Marketing experts tell us that marketing is about creating a need, a genuine need. When selling handmade products the same principles apply. Do you have a product that is natural, organic, made by local artisans? If you do, there is a story here that can fulfill a need.

Customers feel the need to be connected to the local community and want to be supporting local artists, crafters, and ecologically sustainable businesses. If you make your crafts in the community in which you are selling them, then you can qualify as a local ecological sustainable business. Handmade soap can contain both soybean and corn oils which are grown right here in the Midwest and support local farmers. This could be a natural selling point for local products.

When customers approach you about your products, the dry facts will never entice a customer to buy as much as a good story. I wrote a press release about how my soap helps mid-western farmers because we use American ingredients and I got an order from such a farmer who saw the press release in his local town newspaper. Integrating this story into your sales pitch is much more interesting than just saying ”I’m helping the farmers and the environment with my products”. Good stories show the desired results in action without any lecturing or condescension.

Also tout the attributes of your crafts that make them different from mass produced products. Once again tell a story. “We have a customer who was suffering terribly from a skin irritation, they tried our soap and within one week the irritation had been reduced significantly”. Or “the main ingredient in our soap that helped my mom’s rash is the shea butter we use, which is known for its healing properties”. In both cases you are fulfilling a need by telling story. Many potential customers in the handmade soap market have some type of skin malady that could be exacerbated by the use of commercial soap. Good handmade soap is product that easily fulfills both genuine and perceived needs. The need for soft skin and to smell clean and fresh might not be as pressing as clearing up a rash. For some customers it might be more pressing. If you can tap into this need, then a sale is likely.

A really nice source of good stories is your current customers. Ask them to submit stories and testimonials about your crafts. You could give them a mention in your flyers or on your website. These stories appear too be genuine, when a name is attached and a specific occurrence is sited. I have found customers to be an endless source of great information.

Jeffrey Dorrian is the webmaster at www.soap-loaf.com. Selling premium handcrafted soap and wholesale bath salts.

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