

Who it is profitable for me to work with:

Who it is NOT profitable for me to work with:

Assignment 4. Describe your target audience

– Target Audience: Discover Who Wants Your Crafts!

Assignment 5. In the left column, write the characteristics of your product/service. In the right column, what customer needs they solve and what benefit they bring.

– Target Audience: Discover Who Wants Your Crafts!