It’s all in the “appearances”
2013/02/28 6:00 AM
Do you worry that customers think your company is small? Are you doing everything yourself and worried they'll find out and maybe not want to purchase if they don't think you can deliver? Do you wear all the hats and try to keep up with customer service too?
This is a super common fear and one that is totally normal……and can sometimes be true too. Sometimes even sales reps won't want to take you on if they feel like you are a one woman show…….they get worried you can't keep up with growth etc… BUT…….. if you are super organized, you can. I know you will hire out when possible and bring on staff or hire VA's when you can afford it……. but in the meanwhile, let's be sure you are being "seen" as a larger company shall we?
One of my quick tips is to create a “nom de plume” to be your companies customer service representative. This gives you another “employee” and your customers someone else to praise or complain to that isn’t you. My “screen” name is Lucy. Lucy answers all email questions for the website that are not store related or directed to me personally. She is very courteous and accommodating. She works with customers to make them happy (so that they will shop again) and has to “check with Sarah” from time to time if it is a question that seems out of her league. She is a super star and gets all kinds of fan mail. It makes it more fun for me too!
Your job: Create your "nom de plume" right now and get her working for you today.
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There are 10 comments
Kristen says: Great tip! My “nom de plume” is awesome, my customers love her and often tell her she is doing a fabulous job! 🙂
H.L says: I love ur blog!!!! I just started my business as a student and all these questions make total sense to me and exactly what i want to figure out!!
Thank you!!!!!
Lisa says: Isn’t that like lying?
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Not at all Lisa. Customers usually feel better when they speak to a neutral party rather than the designer when they have a complaint. In the long run, it is better for your customer service side of things
Michelle says: Genius! I love an aka.
You’re a genius! What are great idea! Looks like I’ll be “hiring’ someone today. Thank you!!
Couldn’t agree more Sarah, especially if you have more than one online business.
I use a different name for each website. It actually helps me keep organised too.
Have all your accounts feeding into a gmail account and you can read, manage and send replies all from one dashboard.
This is a great blog by the way. I so wish I’d found it five years ago.
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