Lately you’ve seen lots of fun Snoloha photos, contests, promos, feedback, etc. Well, I thought I’d share an inside look at some of the more unpleasant aspects of running a small business. A classic case of ‘backfire’.
Way back in September I came across a very cool long sleeve t-shirt hoodie (color – dark heather). So I ordered samples and had the Palm Tree Chair Lift design printed on it.
My idea was simple — Offer this piece as a limited edition, online only item.
First I would offer it up as a pre-sale for $25.00 (normal price would be $35.00 once in stock), to which I had a nice response from folks who did in fact pre-order.
I also thought I’d highlight this particular item in Eastern Surf Magazine’s Holiday Buyers Guide, which is distributed to 350/360 Surf Shops on the East Coast, Gulf Coast, PR, Texas and Great Lakes areas.
I would then run a promotion campaign around it. And it would all be happening leading up to and during the holiday shopping season.
“I am a genius. What a PERFECT plan!”, I thought.
Then, things began to unravel.
The arrival dates on the dark heather started to shift. First I was told sometime in October. “No big deal”, I thought.
Then, I was told sometime in November. “This could be a big deal”, I thought. I contacted my pre-order customers to keep them updated. Of course they were all very cool about the whole thing.
But then I was told December 15th. I again emailed my customers offering to switch to black, or wait for the dark heather. Again, everyone was very understanding. We waited.
Yesterday I get off the phone with my distributor…after learning I can’t get the dark heather until MID-MARCH!
What do I do? I email, again, my patient customers. I look like an idiot. I’m now forced to switch to black. But I’m also offering a little something extra for them (if you are a pre-orderer and have not yet checked your email…check your email).
Oh, and on news stand now, Eastern Surf Magazine has a great looking dark heather long sleeve hoodie from Snoloha available for $35.00 online at www.snoloha.com…NOT.
There you have it, a classic ‘Backfire’. What seemed to be a simple plan has turned into a giant fiasco.
Genius? I look and feel like an idiot.
This will be the piece (it is still sweet, just not what was originally promised) and I will have a limited amount on the website real soon.
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