By dmitrizzleHeader image credit: ArtSocket
I believe that art really does make a very significant impact on our lives. Whether it is Rembrandt or Justin Bieber it deeply affects us on emotional, social and even physiological levels.
By dmitrizzleHeader image credit: ArtSocket
I believe that art really does make a very significant impact on our lives. Whether it is Rembrandt or Justin Bieber it deeply affects us on emotional, social and even physiological levels. During the past few years my beliefs, opportunity and my personal skill set brought me to the point of starting this art-related business.
While not being a genius marketer (mediocre, at best) I always knew that generating income from art is an important step towards becoming a better artist. Being able to earn money from print sales, for example, would mean that I would need to devote all my free time towards getting better at it. And all I really want is just more time for practice [that] makes perfect.
A few years into this venture and I am convinced that business is really, really hard. Especially if it is being conducted online.
Security concerns, difficult returns and flat, small screens. But that's not all: buying anything online is often associated with deep discounts. It's not a surprise that internet shopping has got a lot of its momentum because we can get better deals on, say, Amazon than at a local store - consistently. So how does that even work?
Pricing is not easy. Things that affect the tag could be as obscure as the cost of minerals required to produce a component. There are so many processes involved in making even the simplest things that we are unable to manufacture most of them on our own. Take this TED talk where Thomas Thwaites attempts to create a toaster on his own - and fails. Miserably. Now imagine all of this complexity wrapped in economics of squeezing every little penny during each step to pass the savings on to us.
So why the price wars then? And are they all bad?
Competition promotes innovation and reduction of wasted energy and materials - which is excellent for our environment. Pricing things cheaper means that we can now allow the customers that could not previously afford a certain necessity or even luxury to finally get it. But of course this creates a huge opening for abuse. Undercutting employee wages, environment pollution due to production shortcuts and even slavery can result from bad business practices. This is not the world any of us want to live in.
But if sales are a big part of the retail tactics (this post is being written just before a huge Black Friday yearly blow out sale) there needs to be a sustainable way of doing them. And there are a few ways or performing just that.
The first "way" I am about to list is not entirely honest. It has never and will never be done at ArtSocket.
Marking up before dropping the price is a shady (but seemingly common) tactic which involves pretty much lying to the customers about the true value of an item. Imagine this: I tell you that the coat you are about to buy is now $100 after being marked down by 50% from its original price. While the truth is that its non-sale price has been inflated specifically to give you the perception of a great value. The reality being that the price of the coat is $50, I marked it up 400% at $200 and sold you for $100 making you think that this is a great deal while I pocket a huge profit. The nasty bit of this whole ordeal is that I am practically forcing you to buy something that you may not otherwise need - through social and cultural pressures of deal-hunting - be it Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day or whatever.
The other (and what I believe is better) way to provide discounts is by thinking ahead of the curve. From a point of view of a customer it is actually a great deal with a wonderful value attached to it. But as a retailer I loose money. Hopefully, it's only in a short run. So why would I, or any other retailer even consider doing this to myself and my business? And why "hopefully"?
I got in to art business to make money so that I could make more art. Maybe even change a few things at the scene to make it better for everyone. It was never about a quick gig to make some cash. My dream is to make this art boutique sustainable, profitable and good for everyone involved. But I am a little guy, competing with giants like Art Finder, Art Dot Com and Fine Art America. For me, growing my customer base (finding more people who would love ArtSocket prints) is everything. It's not just about selling to whoever would agree to buy. I must prove that the business has a potential to sustainably grow into something larger, giving it a chance to truly bring some positive advances.
Two things come into play: customer acquisition and retention. The latter means that I have to keep my customers coming back. That's at the core of ArtSocket's (and many other good businesses') model:
- Make awesome things
- Make people happy
- Give value
Nobody is perfect and there is always room for improvement. But so far I've never received a single negative review for any of the wall-art being sold here. So let's say that it's good enough for now. But customer acquisition