Hi First name / friend The restaurant episode blew my mind; the attention-to-detail is staggering and inspiring. The graceful waiters wear bespoke uniforms and set the table as if each diner was having their last meal. They care about human connections and making memories. At Chanel, the stars are the extraordinary calm seamstresses in the atelier. They sew every bead, feather, and sequin with the precision of a surgeon. Will anyone notice that the ostrich feathers are a few millimeters long? When a boisterous model hoiks up her skirt, a Premiere bolts over to smooth down the fibres in seemingly lifesaving work. It's art, it's moment-making, it brings joy to so many. Caring is cool to these people. Yes, these worlds are oozing with are privilege. But the sheer effort, sense of service, and accomplishment that underpins the work are impressive. There are no shrugged shoulders or eye rolls of indifference. Of course, there is a point where it's not at all healthy to sweat the small stuff, but let's strive for balance. It got me thinking of all the details that many small businesses address so brilliantly. If you have the capacity, write a list of all the teeny tiny intentional decisions you make in your creative business each day. Do you spend hours searching for perfect packing tape because you care about recycling? Rearrange your home to take time-consuming product shots? Maybe you cut ribbons to just the right length before sending something to a customer. It's these mini-moments that add your thumbprint to your creative business. The next few weeks might feel overwhelming for some of you, but we see your passion, intention, and thoughtfulness. You're cool to care. |
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Thanks to the 16 creatives who came to the ‘Click with your Customers’ workshop last Tuesday. Kim at Bujo Planner had this to say afterward: “I love that we were encouraged to consider all the material through the lens of our own business. It has got me to step back and look at what I want to do moving forward with my business.” I'll run the workshop again on January 25, so I'll let you know when tickets are available. |
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It's a privilege to work with creatives, especially those who want to carve their own path. Although I rarely share the ins-and-outs of our calls together, I do like to shout about the people I support. |
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In this section, I share helpful, practical ideas and tools to use in our small, creative businesses - and I share them in a jargon-free way. Hoorah! Please think of this as a communal shed on an allotment where we skillshare and swap best practices for online shopkeepers. I conducted a poll on Instagram, and it seems many of you want to know more about customers. So, October is Click with Your Customers month at Firain. This is the plan: Look out for week 4: How can you turn your customers into raving fans? Part of creating a ‘click’ with our customers is asking them questions that show you care about their opinions. Then, when they share their views, do something impactful with that information! I met with Katie at Product Jungle on Instagram last week. Katie works with businesses to craft questions that get answers. Watch the video if you can, and look out for these tips: 1) Talk to customers, human to human. This might be via Zoom, over the phone, or during a formal VIP shopping event that you arrange. Pay attention to your engaged customer's opinions. Top tip: make a list of your most loyal customers, and arrange to talk to them this week! You will not appeal to everyone. Aim for the minimum viable audience.
2) Encourage customers to share their daily stories. These reveal what is going on in their lives and how your product might be able to help. Top tip: use their expressions and comments to flavour your product descriptions.
3) Avoid bias in your questions (“ugh isn’t it boring to queue at the post office?” Maybe to that person it's the most peaceful time they have all day!) Don't do your customer's thinking for them. Top tip: pay attention to this when talking about price. What is good value to you is different to someone else.
4) Hypothetical questions lead to hypothetical answers (this is mine and Katie’s fave) We chat about this around minute 12… if you watch nothing else, watch this! This is so important, because we might ask our Instagram community “If I order this colour, is anyone interested?” and the millions of people who click “yes” soon disappear when you've stocked the stuff.
5) Explore your customer’s habits and behaviours towards your shop. Why aren’t they buying from you? Where are the friction areas? Top tip: use tools like Hotjar to track behaviour on your website. Try to take your emotions out of the issue for a while and get into the data. 6) Ask ‘why’ five times ~ @productjungle shares a fantastic example of this in the video! Until the end of the month, I'll share more content on Instagram about clicking with your customers, so follow me there if you can. Also, if this discussion prompts questions in your mind, please do contact me, and let's start a conversation about how we can find your customers. |
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Welcome to this week's new subscribers - a big hearty, huggy hello to Mary, Ruth, Steph, Loren, Kristin, Sam, Daisy, Lisa, Ingrid, Jay, Julie, Julia, Sian, Sofia, Kati, Kate… and many more after my conversation with Alice Sheridan on the Art Juice podcast and my chat with Helen Perry ;-) I'm so glad you're here! Why not forward this email to a friend (and if a lovely person sent you this email, join the list here!) I'd love to know your thoughts, comments, feedback, and suggestions as I develop Firain. Get in touch if you fancy a natter. Thank you for your continued support and for allowing me to greet you in your inbox. |
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I designed this email in Flodesk , which I find much easier to customise than other email providers. Click here for my discount code if you'd like to try it out. Firain photos by Tom Wright Firain branding by Somewhere Off Grid |
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