How to deal with customers/buyers that don't respond

[Guest smartwebcontent]

Howdy guys & gals,



Welcome to my ‘Friday Sellers Guide’. Each and every Friday, I’ll share some tips and advice from my own personal experiences. Plus it’s the weekend and I am in a cheerful mood 🙂



So then, what happens when your customer/buyer doesn’t fully respond to the instructions they receive when placing an order with you? It does happen, so it’s best to be prepared for it.



With regards to my personal Fiverr business, it seems to happen quite regularly. I provide a press release writing service and many buyers aren’t fully aware of what a press release actually is. Therefore, to help them out, I provide four simple questions in the automated message that’s sent to them when they place an order.



On many occasions, my buyers will simply ignore the questions I have asked of them and will send me a link to their website. That simply won’t do for me. It might be okay for another type of gig, but when it comes to press releases, I need to be told what it is they want to announce. After all, I don’t know my buyer from Adam. I have no idea what it is they are announcing, whether it’s a product, service, new website, etc., I know nothing about them. Now, in my previous life as a press release executive where the firm in which I was employed charged its customers £150 - £200 for a 500 word press release, I may have turned a blind eye and spent an hour researching their product. But then again, I could easily pick up the phone or email them. When a customer has to pay through the nose for a product or service, you can normally grab their attention a lot easier. Unfortunately, I charge $5 for a 150 word release and $10 for a 300 word release, therefore I don’t have the means to spend hours trying to understand what the buyer wants me to write about.



Your case might be different. For instance, you might offer a proofreading service for an X amount of words, but the buyer sends you double the words yet pays for one gig. If this happens, be prompt and polite in your first message.



As I’ve mentioned in my other forum posts, always try to review any new orders as soon as they’ve been ordered. Fair enough, you may be asleep when a new order comes in, but I still recommend that you check your email as soon as you’ve woken up. If the order seems okay, simply reply to the buyer and thank them. If something seems off, let the buyer know immediately.



In a few cases, you’ll find that a buyer doesn’t respond. The big mistake many make is they wait until there’s one or two hours left on the countdown timer before they start to panic. I personally have a ‘12 Hour Rule’, which means I will send the first message (as soon as the order has come in or when I get to see it) and wait for a period of 12 hours. If the buyer hasn’t responded, I will then send the second message, hinting to the buyer than unless they can respond, I may have to cancel the order. If they haven’t contacted me a further 12 hours later, I send the following message:



Dear [buyer Name],



As you haven’t been able to get back to me with regards to the messages I’ve sent, I am going to have to cancel this order unfortunately as I can’t proceed and wouldn’t want to spend time working on a press release that doesn’t meet yours or my own satisfaction.



I really value your business and would like to work with you, therefore when you have the time to answer my questions, we can reconnect and I’ll ensure you’ll have a fantastic press release.



I hope to hear from you soon.



Warm regards,

Jaymes



I then wait for around 2-3 hours before cancelling the order. In the ‘mutual cancellation’ message, I basically rehash the above message, but never copy and paste the same one as that’s lazy.



Even when cancelling an order, always remember to be nice. It won’t cost you anything; I promise 🙂 . Plus it might leave a lasting impression on your buyer and they’ll come back. I have had to cancel three orders to date. Two of them have reconnected with me and all is well.



So you see, being prompt with your messages and polite can really help your business.



Hope this has helped.



Stay awesome!



Warm regards,

Jaymes