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Managing your customers expectations.

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The Bowler Hatted Turner:
I think attitude is one of the most important aspects of managing customer expectations. You don't have to be a professional turner to have a professional respect for your customer. On taking on commissions you should listen to the customer carefully and understand what it is they want and you can then explain what is involved in the making of the item.
 Some customers are concerned about the source of materials used(others don't give a jot) so their wishes should be taken into consideration.I point out that I hand select my woods at the timber yard to give the best results and this again is reflected in the price.
I talk to them as an equal to establish the guidelines that I should work to and suggest alternative designs or materials if needs be that I feel will be more appropriate for the finished piece rather than what is easier for me to work with.
I regard each customer as the most important customer I have ever had(which can be difficult at times) and try
to make them feel relaxed and relieved that they are considering giving me the order. I reassure them that all possible care will be taken in the making of their requested piece and that I look forward to bringing their perceived ideas to fruition. One of the last things I talk about is how much each bit will cost as they are not interested in that but they do want to know the final cost. So after explaining about the quality of the wood, the making process and finishing, how they will feel owning this piece and how envious their friends will be and sometimes agreeing not to use the design for anyone else (they like one offs)then the customer begins to realise that the price they pay will be reflected in the quality of what they are buying.
Richard points out that the customer needs to have a pleasurable experience when dealing with you and I wholeheartedly agree with this especially when you think that you may get a repeat order from them or they may tell their friends about you.
I try to avoid tight deadlines as I hate doing rush jobs, even though I turn everyday for a living I still want to enjoy the turning experience of each job and this transmits itself into the finished item and so improving or maintaining the quality expected.
Lastly, knowledge of your own ability is very important, maybe that should be confidence of your own ability,only take on the work that you know you can complete satisfactorily and if you cannot do this find someone that can do it and pass the customer on. This will enhance the customers experience and helps build a relationship based on trust within the craft that should be reciprocated by the person you pass the work onto. This will have the effect (eventually) of the public trusting our craftsmen and women to deliver the best possible result for them.
Sorry to be a bit long winded,nearly finished now, after doing and explaining all of this to the the customer you have now moved the status quo, you have brought the customer into your world and they start to see what is involved in the making and why you charge what you charge, there is an empathy with you and your work ethic and they will feel more inclined to place the order.
If they still feel the price is still too high tell them to go find a hobby turner that will do it for less than the cost of the timber. ;D
Regards
John BHT

Tony Walton:
‘How much, it’s only a piece of wood’ is a comment I had a few years back at a craft fair from a woman who was looking at some turned apples and pears priced at £10.
I picked a lump of wood out of my box under the lathe that was full of bark pockets and intrusions held it out towards her and said ‘I can sell you this lump of wood in its raw state for £2’ she didn’t reply but gave me an evil look.
Anyway I mounted the piece on the lathe and started turning it, I noticed she was watching me and I proceeded to turn a rotten pear, applied a finish, polished it and fitted the flower and stalk then stood it on the end of the lathe.
She then said ‘you’ve just turned that beautiful pear out of that grotty piece of wood’ to which I replied ‘yes I have, it’s not the piece of wood you’re paying for it’s my skills and experience’.
She then asked ‘how much is that pear you’ve just made’; I replied ‘this one is £15 as a rotten pear is harder to turn’, she promptly got the money out a paid for the pear, another satisfied customer.
I never haggle or reduce my prices, if a customer say’s it’s too much I just say it’s not the item for you then, sometimes they will come back 20 min later to buy the item and ask if I still have it sometimes I have to say sorry I’ve just sold it you should have brought it when you first saw it instead of trying to haggle over the price.

Mark Sanger:
The times I have mused over this question can be counted on the feet of a thousand millipedes.  :)

It is so complex and depends I have found much on the market you are selling in.

One thing at the core of it I believe of any market is that if items are well made then they will sell, they will sell within the market being sold in reflecting what other similar items will sell for.

IE a noodle bowl is a noodle bowl is a noodle bowl, people will expect it to be sold within a certain bracket reflecting what they have been exposed to, so efficiency in production is a major factor to maximise profit.

If an item can not be compared and it is marketed at a high end then a good return can be asked. If it is well designed and produced, unique, etc it generally will sell, but this market is very discerning and generally know what they are looking at from a design point of view. It is also a bloody difficult market to get into as I have been told on many occasions by owners of mixed media galleries that they will not stock turned wood as it is generally poor quality and had a bad persona.

If people quibble the price they are either never going to pay anyhow.

People with the disposable income to pay high end don't quibble or question they just don't buy if it is not up to scratch and go spend their money else where.

But it is not easy, and no one will make a million through woodturning, not unless they start off with two.

TONY MALIN:
The answer to the original question is to supply what he/she wants when it's wanted at a price they are willing to pay. If they come back for more you're in business.

However in the open market where you are trying to sell what you have decided to make, the factors are wide open. Probably the most important are time and place, you can always play around with the price.

Mark Sanger:
The issue is when you are given an answer you stop thinking, challenging and pushing what you do further and as a result just accept what the masses say sells, which mostly is mass produced poorly made crap from abroad, so managing customers expectations should be quite easy.  (not referring to your work Bryan) just what most people expect at craft fairs or similar venues, and I am not only referring to woodturning but selling in such environment for all makers, and how their time and skill is expected to be ' a bargain' by the punters because it is a weekend craft fair and it has been made by hand in the UK.

What I was trying to get across before is that there is no simple answer, marketing and choosing your market is a big part of selling anything and I would say a larger part than the item itself.

Go to the local cheap shop to buy a low cost salad bowl made from 'Rubber wood,  you will get on for a couple of quid, or market you work to a select market who appreciate unique hand made items and you can sell for this price http://www.davidmellordesign.com/acatalog/Craft_Wood.html

Here is another link. https://www.othercriteria.com/search/?s=Spin%20Chair&p=beautiful_poker_face_spin_chair

So yes if your customers keep coming back then you are doing well but it all depends upon which type of customer you want to keep coming back.

This is a decision you have to make depending on what you are satisfied with but just because another wants to charge £7 for an item and you want to charge double does not mean you are wrong. Yours may be better and sold in a different market, and before you manage your customers expectations you need to choose your customers and know their expectations, know the triggers that makes them buy and those that turn them off.

Obviously I don't want to take your question off track and talk about quality but you can't measure customers expectations without considering it.

People will buy anything for a low price but selling for what an item is worth is very different. 

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