HOW I DEAL CUSTOMERS ONLINE

Last week, I got an order from a customer through my online social media account. Well, 98% of my customers with whom I made transactions were online. It's the easiest and most convenient way of presenting my products in the comfort of our home. Plus, I am more confident when dealing with my clients online than on one on one basis.

E-Wallets

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Having an e-wallet app such as Gcash, Coins, Paypal, Paymaya and even Binance, is very helpful whenever I ask my customers about downpayment. The fastest and less hassle way of getting paid directly to your e-wallet. I also accept hive/hbd as a form of payment. But as of now, most of my customers preferred Gcash when sending their downpayment.

Downpayments

Cancellation of orders is prohibited unless proven necessary. That is why I always ask for a downpayment every time they made an order. Downpayments are used to buy certain materials for a specific project of a certain customer. But it would be best if you already had a wide variety of different colors of yarns available on hand to use. In this way, you will be able to begin your order right after receiving the downpayment. It will save you more time than ordering your yarns online which will consume your 3-7 days of waiting. Good if you have a nearby store of yarns that offers a wide selection of yarns so won't be spending more on the shipping fee of the materials you'll be needing plus you will get your yarns in a minute.

Availability of the most preferred yarn colors.

Customers wanted their orders to be done as soon as possible. Though they knew that it will take time in making their orders, finishing them in a short period will give you more of their approval. Hence, you will be needing more capital to supply all the most preferred colors. I always make sure to have these colors available on my stash: black, white, maroon, red, pink, golden yellow, brown, skin tone, and some other neutral colors.

Measurements

Getting the right measurements from the customers will make your work more accurate. Customers cannot or will not blame you once you give their orders with their exact given measurements. You will minimize the time and effort of remaking their orders again. Most of my customers also were miles away and their orders were delivered by a courier. So having their orders with the correct measurement will save you also some money.

But what about t if customers cannot give you the proper measurements?

This one will be tricky yet an artist/crafter should have more ideas about how an item "will fit".

Based on my experience, even if the customers had given the exact measurements, some would say, " It's hard to fit in" after they tried their order. They were having problems wearing a customized crochet top or shorts. So to minimize this kind of problem, I make sure to make it more adjustable and easy to wear.

Products should be adjustable.

I always think of having ties on every wearable I made. In this manner, customers can use the item several times in a long period even if they lose or gain more weight. Aside from ties, I also use a garter to make it adjustable. But I seldom use this, as the garter won't last that long as it may lose its elasticity. I just let the customer decide which I will use after informing her of the pros and cons of using garter or ties.

Pads and Linings

I was more on making crochet swimwear so I always make sure to have a supply of pads or padding and nylon spandex as fabric for linings.

There are two types of pads I used: the round and triangular pads. Round pads were used in tubes or crop tops while triangular pads were used in bra-type bikinis.

So, what else?
Ahh, pricing your customized handmade products.

Price for Handmade Items

A seller/crafter should inform also his/her audience by educating through posting and emphasizing that it's expensive because it's handmade. It means no machine can make crocheted items. A seller/crafter should be confident enough when pricing her projects.

In pricing my crochet products, most likely I used "cost of materials" and multiplied it by "5 or 6" depending on the difficulty of the project. Other crocheters priced their labor per hour multiplied by how many hours they were working on the project plus the materials.

For this set, the number of materials used was P300.00 pesos or $6, so I was able to sell this set for P1800.00 pesos or $36. I lost track of how many hours I was able to finish it but I think an estimate of 4-5 days.

So that's all for today ladies. I'll appreciate it very much if you can also share your ideas when dealing with your clients/customers online.

Have a blessed Monday you all.

Love lots,
@jonalyn2020