Improving Your Shop, One Question at a Time: Who am I Impressing?

Improving Your Shop, One Question at a Time is a SPD Blog Series that lays out some questions that could potentially help you reconfigure your business on Etsy for maximum success. Each blog post in the series will feature a number of questions that you can ask yourself about your own Etsy business that may help you consider your weaknesses and strengths, and improve your overall branding. These articles are strictly opinion, not fact, so take it with a grain of salt. :)

The First Impression
Everyone knows first impressions are crucial, we've all heard it. But how important are they really? Online, first impressions can foster trust, or completely destroy any chance of success. A good first impression is quintessential in the foundation of a relationship with potential customers. As the owner of a small business on Etsy, chances are you've shopped online for personal reasons or supplies for your business - a good first impression meant the difference between investigating, and possibly even buying or just navigating away, right? Your Etsy storefront is no different!

What's important on Etsy? How do you begin a relationship with a good first impression? What do I need to focus on to make this work? Okay, is your head spinning yet? Mine is.

So, let's ask ourselves some questions to clear up the fog...

Who is my target market?
This seems like a silly first question, doesn't it? You might not see a direct correlation now, but how you present yourself depends on your target market. Just in case, let's define "target market," which is a specific group of consumers at which you are aiming to sell your products to. For the sake of having an example to build from, we'll say we make cute little hair bows. Quite obviously, hair bows can appeal to a large market - but this example alone already tells us we have a specific group in mind.

For example, chances are males are no where to be found in our target market. And the style and size of our products implies use by children. So not only have we found our target market to be female, but also mothers. But you can narrow it down even further, let's run through a list of things to consider:

• Demographic - gender, age, income, occupation, location, etc.
• Psychographic - characteristics that indicate lifestyle preferences, purchasing habits, attitudes or personal values (environmentalists, music lovers, etc.)
• Behavioral - usage rate/frequency of use or loyalty
• Benefits - product benefits such as luxury, thriftiness, style, comfort, etc.

Demographically speaking, we've already established our target market includes mothers. Due to the style, price, quality, and overall aesthetic of our product, we can also conclude that we'd like to appeal to mothers with enough income to allow for small luxuries, in an ideal geographical location for wearing hair bows (i.e. Not Antartica.) Mothers who care about how cute their children look - our moms buy matching outfits and booties, ooo and aww at designer baby lines, and don't think throwing a onesie on a baby is stylish enough. Our hair bows are made with trendy designer fabrics - like Amy Butler, so chances are our target market's tastes are elegant, modern, and stylish.

So, now we have a pretty good idea, right? Awesome. Now let's see how this pertains to your Etsy storefront!

Am I greeting my target market?
Slipped that one right in there, didn't I? Yeah, I knew you were smarter than that! Your Etsy storefront is your first impression; in order to be successful at establishing a relationship with potential customers, you have to know who they are. So let's evaluate our first impression, both the basics and the more in depth questions now that we're considering our target market. Time to get down to business with this article's Questions to Ask Yourself, open up your Etsy storefront in another window/tab and try to ask yourself the following questions without bias:

Etsy Shop Title, Banner, and Avatar

• Do I utilize my Etsy Business' name in my shop title and banner?
• Do I utilize a tagline in my shop title and banner?
• Does my shop title include a description of my business or products in some way?
  
• Do my banner and avatar give my Etsy business an identity that is fitting?
  
• Do my banner and avatar appeal to my target market?
  
• Do my banner and avatar compliment my products?
• Do my banner and avatar look professional?
• Is my avatar recognizable?

Shop Announcement

• Do I greet my target market in my Shop Announcement and introduce them to my business and products?
  
• Am I fostering trust and a relationship from the get-go?
  
• Do I explain my business' purpose and products?
• Does my shop announcement contain any grammatical or spelling errors?
• Does my shop announcement appear professional?
• Is my shop announcement unnecessarily lengthy?
  

Listings

• Are my listing titles consistent?
• Can I determine what my product is in the first three words of my listing titles?
  
• Do my listing titles thoroughly but accurately describe my products?
• Do my listing titles capture interest?
• Do my listing titles contain any spelling errors?
• Do my listing titles include any misinformation or inappropriate words?
• Are my product photographs clear?
• Do my product photographcs capture interest?
• Do my product photographs accurately depict the item?
• Do my product photographs contain unnecessary background noise or space?
  
• Do my listings flow or look like they belong together?

Shop Sections

• Have I provided Sections to organize my shop and make it easier to browse?
• Do my sections accurately describe and categorize my products?
• Do my sections contain any spelling errors?
• Are my sections consistent?
• Are all of my products listed in at least one section?
  

Statistics and Information

• Do I provide information in my shop announcement that would be more appropriate for my profile or my shop policies?
• Have I provided my location, including country?
• Have I opted to accept Custom Item Requests?
  
• Have I provided the necessary information regarding Custom Item Requests in my Alchemy announcement?
  

Overall First Impression

• Do others know anything about my business within the first ten seconds of viewing my shop?
• From viewing only my Etsy storefront, what conclusions can I draw about my Etsy business? It's products? My personality? My skill level? Or level of professionalism?

That's a lot to think about all at once, isn't it? It's okay, take it one question at a time! If it helps, consider each section of questions, write out your thoughts and ideas for improving generated by the questions in that section, check out the suggested reading at the bottom of this article, and then work towards improving your shop one piece at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day, there's no reason to make this harder on yourself than it should be!

Suggested Reading
Nolo: Define a Target Market for Your Small Business
The Storque: Shop Makeover Series: What's in a Name?
The Storque: Shop Makeover Series: The Fine Print
The Storque: Seller How-to: Guiding Buyers with Shop Sections

Do you have other relevant links that might help? Share them in the comments!