Getting Flora and Fauna to bloom
Flora and Fauna Press is enjoying a burst of demand for its custom letterpress-printed products. To help ensure the boom doesn’t go bust, owner Christine Brandt needs to bolster her Los Angeles company’s marketing, says art management consultant Nancy Hytone Leb of the nonprofit Los Angeles-based Center for Cultural Innovation.
Hytone Leb offered a seven-step marketing plan to get the small business started.
Develop targeted new products. New-home or moving announcements, as well as baby announcements, are logical products for Brandt’s primary audience of wedding-related customers. It’s something Brandt has considered but hasn’t yet focused on.
Expand her relationship marketing. It will be cheaper for Brandt to find additional sales in her existing customer base, Hytone Leb says.
“I’m a big believer in customer relationships and maintaining ongoing relationships with customers and clients, especially for small businesses and artists,” Hytone Leb says.
Brandt can keep her business top-of-mind as a resource for high-quality custom paper goods by communicating regularly with customers. Given her wedding focus, she might want to send out hand-printed anniversary cards to her clients. Brandt tries to e-mail a newsletter three or four times a year. Hytone Leb would like to see her stick to at least a quarterly communication. She might also consider printing it and sending it through the mail to showcase her product quality. But she cautions against using customer communications just as “a sell.” Brandt also could share news about the business and other related items of interest to her clients.
The business owner has an arts-focused blog on her website but doesn’t update it regularly. Spending a few minutes a week adding content can keep readers linking back to her site, which will help boost its ranking on search engines.
Consider spending more on Google Adwords. Hytone Leb says her Google search did not easily turn up Flora and Fauna Press’ website. She recommends that Brandt consider re-directing some of her online bridal website marketing money to buying more searchable words in Google Adwords.
Improve visuals on home page. When potential customers find the site, they need a stronger image of Brandt’s work than is currently posted. “If you can’t touch the product, you want to be able to clearly see the quality,” Hytone Leb says. “Her product is so beautiful, and the first images you see on the home page don’t do justice to the work.”
Competing sites have stronger visuals, she says.
Brandt might also want to promote her dedication to sustainable business practices on her website, Hytone Leb says.
Create promotional pieces. This could be a one-page, four-color flier printed on both sides that is consistent with the brand image Brandt is building on her website, the consultant says.
“I hate the phrase ‘promotional flier’; it sounds really cheap and tacky,” Hytone Leb says. “But a good one will have strong visuals.”
It won’t have prices, in Brandt’s case, she says. Because of the custom nature of the work, prices vary widely. And letterpress is typically more expensive than standard printing.
“I think she’ll lose more people upfront with pricing on it,” the consultant says.
A small business can benefit from having at least one quality promotional piece to use in its marketing efforts, which for Brandt might include handing it out at wedding shows, mailing to potential customers or using it in publicity efforts.
Consider hiring a publicist. Brandt should consider hiring a publicist who has contacts and good relationships with print and television media in the wedding market, Hytone Leb says.
She acknowledges that it can be hard for a small-business owner to find the right person and to be able to afford the service. Networking with other artists, asking for advice from friends in business who have used publicists and contacting editors of local wedding guides might reap her some names to contact, the consultant says.
Even an alumni group at CalArts, which Brandt attended, might turn up appropriate publicists, she says.
Brandt might want to stretch her marketing budget by offering to barter services with a potential publicist, a concept the Center for Cultural Innovation teaches the artists who take its seven-week “Business of Art” workshop series taught by local business and legal experts.
She could barter with business cards, thank you cards for the publicist, stationery or invitations for some big event, Hytone Leb says.
Partner with nonprofits. Brandt has designed two holiday cards for a pet-related charity. With the caveat that she doesn’t want Brandt to lose money on a partnership, Hytone Leb suggests she come up with additional clever holiday cards that she could print and offer to nonprofits for sale. She could ask to split the proceeds.
The idea is to get her work in front of more potential customers who share her interests.
Any of her marketing efforts have to support her focus on the quality and uniqueness of her products, Hytone Leb says.
“I think she should make sure she continues to trust her instincts,” Hytone Leb says, “because it seems like her instincts are really spot on.”
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