delivering the goods

[steveb]

I dont know about all youse, but as I was pacing up a belt to go out, i realized that i et alot of compliments about how my stuff arrives at the clients door - and I though I'd share how i make the "out-of-box" experieince a good one.

I use a new box

I hand wrap the item in layers of tissue paper

i throw the scraps from making the piece into the box

I put a few stickers, brochures and a note in the box, etc..some schwag

i hand write the address

I send it Priority, delivery confirmation

it makes a diff, it looks like i care

my .02- how do you all do it?

steveb

Edited March 2, 2008 by Johanna
reduced pic sizes

[esantoro]

I dont know about all youse, but as I was pacing up a belt to go out, i realized that i et alot of compliments about how my stuff arrives at the clients door - and I though I'd share how i make the "out-of-box" experieince a good one.

I use a new box

I hand wrap the item in layers of tissue paper

i throw the scraps from making the piece into the box

I put a few stickers, brochures and a note in the box, etc..some schwag

i hand write the address

I send it Priority, delivery confirmation

it makes a diff, it looks like i care

my .02- how do you all do it?

steveb

That looks great. I also include a brochure on how to care for the leather. I'd like to get some ink stamps made to stamp my logo on the box. I wrap the item in 30 lb. kraft paper and then put it in a burlap bag for any moisture absorption while in transit.

ed

[leatheroo]

i need to pack my masks carefully and the best way i found was to use shredded paper. we have a shredding machine at work so there is an endless supply. i half fill a bag with the shreddings and then lay the mask on this then fill the bag to cover the mask then put in a box.

[Spider]

Well, I do mostly local sales but I guess I would use kraft paper and a custom box if I had to ship out. But then again, I work at a packaging and display company so I have endless access to all that since I design the stuff. Kinda spoiled you know.

Steve, where do you get your boxes? I love the stuff you include with your piece. Thank you for sharing.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Spider

[LarryB]

That is a nice package you send to them. Thanks for sharing this. I never really gave it much thought on packaging appearance.. but it makes good sense.

[SCOUTER]

Steve, It's the little details like that seperate the amateur from the professional... There is nothing worse then spending your hard earned money for a product and having it arrive in a beat-up box that has a crossed out address and a tear or two. I have been involved in almost every hobby and the most sucessful vendors always go the extra step in shipping and packing. I am sure that your extra efforts pay you back a hundred times over in "word of mouth" referrals. Nice Job as always...

[tonyc1]

Steve, It's the little details like that seperate the amateur from the professional... There is nothing worse then spending your hard earned money for a product and having it arrive in a beat-up box that has a crossed out address and a tear or two. I have been involved in almost every hobby and the most sucessful vendors always go the extra step in shipping and packing. I am sure that your extra efforts pay you back a hundred times over in "word of mouth" referrals. Nice Job as always...

And you can get rid of some of your scraps at the same time!

[LarryB]

I use SOME of my scraps for when I dye to test the dye or paint mix or if my brush is dry enough.. But when I seen that Steve sends a scrap in the box... the first thing that hit me was it shows what he started with and it leaves the smell of leather in the package. I'm glad Steve started this thread because I never thought of it, its probablly over looked and Scouter summed it up best. The one thing I like that Steve showes is that he has a logo and it all works off of that. Do you print your own cataloge or do you have a print shop do it? Anyway it all looks great.

Edited March 2, 2008 by LarryB

[TracyMoss]

Very nice Steve, makes you think about marketing a little more. I'm guilty of the old reused box myself, but can see the difference.

[esantoro]

I'm pretty stingy with my scraps, as I'm always using them to test stitch on or test edge, or test paint, or test anything.

ed

[steveb]

I use SOME of my scraps for when I dye to test the dye or paint mix or if my brush is dry enough.. But when I seen that Steve sends a scrap in the box... the first thing that hit me was it shows what he started with and it leaves the smell of leather in the package. I'm glad Steve started this thread because I never thought of it, its probablly over looked and Scouter summed it up best. The one thing I like that Steve showes is that he has a logo and it all works off of that. Do you print your own cataloge or do you have a print shop do it? Anyway it all looks great.

bingo - gold star for LarryB.

Nothing like showing how far you have to go and how much work it takes to bring a raw piece of veg tan to the finished state to satisfy a customer.

Never had a complaint from a customer about price or work after i started doing that - way.back , and its pretty cool to see what I started with..

since my belts are usually pretty ornate and colorful it is obvious that alot of work went into it.

Since i start every piece wiwth a raw slice and dont make anything beforehand - it brings that point home.

I use good leather, i want my customers to see what i started with and the knife marks.

I also tend to leave a little piece of each belt raw, so every time the customer puts it on, he sees how much work and thought went into it.

stingy with scraps? not me - material is cheap - even the good stuff in the grand scheme of things.....i turn my scraps into stuff, give 'em away, throw 'em away, make myself stuff with 'em like key chain fobs and luggage tags or zipper pulls, i try and churn my scrap pile every three months and my customers love getting the scraps that came from their piece....i mean who else does stuff like that but me....? ;-)

I print my own brochure on a a good laser printer by the 100 count, my original mallets logo, an illustrator designed based on my explicit direction and every year i do something new with my logo presenation - a new sticker and a new business card are customary and every 2 years i do a new shirt - all designed by a good friend of mine for barter.

hmmm yeah, thins isn't not rocket science, but i care about it more than most do and am in a position to do something about it... -

and ya know friends, if i was half as good a leathercrafter as i am a marketer - I'd be able to give up me day job!!

steveb

Edited March 2, 2008 by steveb

[howardb]

Steve - friggin brilliant! Very excellent marketing concept.

I'd make a small suggestion - since you make simple things out of your scraps, why not make a key fob or some such out of their scrap, and include a little business card sized note explaining what it is and why you included it. You know, something along the lines of "I wanted you to see what your [item] looked like before I started. This [object] was made from the same leather and is unfinished..." blah blah blah.

A reject like me (before I started carving and understanding the work involved) would just figure you left the scrap in the box and were careless. A simple something MADE from that scrap would be COOL to my simple mind, or would have been in my past life as a non-carver.

LOVE the wrapping part of your presentation by the way. Very pro!

Brent

[steveb]

Steve - friggin brilliant! Very excellent marketing concept.

I'd make a small suggestion - since you make simple things out of your scraps, why not make a key fob or some such out of their scrap, and include a little business card sized note explaining what it is and why you included it. You know, something along the lines of "I wanted you to see what your [item] looked like before I started. This [object] was made from the same leather and is unfinished..." blah blah blah.

A reject like me (before I started carving and understanding the work involved) would just figure you left the scrap in the box and were careless. A simple something MADE from that scrap would be COOL to my simple mind, or would have been in my past life as a non-carver.

LOVE the wrapping part of your presentation by the way. Very pro!

Brent

well Brent - let me tell you I have considered what you mention - and there is indeed a full fact sheet on the materials and tools that i use, the type of thread, the leather, the dyes, the topcoats, etc...it is a full letterhead page, goes in every package i send out - gives all the info you could even want, quite the fact sheet, if you will ..but i dont mention the scraps or "label" them for the following reason/

my customers are usually bikers or hot rod devotees and mechanically oriented people for the most part. These are folks that LIKE to figure stuff out - and so they see the scraps , they see their piece and they see how the parts fit together, and the can take part in the discovery of what a piece of handmade leather is all about..these are folks that like to put 2+2 together - i know -I am one of them and we like a bit of drama and discovery, and it is damn obvious to anyone who has gotten a "box" from me - that everything is carefully thought out and planned..... there is no "off the cuff, there is no spontaneity, I got this down, I know it pleases..i have years of customer testimonials...and have fine tuned my delivery to a configuration that works for me...you need to be true to your brand, know your customer and understand what delights them...it is diff for horse folks, i'd suspect.....

the trick is in asking people what they want in a skilled manner (ya just cant ask 'em what they want) and then this is the hardest part-> ya have to listen (most of us suck at listening, but it is a critical skill, if your gonna be a good marketer) - and thats in a very small nutshell how you learn to delight your customer...

personal peeve-> I hate it when people tell me they "exceed" their customers expectations - that smells of blowhard-ism, and is the sure sign of someone who doesnt listen - god knows it is hard enough just to MEET someone's expectations, let alone "exceed" 'em....

Bottom line for me: as soon as you take someone's money - youre a professional and there is responsibility that goes with that, IMSHO with all of this palaver - of course

steveb

[howardb]

* snip *

personal peeve-> I hate it when people tell me they "exceed" their customers expectations - that smells of blowhard-ism, and is the sure sign of someone who doesnt listen - god knows it is hard enough just to MEET someone's expectations, let alone "exceed" 'em....

Man, that just goes to show I've been working for the man too long.... The company I work for just LOVES to spew those meaningless marketing terms, and if you hear them often enough, you begin to believe that you CAN focus on your core competencies, get back to basics, while thinking outside the box, and deliver 110%, thus exceeding your customer's expectations. Ack! Makes me nauseous typing it...

Sounds like you've done your homework :-). It is a nice presentation!

Brent

Edited March 5, 2008 by howardb