We had a great Board meeting this past Tuesday August 4th at the Library with about 10 members attending.
◘ Mary Holmes reported that we have almost 60 potters who have signed up for the Celebration Festival with a few more people pending.
◘ Sally Larson reported on the map meeting last month with 13 members attending. Many suggestions were made and good progress was made on the Policies & Procedures manual. The next meeting will be August 19th and anyone interested in attending is encouraged to join us. Confirmation email will be sent out.
◘ SAPA now has a permanent Seagrove address at the Von Cannon House where we will have a room available for our files and storage of the Celebration signage. We’re very appreciative of the NC Pottery Center for allowing us to rent it.
◘ We received a letter from one of our members concerned about the discrepancy between the hours potters publish and the hours they actually keep. She has had many complaints from customers who come for the day only to find many potters closed. The problem is that when those people leave the area they are disappointed and may not want to come back. There are a couple of things we all can do to help:
¤ Please take down your open signs on the roads and at your pottery if you are not there and consider putting up a closed sign.
¤ Update your hours on your web pages and web sites when your plans change.
¤ Consider using language in your description that reflect your real hours during different times of the year.. June –Aug open Thurs-Sat, or Sept –Jan open Monday – Sunday , closed February & March. Whatever description applies to your situation. Communicating honestly to our customers is very important.
◘ David Fernandez has come up with a map information kiosk idea that will help visitors find what they are looking for when they come to our area. These will be available to buy for anyone who is able to put one on their property and will greatly improve the experience customers will have when they visit. The different options are:
¤ 1 4X4’ sign with frame and 2 4X4’ posts to be installed by buyer for $339.
¤ 1 4X4’ map on metal and weather proof that can be mounted on the
side of a building for $225.
¤ 1 4X4’ map on plastic that can be mounted on a wall but isn’t as
long lasting as the metal ones $190.
David will take orders up to November and can be contacted at (336)207-6985
artists@seagrovestoneware.com
◘ Bobby Marsh is asking anyone who would like to recommend pottery books to be ordered for the Library to please stop by there to see the list of what they already have and make suggestions.
Volunteers needed to help organizing the Celebration Festival. Below is a list of committee heads and members. If you see something you might be interested in working on please get in touch with that committee head. This is such a great event so please jump in and help out and sign up!!
Ben Owen III (Chair of Celebration)
Gordon Ray (co-chair)
Fred Johnston (co-chair)
Will McCanless (co-chair)
Mary Holmes (treasurer/ manager)
Crystal King
Ed Henneke (secretary)
Susan Greene (Chair Publicity)
Jennie Keatts (Publicity co-chair/ website)
Bobby Thomas
Samantha Henneke
Bonnie Burns
Ben Owen III (Chair Sponsorship)
Sherry James
Bonnie Burns
Pat Newby
Susan Greene
Gordon Ray (Chair Infrastructure)
Bobby Marsh (co-chair)
Mary Holmes
Ben Owen III
Will McCanless
Darius Luck
Will McCanless (Chair Potters Relations)
Meredith Smildsen
Byron Knight
Bonnie Burns (Chair Vendors/Volunteers)
Susan Greene
Lisa Martinez
Sherry James
Fred Johnston (Chair Gala)
Nan Revel
Dick Peterson
Joanne Peterson
Talmadge Baker
Sara Baker
Loy Sellers (Chair Auction)
Joanne Peterson
Talmadge Baker
Sara Baker
Our next Board meeting will be 7PM September 1st at the Seagrove Library. Please join us!
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Blog Archive
Celebration Marketing Committee Overview
The Celebration of Seagrove potters serves as an event organizer, but also as a Destination Marketing Organization of sorts with the goal of attracting visitors to come and shop in the many shops in Seagrove. It is a difficult task because of the number of individual shops and trying to market fairly and on a widespread basis.
The overall goals are two-fold: to create a lasting impression on the visitor by maximizing their satisfaction and creating a return visitor; and to enhance the prosperity of the individual pottery shops.
The first goal is CUSTOMER based. We need the customer in order to achieve goal two. The Marketing Committee develops a marketing plan on how to attract the customer. This is done by initially creating a situation analysis in which a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is developed which will give an overall picture of the destination. Next a demographic profile of the customer is developed in order to determine what media would be most effective in attracting that customer. The message is then created to attract the customer, the media outlets are selected and an ongoing public relations campaign is created. We seek out as many on-line and printed listings sites as possible and have a committee member committed to doing that for months prior to the event. The web site is an important part of our publicity and requires attention every month. Press releases take time to write and time to send out but are important in keeping Seagrove in the customer’s mind.
The COSP Marketing Committee uses individual images in advertising and on its web site. It is difficult to promote a pottery town without showing pictures of pottery and what the customer might find here. A great deal of time is involved in managing images of all the participants and in monitoring that no one is shown preferential treatment. We try to use everyone’s images in our advertising on the web site. In listings on the web we are often limited to one image. Quality of images provided is a very important factor in this process in order to maintain the professional level expected.
It is a difficult task to market a large group of competing shops. One shop is not marketed over another, the customer is the goal and providing them with the information and incentive needed to choose to visit Seagrove and make their visit successful is key in achieving our goal. It is important to remember that all the marketing is being done by unpaid volunteers, on a limited financial basis and that it is sometimes necessary to make decisions with the customer in mind. It is the individual potter’s responsibility to provide their own marketing to draw the customer to their shop once they have reached Seagrove. We do our best to treat everyone on an equal basis all the time, but our foremost goal is to provide the customer with what they need to enjoy their visit.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF INDIVIDUAL SHOPS
In order to maximize the benefits available through the work of the marketing committee the following recommendations are suggested.
-please read the emails about the events and opportunities being offered. If a response is requested, please honor it. We do not have the resources to call everyone individually. We strive to provide all the information you need in the emails and mailings. If you do not respond then we will conclude that you are not interested in participating. The volunteers all have their own businesses to maintain but have elected to donate time and energy on your behalf to promoting everyone in Seagrove.
-deadlines are important. The work is being done by volunteers and when deadlines are not followed it creates many extra hours of follow up and having to put information together. When everything is in by the deadline it allows the information to be compiled at one time and takes a lot less time than when it comes in sporadically. Should you choose to not meet deadlines please do not expect to receive preferential treatment and realize that you may not be included in advertising, on the web etc.
-provide detailed information-if you want to be included in an event then give us all the details. Please do not expect us to look up your hours, phone number, web site etc. Our goal is to provide a professional listing for the customer and your information is your marketing tool, provide us and the customer with details and concise information.
-the more you market yourself during our marketing the more business you are apt to get. The COSP provides e-cards for you to send to your customer list. The COSP sends this card out to the database of emails that we maintain. Database management is a time consuming process as well and as the COSP database grows, everyone in Seagrove can benefit from it. Provide interesting information about your shop or event when requested. When we publish information on the COSP web site people will be drawn to the events that sound like fun and offer something interesting. You have a lot of competition at every show and event you participate in and by marketing yourself you will increase your business.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS
-image quality is very important in maintaining a professional appearance
-keep your website up to date and fresh
-blogging can draw visitors to your business
-volunteer for a committee, the more people that get involved in helping the stronger the effort becomes and it takes some of the load off those that are already volunteering their time.
-use the internet if you do not know how to write a marketing or business plan, there is a lot of useful information on line that can help you to understand how to attract more people to your business
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About Me
- SAPA Member Opportunities
- SEAGROVE, NC
- THIS PAGE IS A LISTING OF ALL OPPORTUNITES THAT ARE BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO SAPA MEMBERS TO HELP PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS. The Seagrove Area Potters Association, Inc. is dedicated to promoting and marketing the historical, geographical pottery community that works and resides in a corner of the Randolph, Moore, and Montgomery counties of North Carolina. This small “Seagrove area” of central NC has been home to many potters since the late 1700s. Potters who grew up in NC pottery families, locals inspired by NC pottery traditions who learned their trade at Seagrove area community colleges, and potters from elsewhere attracted by the Seagrove pottery community run the nearly one hundred Seagrove area pottery shops.
