As a shop and small business owner, I can appreciate the importance of staying relevant and following the latest trends where business is concerned. This has always been a problem for me since the items that I sell are not your typical items that can become "trendy". I've struggled with this issue especially after reading business site forums that list this fact as the #1 most significant reason for online shops to see significant decrease in views and sales.
For example:
your shop sells handmade pottery and the upcoming trend appears to be extra large ceramic mugs in a specific color, this would be the direction for you to go in your production. If your business sells material and the trend for that year is towards anything with a military print, again, that would be the way for your shop to go. For me, I paint portraits of dogs and cats.......not much wiggle room (get it tails...wiggle room?) Okay so you want your shop to look fresh and up to date with the latest designs and colors so what does a shop like mine (and possibly yours) do to create an updated look from year to year?
After much thought, I decided to review my inventory at the end of each year. I offer a variety of glassware and windows so I prefer to create my portraits on the same material (glass). My brushes and acrylic paints are made specifically for glass so to change to another medium or material would be a costly outlay for me. So my thought was, is there something else that a pet lover would just have to have that I currently don't offer? Can I repurpose an item that I have in inventory? Do my colors appeal to potential buyers or are they not quite right?
I started my business selling glass ornaments and windows. After a year or two I decided to add a new item, a personalized pet portrait treat jar which became one of my biggest sellers. The next year I added personalized wine glasses and the next, giving my customers more of a choice in backgrounds for their custom windows. This year I've started a new line, using my glass jars to create personalized banks for teams, organizations, new baby and housewarming gifts. I have incorporated the "color of the year" into my decorative banks/jars and also in my window backgrounds.
By changing things up I have been able to offer my existing customers something new and bring in potential buyers something unique and not strictly pet related.
I am not one to sit and wait for things to turn around, I prefer to turn them myself (I guess it's a control thing). Sometimes standing back and taking a fresh look at your business can be the secret to your success.
For example:
your shop sells handmade pottery and the upcoming trend appears to be extra large ceramic mugs in a specific color, this would be the direction for you to go in your production. If your business sells material and the trend for that year is towards anything with a military print, again, that would be the way for your shop to go. For me, I paint portraits of dogs and cats.......not much wiggle room (get it tails...wiggle room?) Okay so you want your shop to look fresh and up to date with the latest designs and colors so what does a shop like mine (and possibly yours) do to create an updated look from year to year?
After much thought, I decided to review my inventory at the end of each year. I offer a variety of glassware and windows so I prefer to create my portraits on the same material (glass). My brushes and acrylic paints are made specifically for glass so to change to another medium or material would be a costly outlay for me. So my thought was, is there something else that a pet lover would just have to have that I currently don't offer? Can I repurpose an item that I have in inventory? Do my colors appeal to potential buyers or are they not quite right?
I started my business selling glass ornaments and windows. After a year or two I decided to add a new item, a personalized pet portrait treat jar which became one of my biggest sellers. The next year I added personalized wine glasses and the next, giving my customers more of a choice in backgrounds for their custom windows. This year I've started a new line, using my glass jars to create personalized banks for teams, organizations, new baby and housewarming gifts. I have incorporated the "color of the year" into my decorative banks/jars and also in my window backgrounds.
By changing things up I have been able to offer my existing customers something new and bring in potential buyers something unique and not strictly pet related.
I am not one to sit and wait for things to turn around, I prefer to turn them myself (I guess it's a control thing). Sometimes standing back and taking a fresh look at your business can be the secret to your success.
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