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In Pictures: Marketplaces Around The Globe

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Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Marketplaces Around The Globe

Want to know how to separate customers from their money? Go back to basics--that is, to the marketplace. Here are images and lessons from bazaars the world over.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Make the product the hero.

Market shoppers don't buy brands, they buy products. Many of these things are available at competitors' stands a few feet away. So rule No. 1 of any marketplace: Show what you've got and why it's better, in terms of quality, variety and price.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Let them interact.

Shoppers want to touch, smell and feel the merchandise. Let them come as close as possible to imagining what it would be like to own or consume what you have to sell.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Chum the water.

Once in awhile, a butcher in the San Telmo market in Buenos Aires will slip customers' pooches chunks of meat. In Istanbul a carpet salesman enticed customers with a free cup of tea. Freebies work--and they don't have to break the bank.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Give them a factory tour.

Take interaction a step further by showing customers how the product is made. Successful lacquerware manufacturers in Burma and silk weavers in Laos walk buyers through the process, from raw material to finished good.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Take "fresh" to the next level.

Don't just say your stuff is fresh, prove it. Live carp at the Christmas market in Brno, Czech Republic, prove an enticing draw.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Make a show of yourself.

Barbers all over the world know the best way to lure customers is to work in public view. Ice cream vendors in Turkey have made an art of dispensing their treats into cups and cones.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Adapt to market conditions.

In Burma, where imported goods are limited and expensive, "second-hand" takes on a new dimension. Example: Watch sellers offer watch housings separately from clockworks, so a customer doesn't have to buy a new timepiece just because the outside of his has taken a beating.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Be an advisor.

The fishmongers in Manhattan's Union Square know the right fish for a given preparation and occasion. At the other end of the world, in Luang Prabang, fishmongers wax on about the merits of various species in their tubs.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Where possible, customize.

Giving customers exactly what they want, how they want it is admirable, but there are limits to doing it profitably. Some pretzel sellers in the Union Square green market will fish the salty, burnt ones out of big bags upon request. At the main market in Yangon, Burma, sellers of jonghis (traditional Burmese skirts for both sexes) walk customers over to a tailor a couple of stalls away to make sure the result is a perfect fit.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Be good to your loyal customers.

Two döner places, both in Söke in the Turkish Aegean, right next to each other: Same food, same seating, same layout--yet one was full, the other empty. Never underestimate the power of customer relations.


Marc E. Babej (all rights reserved)

Sport your own goods.

There's no surer way to demonstrate conviction in your wares than to sport them yourself. That's why shoe sellers in the night market in Hanoi are never seen without their Pamu (you read correctly) "brand" sneakers.