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Blazing a path through the beading industry
By Ann Williams | May 15, 2008
After some prompting by my personal coach I took a well-deserved break and attended a two-day course in glass bead making. As a result I have met the owners of a lovely small business, Glass & Fire.
Why I was impressed with what they have done since they opened in February last year is because they have followed some very basic tennets of marketing to get this business on its feet.
1. Environmental scanning: The owners of Glass & Fire also own one of South Africa’s first beading supply stores. They have seen this craft grow in popularity in this country as well keeping an eye on what was happening in the United States, the ‘home of beading’. So before going into glass bead making - they already knew about their field. They also already had access to some of the suppliers of the raw materials (although there was still quite a bit of work to be done with sourcing.)
2. Identifying a market: The art of making glass beads, or lampwork, though highly popular in the US, was only being done by a handful of crafters in South Africa. With the beading rage burning bright in South Africa, they made a decision that they would tap this market segment - beading enthusiasts.
(And as a byproduct they landed up with someone like me who is not a beading enthusiast, but I have always wanted to work with molten glass and have finally a found a way of doing this that is affordable, fun, and where I can do it in my own home without having to have a large studio space.)
3. Deciding on a niche: Although there are many more things than beads that can be made using these lampworking techniques, Glass & Fire are concentrating specifically on bead making. While being a seperate niche to supplying beads and accessories, it stills ties in nicely.
4. Doing something you are skilled in: All of the main staff members have had training in lampwork in the USA, and the skill level is very high and continually improving. This means, that I as a client, felt that I was getting good value for money on my course.
5. Doing something you like: Not only are they good at what they do, I got the impression that they all really enjoy what they do. During our training session, the passion of all of the staff members shined through - which make for a fun-filled two days and an enjoyable environment to be in. The result: I’m going back for more!
6. Advertising: I felt that they hit the nail on the head with their main print advertising. This consisted of a series of adverts in a niche publication - Beads (South Africa) - which fitted in very well with their target market.
7. Tell people about yourselves: They have had some articles about ampwork / Glass & Fire published. Always a great way to publicise your company - tell publications about your business.
8. Get online: Nice little website, which importantly for a product supply company, includes a catalogue of materials, accessories etc you can order from them. It also gives a current class schedule; always a good idea.
© Ann Williams
Topics: Business practice, Mini Case Studies, Retail |
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