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Resources for Growth of Your Handmade Biz
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Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME over on Instagram at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped, making a customer feel special is where it's at.
Speaker:Think about your experience from the customer end.
Speaker:Most of the time when you buy something in a retail
Speaker:shop, for sure,
Speaker:but also online.
Speaker:It's a one and done transaction.
Speaker:You make the purchase,
Speaker:get a thank you or a confirmation that the order has
Speaker:been received.
Speaker:And that's it no further communication.
Speaker:And if there is any,
Speaker:it's probably a bounce back discount to place another order.
Speaker:Now don't get me wrong.
Speaker:That additional discount is great,
Speaker:but it's very sterile and transaction oriented.
Speaker:There's no connection being formed between you and that business.
Speaker:Any sales after that are going to be initiated by you,
Speaker:the customer,
Speaker:if you feel so great about the product that you want
Speaker:more, or you remember that company name when it's time to
Speaker:buy a gift,
Speaker:think now of yourself as the business owner,
Speaker:if you're conducting business this way,
Speaker:that's leaving a lot up to chance.
Speaker:What if you could control this interaction in a better way?
Speaker:How about changing the sale from being solely a business transaction
Speaker:into a friendly,
Speaker:warm interaction that can lead down the road to a mutually
Speaker:supportive relationship.
Speaker:This is what you do when you make your customer the
Speaker:star. When you add an emotional layer to your customer interactions
Speaker:that make them feel seen special and important by prompting these
Speaker:feelings, your customers will move from purchasers to supporters.
Speaker:And this leads to long-term growth for your business.
Speaker:Here are things that you can start doing today to create
Speaker:this type of relationship.
Speaker:It goes without saying that when someone purchases online,
Speaker:your checkout system provides a receipt and a confirmation of the
Speaker:order in store,
Speaker:you print out the receipt,
Speaker:add it to the bag and thank them for the purchase.
Speaker:This is nine times out of 10,
Speaker:where the relationship ends.
Speaker:You get your order in the mail,
Speaker:or you walk out of the shop and done.
Speaker:This is a critical juncture.
Speaker:When taking action here allows for any of these other relationship
Speaker:building activities to happen.
Speaker:It's where you get their email address.
Speaker:Let me say this again.
Speaker:It's where you get their email address.
Speaker:Whether you automatically have access to it because of their online
Speaker:order, or you need to capture it in another way,
Speaker:ask for that address,
Speaker:then separate from the standard receipt,
Speaker:send them a personal,
Speaker:thank you.
Speaker:Note by email,
Speaker:obviously showing your appreciation for their order.
Speaker:Write it as if you're writing to a friend.
Speaker:I know there are lots of makers who put handmade.
Speaker:Thank you notes inside their shipped boxes.
Speaker:This is another spin on the idea.
Speaker:The point here is it's personal and one-on-one,
Speaker:this can also be an automated email triggered by a first
Speaker:purchase tag,
Speaker:but make the wording individualized.
Speaker:And with the intent of them feeling appreciated and recognized as
Speaker:being a new customer.
Speaker:Next comes a check-in within the next couple of days after
Speaker:product receipt,
Speaker:you may have separate timing here for delivery of your emails.
Speaker:If someone has purchased in-person versus online,
Speaker:this would allow and take into account timing of delivery.
Speaker:It's a followup of sorts to see how they like their
Speaker:product. Do they have any questions on how to use it,
Speaker:store it or wear it?
Speaker:The nature of your question,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:depends on your product.
Speaker:Here's an important point.
Speaker:Don't ask for anything in this email that feels manipulative and
Speaker:self-serving, you can have your social buttons displayed in the email,
Speaker:even a link if they'd like to leave a review,
Speaker:but I'd wait to specifically ask for an action a little
Speaker:bit down the road.
Speaker:In this email,
Speaker:you can share something about you and your business,
Speaker:oh, behind the scenes peek,
Speaker:but short and sweet.
Speaker:All this leads into an entire email campaign,
Speaker:which I won't get into.
Speaker:Now, we have other episodes for that,
Speaker:but I want to demonstrate here is how to get the
Speaker:ball rolling for a personal relationship that leads to your customer
Speaker:feeling important.
Speaker:Again, not just like another transaction as your email,
Speaker:communication continues,
Speaker:positioning and wording is important.
Speaker:Lots of people send out emails,
Speaker:as you surely know.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you get them all the time or they get lost in
Speaker:that Gmail promotions folder.
Speaker:What I want you to start communicating in your emails is
Speaker:that by being on your special customer list,
Speaker:they are in a select group.
Speaker:They have early notice or special access to things that other
Speaker:prospects don't get for you to be able to do this.
Speaker:You'll want to have your email list separated into two categories,
Speaker:one for customers and one for prospects.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:we're speaking specifically to your customers here.
Speaker:Those who have taken that very important next step and purchased
Speaker:from this is a huge action.
Speaker:And the one we're always looking for,
Speaker:right, to get people to buy.
Speaker:So when they do,
Speaker:they should move into a favored category and you should treat
Speaker:them with a higher level of care.
Speaker:But you have to tell them that they've achieved this status.
Speaker:How else will they know the majority of businesses treat their
Speaker:email list as one big group of names that makes messaging
Speaker:bland and your ability to deliver a feeling of being important
Speaker:and special as a result of their supporting you and your
Speaker:business is impossible because everybody is thrown together in this one
Speaker:big list.
Speaker:So separate your list out into customers and prospects.
Speaker:You can do this in pretty much every email service provider
Speaker:these days.
Speaker:Now, the next thing is for them to recognize that they've
Speaker:been elevated into a deeper relationship with you,
Speaker:that includes special perks.
Speaker:And to do this,
Speaker:you need to share with them the fact that first off
Speaker:there is this special group and they're in it.
Speaker:And then every time you do something,
Speaker:just for them,
Speaker:remind them that they get it first,
Speaker:or they have exclusivity or whatever the case might be.
Speaker:So you might be asking,
Speaker:what are the things you offer that make them special?
Speaker:Here are some ideas.
Speaker:A first look at new collections.
Speaker:First dibs at limited quantity products.
Speaker:Let them be the ones who vote on the next flavor,
Speaker:color or design.
Speaker:You create call upon them to post pictures using your product.
Speaker:And when they do,
Speaker:they're entered into a special customer,
Speaker:only raffle send special greetings over the holidays for those loyal
Speaker:supporters of your brand.
Speaker:I'm sure you can think of a million different ways that
Speaker:you can reward your customers.
Speaker:You may even take your top 20 customers of the year
Speaker:and do something super extra for them taking it up.
Speaker:Another notch,
Speaker:get to know your customers personally,
Speaker:who else runs a business.
Speaker:Is there a way you can shout out and support their
Speaker:business too?
Speaker:What about collaborations?
Speaker:You may find a home for your very first wholesale account
Speaker:or create a joint product that you both sell for Valentine's
Speaker:day or mother's day.
Speaker:Or you can do a live show on social and expand
Speaker:your following by being exposed to the other person's audience and
Speaker:vice versa.
Speaker:There is so much opportunity that awaits when you treat your
Speaker:customer as a star,
Speaker:and to think all of this is possible and starts right
Speaker:at the beginning,
Speaker:by ensuring a transition past the transactional first sale.
Speaker:This is done by creating a connection with an email and
Speaker:building on that relationship.
Speaker:From there,
Speaker:things that you can't even imagine right now are possible.
Speaker:After that,
Speaker:that's a wrap.
Speaker:Guess what?
Speaker:Today's my birthday.
Speaker:I love celebrations of all kinds,
Speaker:including my special day.
Speaker:You know what you could do to help me celebrate.
Speaker:If you've gotten value out of this show,
Speaker:please go over and leave a rating and review that helps
Speaker:me spread the word so that the show can be seen
Speaker:by more makers.
Speaker:And I can only do this with your help.
Speaker:It would be a great birthday gift to me.
Speaker:Thanks. I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them,
