How To Avoid Craft Nightmares

As you begin to read this, just stop for a moment and think of a time when, as a customer, you have been dissatisfied with a purchase or service. Next, think about what caused your dissatisfaction, and then how it was resolved. There are many useful articles online giving sound and helpful advice about how to avoid business nightmares by ensuring you have good customer service protocols in place. Check them out! We are not going to repeat them here, but rather look at what might lie behind good, or poor, customer satisfaction.

At the heart of your business is yourself; your creativity, your dreams, your vision, your personality and your resources. The products you make are an outpouring of yourself, and thus they have much more of an emotional pull on you than if you were, for example, selling someone else’s products. Some even talk about their business as their “baby” and certainly the process from the embryonic idea through to the first product sold can have similarities with pregnancy and labour. Thus, if something goes wrong it can feel personal. Here lies our first suggestion for avoiding craft nightmares; if you have an unhappy customer, it isn’t personal. It might not even be valid, and if it is it could be your error or it could be just one of those things which make up the multi-coloured kaleidoscope of life.

So, if you have a customer complaint, try to take a deep breath, pause for a minute before responding and get ready to listen. Do what you can to get a clear picture of what has gone wrong. If it is something simple, maybe you can fix it there and then with a smile, an apology and a replacement. For more complex problems, think back to that situation when you were the dissatisfied customer; how was the issue dealt with and what strategies worked? We would suggest that fairly central to a good resolution is that the customer feels heard. Can you discern what is behind your customer’s complaint? If it is unreasonable, can you fathom anything else which could be causing the grievance? Once you have done all this, it is usually possible to find a mutually acceptable way forward.

To encourage you, most issues can be dealt with by listening to the problem and taking some practical action to put it right. A friendly attitude, some empathy and good problem-solving skills will stand you in good stead. However, occasionally there will be an unforeseen incident, completely out of your control, and this is where up-to-date public liability insurance for crafters UK is your best friend. While it is generally in your best interest to replace a broken product or refund something which hasn’t met expectations, it is not possible to take on legal fees or compensation if someone claims against you or your product. Public liability insurance for Crafters UK covers you for any claim made that you, your volunteers, staff or products have caused damage to a member of the public. It will cover any legal defence costs and compensation you owe, thus giving you peace of mind as you deal with a difficult situation. While it is not a legal requirement, it is a real “sleep easy” insurance to have. As a family-run business ourselves, we know our customers are central and therefore we like to communicate directly with you. So, pick up the phone or drop us a line and either Naomi or Sam will be here to talk with you and find the best public liability insurance for crafters UK for your unique business.

Having looked at some of the skills needed to resolve a difficult situation, let’s now take a look at what you can do to prevent such situations arising. Obviously, high-quality products, clear descriptions and competitive pricing are a solid foundation for satisfied customers. However, on top of this, we recommend keeping your relationship with your customers as central. We are relational beings, and if your customers can feel they know a little about you and like you as well as what you do, there will be more flexibility when it comes to resolving any tricky issues that may occur. If you sell online, make sure you include a good write-up on your website featuring your business story, how you started, your inspiration and your vision. If you sell in person, you might like to include a business card with each purchase, pointing your customers to your website or social media. Face-to-face selling enables you to build up good customer rapport with each sale. There are plenty of YouTube videos with pointers as to how to achieve this; why not check them out?

Gaining your customers’ trust is key to good customer relationships. Be as transparent as you can with your product descriptions and make sure you promote raw materials which are locally sourced and environmentally kind, as well as any charities you support. You might also consider sending out regular emails to your customers, letting them know what you are working on and any snippets from your daily life as well as product updates. Admin can be hard to squeeze into a busy schedule, but ensuring you follow through on queries and get orders out within the stated time will all help with building good relationships which have trust at the centre.

If you sell locally, a good reputation is invaluable within the community; your business will expand by word of mouth and you will not only retain customers, but they will recommend you to friends. So, keep the communication channels open, allow your natural warmth, friendliness and enthusiasm to shine through and watch your business continue to flourish with loyal, local customers.