WAHM Forums

I"m wondering if there is really every TOO much attention/service you can give a customer. Here is my situation:


SimplyFun has a game called Liebrary which was invented by actress Daryl Hannah. This past week Daryl has been doing a LOT of PR for the game (appearances on TV and radio). We are allowed to do online advertising so I put in a few well-placed ads and have been getting quite a few web orders for the game. These aren't people I know or have met or who really sought ME out. They just go to my website and order the game. (Strange thing - Liebrary is the ONLY thing the ALL are ordering - they don't even browse the rest of the site to see what we offer).


So when I log into my backoffice and see they have placed an order I first send them a "Thank you for your SimplyFun order" e-mail which thanks them and asks if they noticed that we have lots of other great games and puzzles for the whole family and I offer to help them with holiday shopping suggestions if they need them. Not too pushy - just a little paragraph. THEN when their game ships I send them another e-mail with the tracking information and tell them to make sure they take a minute to look over the catalog that will be with their order (our company is sending business opportunity info and a catalog with all of these Liebrary orders to get people more familiar with our company) and let me know if they would like to order anything. Now I am also planning on e-mailing them a day or so after I see (by the tracking information) that they have received their package just to make sure it arrived safely.


Is that too many e-mails? It will be about 3 in a 5-10 day period. I want them to feel well taken care of, but not BUGGED. The thing is that if in the future they just go to www.simplyfun.com (http://www.simplyfun.com) to order something, the sales credit will NOT go to me - they will put in their zip code and the credit will go to the nearest leader to them. They would need to put in MY website name and order from there for me to get credit, so I really want them to KNOW who I am and have my website.


I also plan to put them on a regular customer e-mail list to keep in touch with them in the future.


Now these are things I would do for "regular" customers, but I am worried that most of these people just thought they were going to a site like amazon.com and ordering a game and may not want to be "bothered" in the future.


Thoughts??

I think those e-mails would be fine. I mean, when you order from Amazon you get the order confirmation number and then the tracking number. You'd only be sending out one more than that!


However, I might wait to send the, "Hope you got the package and let me know how it worked out for you," e-mail. You'll want people to have actually played the game, and you'll also want it to be a reminder of who you are, and not confused with a generic "Your shipment has arrived," letter.


I call all of the people who place orders with me (whether at a party or an individual sale) to make sure that they didn't have any problems. Once, I found that there WAS a problem, and quickly fixed it. Other times, they've said they liked it so much they booked a party or placed a second order.


As far people being linked to their nearest consultant, sure it'll be bad to lose a potential (especially one who already did business with you), but think of the great opportunity to get clients who live near you! THOSE will be the ones you can really follow up on, because people love doing business locally! :)


Good luck!


Melissa

I personally would just end up deleting the final one you are mentioning. I would much more appreciate one sent about 2-3 weeks later asking if I received it okay and enjoyed it and by the way, etc. At my house a catalog will stick around approximately that length of time at least, so I will have had time to look it over (especially with the craziness of the holidays). Plus, in January, I will have much more breathing room to sit down and look at a catalog or open an email and find myself interested again in shopping.


Good luck with the leads, etc. Sounds pretty cool!!

How about instead of the last email, you send a thank you postcard or similar via snail mail once you know their order has arrived? Just a thought!

Thanks for the fantastic ideas ladies. My big though with sending the e-mail within a day of them receiving it is just to make sure it wasn't damaged in shipment or something like that. It is a pretty expensive game and we all know how reckless Fed Ex can get (especially this time of year) and I wanted to make sure they knew they could count on me to help if there were problems. But of course they will have my e-mail address since I JUST had e-mailed them with shipping info and 95% of the people would e-mail me if there was a problem anyways, so why worry about it.


I will make sure to do follow ups in early January. We are having double hostess benefits for the monthand maybe they might like to host a catalog party. Catalog parties work well with our company because our website has videos showing all our games being played, so it is easy for a non-local customer to check it out and place orders with the hostess. Plus I will have more info on our new products at that time.


Thanks again for helping me brainstorm!

Save the 3rd email for maybe 3-4 months after they've ordered and make it a followup. Ask them how they are liking their products and if you can assist them further. Maybe a suggestion of a companion game "If you liked ___ game, you may also like ___."


MK

Allison,
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I don’t think 3 emails within a week are too many. Also, you said that if someone goes to
www.simplyfun.com/ (http://www.simplyfun.com/) later that you would not get a commission from that sale. Is you your www.simplyallison.simplyfun.com (http://www.simplyallison.simplyfun.com/) an affiliate web page where you would always get commissions? If it is, then you need to promote that web site link.

You are on the right track by developing a regular mailing to people on your mailing list. My suggestion is to have more information and testimonials than sales pitches, or people will opt-out of your list.

smileys/smiley1.gif

I agree with the post card snail mail. They are more likely to look it over than just have the chance to delete it. smileys/smiley2.gif

I agree with the post card as well. I think that 3 emails in a week would be too much. Good luck to you!!

I always send thank you postcards about 3-5 weeks after the jewelry has been delivered to the hostess. I include any specials or hostess incentives and it has worked in several occasions to get a booking.


I think that 3 emails in one week is too many. I would think I was getting spammed. What if you wait until you know the shipment has been received. Then you could email and do the customer service then.

I think I would appreciate a phone call to check on the package, as long as it wasn't at dinner time. LOL


The reason for the phone call would be that you are giving them avoice to go with the company name. It will also give you a chance to explain, in a warmer way, how the ordering works from the corp website. The personal touch is your deal and if they like it they'll make sure to have you as their contact person again. Something like "I'm not sure if other consultants do this, but I want to make sure you're happy." Something like that.


However, if you have already emailed them that many times, a phone call might be too pushy. smileys/smiley5.gifBasically, I think it's something you'll be able to feel out and work out what works best for you.