How do companies get your business?

[Greenberg Woods]

Hey Guys, I did one of these a year or so ago and it was very helpful, and i used the advise on my site to improve my pricing, my photographs and my organization.

The basic question is, What determines who you buy from? For the vast majority of you, knife making is a hobby or at most a side business and as thus you have only so much to spend on knife making supplies. What factors determines who you end up buying from? Do you like to buy all your stock in one place? Do you spread out and look for the best deal? Are you after single nice blocks of wood?

I'm also generally open to any advise about my site or my business in general. Its been growing well, but i am always looking to improve and would love to hear your feed back.

Thanks for your time,

Ben Greenberg
Greenberg Woods

 

[Minnesota Man]

May I politely ask for a link to your site?
As a general rule for dealing with any company. If I have a problem with anything I buy from them and they take care of it to my satisfaction. I almost always buy from them in the future. I am a pretty hard guy to get mad and I understand s#!t happens. Especially if it's a factory produced item.
Some examples are I bought a CRKT Folts minimalist bowie and one of the scales broke in half after 4 hours of wearing it around my neck. I emailed with no response. I left a comment on their YouTube page. Immediately got a response and an email directly to Karen (i believe that was her name). She gave me a sincere apology and offered to send me a new knife 100% free of charge. I requested the drop point version instead. Bam! Two days later I got my new knife!
Another example.... I bought a blade grinder attachment for my Ken Onion work sharp and initially didn't like it. I thought it was for a different application for what I needed. Brian Curran emailed me right back and suggested that I return it and gave me advice as to why it's not for me. It has its place but not for my needs. Also he gave me advice on how to use the KO WorkSharp as is. The fact that he was 110% honest made me keep it for further use. Yea I'm not skilled enough to use it yet. But that was worth the 80$ to me.
In the end if I buy a poorly made product or it looks great online and I have buyers regret and the company settles it. I will give them a few more chances.

 

[Jrmysell]

Depending on the type of wood, I'll either do individual pieces or larger bulk pieces for a discount. The rarer woods, I want a good looking piece if I'm spending that much money on it so I want individual pieces. A cheaper wood I'll just buy larger turning stock and have K&G stabilize if needed and cut myself to what I need.
In general for businesses I'll look at price+shipping first. If place A has something for $20, place B has it for $40, I'll go with A unless I need something B has that A doesn't and I can save on shipping by buying both at the same place. But I'll pay more if the less expensive place has poor service/messes something up and doesn't seem to care/won't fix it. Once a place does that, I most likely won't buy from them again even if they are cheaper.

 

[12345678910]

material quality
photos
blocks - at least the quoted size - cut straight
pro stabilizing, not some half assed home done cactus juice

 

[Geoff Flato]

I generally go with whoever has demonstrated they care about keeping customers happy. Calling to check I intended to order what I did when one item seems really out of place, calling me if something will be backordered vs not saying anything, supplying spec sheets or any info I request without any screwing around, not hosing people on shipping, ect

I'd buy from someone with amazing service and OK prices before going with amazing prices and crap service.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

May I politely ask for a link to your site?
As a general rule for dealing with any company. If I have a problem with anything I buy from them and they take care of it to my satisfaction. I almost always buy from them in the future. I am a pretty hard guy to get mad and I understand s#!t happens. Especially if it's a factory produced item.
Some examples are I bought a CRKT Folts minimalist bowie and one of the scales broke in half after 4 hours of wearing it around my neck. I emailed with no response. I left a comment on their YouTube page. Immediately got a response and an email directly to Karen (i believe that was her name). She gave me a sincere apology and offered to send me a new knife 100% free of charge. I requested the drop point version instead. Bam! Two days later I got my new knife!
Another example.... I bought a blade grinder attachment for my Ken Onion work sharp and initially didn't like it. I thought it was for a different application for what I needed. Brian Curran emailed me right back and suggested that I return it and gave me advice as to why it's not for me. It has its place but not for my needs. Also he gave me advice on how to use the KO WorkSharp as is. The fact that he was 110% honest made me keep it for further use. Yea I'm not skilled enough to use it yet. But that was worth the 80$ to me.
In the end if I buy a poorly made product or it looks great online and I have buyers regret and the company settles it. I will give them a few more chances.

A link to my site is in my signature line

 

[Greenberg Woods]

Depending on the type of wood, I'll either do individual pieces or larger bulk pieces for a discount. The rarer woods, I want a good looking piece if I'm spending that much money on it so I want individual pieces. A cheaper wood I'll just buy larger turning stock and have K&G stabilize if needed and cut myself to what I need.
In general for businesses I'll look at price+shipping first. If place A has something for $20, place B has it for $40, I'll go with A unless I need something B has that A doesn't and I can save on shipping by buying both at the same place. But I'll pay more if the less expensive place has poor service/messes something up and doesn't seem to care/won't fix it. Once a place does that, I most likely won't buy from them again even if they are cheaper.

I have noticed many makers look for bulk discounts. I often fulfill these after being emailed. Do you think i should put up exact instructions on my site about how to get a bulk order discount?

 

[Greenberg Woods]

material quality
photos
blocks - at least the quoted size - cut straight
pro stabilizing, not some half assed home done cactus juice

All of my stabilizing is done by K&G. Though ive been hearing some whispers of ebay sellers claiming their wood is "WSSI/ K&G stabilized" when its clearly cactus juice stuff. Hopefully i have enough of a reputation for quality, but at some point i might need to start showing proof of my invoices from K&G...

 

[Greenberg Woods]

I generally go with whoever has demonstrated they care about keeping customers happy. Calling to check I intended to order what I did when one item seems really out of place, calling me if something will be backordered vs not saying anything, supplying spec sheets or any info I request without any screwing around, not hosing people on shipping, ect

I'd buy from someone with amazing service and OK prices before going with amazing prices and crap service.

Send me a PM Geoff. I like your style and i like guys who spend to much time and effort collecting wood. We are kindred spirits.

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

I'm lazy and a cheapskate. I want a product cheaper than an easy search can find it elsewhere, with the least work in the ordering process. When I get the product, I want as little effort in assembling as reasonable. Taking care of customers is usually much quicker and easier than arquing with them, when it's usually not their fault anyway. This is how I shop and how I run my business. It's done me well so far. You site is very simple and straightforward, I like that. I can't comment on the prices because I already enough wood to last several years.

 

[jdm61]

The last time that you asked did I mention "no sap wood?"

 

[lanternnate]

For ordering knife stuff online I'll often order from somewhere that has multiple different things I want/need. It's just less hassle that way, can save on shipping, and gives that great Christmas morning effect when the box arrives I'm not a person who can hunt around getting a little thing from here and another from there to squeak out the absolute best deals. I'm too lazy for that. For something like wood, it is nice to be able to see the actual piece being bought. This really doesn't matter as much for other materials, but wood tends to vary a lot piece to piece.

I'm just a hobbyist so I might order a piece of material to do one knife because I want it for some specific idea or reason and may never use that material again. Because of that I don't care much about bulk deals. The only "bulk" thing I personally might consider would be some kind of random assortment because I like just trying different things and sometimes using them as inspiration. Right now I go to a local place that does speciality wood for woodworkers, cabinet makers and carpenters and rummage through their shorts/cut offs/blemishes pile for things that look interesting. Usually I have no idea what it is I'm buying and have to ask a woodworker friend after what I actually have. Sometimes these pieces work for handles sometimes they don't, but it's not that big a deal to buy a dud when buying out of the cheap castoff pile.

 

[FunkCoaster]

I'm a hobbyist. My day job involves creating websites. My feedback is directed towards the website. My opinions are my own. If I come across as critical, it's only because it was solicited.

You have reached out many times on this forum in the past to see what the customers want. To me that's valuable, and I count that strongly in your favor.

Consider your target audience. You stated that it's mainly hobbyists who don't want to spend too much. That should guide your decisions. Therefore, you may not be able to offer the highest quality premium products, as they would miss your target (being necessarily expensive). But the inclusion of educational material, tutorials, examples of finished products, and "can you help" email links might be better at connecting with your target audience. As an example, I spend a fair amount of time searching for help on how to fix voids, how to finish out a particular wood, and what problems to expect down the road (ie checking, drying out). If you are a trusted resource for those answers, I am more likely to trust you in selecting wood.
As an alternative, consider other target audiences (bulk buyers, specialist experts, etc) and see if you should structure your page towards them.

The Internet has little patience. This is a challenge. As an example: at the time of writing I clicked on "Stabilized Hawaiian Koa", and got a page with no results. It is not reasonable to expect a customer to keep searching to find something that they may want. They will abandon the page.
The "Shop All" is a much better feature, especially given that your current inventory is approachable.

The biggest section of your site should be the "call to action". The thing you want them to do to engage them, make them buy, educate them, or whatever your goal is. The biggest section is dedicated to a carousel. (I hate carousels http://shouldiuseacarousel.com/ ). Not only that, but clicking the link in the carousel takes me to... nowhere. Back to the main site. That has no value.

On a related note, there are 23 links at the center of attention on the main page above the fold. I don't want to read links. I want to see pretty pictures of wood I want to buy.
I have to scroll down two pages to find one item I can purchase. Make it easier for me to fall in love with some wood.
(for more nerdy reading: https://conversionxl.com/first-impressions-matter-the-importance-of-great-visual-design/ )

There is an option to sign up for a newsletter, but no incentive/reason for me to.

(Only because I am a nerd) The site is served over http, not https. What this means is that it is not fully secure. I will not submit information to anyone over http. For more info (admittedly a biased site) https://www.digicert.com/blog/buy-site-know-website-secure/

I wanted to purchase from you in the past. My only reason I have not is because I was shopping for scales, which you declared that you don't provide. This honesty counts in your favor, but it's not what I sought out on those occasions.

You will succeed. I do hope that my feedback is taken as intended; I only took the time to write this because I feel it is a worthwhile investment because you benefit the community now and in the future.

 

[Tyshoots]

Bulk discounts on orders help when I'm buying material. Like some of the others have stated customer service is key. I buy most of my wood from John Doyle. He sends me pictures of the material. He tells me the price per piece and how many I will have to purchase for a discount. If it's something I am not interested in he is polite and still keeps me in mind for future purchases. My customers are willing to pay for what handle material they want. There are no miss leading prices on my end. If they want a $70 block of Koa they pay $30 more than the block of burl that cost $40.

I like the wood you have on your site. You have loads of high-end Burl's. Maybe try to mix in some $30 to $40 items. That seems to be the price point most makers are willing to pay.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

I have been doing my own stabilizing, mostly due to having some wood that has sentimental value and wanting to use it for myself. It's difficult to justify paying top dollar for a block "stabilized by K&G". I understand that the stabilizing is generally accepted as being top notch, but never having had the opportunity to see this first hand, I have not taken the leap. I may order some from you in the future, I would just have to look at it as an R&D investment the first time. If I was as impressed as others have said, I would most likely become a pretty regular customer. Although I consider myself a hobbiest, I'm at the point where my hobby easily pays for itself, and I'm not (thankfully) desperate for work. I'm pretty loyal to a seller who is honest, and takes care of any issues, and from what I have seen you doing, you seem to be that sort.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

I'm a hobbyist. My day job involves creating websites. My feedback is directed towards the website. My opinions are my own. If I come across as critical, it's only because it was solicited.

You have reached out many times on this forum in the past to see what the customers want. To me that's valuable, and I count that strongly in your favor.

Consider your target audience. You stated that it's mainly hobbyists who don't want to spend too much. That should guide your decisions. Therefore, you may not be able to offer the highest quality premium products, as they would miss your target (being necessarily expensive). But the inclusion of educational material, tutorials, examples of finished products, and "can you help" email links might be better at connecting with your target audience. As an example, I spend a fair amount of time searching for help on how to fix voids, how to finish out a particular wood, and what problems to expect down the road (ie checking, drying out). If you are a trusted resource for those answers, I am more likely to trust you in selecting wood.
As an alternative, consider other target audiences (bulk buyers, specialist experts, etc) and see if you should structure your page towards them.

The Internet has little patience. This is a challenge. As an example: at the time of writing I clicked on "Stabilized Hawaiian Koa", and got a page with no results. It is not reasonable to expect a customer to keep searching to find something that they may want. They will abandon the page.
The "Shop All" is a much better feature, especially given that your current inventory is approachable.

The biggest section of your site should be the "call to action". The thing you want them to do to engage them, make them buy, educate them, or whatever your goal is. The biggest section is dedicated to a carousel. (I hate carousels http://shouldiuseacarousel.com/ ). Not only that, but clicking the link in the carousel takes me to... nowhere. Back to the main site. That has no value.

On a related note, there are 23 links at the center of attention on the main page above the fold. I don't want to read links. I want to see pretty pictures of wood I want to buy.
I have to scroll down two pages to find one item I can purchase. Make it easier for me to fall in love with some wood.
(for more nerdy reading: https://conversionxl.com/first-impressions-matter-the-importance-of-great-visual-design/ )

There is an option to sign up for a newsletter, but no incentive/reason for me to.

(Only because I am a nerd) The site is served over http, not https. What this means is that it is not fully secure. I will not submit information to anyone over http. For more info (admittedly a biased site) https://www.digicert.com/blog/buy-site-know-website-secure/

I wanted to purchase from you in the past. My only reason I have not is because I was shopping for scales, which you declared that you don't provide. This honesty counts in your favor, but it's not what I sought out on those occasions.

You will succeed. I do hope that my feedback is taken as intended; I only took the time to write this because I feel it is a worthwhile investment because you benefit the community now and in the future.

Thank you for that! Ill see what i can do about the design.

If you want to send me a PM, i am home for the summer and can cut you some scales.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

Bulk discounts on orders help when I'm buying material. Like some of the others have stated customer service is key. I buy most of my wood from John Doyle. He sends me pictures of the material. He tells me the price per piece and how many I will have to purchase for a discount. If it's something I am not interested in he is polite and still keeps me in mind for future purchases. My customers are willing to pay for what handle material they want. There are no miss leading prices on my end. If they want a $70 block of Koa they pay $30 more than the block of burl that cost $40.

I like the wood you have on your site. You have loads of high-end Burl's. Maybe try to mix in some $30 to $40 items. That seems to be the price point most makers are willing to pay.

I have a lot of the 30-40 in the red morrel, york gum, maple burl and the walnut which sold out.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

I

The biggest section of your site should be the "call to action". The thing you want them to do to engage them, make them buy, educate them, or whatever your goal is. The biggest section is dedicated to a carousel. (I hate carousels http://shouldiuseacarousel.com/ ). Not only that, but clicking the link in the carousel takes me to... nowhere. Back to the main site. That has no value.

No more Carousel! The other changes will take a little more time but trust me, i will get on it!

 

[Britt_Askew]

It's difficult to justify paying top dollar for a block "stabilized by K&G". I understand that the stabilizing is generally accepted as being top notch, but never having had the opportunity to see this first hand, I have not taken the leap. If I was as impressed as others have said, I would most likely become a pretty regular customer.

Kevin I have a set of spalted maple scales that were stabilized by K&G that I can send you. After cleaning them up I didnt like the way they looked so I tossed them aside. Not the best looking set but it will let you see firsthand, then you could help pay for Bens college
If you want them send me your address

 

[12345678910]

There is an option to sign up for a newsletter, but no incentive/reason for me to.

Yep

Do a giveaway, people love free stuff-maybe 2 or 4 times per year

giveaway a block, something you are trying to attract attention to


Don't newsletter me too often.
Once a month is good.

I've unsubscribed to things that mailed too often.
Stuff I liked but that sent out weekly, daily , twice daily - I just dumped it because it was too much.

If you find the newsletter generates too much sales and you can't handle it all at once, try staggering out different people.

3,000 on the list ? Just do your list 100 per day over the month - more even cash flow and workload for you.