{"id":1837,"date":"2015-11-06T10:49:30","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T23:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.handkrafted.com/blog\/?p=1837"},"modified":"2015-12-22T16:21:17","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T05:21:17","slug":"building-brand-awareness-tips-for-furniture-makers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handkrafted.com/blog\/building-brand-awareness-tips-for-furniture-makers\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Brand Awareness: Tips for Furniture Makers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of marketing-savvy\u00a0Handkrafted makers\u00a0impart\u00a0comprehensive, first-hand advice to fellow craftspeople and small business owners alike. Helpful tips on branding, social media, and public relations, straight from the mouths of woodworking professionals.<\/em><\/p>\n

Australia has an amazingly rich and vibrant community of talented makers who produce world-class goods.<\/p>\n

Handkrafted<\/a>\u00a0is fortunate enough to feature many of these passionate craftspeople on our platform.\u00a0<\/strong>We understand that our furniture\u00a0makers\u00a0devote their days to\u00a0designing, innovating, and creating beautiful pieces<\/a> to last a lifetime. Understandably consumed by hands-on work \u2013\u00a0the heartbeat of their businesses \u2013\u00a0these makers<\/a>\u00a0often put marketing on the back burner. But, at what cost? If nobody knows of\u00a0your brand, how will you sustain your business?<\/p>\n

In the words of Jason Stancombe of Relm Furniture<\/a>, who previously\u00a0spent 20+ years\u00a0in\u00a0graphic design and branding, “You can have a great website and put amazing photos up and all the rest of it. But, if nobody’s\u00a0hearing about it\u00a0or seeing those photos, they’re\u00a0not really of any value.”<\/p>\n

To help resolve this issue we reached out to a couple of Handkrafted’s marketing-savvy makers, who were kind enough to share their “trade secrets”.<\/p>\n

RELM FURNITURE<\/a>\u00a0on BRANDING…<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>I’ve been involved in graphic design and had a branding business since 1998. I worked with a range of corporate, retail, and government clients like Telstra, Tourism Victoria. and Hudsons Coffee. Over that period, the business and my outlook became a lot more strategic, and my offering became more about how corporations are perceived through their visual language.<\/p>\n

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Things can get a little complicated when you’re talking about branding. To\u00a0explain the process, it helps to think about your business as a person. When you give birth to your new business, you are giving birth to a new child. Like many children, a young business is wide eyed, but lacking rules around how to\u00a0behave. Through consideration of your brand, you have an opportunity to create and mould how this person behaves \u2013 and more importantly how it is perceived by others.<\/p>\n

So, how do you stand out from the crowd without selling your soul?<\/p>\n

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  1. Think of your business as a person.<\/strong>\u00a0If your business was a new person walking into a room at a party, how would others perceive you. Do you make an impact, \u00a0mingle freely with the room, or play it cool and wait for others to approach you. How do you talk, are your relaxed and comfortable, preaching sales or just talking to the people you know. Just like a person, your behaviour, clothing (aesthetics), opinions, associations and other personality traits influence how others perceive you to be. Carefully consider how you want to be perceived.<\/li>\n
  2. Be authentic<\/strong>. Yep its a buzz word, but being authentic means creating a person who acts within their means and is essentially true to themselves. Just like the joker at the party, people can see through the hype and judge you for who you really are. If you don’t live up to your behavioural promises people look for someone else.<\/li>\n
  3. Clarify who it is you want to be.<\/strong>\u00a0If possible, write down four or five words that describe these characteristics. For Relm, it’s “Design, Quality, Creativity, and Approachability”. These key words become the values you can then use to define your business.<\/li>\n
  4. Your values underpin everything you do.<\/strong>\u00a0Start using your values as a set of boundaries. Is the work you’re producing focused on design? Are you being creative enough in your product range? Are you perceived as being approachable? If not, change things to make them true.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It’s important to spend the time to define your key values, and then implement them across all ‘touch points’ or communications with your audience. Consistency is key.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Just like a person, \u00a0your brand’s personality and behaviour may change over time, as it matures and evolves into different markets. But, it’s important not to constantly change and leave your audience confused as to who you are trying to be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    LIKE BUTTER<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on SOCIAL MEDIA…<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    \"marketing\"<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n