When you think about a successful trade show, it’s easy to imagine that only the biggest brands with the flashiest booths have a chance to stand out. For small or growing brands, exhibiting at a trade show like h+h americas can feel like a big jump. You want to be sure your investment is worth it, and that you’ll be able to stand out among the established brands.
The good news is that when it comes to quilting, sewing, knitting, crochet and crafts, a trade show can be one of the most effective places to grow your business. In fact, being a smaller brand gives you advantages that some larger companies can’t offer.
Here’s how you can win big by exhibiting at h+h americas.
1. Use Your Size As Your Advantage
Sure, as a smaller brand, you won’t be able to compete when it comes to marketing budget, sales teams or name recognition. But what you do have to offer is a personal connection, unique products and a welcoming booth. That goes a long way in the craft industry.
When a retailer visits your booth, make sure they can meet the person who created the collection, designed the product or started the business. Most craft shop owners are creative themselves, and they value your perspective and understanding the thought and care your brand has put into product development.
You can tell them why you created the product, what makes it different, and suggest why it might be right for their store. That kind of interaction is difficult to replicate through a digital campaign.
And in the craft industry, where relationships and enthusiasm matter so much, personal connections are powerful.
2. Find the Right Retailers for You
One of the hardest parts of growing a small craft brand is getting in front of the right buyers. You can do everything from cold calling to email campaigns, but you might not necessarily be talking to people who are open to buy.
At a trade show, qualified buyers are visiting with inventory in mind. At h+h americas, you’ll meet the shop owners and retailers who are the most strategic and thoughtful about their business. Like you, they’ve made the investment to attend the show. Adding a few of these retailers as customers can make a big impact for your business.
An independent quilt shop, yarn store or sewing retailer can become a long-term customer who reorders your products, features them in classes, recommends them to customers and introduces your brand to their local creative community. That word of mouth will travel from customers to their crafty friends. And word of mouth remains one of the best ways for people to discover your product.
Remember, a great retail partner can do much more than place an opening order; they can become an advocate for your brand.
So when you decide to exhibit at a trade show, keep in mind that the goal is not only collecting leads or placing orders. Remember to focus on retailers and potential partners who genuinely connect with your products and story.
3. Think of Feedback as Immediate Market Research
As a small brand, you probably spent a lot of time developing your product. A trade show gives you the opportunity to hear what people think of them. At h+h americas, those people are retailers and designers who sell directly to your customers.
You’ll have an instant idea of whether or not people understand your product at a glance, which is information you can use to inform the next round of packaging or your product listing page. Is the price right? Do people gravitate to certain products over others? What questions do they have? What colors do they love?
These conversations are quick market research that can validate your point of view or give you a new perspective to consider. If you’re lucky, you might even meet a buyer or designer with a great idea for showcasing your product. These serendipitous interactions are priceless. And, you can follow up on them immediately if there’s another person to connect with who is also at the show.
4. Build Relationships Before You Need Them
One of the biggest mistakes a growing brand can make is thinking about trade shows only in terms of immediate sales, when they’re just as much about relationship building.
The retailer who isn't ready to place an order today might turn into a customer six months later. A distributor might think of a surprising opportunity for your product. A designer could end up becoming a collaborator. And each one of these people might tell another person in the industry about you and your products.
It can be easy to forget that these relationships take time to develop. Showing up consistently will help establish your brand as a committed participant in the craft community, not simply someone there to make sales. This will continue to build brand value and credibility over time.
5. Learn Where You Fit in the Market And industry
Exhibiting gives you an unique perspective on the craft industry. You’ll be able to see what other brands are launching, which colors, styles and trends keep cropping up, what retailers are asking for and what topics people keep mentioning again and again.
That information can be incredibly valuable, especially for a small brand who is able to be nimble and address some of these trends without long timelines.
Understanding where your products fit within the larger fabric, yarn, quilting, sewing, knitting and crochet landscape helps you refine your sales pitch– and maybe even your product– so it resonates with customers.
Don't Wait Until You're "Big Enough"
Although it can feel like you’re not ready to exhibit just yet, a trade show like h+h americas is just the kind of opportunity that can get you on your way to becoming a well-known brand. It’s a chance to find retailers who are looking for exactly what you have to offer, and who will champion your product in their local craft stores.
h+h americas is a place to make connections, listen, and tell your story, all while getting your products in front of people who can get them into the hands of more makers. For emerging and independent brands in fabric, yarn, quilting, sewing, knitting and crochet, that opportunity is hard to find anywhere else.