Bad News for ‘Hot Guys Reading Books’
I am a lover a books with a capital “L”. I sit on the board of trustees of my library. I read about two books a week, even with 21-month-old twins. I have a few friends who are librarians and, thus far, I have been resistant to an e-reader. I like to hold the book in my hands. I like to browse library and bookstore shelves. OK...point taken.
On Facebook, I recently saw a post about a blog called “Hot Guys Reading Books” (HGRB), and as part of their promotional efforts, the writers had created some stickers that read “Print Lives.”
“What a great tool for me to communicate with my clients,” I thought. “I’ll buy some of these stickers and give them out to clients and prospects.” Let’s all pass on the word that we love print, and believe that print will live forever, right?
So I followed the link, which took me to Zazzle.com, and placed an order. Five days later, the stickers showed up, and they were WAY out of register. I contacted Zazzle, sent them some digital pictures of the product, and they informed me that they are processing a full refund, but that the piece is designed that way, so there is nothing they can do to correct the situation.
So what are the lessons here, you ask? There are so many; where to begin?
YOUR CUSTOMERS NEED TO BE EDUCATED.—If you are receiving files that are problematic, I HOPE that you are using the opportunity for a teaching moment: not only will you be saving the customers’ bacon from potentially expensive reprints, but you can show how you add value by being invested in your customer’s knowledge. An informed customer is a valued and loyal customer.
LIGHTS OUT OPERATIONS CAN BE SCARY.—I was SO disappointed that I will never have the product that I want; there is no solution short of the bloggers fixing the file. But how will I know that they did?
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Blogger, author, consultant, coach and all around evangelist for the graphic arts industry, Kelly sold digital printing for 15 years so she understands the challenges, frustrations and pitfalls of building a successful sales practice. Her mission is to help printers of all sizes sell more stuff. Kelly's areas of focus include sales and marketing coaching, enabling clients to find engagement strategies that work for them and mentoring the next generation of sales superstars.
Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and, among other notable accomplishments, co-founded the Windy City Rollers, a professional women's roller derby league. She is also the mother of two sets of twins under the age of ten, so she fears nothing.
