Hi Everyone,
As many of you know, I returned last week from my first trade/wholesale show in NYC. It was a great experience, rich with many
new found friends, life lessons, and orders. Yes, I did garnish a nice number of orders, more than I thought I would having done no advertising. In these challenging times, people are going with their tried and true performers. Buyers are very hesitant to take on any new lines at the moment. So I was extremely thankful to the buyers that have taken a chance on an unknown gal from Hawaii.
I got a lot of pointers from my lovely neighbors, who were nice enough to share their knowledge and experience with a trade show newbie. Jennifer from
Silver Spoon Jewelry, Angela from
AMR Designs, and Dagmar & Lisa Marie from
Atlantis Jewelry were all the most fabulous neighbors a neophyte could hope for.
They gave me a lot of pointers and didn't grow annoyed at my sometime Bambi-ass naivete. At least, if they did get irritated, they were kind of enough to snicker at me when I wasn't looking or while I was getting to know a buyer. =) Reorders are the key to making profit, marketing is a must, and perfect price points were the main lessons of the show.
Price Points: While a 5-figure investment during a challenging economy might be questionable, I have no doubt that I did the right thing. About half of my new accounts are veteran retailers. Owners and buyers who have been riding the wave of US economy for several decades, and it is clear they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Now while I love buyers across the spectrum, these folks have been around the block several times. Most of them bought very carefully, as I am a new vendor. They placed conservative orders focusing on filling price point voids in their stores.
I was encouraged that many of the veteran buyers were interested in my freshmen trade show efforts and applauded my ability to provide a wide range of styles and price points for every budget. The *twinkle* Collection was definitely the star of the show, with people coming back again and again to these tiny favorites.
Reorders: Some of my buyers were new store owners, who had known nothing of the economic hey days of yesteryear. All were filled with a renewed sense of hope by the way "things were slowly staring to pick up more and more" and an unwavering feeling of accomplishment in opening a successful brick and mortar store during a difficult time when stores were closing left and right. I was, in turn, inspired by their individual triumphs, that like them, I could thrive in these times despite my rookie status.
Jennifer kept telling me that over her many years of doing the show, she has seen a ROI (return on investment) several times over and that if you keep coming back, buyers will take notice of your lasting and selling power. She has maintained many of the accounts that she had secured from her first show.
Marketing: Jennifer also encouraged me to place an ad in a trade magazine. This is something that I had wanted to do when I first found out the show had a space for me. But getting the marketing material that I actually brought with me done in time, was a challenge enough.
Not many people actually hand out catalogs. Most exhibitors like to vet the buyers before giving them a catalog or line sheets, unless they actually write an order. Printed catalogs and line sheets are extremely expensive to produce, and they shouldn't be given away lightly. In order to make sure the buyer has some tangible object to take away with them, and hopefully materialize into an order sometime down the road, exhibitors make postcards.
Mine has a picture of my model, Giselle, with my wholesale terms on the reverse side. This little piece of marketing material can also be mailed out to current and prospective buyers when you have a show coming up or are having a promotion. I also give them to potential buyers that I meet at retail events, like this past weekend at the Made in Hawaii Festival. I made contact with several buyers interested in carrying Midori Jewelry.
Several buyers that grabbed my post card have followed up with me afterward. It's important for the card to be eye-catching and memorable, sticking out amongst the stacks of business and post cards that were hastily grabbed. I don't think anyone can say that Giselle, decked out island-style in her
Midori Jewelry isn't eye-catching.
Stay tuned for an updated list of retailers carrying
Midori Jewelry. Thank you all for your continued interest and support.
Mahalo,
Traci
Midori Jewelry
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