Walking Man
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I am curious if anyone knows if any makers sales have significantly increased due to the existance of their forums. Thanks
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Do Makers forums help sales?
- Thread starter Walking Man
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
My knife purchases have gone up about 1000% since I started frequenting these forums. I know that at least a couple of the Spydercos that I have bought were a direct result of the Spyderco forum.
What they said. The opinions & reviews found here really help me make buying decisions.
Most recently I returned a SOG X42 after reading Cliff's review on one. I thought it was sturdy till I saw it in pieces, hehe. Got educated & have a Battle Rat on it's way.
Now I always check the forums before I buy. Sometimes the info is in the manufacturer's forum, sometimes it's here. Either way it's a great resource.
Most recently I returned a SOG X42 after reading Cliff's review on one. I thought it was sturdy till I saw it in pieces, hehe. Got educated & have a Battle Rat on it's way.
Now I always check the forums before I buy. Sometimes the info is in the manufacturer's forum, sometimes it's here. Either way it's a great resource.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 1999
- Messages
- 4,531
Yes, I absolutely think that the participation of manufacturers helps sales. My knife buying habit has increased dramatically since I got here. Many of my purchases have been due to some companys' interest in communication and sterling customer service responses. In my personal experience, Spyderco, Camillus, and Buck are exemplars of the company commitment to their customers that makes me feel good about doing business with them.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 1999
- Messages
- 3,319
Yep.
I agree, having a manufacturers site here helps them a good bit.
However, I think most are missing out on the opportunity they have here.
First of all I would have a big sign at the top which read;
"Please contact our waranty department with all warranty questions
This would hopefully take care of all those lame threads where someone complains about scratching their blade up in a garbage disposal and where can they send it for a replacement.
Secondly I would post press releases, pictures and group interactions regularly.
You have to feed the participants often to keep them coming back to the trough.
Answers to questions should be reasonably prompt, polite and informative, take every opportunity to inform the public at large, never assume you are answering only the poster in a thread.
Lastly there should be a personality dedicated to the net presence of the company. Someone who can commit to a high level of interaction on the forum and genuinely enjoys themselves here. Will Fennell and Ron Anderson (While he was at SOG) are perfect examples of the net presence a company should have here.
However, I think most are missing out on the opportunity they have here.
First of all I would have a big sign at the top which read;
"Please contact our waranty department with all warranty questions
This would hopefully take care of all those lame threads where someone complains about scratching their blade up in a garbage disposal and where can they send it for a replacement.
Secondly I would post press releases, pictures and group interactions regularly.
You have to feed the participants often to keep them coming back to the trough.
Answers to questions should be reasonably prompt, polite and informative, take every opportunity to inform the public at large, never assume you are answering only the poster in a thread.
Lastly there should be a personality dedicated to the net presence of the company. Someone who can commit to a high level of interaction on the forum and genuinely enjoys themselves here. Will Fennell and Ron Anderson (While he was at SOG) are perfect examples of the net presence a company should have here.
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2003
- Messages
- 1,690
Not a year has passed since i joined this forum and i've bought:
BM 770
BM 721
BM 556
Microtech Amphibian
Cold Steel LTC Kukri
and a Battle Rat and a Howling Rat on the way...
It's all because of you people!!!!
And i'm even thinking of getting a Sere 2K now...
I think the Swamp Rat forum is really informative and the info i got there really helped me choose their blades...
BM 770
BM 721
BM 556
Microtech Amphibian
Cold Steel LTC Kukri
and a Battle Rat and a Howling Rat on the way...
It's all because of you people!!!!
And i'm even thinking of getting a Sere 2K now...
I think the Swamp Rat forum is really informative and the info i got there really helped me choose their blades...
imho a good forum can very much help a company in selling knives, the spyderco forum is example A1, w/sal answering questions, ya dont very often have the boss answering q's, announcing new models, asking q's about what people want/etc.
on the other hand, a bad forum, where the reps dont appear for weeks/months, get testy when asked were they are, cop an attitude at the first sugggestion of problems, tell folks that have problems that they are abusing the product, and call people liars can really hurt a company, not to name names but the co. i am thinking of dont make knives anymore, it sure didnt help them.
just depends on the folks at the company, and what they wanna make of the forum. if ya dont have the time to get on line at least every saturday or so, i wouldnt suggest it, people think they are being ignored, or the comapny is going outta biz/having other problems.
greg
on the other hand, a bad forum, where the reps dont appear for weeks/months, get testy when asked were they are, cop an attitude at the first sugggestion of problems, tell folks that have problems that they are abusing the product, and call people liars can really hurt a company, not to name names but the co. i am thinking of dont make knives anymore, it sure didnt help them.
just depends on the folks at the company, and what they wanna make of the forum. if ya dont have the time to get on line at least every saturday or so, i wouldnt suggest it, people think they are being ignored, or the comapny is going outta biz/having other problems.
greg
- Joined
- Apr 19, 1999
- Messages
- 3,560
Maintaining an active forum presence is time consuming for most makers but it is a way to keep letting the public know you are still alive and kicking. It is difficult to find something to talk about when so many posts are basically a repeat of last week's or last month's topics.
Does an active presence "sell" knives, probably not but it does improve name recognition.
Does an active presence "sell" knives, probably not but it does improve name recognition.