There are three basic aspects of retailing:
Design - the premises (your booth and its basic structures)
Merchandising - what you put in the premises (your display)
Operations - what staff do (you and anyone who might be helping you at craft shows)

While these retailing concepts are traditionally applied to retail stores, they apply to your craft show display too.

All three aspects of retailing are inter-related. That means that a change to one aspect impacts the other two factors. A cost savings measure in one area may cost you elsewhere. So, when you are designing your craft booth, it’s helpful to think through the ways that a change to one factor may impact the other factors.

For example, the design of your booth impacts merchandising because your basic booth design determines the amount of space you’ll have to display products and the level of flexibility you’ll have to change your booth based on varied conditions at different craft shows. Also, the basic configuration of your booth will impact operations because it will influence where you tend to stand or sit and how you tend to interact with customers.

Imagine, for example, you decide to take away space from your checkout area (which is tempting when you have limited space) to create more space for display. At your next show, you may discover that your check out area is inefficient and checking out customers has become much slower and awkward. If you are at a busy show, the extra time spent checking out customers may easily result in lost customers. If you miss opportunities to talk with potential customers because you are dealing with an inefficient checkout process, you can easily lose sales. In this case, you would have been better off displaying slightly less product while allowing yourself the space you need to deal with customers seamlessly and efficiently.

There are plenty of ways that the three aspects of retailing, design, merchandinsing and operations interact with each other to either improve or hurt your sales; this is just one simple example. When you design or make changes to your craft show booth, be sure to think through the ways that decisions about all three factors will impact each other.

I was at a big craft show a couple of weeks ago. When I attend shows as a customer, in addition to seeing the results of everyone’s creative talent and seeking out new treasures, I also like to think about the booths from a business perspective. Why did they set up a booth in a particular way? Is that setup working for them? Why did they choose to make a particular type of item? How are items priced? etc…etc.

One booth that really stood out to me at this show belonged to a jewelry artist. The organizers at this show do a good job of balancing the categories, so there was an unreasonable number of people selling jewelry, but the ones who were, for the most part, all had sterling silver items (it seems a lot of people who make handmade jewelry - myself included - tend to gravitate toward sterling silver). There was one jewelry artist who had a booth of mostly copper jewelry, and although her designs were quite similar to some items made of sterling silver at other booths, the copper really stood out among all of the people selling silver jewelry.

Her booth was packed any time I walked by it; I spent a few days at the show, so I walked by more than a couple of times. A simple choice about materials used was all it took for this person to distinguish herself from her competition and ensure her booth was crowded throughout the show.

A great display booth can have a huge impact on your business.

Once you’ve put all of your efforts, skills and creativity into creating a product that is unique and highly appealing to your target market, you might feel that you’re ready to hit the art and craft shows.

Not quite.

Your display booth can make a huge impact on your success. The difference between a mediocre craft show booth and a great craft booth can mean the difference between whether customers actually enter your booth to see your fantastic products or whether they walk on past. It can also mean the difference between whether you are even accepted into the best shows. When you apply to many of the most competitive art and craft shows, you’ll be required to submit a photo of your booth. If your display booth does not meet the standards of professionalism that are required by the show organizers, you may not be accepted into the best shows.

Developing a great craft show display requires good research so you understand what resources are available for creating your booth, what industry standards and expectations your display will need to meet, and what it takes to stand out among your competitors.

Smart planning will help you to ensure your booth is efficient and easily portable. If, for example, your booth must fit in a vehicle that has a seven foot long interior, using an eight foot long pole that’s not retractable as a part of your display just won’t do. A modular booth design will allow you to fit your craft show booth into a variety of configurations. Although 10×10 spaces are fairly standard, they are definitely not universal, so you’ll want a display that can change with your changing needs.

Understanding the expectations of your target customers will help you to create a booth that draws in customers. Consider what message and image you want to portray and how you will portray that message in your booth.

Having your trade show booth professionally designed may be well worth the money spent; it really depends on your goals for your business, your available cash, the types shows you are targeting, and your skills related to creating your own display. While it’s not the right solution for everyone, a professional design may be the most cost effective solution in the long run. You can save time and money by avoiding a lot of trial and error in your booth design, and you may bring in more customers and get into better shows with an exceptional booth.

Don’t underestimate the value of a well planned, well designed display booth. While a remarkable product should be the cornerstone of your craft business, an excellent presentation of that product can go a long way to building your success.

Find more Craft Show Display Tips

If you’re looking for craft booth photos to get inspiration for your next craft display, look no further than Flickr.com. If you haven’t been to the site before, Flickr is a site where people upload and share their photos, and if you look patiently, you’ll find lots of display photos there.

To get you started, I’ve favorited some trade show booth displays photos on Flickr. Not all of the photos show ideal booths. Some are great, and a few, in my humble opinion, could use a little work. It’s helpful to see booths that are effective, and booths are still developing so you can get an idea of what works and what doesn’t

I have not even come close to favoriting not all of the display booth pictures on Flickr. In order to respect and comply with copyrights, I’ve only linked to photos that are marked as being O.K. to share. If you search yourself, you’ll find plenty more display booth photos. Here are some keywords to try:

• craft booth
• craft show
• craft display
• art show
• trade show
• art market
• craft market

Also try Flickr Groups, where you’ll find entire sets of related photos, and try the keywords.

Don’t forget to respect the hard work it took for these crafters to design their booths and be sure to draw a clear line between looking for inspiration, and outright copying.

For an in-depth look at some craft booth photos and why the booths work, take a look at Display Booth Photos and for more tips on creating a winning craft show display, see Craft Show Display

Find more Craft Show Display Tips