The title of this post is drawn from a popular TV quiz programme in which contestants have the option to ask the studio audience how they would answer the current question. Contestants then have the right to go with the flow, or ignore popular opinion and choose a different answer. A lot money rides on getting it right.
It is said (in a widely contested quote) that if Henry Ford had canvassed people on whether he should build a motor car, they would have said they needed a faster horse.
It seems to me that large corporations spend a lot of money finding out what customers want, and then an even larger sum of money convincing them that they desperately need a product that the corporation produces.
So how much is about listening to your market, and how much is about leading it? If you only listen, you'll produce things that people are already somewhat familiar with. If you allow your creativity free rein and produce something completely innovative and different, you might never persuade people to buy it.
Now I'm not a corporation. I'm just me. As a result, I'm even more directly dependent on people liking the stuff I make enough to buy it. And I don't have a massive budget to spend on market research. I am restricted to straw polls, and reactions to the products I have already made. I am also under some pressure to produce something different and/or original, because I can't compete on price with the mass produced output of the larger corporations.
It's a fine line: it has to be desirable and different, but still mainstream enough to attract a buyer.
I recently completed a cross stitch of a flowering chive. I had bought the kit from a charity shop (I have a weakness for botanical art). It was far more complex than any of the other cross stitches I have done recently (see below), so it took quite a while to complete. Then came the challenging question: what to do with it?
People don't tend to buy framed tapestries/cross stitch panels any more. I know this, because I have bought several discarded ones from charity shops, with a view to upcycling them. They are currently quite popular upcycled as cushions, bags, clothing, seat covers, etc.
So I posted a picture of the completed panel on my Facebook page and asked my followers what they would like to see done with it. There were some creative suggestions that I would really have liked to try, but I had to be conscious of what would find a buyer.
The most popular suggestion was a cushion cover. So I decided to go with that, but I avoided the obvious approach and went with something asymmetrical with just a touch of the bohemian about it.
Of course, now comes the real litmus test. Will it find a buyer? Did I make the right decision in listening to the audience?
I have bought several miniature cross stitch kits, as well as already completed tapestries and cross stitches, as I mentioned, and I'm having fun turning them into useful items. I haven't yet gone with an item of clothing, but I think that might be next on the agenda.
I'd be interested to hear from other independent makers, artisans and crafters how they manage the balancing act. Have you found the magic silver bullet?
Note: at the time of writing, some of the items pictured in this post are still for sale. Please contact the author with any enquiries.
==oOo==
It is said (in a widely contested quote) that if Henry Ford had canvassed people on whether he should build a motor car, they would have said they needed a faster horse.
It seems to me that large corporations spend a lot of money finding out what customers want, and then an even larger sum of money convincing them that they desperately need a product that the corporation produces.
So how much is about listening to your market, and how much is about leading it? If you only listen, you'll produce things that people are already somewhat familiar with. If you allow your creativity free rein and produce something completely innovative and different, you might never persuade people to buy it.
Now I'm not a corporation. I'm just me. As a result, I'm even more directly dependent on people liking the stuff I make enough to buy it. And I don't have a massive budget to spend on market research. I am restricted to straw polls, and reactions to the products I have already made. I am also under some pressure to produce something different and/or original, because I can't compete on price with the mass produced output of the larger corporations.
It's a fine line: it has to be desirable and different, but still mainstream enough to attract a buyer.
 |
| Flowering chive |
People don't tend to buy framed tapestries/cross stitch panels any more. I know this, because I have bought several discarded ones from charity shops, with a view to upcycling them. They are currently quite popular upcycled as cushions, bags, clothing, seat covers, etc.
So I posted a picture of the completed panel on my Facebook page and asked my followers what they would like to see done with it. There were some creative suggestions that I would really have liked to try, but I had to be conscious of what would find a buyer.
The most popular suggestion was a cushion cover. So I decided to go with that, but I avoided the obvious approach and went with something asymmetrical with just a touch of the bohemian about it.
 |
| Completed cushion cover |
Of course, now comes the real litmus test. Will it find a buyer? Did I make the right decision in listening to the audience?
I have bought several miniature cross stitch kits, as well as already completed tapestries and cross stitches, as I mentioned, and I'm having fun turning them into useful items. I haven't yet gone with an item of clothing, but I think that might be next on the agenda.
 |
| Jute carrier bag |
 |
| Cotton book bag |
 |
| Tea cosy (commissioned item) |
 |
| Craft bag |
I'd be interested to hear from other independent makers, artisans and crafters how they manage the balancing act. Have you found the magic silver bullet?
Note: at the time of writing, some of the items pictured in this post are still for sale. Please contact the author with any enquiries.
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