A competitive advantage in today’s art world will come from sellers who provide the best buying experience. In this article, I want to fuel the ways you increase traffic to your gallery and online by upping your game and providing a gallery art-buying experience.

The experience of buying art is as much about passion and lifestyle as functionality in decor.  That element of passion and lifestyle is where you can connect with art collectors emotionally.  The buying experiences art collectors receive can’t be an afterthought in today’s highly competitive art market.

Many galleries have a buying experience that still feels transactional rather than emphasizing emotions – close a sale and move on to the next opportunity.  This approach to sales should be dead and buried, but sadly it is not.  I have experienced it myself after buying two pieces from a gallery in a single transaction.  Never heard from them again.

If your gallery still operates this way (and you may not even realize it), the future consequences could mean going out of business.   Even going to an online-only model will not be enough to turn the business around.  So, let’s make sure that does not happen!!

How an art buying experience can help your gallery compete

Opportunities to purchase art have increased through new auctions, online sellers, and buying from marketing-savvy artists directly.  Now, collectors can pick and choose how they acquire art and the buying experience they prefer.  Their choice will increasingly be driven by which sales channel or seller offers the best buying experience.

How can you compete? In your gallery’s business model, put experience on equal footing with the art, your product.

For this article, I define the buying experience in terms of the elements of your art gallery’s brand context. These brand elements contribute to the emotions and cognitions you want your clients to connect to in a memorable way. The buying experience does not mean the experience a collector has at a lavish and expensive party or gimmicky marketing.

I’m talking about the atmosphere in the gallery, the personalization of digital marketing, and the quality of interactions with gallery staff.  These have a tremendous influence on providing a gallery art buying experience.  I’m sure that is not news to you, but they can often be done inconsistently.

Let’s consider why a collector might choose a specific channel for acquiring art based on the experience it offers.

• Art Fairs – Art collectors have found art fairs offer an interesting experience because they can see more art under one roof.  There are also several educational and social elements as part of the experience. However, art fair fatigue is becoming a real thing for collectors as well as gallerist.
• Art Consultants – A growing number of collectors choose to work with an art consultant because they feel they are getting good, independent advice over a sales pitch.  The trick is finding a really good one.
• Artist directly- Some buyers prefer to buy from the artist directly because they believe the experience is more honest and supportive of the artist.  Some may think there is more negotiating power on price or prices are lower than in a gallery.
• Buying online – This forum offers convenience and the ability for collectors to do their research which might be perceived as more trustworthy, and buying online eliminates some of the intimidation factors of going into an art gallery.

Shifts in art collectors’ buying behaviors

Change is happening exponentially in the art world.  E-commerce has accelerated as a result of buyers’ demands.

The shifts in collectors’ buying behaviors that drive online art platforms will also affect physical galleries. I believe these challenges in providing a gallery art buying experience can be overcome by focusing more on developing inspiring, memorable, and emotional ways to interact with art and each other.  Another trend that I think will continue to be explored and developed is providing a hybrid art viewing experience where the physical and digital are more closely tied.

Look to your gallery’s mission, brand purpose, and the driving force behind your artist’s creative output and motivations.  What can you use to design a buying experience that connects with your collector’s emotional values?  If you can do this, you will be able to win the hearts, minds, and wallets of art lovers now and in the future. They will want what you are offering to be part of their lifestyle.

Ideas to elevate the buying experience in your gallery

Here are a few ideas that could help you boost the buying experience you offer art collectors in your gallery.

Of course, no gallery can do all these, but I hope they provide you with some fuel for creative thought that will be perfect for your market opportunities.

• If you operate in a city without an art fair, you might collaborate with other galleries in your area to create a fair-like art event where local art lovers can see lots of art under one roof. This would give those who live in your region the experience, benefits, and convenience of an art fair. This smaller, more intimate fair experience could become an anticipated annual event.
• Give the “gallery appointment ” a more experience-focused structure. Promote the benefits of making a one-on-one appointment in the gallery and delight with an exclusive, personalized experience.
• Review your gallery’s overall marketing and sales messaging online. Are you providing enough educational and entertaining information for collectors to want to hang around and consume your content? Is it in various formats to serve different buyer preferences—visuals, text, video?
• Look for ways to use technology to offer more personalized service or fresh ways to experience art in the digital world. Some powerful software and widgets can enhance what you currently have in place.  Keep investing in technology.
• Artist talks, in person or via video, are very popular in conjunction with a show, but they are no longer a new experience. Look for ways to offer exhibition-supporting events that enable buyers to connect with the artist in new ways.
• Another trend retailers use to improve the buying experience is buying luxury items, such as art, that also support social consciousness. Tying a gallery event or exhibition with a social cause can add an emotional element to the buying experience and help the gallery connect with the buyer’s values.
• Build a community within your network of gallery clients to develop a sense of belonging.  People enjoy mixing in exclusive groups of like-minded people with similar values and goals.  Building a community around art connoisseurship could be a powerful sales and marketing tool.
• Find innovative, experiential ways to enhance the environment where the purchase is made in the gallery.   Could you design a private and comfortable living room environment within the gallery, for example, where buyers can sit with a piece, review paperwork, and pay?  The idea is to create an environment where they are made to feel very special.
• Craft your buying experience as if you’re selling a lifestyle rather than a product.  Many galleries struggle to remove the retail quality from the gallery experience.  Art can be showcased and experienced outside the gallery space in unique venues, such as private homes or boutique hotels, resorts, and social clubs – like a pop-up with a lifestyle focus.  Enjoying art this way echos a way of life that your buyers are trying to attain or already live to some extent. You show how art can enhance that lifestyle.  Fashion houses do this strategy well.

To the Point

The art buying experience can be elevated in so many ways for contemporary collectors.  The result will drive more traffic to your gallery and online channels, improve loyalty, and boost sales. I genuinely believe it will be the next significant change we see to the traditional art gallery model.

You are already utilizing more sales and marketing channels than before. To stand out amongst the competition, try to accentuate the passion and lifestyle elements in the buyer’s journey to connect with art collectors emotionally. They won’t be able to help but fall in love with your work.

Make the experience as essential as the art in your gallery’s business model as you progress with your gallery business. That will give you that competitive advantage.

Draw inspiration from your gallery’s mission and brand purpose, and of course, your artists. Look closely at every step of your buyer’s journey and see how you can make changes to providing a gallery art buying experience that is inspirational, emotional, and memorable.

 

Check out these related articles as well.

How to Create an Art Buyer’s Journey to Increase Sales and Loyalty

Art Fair Success: Gallery Sales and Marketing Strategies

Did this article add fuel to your gallery business?