Award and Encouragement

An old Chinese saying says "Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid of standing still," and that's exactly how we feel today. We have kept each step forward with caution and slowly made our way to a goal in the distance. The goal is still afar, but our progress has been steady with spurts of encouragement like the one we received on Saturday last week.

Feedback

Feedback while doing business is important. Why so may ask many!

Simply speaking, feedback is the cheapest and easiest way of finding out how you could further improve.
Positive and negative feedback is the fodder for improvement. Positive feedback encourages you and tells you to keep doing what you are doing. Negative feedback on the other hand tells you what you have done wrong and gives you the opportunity to rework on it.

The easiest way to get feedback is to send your customer an email with a form asking for their response to the service and suggestions if any. This basically helps you connect with your client, while at the same time gives you an insight into what more is expected.

Go on , give it a shot.. you never know what suggestions might prove handy for you.

Retaining Customer Loyalty

You posted pictures of your handmade product on the net and promptly many liked it. Some asked for the price and two booked the piece, and one actually transferred the money and you sent over the parcel. She has received it and has sent you pictures of her wearing. So far so good! Now what?

Now, try and make her a repeat customer. Lure her with discounts, freebies and more. You are in a business to make money and have a solid clientele. Client retention is a must for home based businesses. Here are some tips to ensure repeat buys from your clients.

1. Know your customer - Keep a ready database of all your clients handy. If you have the time and personally know your customer then also make a small note of the kind of stuff they like. So every time you have something that suits their preferences, you can ping them and 9 times out of 10, you will have a sure sale. 

2. Far from sight, far from mind – Remember this saying! That’s true. Being visible to your client is very important. Send them whatsapp messages or emails with the latest products atleast once every month.
3. Interact – Ever so often share a design in its ‘work in progress’ stage and ask for suggestions, inputs. While this is not advisable every time; it does make for a good conversation starter.
4. Feedback – Always ask for feedback. This makes the customer feel important.
5. Sales Sales Sales – Who does not like a good sale? Schedule sales periodically. This helps you get rid of old stock and also keeps the customer happy.
6. Customize – Offer to customize products if possible. This makes the client happy and also spread a good word.
7. Compliment and thank – If the client likes your product and puts up pictures on social media with it; then compliment and thank her for the same. Compliments work wonders.

Managing your orders

Once you have an order you are elated, excited and usually over the moon. You pack the product with much care, probably even speaking to it and wishing it a happy journey. You then walk to the courier or postal service and bid your package Au revoir. Then.... you wait anxiously till the product reaches the intended customer safe and whole. If its delayed you are anxious, if the product is broken you are dejected; so many worrying points! 

Here are some tips to manage your orders effectively and efficiently.
1. Packaging – Ensure you pack your product properly. There is nothing worse than sending off a work of art only to hear that it got damaged in transit. Use bubble wrap, wrapping paper, sponge, boxes or waterproof plastic containers; anything that works for you both economically and functionally.
2. Courier service – Get all your boxes ticked before selecting a packing service. Make sure they meet your requirements of time, care and efficiency. 

3. Tracking number – Once you have dispatched your package; call or email your client and share the tracking number with them. Add a personal touch and tell them you are just as excited as them and are awaiting their response. Believe me; this makes a huge difference to your client.
4. Follow up – Track your parcel as it makes its way through transit. On event of a delay, call the service center and follow up. Keep your client posted as well.
5. Delays – If the delay is more than a day, then call your client and apologize. I know it’s beyond your control, but nothing impresses a client more than a concerned seller. In the meantime keep following up with the courier guys.

6. Closure – Once you are sure the parcel has been delivered, call or email one last time to thank the client for buying from you and that you look forward to more business in the future. This acts as a positive simulation and you can be assured of further business in the future as well.

7. Replacement – Hoping that it does not come to this! However, if event of any damage to the product, you need to send in a replacement to your client. The client should not receive a damaged piece no matter whose fault. You can either send a replacement with a note of apology or give the client a massive discount on her next order. This ensures loyalty and makes for good word of mouth positive publicity.

Happy selling.

Handmade with LOVE

Most women become entrepreneurs when they want to showcase their talent at handcrafted products. These make for great style statements and are brilliant as gifts. However promoting and achieving success selling handmade stuff is an uphill task. How do you go about it?
1. Showcase your products to everybody you know. Friends, family, neighbors...everyone. From there you get your word of mouth publicists!
2. Identify and zoom in on your fans. Once you are able to identify who absolutely loves your products, cash in on that love. Give them discounts, offers, free samples.... ensure loyalty!
3. Personalize the experience. Your product might not actually be personalized, but you can add notes from you or handwritten write-ups in your package. Something about the making of the product, or the material used, or the story behind the creative design. People love such personal information and make them connect with you.

4. Packaging. I can’t stress it enough, but packing is of vital importance for your product. It could be a handmade crumpled packing material; just tie it up with a jute rope with a thank you note or add a spring of dried flowers. It makes a whole lot of difference!

5. Use social media. Use Facebook, Instagram, twitter; what have you! It’s free, so use it shamelessly.

Customer is KING

Customer is KING... but can behave as a Beast at times. Sometimes we come across customers who have unreasonable demands and requirements. Unfortunately they also don’t listen to reason. Dealing with such unreasonable customers is an art.

Forbes shares three tips to deal with such customers:
1. Let your customers communicate how they feel
2. Listen to your customers and their viewpoint of the problem
3. Fix the problem at hand immediately

There are a few more tips from experienced entrepreneurs:
1. Don’t take it personally
2. Don’t make promises you can’t keep
3. Don’t get frightened
4. Don’t forget to move on

Focused marketing

It’s easy to find tons of marketing options available on the internet. However it’s just as easy to lose oneself and focus trying out all the options. Be aware and have a focus. Once you have clarity then there is nothing stopping you.

Figure out your company or your products exact target.
Who is your potential customer? What is it that they are looking for? What differentiates your product from similar products already flooding the market? What can you add to your service?

Marketing is a strategy that needs focus. Once you are able to tick this off from your list, you can, move on to the next in the list for a definitive and foolproof marketing strategy.