How to Get More Customers at Craft Markets (Hint: It Starts With Your Banner)

When I sit at my booth at a market, I end up with a lot of time to observe. In between customers, while I'm setting up, while I'm tearing down, I can't help but look around and study what everyone else is doing. How are they setting up their tables? What do their banners say? What happens when someone walks up? Do they pitch? Do they wait? Do they just smile? Do they shout?

I don't know if every vendor does this, but my brain is constantly scanning. I like seeing what other people are trying so I can figure out what I might tweak, improve, or do differently. I've said before that I never leave a market without learning something, and that still holds true.

When I realized I needed a banner, I started paying attention to what everyone else was doing ... and more importantly, what was actually working. Because if I was going to figure out how to get more customers at craft markets, I knew I had to stop guessing. And one thing I knew immediately: I didn't want a banner with just my logo on it. Frankly, I don't have that kind of brand power. I'm not a McDonald's or an Apple. Plus, they don't advertise with just their logo.

If you think about it, when was the last time you saw an ad that was only the Apple icon floating in space/ Or just the Golden Arches with nothing else? They are always advertising something specific. A new phone, a new menu, a promotion, and a reason to care.

I think where business owners get confused is treating a banner like a sign. However, they couldn't be more different. A sign directs, where a banner advertises.

Let's use McDonald's as the example. You can see the Golden Arches from down the road, and that helps you locate the building. But once you're there, you see window posters, menu boards, and limited-time offers.

At a market, unless you have immense brand recognition, you don't need to tell people why you are there.

If I had thrown "Killer Creative" in giant letters across a banner, most people would have no idea what I was selling unless they physically walked into my booth. But if I had a banner that said "hand-drawn paper goods," now you know exactly what I do before you ever step inside. And at a market that matters far more than a logo.

Markets are chaotic by nature. There are dozens of vendors, all competing for attention. People show up for a few different reasons. Sometimes they're looking to see a specific vendor. Sometimes they're just looking to kill time before a movie or after dinner. And depending on what category they fall into, they're either beelining straight to their destination or wandering while half-listening to the person they're with or scrolling on their phone.

You don't get five minutes of careful consideration. You get seconds. And sometimes you don't even get that.

Before I had a banner, people were forced to look only at my table and draw their own conclusions about what I was selling. That's a lot of mental work to ask from someone who is just walking by. I can literally see their eye move across it. Sometimes they read it out loud. I've watched people across the street read it and walk straight over.

I'm not outgoing enough to shout in the street, and I don't have free samples to lure people in. I'm not a modern-day newsie. So I had to play to my strength. I needed my banner to do the shouting for me.

The thing about customers at markets is they don't read, they scan. They're not stopping to analyze your marketing copy. They're processing information while walking. That's why I kept mine simple. Small logo. Clear headline. Small subheader. That's it.

I've seen extremes on both ends of the spectrum. Banners with giant logos in the center with nothing else, and banners that try to cram in everything: logo, list of services/ products, QR code, phone number, website, social handles. When a banner is overwhelming, you have to stop and decode it, and people at markets rarely stop unless something instantly clicks. Overwhelming banners are just as bad as logo-only banners in my opinion.

I think vendors make these marketing mistakes for very understandable reasons. As business owners, we want our name out there. We think, "How are people going to remember me?" So our instinct is to make the logo bigger. Put it front and center and make it impossible to miss.

But that line of thinking starts with us as the main character, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as the business owner, you are not the main character. "How do I get seen?" "How do I get more customers?" "How do I get recognized?"

All great questions, but the answer to all of them starts with this: What does my customer need to know in the next three seconds?

There's often a layer of pride involved, too. Maybe you paid good money for your logo, and you want to show it off. Maybe you designed it yourself, and you're proud of it. Maybe you're worried that if the logo isn't massive, people won't take you seriously. None of these feelings is wrong; in fact, they are entirely human.

But a massive logo on a banner doesn't tell your customer what problem you solve. It doesn't tell them what you sell. It just tells them you have a logo. (And so, this is not a sign to include every single service/product and your logo).

Your logo is your name tag, and your messaging is your resume.

So, when I say "you're not the main character," what I mean is your business is not about you. It's about the person walking past your booth. They are the main characters. They are the ones deciding whether to stop. They're the ones deciding whether to spend money. Your job, as the supporting cast, is to make their decision easier.