Because I have a degree in Consumer Economics, I spend a lot of time watching the buying and selling of quilt fabric and related quilt gadgets.  One of the easiest way to find out how your consumers are doing is to watch their habits – when do they buy the most, what they purchase and how often should you put some type of eNewsletter together and send to your buyers.  None of this is simple but once you get the hang of it, your sales will increase and your virtual marketing ‘should’ change the fabric and gadgets that you order for sale.

For instance, your shop has gadgets.  Lovely gadgets that will make a quilter want said gadgets.  BUT, you  have to ship them – and this is the most important Consumer Economics lesson you can learn – people buy gadgets at local places and not so much via an online shop.  Why?  Because there is an instant gratification factor.

Or what if your last six-month sales report shows most of your customers purchase fabrics from one colorway and some mix and match what they want to purchase.  How do you purchase fabric for both groups?  The answer is pretty simple – you buy from both but you also offer folks to mix and match to their quilted heart’s desire.  You would not need to purchase a whole colorway of batiks (an example), but perhaps you can purchase half of them and see how the sales go.  Personally, I usually stick to one colorway for a quilt but like the jelly roll batiks for the binding.  Most especially a quilt is of one or two basic colors, the zing is with the binding!

Another consumer suggestion is to allow your customers to have some fun on your website!  For example, you could hide a coupon within the pages of your website.  If your customers find the coupon, they can use it on a single purchase.  Any time you get a customer who has money to spend, make sure you can keep them on your website for longer periods of time. Mix it up and have fun with it!  I guarantee your customer base will grow with this type of quilt shop fun.

The bottom line is, if you want to make sales and compete with other shops, you need to do a bit of research on your previous clients’ purchases as well as using social media to get more consumers going to your website.  And add a little fun into the shop’s online presence.  If you can do this, on top of everything else that it takes to run an online quilt shop – you will find success through sales!

 For additional Quilt Shop Marketing ideas, please visit www.QuiltShopMarketing.com!