Jiaxin Entry #20
We have been focusing on marketing through online channels as there may be a huge potential market for our terrariums. We have avoided online sales for a period since our terrariums are fragile and could not be delivered through the easiest route – mailing.
Shun Kai started off by listing our figurines on Carousell since it only requires some bubble wrap to protect it when mailed. We managed to get our first Carousell sale in less than 2 weeks from our launch.
Subsequently, I took charge of the Carousell account and have been uploading new listings and replying to chats.
As mentioned in my earlier post, we have decided to leverage on the huge audience on online platforms by extending our Carousell into providing Mini DIY terrarium Kits. In addition to that, we also posted the left-over terrariums from our SOTA event as the online audience might like them too, since everyone have a different taste in design.
DIY Mini Terrarium Kit
A 3 simple step process for our DIY Kit was:
- Choose their plant
- Choose 3 colored sand/stones
- Choose 1 big / 2 small figurines
And they are done!
Cleo created an online form for customers to place their order in a systematic process:
We also uploaded a listing on Carousell to promote the DIY kit together with the order form link.
Our first customer ordered 3 terrarium kit within less than a week of listing out! He filled 3 order form for his orders and communicated with us through Carousell.
Following his order, I e-mailed him an order confirmation to consolidate all his order, requested for a $10 deposit and also attached the image of the plants in it.
Issues Faced:
To be honest, we did not expect the sales of our DIY kit to take flight so quickly. Hence, we were not sufficiently prepared for the first order and faced some challenges.
Firstly, the succulents that we had were mostly echeverias but of different breeds. Hence, the form consists of the plants that we have, with 1 quantity each. However, the customer had chosen 3 of the same plant listed for each of his order which we only had 1.
Since it was just a form and not a selling platform, there is no indication on the qty available. Fortunately, we had new unpotted succulents which looks slightly similar to the echeveria that the customer has chosen. Thus, I communicated the issue to the customer by sending him pictures and thankfully, he was able to accept the 2 plants.
Through this order, we have identified some loopholes in our order form and have improved it. We will also be updating the form continuously to ensure all figurines listed are available.
Ready-Made Terrariums
Despite the terrariums being left-overs from our SOTA events, we felt that it might still be able to sell on online platforms as it will reach out to a wider group of audience than our physical booth sale.
And indeed, it was! These are some of the designs that we managed to sell within the past few days:
Delivery
For online sales, we had to deliver the terrariums physically to our customers. Since the guys were not staying in hall thus, they will be doing the delivery. Meetup location were held at MRTs nearest to their home to prevent any unnecessary travelling that incur both time and cost. Thus far, Ram and Shiju have been doing the meetup and I am really thankful for their efforts.
Enquiry
Just last week, I also received an enquiry on pricing for mass orders. I asked for the quantity before quoting a price for them. Shockingly, he replied 100. We then quoted him a price, and also told him that our plants are non-standardized and will not be able to assure him identical pieces.
Having worked at a corporate gift company, such enquiries were usually for events. The purchasing staff will normally seek out prices from several vendors before deciding on one. Hence, we can only hope that they will get back to us in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed.
This weekend we will be participating at SOTA again. Hopefully the sales will exceed our sales from the previous SOTA booth.
Till the next post!
Jia Xin