Asking a few questions of your customers can really help you find future buyers.

For an artist there is nothing like the feeling of making a sale. Especially for the emerging artist that does not have many sales under their belt. It is such a special  and exciting thing when someone decides to give you money in exchange for something you created. With that cash in hand you’re probably already starting to focus on the next sale. But before you get ahead of yourself it can be very valuable to ask your recent buyer a few questions.

Now I don’t recommend hitting them up with these questions the moment after you have the check in hand, but I do expect you to get their contact information so you can do a follow up in a few days. Basically what you hope to find out is why they decided to by your art specifically and also how was their experience in buying you art. Surveying of customers is very common in business but very rare in the business of art.

Keep the questions simple and keep them to a minimum, 3 to 5 is a good number. And the specific questions will be different for every artist but the information your seeking will be the same. Why did they buy the piece? Was it a decor choice, a collectors choice, was it a gift, or did they just like it? Also ask if they feel it was a good value. This can help you discover if your charging too much or too little. I’ve often bought art that I would have paid more for. But I can also understand how you might not feel comfortable asking questions about the price, that is okay, ask what your comfortable asking, all information is valuable.

An artist who is making sales through a website and shipping work to buyers can really value from a follow up survey. Find out if it was easy for them to buy, if what they received is what they expected, and if it was packed well. This also shows that you care about them beyond the sale. Answers to these questions could indentify a blind spot in your practices.

There is not a lot of sound data on the specifics of why people buy art. It would be hard to collect due to varied range of art and artists that are selling art these days. What you’re looking for is why people buy your art. This information can help you have an idea of who your ideal customer is. Not so you can cater to them with your art but so you can reach that ideal, most likely to buy, customer with your marketing.

You can do this follow up with a simple email that contains a few questions or you could use an internet survey service like Survey Monkey. Many email services such as Constant Contact, iContact, and Bronto also offer survey options.

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