Five-Ps of Marketing Decoded?

ArtsiBitsi has had a good week.  Well, a good three days.  Now, it might be premature (or bad luck) to celebrate, but I really feel like I learned something important about the craft's business this week. 

So, to recap, there were five Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Position (Placement), Promotion and Package.  A few weeks ago I looked at these different aspects of my business and felt distinctly discouraged.  I didn't understand why my customer would buy handbags or any creative product online.  Since then I've pursued some different strategies and tracked the results.

Here's where I am now:

Promotion and Package -  I haven't done very much in these areas yet.  On the promotions front, I have been blog posting and such, but I don't think that it's having much effect.  I looked at buying a spot on an Etsy showcase, but other sellers report that it's not an effective use of advertising dollars.

Product - It's all about the Monster.  Buyers have so many choices; these bags are the one thing that I can make that is really distinctive and original.  

Price - The formula says that I should charge $40 for a MONSTER BACKPACK, considering the time and materials that go into making one.  Unfortunately, forty dollars is a lot to spend on something that is not going to be an everyday item.    The new MONSTER MINIS are substantially cheaper at $13.

Position - Here's where I have made the most interesting discoveries.  First, in the real world I have spent a lot of time with the folks at the Open Door Art Studio.  Not only do I find it very easy to talk to Courtney, Ashley and Jon about business and art concerns, they give me a physical presence  in a real space.  This is, I think, very important.  As I've said before, people who buy art need to see it, feel it, smell it before they can buy it.  The ODAS people are also taking my bags to shows, which will give them even more exposure in the real world.  

Second, I have been experimenting with my listing categories on Etsy.  I listed two MONSTER MINIS.  For one, I put it in the Purses category;  the other one I listed under Geekery.  And something amazing happened.  The mini-bags started to SELL.  I've sold one a day for three straight days.   My theory is that geeks are more comfortable buying online.  We'll see if the trend continues and whether a similar re-positioning helps the other items in my store.

Watch this space.