No seriously, you've got to trust me....I'm an artist, mother, wife, daughter, friend and extremely exhausted business founder who is working (and worrying) day and night to grow My Bespoke Chair.
No matter what a business is selling, and everyone sells something, a key component in success is trust. This is especially true when selling in the online market, where physical contact and a sense of "I know where you work" is missing. When tapping out your credit card details or transferring your hard-earned cash for something you can't yet touch or use, that's trust in action.
So how can I tell my potential customers "Trust me and, rest assured, you will receive the gorgeous chair you designed and paid for"? I know I will deliver on the company's promises, but how do you know I will?
Trust, like respect, cannot be forced and much as I'd like to whack up on my Home page "Trust this site and product", I can't. It would send out the wrong message. (actually, has anyone ever tried this and it work out favourably?!)
And so, my time has been focused on PR; getting great magazines, newspapers, online publications, bloggers and social media to endorse My Bespoke Chair, through articles, reviews, posts, tweets, pins, likes and word-of-mouth. Reportedly, it takes up to 8 times for a potential customer to see your product or brand in various places before they decide to buy.
Customer testimonials are probably the most important "Trust Me" advocates, though for a sparkly new business, this is often easier said than done. On average, most start-ups struggle to gain customers in the first few months and the first 6 are always hair-raising. Read a fascinating insight here
So it's a vicious circle. You need customers to gain customers. New businesses need early adopters to buy the product and fly the flag. Brave pioneers of the consumer world - we salute you!
Customer acquisition is an art in itself and warrants a post for another day. But in the meantime, our first batch of orders (fabulous chairs designed by our talented customers!) went out recently. It was nail-biting times; until I received an email last night from one of our customers/loyal Facebook followers and I leapt for joy...
"I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for my chair which arrived last week. It's beautiful and perfectly made. I really love it and it's comfy too!...The colour matches perfectly with my bed linen."
Natalie, WA.
Happy customers...it's a trust thing.
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