Should this be bothering me?

by andybeveridge

Posted: 14 years ago 15 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I think I am getting soft in my old age. I actually spent some time yesterday emailing a subscriber who had left the fold and left this comment.
Reason for leaving. He is just like all the rest after my $

This kind of comment never used to bother me, but for some reason this one did. I think it is because I have started to really put an effort in to supply extra value lately.
So I sent an email telling him I was sorry to lose him as a subscriber, and although I do market products from time to time, I also give out many free products and I am always there for my subscribers to ask question whenever they want. Also the few products that I do promote I totally believe in.

Did I just do that for myself or the subscriber?

#bothering

bretski 14 years ago

Whether you did it just for yourself or for the subscriber is a question that only you can answer. Did you write to him out of guilt or did you delve deeper to see what was going on with him?.. to see if he was frustrated or having some life issues or money troubles. Did you care about him as a human being or did his comment wound your ego and you just didn't want to be perceived as just being in it for the money.

...just my thoughts. No offense intended but maybe it brings up the question of whether we really do care about these folks and sincerely want to help or are they just a checked box or an unchecked box on our Aweber list.
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Alfred Shelver

14 years ago

I take this IM thing way to seriously I once had a completely unjustified $3 refund request and it nearly killed me. I believe if you are open and honest with yourself and can say "i would buy that product for $x" and not sell crap to your list; thats all I as a subscriber could ask.

Lists are often built using free give aways and that sometimes attracts a certain type of customer. Do your best for your customers and realize you can't please everyone.... especially in the IM niche where a huge amount of no work fortune seekers abound... because there is no magic button they will never be happy.

I for one think it is a good thing that you are bothered shows you are thinking about your subscribers ...If I received an email like that after I unsubscribed I would think twice about staying unsubscribed.

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espradley 14 years ago

I think you did it for the bigger picture. There are some bad IMers out there and some good ones.

The good one's will always feel the wrath of those bad one's who make this industry look bad....

At the end of the day, all you can do is the best you can to produce high quality products and offer good customer service..

If you do this day to day, you'll be an internet sensation.

You'll never make everyone happy though.
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mcmahanusa 14 years ago

I believe it says a lot for you that such an occurrence would disturb you. I think that, when you have reached that point where providing value and helping others is of paramount importance to you, it can be unsettling to find that someone else does not appreciate nor understand your efforts.

Bravo to you for attempting to set matters straight with your (ex) subscriber.
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Rob Howard

14 years ago

Yup, I agree Cathy.

And the easiest way to fix these problems is to outsource customer service and let THEM deal with the moaning and refunding. You never see it.

This does wonders on your psyche - believe me. You are free to focus on building a business and giving value.

Rob

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

I take this IM thing way to seriously I once had a completely unjustified $3 refund request and it nearly killed me. I believe if you are open and honest with yourself and can say "i would buy that product for " and not sell crap to your list thats all I, as a subscriber could ask.

Lists are often built using free give aways and that sometimes attracts a certain type of customer. Do your best for your customers and realize you can't please everyone.... especially in the IM niche where a huge amount of no work fortune seekers abound... because there is no magic button they will never be happy.

I for one think it is a good thing that you are bothered shows you are thinking about your subscribers ...If I received an email like that after I unsubscribed I would think twice about staying unsubscribed.

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IndigoJack

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

Do your best for your customers and realize you can't please everyone.... especially in the IM niche where a huge amount of no work fortune seekers abound... because there is no magic button they will never be happy.

This is the crux. You are trying to provide value, worth and are making a serious effort but the, "I want to get rich through online doing nothing techniques" crowd, are out in force.

It's only going to get worse before it gets better and that is because of the global financial meltdown that is continuing to rumble on.

There are numerous new entries to the IM equation each day as a direct result of job loss/redundancy/whatever and they assume that other people are making a living or fortune online so why can't I?

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Matt Bard 14 years ago

[DELETED]

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- Etak 14 years ago
  
  There are people who you will never be able to please no matter what you do.
  
  With that being said, when something like this happens, you should ask the person for feedback. Ask them what they would have like you to do differently. This can be very eye opening and provide invaluable insight into how your subscribers perceive you.
  
  I'm sure you don't realize this, but your reply to the subscriber was not about him or her at all. It was very one sided..."I do this..." "I do that". Not once did you ask about the subscriber or let him or her tell you exactly why they feel the way they do.
  
  ~Emma
  
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andybeveridge 14 years ago

Actually Emma, that was only part of the email that I sent. I did ask for feedback, although of course that was what he had already given. I also asked if he had some bad experiences before.
I can of course see your point with the information that you were given.

Thanks everyone for your replies.
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Jacqueline Smith 14 years ago

You were bothered by this because you care about your products and your customers. You are not going "soft". You should be proud of yourself for caring. The fact that you responded to the customer speaks volumes about you.

Did he email you back?
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Zeus66 14 years ago

^ What Jacqueline wrote. The day I stop caring about this stuff, Andy, is the day I should hang up my keyboard and go fishing or something. Permanently. Learning why people unsubscribe is vital. Yes, you'll get some folks who expect everything to be free and done for their benefit, but they're few and far between. If you get the vibe that this guy is one of them, move on and don't let it bother you at all. If he has legitimate concerns, consider making some changes that may well help you out 10-fold in terms of developing more trust (and more sales) with your other list members.

John
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- Greg guitar 14 years ago
  
  I agree that it shows your caring nature and that is good. On the other hand, it's always wise to remind yourself that what others think of you is useful only as feedback-when it is not accurate, caring for yourself requires that you don't take it personally.
  
  In fact, the wisest attitude imo is to never take anything other people say personally (harder to do than say, obviously). The fact is people say things for their own reasons and more often than not, those have little or nothing to do with you-maybe you just reminded them of something they are distressed about, perhaps unconsciously.
  
  I once took an anger workshop which was quite good, and the leader said that 99% of anger has nothing to do with the person it's directed at-it is a replay of a distress pattern in the angry person's mind. Whether you agree or not, it can certainly make your mind much happier to not take it personally. And your response is likely to be of a much higher quality, rather than simply reactive, like most of us most of the time. I try to remember this insight with varied success.
  
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  Kay King 14 years ago
  
  There are many people new online who think the information online falls from the sky and should always be free.
  
  They don't realize there are real people working to provide the info and to give them that information as well as sell them some products.
  
  I've talked to people like that and it's unbelievable to US as marketers - but they truly believe there are people who spend all their time giving away products and information. They not only don't get the big picture - they are pixel challenged.
  
  You can't convince them but you can put content on your site that explains how the big picture works and maybe lead of few of those folks into reality. That one customer could lead to a great blog post!
  
  kay
  
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Rod Cortez 14 years ago

Originally Posted by andybeveridge

............Did I just do that for myself or the subscriber?

Andy,

I think that's something only you can answer. Clearly, you care about your subscribers and what they think and it's great that you're able to do something like that. I'm willing to bet my left eyelash that the subscriber was surprised at your e-mail. I've unsubscribed from dozens of lists over the years and can't recall anyone ever sending me an e-mail like that.

One thing I notice about people who really care about their business, their prospects, and their customers, they believe they really do offer value and it's difficult not to take certain things personally. Some people just view it as "bah, I lost one subscriber but I gained ten more today so who cares?".

I would venture to guess you did it for both you and the subscriber.

RoD
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KBRMS 14 years ago

Andybeveridge,

I am impressed that you took the time to send a message. You should always try to follow up with a customer if they leave. It is good for your business if they tell you why and it should give your customer a sense of caring by you. So I think you could say you did it for both of you.

Rick
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- Chris W. Sutton 14 years ago
  
  There are certain things you can control, i.e. the quality of your product, your customer service, etc. One thing you can control is other people's opinions. As long as you take care of YOUR part of it, you don't need to worry about the rest!
  
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Should this be bothering me?

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