Trust me, I'm an artist.

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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Forget New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions are so last year!

This article from Venture Village is well worth reading. It will put your ideas of success and failure into perspective. (go with the weird fish analogy, it'll make sense)

Click to read this....



And it got me thinking. In Europe 2009, I was a stay-at-home mother and part-time artist. If a gypsy had foretold my life in 2012, I would have been impressed and slightly disbelieving:

• running a bona-fide art and fabric design business in Australia.
• created an online design-your-own chair website
• featured in Vogue Living, Home Beautiful, House & Garden and other major press.
• successfully grasping and utilising social media to cross-channel market My Bespoke Chair.

So this NYE I will sit back with a glass of bubbly and savour my achievements. Then I shall get back to self-flagellation, a huge To Do List and high expectations.

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Love is...Facebook?

Facebook - we can't seem to live without it. It's a love/hate thing.

I'm hooked. I can't go a day without a fix, spending hours trying to visually map this vast on-line community. And no, I'm not just stalking people, posting pictures of fancy dress parties or letting you know about my latest blog post....

I've been spending my marketing dollars on various Facebook ads to build awareness of My Bespoke Chair and to create an online community. The page I set up for My Bespoke Chair has grown hugely since I launched on Nov 1st. And so far, I'm fairly happy with the results, gaining an average of 87 Likes per week.

It's a case of trail and error. Testing which types of ads get the biggest bang for my buck:
Wide audience v. a tightly targeted audience. Ads for page Likes v. ads driving traffic directly to the website. Ads with offers v. ads with information. Clicks v. Impressions {still baffled a bit about this one...}

But, these have worked well for My Bespoke Chair:

• Ads for page Likes, both wide and targeted audience. {the concept seems to have wide appeal}
• Ads for Free Delivery which links to the website.
• $5/$10 Promoted posts to fans and their friends.
• Impressions come out with more actions than Clicks {again, not sure if this is a good thing}

My biggest marketing expense to date has been engaging a Social Media Strategist to give the business a "health check" and strategic overview. Although I have basic social media experience, it was a good exercise in learning solid, proven methods in social media marketing and converting engagement into sales. Working alone, I also appreciated cold, hard facts and advice. Friends and family tend to praise pretty much everything! {though, please keep it coming; it's like a glowing hug}

Some points from my social media health check:

• The unique nature of product and customer experience makes social media an obvious channel to capitalise on.
• Spend $100 per week on Facebook marketing.
• 80-100 new Likes per week is good growth.
• Focus on Facebook marketing for first 1-3 months - fast, broad market penetration.
• Stick to Australian market for 1-6 months before launching on a global platform.
• Utilise Pinterest as a secondary channel to share merchandise and brand image.
• Develop brand personality with individual personality {me} to appeal to target market.
• Focus on reaching out to key social influencers to capitalise on shared audience. {bloggers, vloggers, brand ambassadors}
• Cross-promote social channels to grow communities and engagement.

So see you all on Facebook....let's face it, we're addicted. 

P.S But Zuckerberg had better watch out - we getting fed up with only a % of Likers seeing our page posts. But that's a blog for another time.

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"Extra, Extra - Read All About It"

We've been up and running for just a week and already we've gained excellent media coverage. Well worth a read. Next week we will be covered by The Sunday Times, WA.


The Interiors Addict - Top 20 blogger discovering My Bespoke Chair

Dynamic Business - interview with Emma from My Bespoke Chair

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We Have Lift Off....

We did it, launched on time and (nearly) on budget!

Thanks to everyone who came to have a few celebratory drinks and play around on the brilliant new design tool (if I can't blow my own trumpet, what's the point?) We had a few ipad stands around and a Mac for some serious designing action.

Some comments from last night:
"Wow, look how good a designer I am."
"That's a fast site."
"So addictive."
"Those are good prices."
"Can I have another glass of wine?"

After drinks at the Bespoke Art shop, a few of us pushed on for pizza and more red wine...

So all you guys need to do now is Like us on our Facebook page. The more the merrier. You'll get interior design tips, news and views plus competitions and special offers.

https://www.facebook.com/mybespokechair

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I'm Having A Baby!

....well, not really. Not in the tiny-human-in-my-belly way. But I am waiting for the launch of the website, which is nearing the end of its beta testing. My Bespoke Chair is my baby in every other way; from its conception back in February I have been dedicated to its growth and development. There's been excitement, worry, sleepless nights, painful decisions, anxiety but also that feeling that you're doing something really worthwhile for the future.

With a week left until launch day, I'm at that impatient stage; the time cannot go fast enough. I'm bored of planning, waiting and speculating. I want to get stuck in. A mix of trepidation and unbridled excitement. I can't wait to show her off to you all - and yet, I'm concerned you won't like her, or get her, or want to play with her.

Comparing a chair design online with the real thing.....

But I have a funny feeling you'll be delighted.....and the statistical signs are that we are ready for a new way to buy furniture.

I read an article today in the Australian Financial Review about the surprise hit in online retail; furniture sales. Consumers are becoming more comfortable "buying before trying", and online furniture sales are set to rise nearly 16% this financial year.  They have already grown 12.1% in the past five years, so the signs are positive.

Fashion and shoes have been the traditional Stars of the e-commerce world. For the past 15 years, online fashion has set the standard. Competitive pricing, generous returns policies and the throw-away nature of fashion mean that we feel confident spending on-line. (And online payment security has improved too) Furniture retailers have been slower and less innovative - lumbering giants by comparison. But pure, online furniture retailers are more nimble than their traditional, bricks-and-mortar counterparts, even those scrambling to set up a web presence.

What does this mean for My Bespoke Chair?

1) We are innovators and we are the first.
2) We are capturing the zeitgeist of social media, online shopping and mobile, smart technologies.
3) We can benefit from established consumer confidence in buying big ticket items online.
4) We can offer quality, service and pricing impossible in mass-market chain stores or upmarket furniture stores.

Our next post will be once My Bespoke Chair makes its safe arrival into the online world......and then the hard work really begins! I hope you'll be a part of our community and join our adventurous journey.

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Sneak Peak

"The curtain is yet to swish and the door is yet to be flung open, but I simply can't keep these beauties to myself...."

To give customers a real feel of the product they will be designing, I have created a collection of sample chairs. And treated them to a magazine-style shoot.

These photos will be used for the site's gallery, media kits and social media such as Facebook and Pinterest. With the magnifying roll-over feature, customers will really get a feel for the quality and finish of the chairs. Buying a high-ticket item over the internet, such as bespoke furniture, requires trust and assurance that your money buys design, quality and finish equal or beyond that of a high-street store.

www.mybespokechair.com

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