# Is this good or bad news?



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

The farmer's market where I have worked my hind end off for two years is letting another gm soaper in. I have had the market to myself for last summer, winter market and the beginning of this market.

I m not sure if I should be concerned. 

My strengths. 
I have built up customers who come to the market just for my soap.
I have a good recipe (thanks to you guys)
My soap uses my own herbs and bees honey and wax.
I hand out samples every week and hustle the whole time. (I have been called the "soap hustler" and "the soap dealer")
My DH and Son help me.


My weaknesses
I do not have my own goats. ( I purchase my milk from a dGI member)


The new soaper has her own goats and has been in business longer than I have. 
She also sells at other markets.

She gets a college student to help her.

I know competition is good. 
I know I am passionate about my product.
I want to know how to retain and grow with the competition there. 

Right now I think I will be ok. I do not think the college girl (who did not make the soap) can out sell our family. I do think it will make us work harder. 

Am I kidding myself?


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I do think competition is good, it may mean expanding what you do...essential oil bars, fragrance oils and perhaps adding vegan and castile? How about lotions, lipbalms etc...do bases while you see if your clientel wants enough of it to make your own. Perhaps pump and scent in front of your customers. How about selling logs and cutting bars unwrapped in front of your customers for a novelty. Takes no longer to pour bunt cakes to slice as it does to pour into molds. What about a bubble machine to lure folks to your booth? How about a punch card, punch out the card with a special punch, when the card is full you get a free bar of soap. Add Lee's soap dishes or shaving mugs, selling them as kits...the shaving mugs/brushes/soap and even adding an old timey razor makes beautiful high end gift sets. Her lotion pumps with a 16 ounce lotion filler are excellent sellers also, plus they are just plain beautiful (buy the plain I dream of Jennie ones but add at least 1 or 2 of the Dogwood or other special ones) and brings so much attention to your display. And really push the family thing, dressing matching so it's clear to everyone that you are doing this as a family. Take some cute family photos with your friends goats and display them...even naming one of the soaps after a special doe. Let us know how it goes, as an individual soaper I would not want to try to compete with a family. Vicki


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Great ideas. Thank you, this seems encouraging. I will need to raise the bar. (pun intended) for sure.


----------



## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

great ideas Vicki!



Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> I do think competition is good, it may mean expanding what you do...essential oil bars, fragrance oils and perhaps adding vegan and castile? How about lotions, lipbalms etc...do bases while you see if your clientel wants enough of it to make your own. Perhaps pump and scent in front of your customers. How about selling logs and cutting bars unwrapped in front of your customers for a novelty. Takes no longer to pour bunt cakes to slice as it does to pour into molds. What about a bubble machine to lure folks to your booth? How about a punch card, punch out the card with a special punch, when the card is full you get a free bar of soap. Add Lee's soap dishes or shaving mugs, selling them as kits...the shaving mugs/brushes/soap and even adding an old timey razor makes beautiful high end gift sets. Her lotion pumps with a 16 ounce lotion filler are excellent sellers also, plus they are just plain beautiful (buy the plain I dream of Jennie ones but add at least 1 or 2 of the Dogwood or other special ones) and brings so much attention to your display. And really push the family thing, dressing matching so it's clear to everyone that you are doing this as a family. Take some cute family photos with your friends goats and display them...even naming one of the soaps after a special doe. Let us know how it goes, as an individual soaper I would not want to try to compete with a family. Vicki


----------



## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I think it would be pretty hard to compete against a family as well. I think it's great that you are focusing on upping the game for your business. I recently did a small one day show with around 25 vendors. Including me there were 4 soapers! I had thought there were 3 but when I was done packing up I found out they had another inside the store. I was really happy with sales considering the competition.


----------



## MysticHollowGoats (Nov 5, 2007)

Punch Card = an absolutely brilliant idea!!


----------



## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I had almost the same thing happen to me but I have the goats and the newcomer was buying the milk. My sales have not gone down since I had been there for 3 years I had built up a business and my customers were't going to leave. They are dedicated to Chloe the Goat and her soap.
I make lotion and she doesn't so that has also helped me. I noticed last market that she had added candles so I am thinking the soap is not going as well as she had hoped. In fact it looked like she had more candles than soap. Hang in there.


----------



## DostThouHaveMilk (Oct 25, 2007)

I was the outsider coming in. For my job I was driving two hours one way to a Farmer's Market to pass out CSAs and sell vegetables. As part of my pay, I was allowed to set up my GM soaps. There was a person there who sold Melt and Pour products and products from bases. I wasn't the only new soaper that year. There was another soaper who I think this cold process, but not GM. Pricewise, I charged more per ounce than either of the other soapers. I had smaller bars though so people weren't paying as much.
The woman with M&P products got mad and left. The other one didn't come back the next year. It was her only product though. Customers bought from all of us. We all offered something a little different. 
I know, after building a customer base for two years, there will be people missing me this year up there.
Keep your head up. Being able to answer questions about making the soap yourself is a bonus. You know the goats you get your milk from. Talk the goats up, have some pictures (assuming the goat owner will allow this).


----------



## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

It's always scary when somebody new comes in. But try not to think of her too much as competition and don't get into a price war with her. Just concentrate on your business - not hers. Offer the best soap you can with the best customer service you can. Don't give any of your customers a reason to leave you. 

PJ


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Thanks PJ. 

I was encouraged today at the market. The lady next to me mentioned that she loved our soap and I thanked her. She said your soap last longer than ____________'s soap. I told her I really liked _________'s soap. Our shape was different (rectangles) and we steer clear of some shapes because they hold small pockets of water. We picked a particular shape for this reason and for the purpose of production (got that idea from DGI -vicki and PJ) We also do not sell soap that will dent when you squeeze it. We do want it to last a long time so it cures for 4-6 weeks.


I have purchased soap from ___________ myself, and really do think she is a good soap maker. She is a bit rough (cursing, language--M-F this and for-D_MN-sure that) and seems to get angry and sarcastic with folks. Our family is pretty laid back. So, hopefully it will all work out. 

Thanks for the encouragement. Hopefully we have behaved in a way over the last two years that we WILL continue to grow and maintain the clients we already have. It has made us re-think our strategies and consider offering other things.

Blessings,
Peggy Sue

I


----------



## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

I was the newcomer in our market. The other woman doesn't sell goat milk soaps so that gave me a bit of an edge. I think the one thing that got some of her customers to buy from me is that she wasn't there every week come hell or high water. I made it every week after I got my foot in the door. If one of her customers came to get soap and I was the only one there they would sometimes buy from me.

Having a very long lasting bar helps. Women find that my 5 oz bar lasts 1-2 months and they love it. Also, having clearly labeled bars helped as well. She would have to point and tell you which was which but I label all my bars with the scent as well as the ingredients.

I haven't stolen her customer base though. She is more motherly looking and a much better sales woman. She looks like she has been making soap for 20 years and is cheery and will not hesitate to hand bar after bar to someone until they find what they like. I am a little more hands off and am only 27 so don't really look the soaper part.

I think many of your customers will try a bar or two of the other soaps, especially if she had unique scents but if you have a quality, long lasting bar they will come back to you. Many people say they tried another goat milk soap only to find that they didn't like it nearly as much as they like mine. They do come back because I do not compromise on quality and I think having a ton of shea butter in it helps


----------



## JamieH (Nov 29, 2010)

I've tried two different gm soaps and one was clearly much much better. Both scents were nice, but one lasted longer, felt better and left my skin feeling and smelling great longer. I think that with that much of a possible range in products that both of you can do well. I hope it goes well!


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

the competitor has announced that they will not be at our market anymore (facebook) because there is already a full-time goat milk soaper there...


----------



## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

a4patch said:


> the competitor has announced that they will not be at our market anymore (facebook) because there is already a full-time goat milk soaper there...


There you go! You had nothing to worry about.


----------



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

That's great news Peggy! Funny thing is, in my booth I do not have even ONE picture of our goats. I have exactly three pictures of horses, nice pictures. The farm was named after one of them, which is why I put her picture up, but my business adviser has certainly advised me to get lots of pictures of the goats and me with the goats...etc, and that is next on my list....right there beside creating the brochure. And I plan to eventually create a soap for every goat....using her name... For example, Holly's Berry Soap, Jada's Mint Julip, etc. I am so far behind on this!


----------



## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm not a soaper but I'd like to weigh in here about competition.

I'm an artist, and we have a saying - "The more you sell, the more you sell" meaning, in this case, if someone buys goat milk soap, now they know about it and will buy more. It doesn't matter who they bought it from. Everyone does things a little differently. There are all kinds of people out there, who like different things. So in that way, no one is in competition with someone else - you are also selling YOURSELF, a unique individual. There are other things that help too. Treating people well, helping them if they have a problem, being honest and forthright. 

You also have to remember that you are not going to sell to every single person out there. You just are not. You will have a certain market, a customer who is drawn to your stuff, and so you need to make sure it's easy for those people - whoever your customers are - to find you and get your product. Get to know them, find out who they are. That might help you figure out other ways to get your soap or whatever in front of them to make it easy for them to get it - maybe they all go bowling, for example (just making stuff up here) and you can advertise with a flyer at the bowling alley.

Personally I don't worry about competition. I simply concentrate on doing the best job I possibly can, and treating my customers like royalty (and frankly I honestly think my customers are some of the best people in the world). Sure, there are other people out there who do what I do, and there are new people coming up all the time. I just do my level best all the time. And sure enough, I always have work.


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Jacquee, I went on your website and love your work.

Well, I personally have bought soap from the other soaper. I really like her product. I did walk up to their booth and she had a college girl working the stand. I walked up at the same time her cell rang. She took the call and let me wait. I just do not think it would work for us to hire someone to sell for us because they are not vested in the product. It is our baby and we believe in the product. I think her sales were hurt because she did not sell her own product.


----------



## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

See, I think that attitude is going to win every time. I think it's a whole product - not just what you sell, but HOW you sell that can make a difference. And you are selling yourself, or in this case, your family! That means a lot to a certain customer, and you will not lose those people no matter who else is selling goat milk soap.

And thanks! I work very hard to be as good as I can be at what I do. I love my work and put my heart and soul in it - and I believe that sort of effort can show.


----------

