Why a customer bought from me

[kidsstore]

Since many of my customers are first time Etsy customers, I decided to start asking them how they found my shop, and why they decided to buy from me.

I just had my first response. According to the customer, she found my shop through Etsy's SEO and relevancy. She said the photos and description were what made her convo me about a custom order. She also said the reason that she decided to order from me instead of someone else was because of my quick response to her convo and accomodating customer service. This was a $200 sale, so I am very happy that she selected me to make her items.

I plan to continue to ask some of my customers those 2 questions, to see what I am doing right and if I can improve on anything. Since we all are curious on what it takes to get a customer to come to us and buy, I thought I would pass on this info. If you are interested, after I get a few answers I will update you on what some of the customers say. Maybe some of you would also be interested in seeing what your customers answers would be. It would help on knowing where to direct your marketing time and money.

[Former_Member]

What a great idea! I may have to start asking my customers the same thing. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[VedgeCandle]

Thank you for taking the time to share this Janie. I get mostly direct traffic and google traffic, with Etsy being about 10% of my views. Did this buyer search for her item on Etsy or did she use a google keyword search?

[Former_Member]

Etsy SEO. Silly question, but what is that? I see it a lot but not sure what it means. Do they use google and find you or go right to etsy and search? SEO???

[studionubbo]

Congrats on the large order! It's great to hear customer feedback :)

[Former_Member]

Fantastic idea, please keep us updated on the feedback. In the meantime I think I will start asking my customers the same question.

[glassbead]

I tried this once, but no one answered. Maybe I should try again....

[Former_Member]

That's a great idea! :)

[Former_Member]

Thanks for sharing!

[Former_Member]

hey cindy. SEO is search engine optimization. lots of good info on this in blogs and forums here.

[Former_Member]

That's great, Sorry to be a newbie but did you just ask that in an email or is there some other way to do this?

I did ask this in another thread before no answers :(
Would a selling calender be useful for stores as a tool where you could do sales and your customers to come in and see when they were etc?

[kidsstore]

Vedgecandle - I think she went to the Etsy site, and then searched looking for the theme she wanted for a party. The majority of my views are from Etsy SEO, and about 10% from Google.

Priscilla - I always send my customers a convo letting them know that their item was shipped, via which service, and an approximate date to expect it. When I sent her the convo telling her that the item had been shipped, I asked her if she would mind and had the time to answer the 2 questions. They were regarding how she found my shop (i.e. internet SEO, Etsy SEO, word of mouth, facebook, blogs, saw one of my items, etc.). I also asked her what caused her to select one of my items from some other shop (i.e. photo, description, feedback, price, custom service availability, customer service, etc.). I also explained that the reason I was asking was because the Etsy sellers are trying to figure out what types of marketing and service brings customers to their shop and gives them a reason to purchase. I explained the the answers to these 2 questions would be very helpful to and greatly appreciated by the Etsy sellers.

Because of the tone of several convos we had before she made her purchase, I felt she might be a good one to start with when it came to asking these questions. I have been curious about this for quite a while and decided to start seeing if I could get any answers.

[Former_Member]

Excellent! Thank you.

[Former_Member]

That's a really good idea. I find most of my sales have been from people who do not have shops. I find it's hard to get them to leave feedback once they make the purchase. Any thoughts?

[Arthlin]

Lisa, I was in the same situation. I started including this little printed note stapled to the invoice:

"Hello (client name),

Thank you for your order.
I want to make sure that you are completely satisfied with your purchase so feel free to contact me with any comments or concerns.

Could you please leave me a feedback for this transaction? This can be done on Etsy by clicking on ‘Your account’ and then on ‘Feedback’. I would appreciate it very much.

Thank you again and have a great day!"

So far I've been receiving a little more feedback with this.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the info. I just had an inquiry from a potential buyer and I am glad I responded quickly. Hopefully It will be a sale for me too! I need to check out the SEO also.

[Former_Member]

That is very informative and thanks for sharing. I will be honest, though, and say that it might be seen as *spam* by some customers, turning them into non-repeat buyers. Personally, I would not care to receive a survey about why I chose to shop somewhere, be it on Etsy or a huge retail store.

Also, asking for feedback is considered spam, too. It is brought up a lot on the regular forums.

[kidsstore]

I used to ask for feedback so I would know that the customer had received the item but no longer do so. I do sometimes ask the customers, if they have time, to let me know that they received the order, especially the higher priced ones.

As for asking my customers the questions, I only plan to ask the ones that I have had several positive convos with and feel that they wouldn't mind. Also, I don't plan to do this for very long, but just enough to get a feel for what they are looking for in a shop and artisan.

[TheWildRoses]

Thanks for sharing the feedback you receivd.

[calyrew]

I have been meaning to do the same thing. Even though we have many ways to track our incoming traffic actually asking a customer trumps all of that. Thanks for the nudge.

[kidsstore]

In case you are interested, I just got a second response and the answers were; she had been looking for nursery bedding and found my shop by typing in key words on the internet. The reason she bought from me was the photos. She fell in love with the ones of the bedding.

If some of you also try it, it will be interesting for all of us to hear what your customers tell you.

[Former_Member]

Jeni, how is asking for feedback considered spam? I think a lot of people ask or let people know of the option in the note they include when they send an order. A lot of customers aren't necessarily aware of feedback, yet Etsy includes it as an option on the site. Why would they consider this spam?

Janie, thanks for this posting. I've asked a few of my customers, in part because one of the sellers I bought from did so, and these customers have been quite responsive and interested in sharing their experience. I am trying to figure out a more general way of asking, but maybe it is best to just feel it out customer by customer, based on who seems more communicative?

[JanJat]

I've been doing this for a while... most people actually respond which I always fine surprising. 90% say they found my shop searching on etsy because they couldn't find what they wanted in retail stores. Funny thing is that although they respond to the convo they don't always leave feedback. But regardless I don't think it's spam - the questions are included in the message I send to say that the item has been shipped and an estimated time of delivery. I do also ask for feedback at the same time - as an assurance that they are happy with the purchase and if they aren't to contact me here or via email. I think more important is HOW you ask the questions and a short explanation as to why you are curious...most buyers are happy to help you build your business - they are buying from you in the first place!

[Former_Member]

So what kind of words do you use to attract viewers through the search engines? Sorry to sound so naive but I'm basically getting started here. Do you use words to describe what the item is made of or the style of the item? I sell bracelets but can't think of too many ways to say bracelet or cuff. Any suggestions? I think I'm doing it wrong. Thanks for any help anyone can give me :)

[practicallyfrivolous]

That's great information! Thank you for sharing.