My favorite thing about the handmade movement is how creative entrepreneurs can be so personal in what we make. Custom orders are usually a welcome request for any handmade business person, because they indicate that the customer trusts our talent and judgment to craft something unique.
But fulfilling those unique requests on a regular basis requires a system for managing custom orders and making sure your customer's expectations are fulfilled. I asked three creative business people for insight into handling and managing custom orders.
Does the Customer's Style Jibe With Your Own?
Having placed a custom order with Christina Moreno, who owns floral design studio Flores Del Sol, I know that she goes above and beyond, handling everything in a friendly and professional manner. Christina has been in the industry for eight years and studied horticulture in college (check out one of her arrangements below). About 10% to 15% of her sales are custom orders, and that number is rapidly growing.
Christina’s custom order process includes an initial conversation with the customer about color preferences and style. She encourages them to browse images of her previous work to see if they find something similar to what they have in mind. Because she deals with flower arrangements, one of her key questions is where the final product will be placed. Often, the setting inspires some aspect of her design. (And of course, her favorite thing to hear is “I trust you, create something wonderful!”)
A great tip from Christina: "Stay true to your design style and don’t be afraid to say 'no'. (Jackson) Pollock would never attempt to sell a Monet to make a few extra dollars." While custom orders can be exciting, only accept orders that will work with your style – it’s meant to be an enjoyable process for you too!
Keep Customers in the Creative Loop
More than 20% of the jewelry Niki makes for her Atlanta-based Stella And Lux (see below) is to fulfill custom orders. She advises for any seller that welcomes custom orders to hang a prominent sign on their website, mentioning communication protocols and contact information. Niki and Christina both stressed the importance of keeping the customer informed. Since the customer is placing a lot of trust in your hands, they are usually excited and anxious about how the project is moving along. Niki likes to send email updates to her clients, and work-in-progress photos are another great way to include them in the process. Communication is key in any business transaction, but it is of paramount importance when it comes to custom orders, because the customer has not seen the final product before purchasing. Including them along the way will not only satisfy their curiosity, but also help confirm that you’re on the right track.
How Much Will it Cost?
Bobbie Bonner, the talent behind Inspired By Marie, knows a lot about custom orders, because they comprise 80% of her sales. Bobbie creates lovely wooden art (see below) including wedding plaques, bookmarks, trinket boxes, and even family trees. She definitely has a system for managing custom orders, which starts by figuring out what, exactly, the customer has in mind. From there, Bobbie says, vendors should determine whether the custom-made item will require more time than usual and, therefore, a higher price tag. The final cost is something that should always be explained and understood up front.
6 Tips from the Pros
Thanks to some great advice from these vendors, we now know more about handling custom orders. Here are their six key suggestions:
1. Advertise on your site that you welcome custom requests.
2. Ask your customer many questions to understand what they want in the final product.
3. Let your customer see images of your previous work.
4. Only choose work that fits your style.
5. Determine how long you want to spend creating before you have to charge extra, and communicate this to your customer.
6. Keep the customer in the loop through communication notes or photos.
Do you have any custom order success stories (or screw-ups) to share? How do you handle custom orders?
Dionne Christiansen is a graphic designer based in Houston, TX. She is the face behind the Etsy store City of Dionne and writes at her blog Notes From Dionne.
Main photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
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6 Comments
I have done many custom orders including 3 dog sweaters for a puppy in Germany this week. I have done everything you’ve mentioned and have not had any difficulties. What I struggle with is that some suggest to get 50% of the money upfront. If it’s an item I feel I can sell if not bought from the original buyer, do you think it’s necessary? If it was really an oddball request, maybe I’d ask for upfront deposit. What do you think?
You bring up a great point, Barbara. I think that requiring a deposit is completely up to you – if you are comfortable with making an item without a deposit because you think you can sell the item even if the order falls through – good for you! The reason why a lot of people do require that deposit is as a safeguard to make sure that the purchase will still be made once the item is complete. That’s the beauty of the Custom Order process – you make your own rules – and as long as you communicate them to the potential buyer, you’re on the right track! Congrats on your 3 dog sweater orders, I am sure they are fabulous! Do you have a link of the photos that you’d like to share with us?
I also started an thread over at Etsy for people to share and discuss their ideas and methods of handling Custom Orders. If you want to check them out – here’s the link:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6448279&page=1
Thanks for sharing the great advice!
I’ve done a lot of custom wedding jewelry over the years. One thing I failed to do in the past was to get pictures of the bride, bridesmaids or flower girls wearing their jewelry. I’m currently working on getting my custom work up my site.
For custom design appointments, I take a portolio of past designs (the ones I did get phots of!) and my custom design sketchbook for working out the details and price.
I think tip #7 would be “Ask your customer’s budget” because that will quickly determine if what they want (tip #2) is what they can get for what they can afford.
I require a non-refundable 50% down at the time of order – many times people will just pay in full. That covers the cost/time of ordering special materials, designing, starting the work in case the customer backs out – which has never happened, I’m happy to say!
I want to see your dog sweaters, too, Barbara!
I order things custom-made online a lot and have had both good and bad experiences. It would have been handy to have shown your tips to the places who gave me the bad experiences, before I had made my orders, haha. You live and learn though! ;)
But number 6 I definitely feel is crucial – keeping customers in the loop. Communication is vital and I need to know that I’m understood and will be taken care of. Thank you for getting the word out there!!!
I’m with Barbra, unless it’s customized in a personalized way, you can probably sell the item even if it falls through with the original buyer. Then again, I design small crochet things, so even if it falls through, I’m not out that much money/time. I imagine this would be a lot different if you were, say, a fashion designer! I know my sister, who IS a fashion designer does the 50% up front, b/c that’s usually material cost that she doesn’t have to spend before completing the transaction.