How Can I Market My Unique Tables

[Allen Panigel]

Hi everyone. I design and manufacture tables that are very much a niche item. I have 3 different sizes, 1- table starts at 96" with 2 hidden extensions and table grows to 144". 2- table starts at 120" with 2 hidden extensions and grows to 168". 3- table starts at 144" with 2 hidden extensions and grows to 192". I have been producing these sizes for 7 years and am very comfortable with their quality.

I wanted to know if anyone knows the best way to market these items since it is only for a unique customer. My prices are VERY reasonable.

Any suggestions would be very much welcomed.

Allen

[Dan Hintz]

I would look for design firms that work with big clients, like major hotels that need large (but good looking)dining room tables, big businesses that need large conference tables for boardrooms, etc.

[Allen Panigel]

Thanks Dan, the tables you see are actually in stock. I can produce individual but in order to bring prices down i have to mass produce. I was hoping to target the buyers that are for their homes.
Allen

[Dan Hintz]

then for tables of that size, you need to target the architectural firms (or better yet, the major home sale companies) that work on large homes... probably in the $750k+ range for the lower cost of living areas, and multi-million $ range homes for the higher cost of living areas.

[Earl Kelly]

Allen, I would start with Interior design firms and/or Architects. If you don't want to wholesale, you'll have to do it on the web and mag advertising. Lots of free or very cheap venues/markets on the web, such as FaceBook, Etsy etc. Also Shows such as the big Furniture market in High Point NC every yr. The Architectural Digest Home Design Show in NYC. For magazines, Robb Report, Garden and Gun(a southern mag) to name a few.

Lots of avenues available, you have to decide where you want to go with it. And how much you want to spend.

[Brad Wood]

just curious about how you got in to making such unusual tables without already having the market?

[Kevin Groenke]

Have you looked at CustomMade? (http://www.custommade.com/gallery/Custom-Kitchen-Dining/) It's sort of a Etsy for higher end stuff. I've seen them at a number of high end design shows and makers conferences, so they're working hard to develop both a maker-base and a client-base. I think they've been visible on a couple HGTV or DIYnetwork design shows so they've got that visibility and momentum. I know a few sellers there, one friend has been there since the start last year and is now getting ~50% of his comissions from CM.

The fees are rather high for small makers or low cost items, but for higher end, bigger buck stuff, it might be worth the investment. From my discussions with a couple sellers, the free membership is basically a trial offer. You'll likely want to upgrade to to get the higher search priority and more listing features.

No affiliation w/CustomMade btw, but it seems like it might be worth exploring.

-kg

[Allen Panigel]

Hi Brad, i started manufacturing these tables 7 years ago but at a smaller sizes. Then i found that there is a New York market for large pieces and i manufactured 20 pc's as a test. They sold very well. In the New York area i have a good reputation and sell over 100 of these biggies per year easily.

But I would like to branch out. I am certain that there many people with large dining rooms looking for grand pieces without the grand price. I have sold a few on online.

I have a small website that show just some of the pieces i produce.

Allen

[Allen Panigel]

Hi Brad, i started manufacturing these tables 7 years ago but at a smaller sizes. Then i found that there is a New York market for large pieces and i manufactured 20 pc's as a test. They sold very well. In the New York area i have a good reputation and sell over 100 of these biggies per year easily.

But I would like to branch out. I am certain that there many people with large dining rooms looking for grand pieces without the grand price. I have sold a few on online.

I have a small website that show just some of the pieces i produce.

Allen

[Dave Woods]

How do you rank for "custom made tables" and "unique home furniture" in Google? It may be worth your time and energy to do some SEO since you have an online presence. Just a thought. Your work is beautiful. You could also target design firms that work with model homes.

[Earl Kelly]

Allen, You say your making and selling the equivalent of 2 tables a week. How many tables can you make in a week, without going to a full assembly line production mode?

[Don L Johnson]

Allen,

If you have a real estate friend, have them run recent MLS sales over a certain amount of money, or of houses that are large for the area. Either market may be interested in "filling" their new space. You may not get the new owner's name, but you certainly will have the address to send an unsolicited sales brochure. Once you get a couple of sales, then word of mouth through the customer or realtor may pick up a few more sales. Good luck.

[Jeremy Greiner]

I don't really have any answers, but I wanted to say those are wonderful tables.

[Jim Beachler]

My suggestion is that you already know the kind of people that buy your tables. What you need to find is more of the same people. For example, if you know that the previous sales were to people with homes of 10,000 sq ft plus and make at least $400,000/year, then you need to explore the avenues to find other people that meet those qualifications.

Going on the web is great but how do you get those specific people to find you? You will need to do leg work and find out where they live, congregate and/or work. Then you can develop a plan of how to get your ad copy and/or samples in front of them. You can direct them to you website but don't expect them to just look you up on the web. Remember that the web is like a shotgun, that you have all kinds of people looking. You want a laser beam because you are dealing with a very small niche of people.