Request for Feedback on Inspired Marketing Idea

[rww]

All,
I have a custom furniture making business and am working on marketing it.  I have begun Michael's YOU CAN HAVE WHAT YOU WANT book, and am doing most of his experiments & exercises as I proceed through it.
I also listen to podcasts of his show for ideas and tips to get my mind in a good space for this process.  I subscribe to his daily tips as well, and just did today's Core Questions Experiment.  The point of all that is not that I am working hard, but that I love the processes he suggests, and feel in the flow of it.

I was in the shower this morning thinking about what has worked before for me, and at first thought well, "nothing."  After a bit, I realized that when I completed my woodworking school 2 years ago, I sent out a notice to people with pictures of my work, and got an order from that.

I am now thinking of combining that with Michael's suggestion of asking people your burning question.  I heard it a month or so ago, but did not do it at the time.  I don't tend to come in contact with a lot of people, so I thought I would do it by email instead.

What I am asking for here is feedback on this email.  It does feel inspired to me, so maybe I should just do it, but I would also appreciate any feedback before I send it out.

Here's the email:

Friends,

Many of you know that I have a custom furniture-making business in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Although I went to school for woodworking several years ago and there were some suggestions about how to market our work, I continue to find marketing my work and generating orders to be a great challenge.

I would greatly appreciate any advice you might have on the following three questions:

1)   What might be an inspired way for me to market my custom furniture work?
2)   How might I generate referrals for my work?
3)   If you were going to order something to be custom-made, what would your major concerns be?

Thank you in advance for any feedback you might have.

Bob Rueter
Rueter Woodworking & Gallery
154 Elliot St
Brattleboro, VT 05301

www.RueterWoodworking.com
Bob@RueterWoodworking.com

[marksherwood]

Hi Bob,

My feedback ?

Dont wait for feedback....if it feels right...send it.

Cheers,

Mark

[fionad]

Hello Bob,

Can you tell us what happened since your first post?. Did you send out your marketing email/asking for advice and what was the response? I thought it sounded like a great idea and can't stand being left in suspense.

Fiona   

[rww]

Fiona et al,
Thank you for asking for follow-up.

Here's what has happened so far.

I modified the request, with a bit more explanation, adding a line or two about a suggested "burning question" that I am asking everyone.

To date, about 2 weeks since I sent it, I have received 2 responses.  1 said they had no ideas, and the other thought it was a great email, and with no suggestions either.

I am  neither dismayed nor worried.  If more responses come, they come, if not, they don't.   I have continued with other inspired actions, some suggested by Michael  in YCHWYW & other places, and had a customer walk into my shop & place an order on Monday!  I feel like I'm getting into the flow.

One thing that really hit me from YCHWYW was the question by Michael, in one of his book exercises, about what would it mean if I figured out how to do this marketing stuff, and I realized that my fantasy was that once I figured it out, I would never have to do it again.   That was good for a laugh.  I also really like his idea of collecting as many "No" responses as possible. 

Cheers,

Bob

[Ms. Powell]

Hi Bob,

  I believe you should market your furniture by sales  in bulks! To Kmart Walmart BJ's etc and do home consultants to prospectie clients and tell them what's missing in their home as for furniture and you will give them a good deal and be able to make for example a beautiful table for them. Let me know how it turns out!

Ms. Powell 

[jgardner]

Something that I do that works very well - if a customer has been happy with the service or product that I provide - I ask them to refer me. 

There is no marketing tool that is inexpensive and easy to use then just asking for the referral. It works very well for me. I sell crop insurance and during the conversations that I have I simply ask my customers to give out my name and I would be happy to provide them with the great customer service that I provide to all my customers! Last year alone I gathered 10 new customers for one insurance season!

[Richard]

Hey there,

Like the email - its a subtle approach, which is fine if that's how you want it. Sometimes i think that just flat out asking for the business is the best 'selling' skill to learn - especially if you can do it in a nice, easy, friendly manner. There's a stat somewhere which says that a client will say no 4 times before they say a yes.

& i agree about asking for referrals - i've had lots of business that way. However when you ask people for referrals, they arn't really thinking about it - so i sharpen it up a bit by actually suggesting people they might want to refer. Eg. Do you have any friends / people you work with / family who have said they are interested in custom furniture. Then its easier for them to 'recall' an example.
Then once they have recalled the person, i ask them if they mind that i give them a call - mentioning their name......

you can also ask people for 'written' referrals which is excellent for establishing your credibility & for gaining 'strangers' trust.

Go for it!
Richard

hey you do anything with chairs? as i have a weird, whacky design for an office chair

[nyamen100]

Hi Bob,
Have you tried showing custom pieces of your work at events, shows etc.? If the furniture industry has the habit of organizing trade shows, it is a good way to compete and advertize your product.
Having said that I have always thought it a great pity that manufacturers seem to make the same kinds of things for everyone instead of coming up with new ideas. I will give you an example from the jewelry industry.
Many companies that make the work benches for bench jewelers make them to rigid specified dimensions. There is no flexibility to accomodate clients who might be too short or too tall. Whenever I have asked if a bench could be manufactured or modified to suit my height I am told that the best I can do is saw off the legs of the bench to the height that would suit me. Somehow that sounds rather wasteful to me! I think there is an opportunity here somewhere for someone to create a niche market!
Good luck!
Nyamen

[Gill]

Am not an expert on marketing so maybe others can comment on this thought, but I thought that maybe the "what would your concerns be" might sound a bit negative, maybe it would be better to ask for what they would really want in a piece of furniture, you'll need to work it better than that. The 'concerns' bit sounds a bit like you don't know what it is you are doing wrong and you want to know what it might be, rather than that you are looking to find out what really matters to them.
Just a thought, hope it helps
Best of luck
Gill

[MaryRC]

Hey RWW!  How is your furniture making business going?  I think it is so exciting that you are doing this!