While I'm on the subject of Not On the High Street, I got one of those dreaded emails the other day saying that I had received some negative feedback on the site, uugh! Nothing makes my heart sink more, its just horrible. A customer had ordered a Hot Dog thinking it was a cushion of some sort. So had posted feedback to say that the product was much smaller than she had thought and that for what it turned out to be it didn't seem worth the money. Well, naturally I sunk into a deep depression ( I really must learn to handle things like that better) but when I thought about it a day or so later I decided that really its down to me to try and explain what the product is, the right size and why its worth the money I charge. I did have the size written into the product description but clearly that isn't enough. So I decided it was time to take some lifestyle shots of the dogs. I've tried this before with a model and they looked horrendous so I went for a sort of bedside table set up. I hope they visually explain the size, I will try again with images of somebody holding them but I hope these will help for now.
As far as addressing the value for money aspect, these products are all handmade in our studio, quite a lot of time goes into printing, cutting, sewing, stuffing and packaging them and the materials themselves are not super cheep, Organic fair trade cotton is getting more expensive almost every time I buy it as prices of cotton increase globally. The wheat is organic and the lavender I have chosen to use has got the most wonderful smell, its a highly fragranced french lavender, which is essential when its being mixed with the wheat as I really want it to keep its smell for years to come. I think all the decisions I have made with my supplies and how I make these dogs produces a really great product but again if I don't tell people about it I can't expect them to know. So I have rewritten my product descriptions and I hope they give a bit more information about these wee doggies.
What's that saying about there being no such thing as bad press? well I'm not totally sure about that but at least it has taught me that I need to take more care with my images and descriptions. How very grown up of me.
3 comments:
Think the shots are great and show the scale very well (unless you use tiny or xxl tea cups!!), now making me think about my own descriptions and photos. We have to assume that people read all we write, but in reality a quick glance at a picture is probably going to be the thing that makes you want to buy (it's what I do) 'Practical criticism' is much better than 'negitive review', it's always a learing curve when you run your own business! L :)
Great blog post. I also think that a negative comment such as the one you had, regarding size, can be turned in to a positive. If future customers read it, they will be able to see straight away that the comment was about size, which will make them double check the size before they place an order.
I had a comment on NOTHS, saying that 'the product took a long time to arrive.' I state in 3 separate places on each product page that delivery is 21 days. If this comment can draw peoples attention further to my delivery times, then I didn't see it as a negative.
Your photo's look brilliant btw x
Fantastic attitude to have. Negative feedback is always upsetting and always seems to stick in the mind far longer than positive. However, if you can see their point of view and use their feedback to make positive changes then it certainly helps. I've ended up actually appreciating the comments as it has helped me improve a product.
Still doesn't help with that gut wrenching initial reaction though!
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