When I started to make websites I welcomed every customer I could get. These were desperate times and any person spending money on the stuff I was pushing was a good thing.
Then I made a website were I my product was under $10. I had so much customer service questions it took up most of my day. Besides the fact that I hated doing all these emails, there was no room for me to come up with new ideas.
I was buried with people asking about the product and not really buying it. That made it even worse. I was selling quite a few things but most of the emails were from potential customers. Knowing what I know now I would of made a FAQ page with answers to the most popular questions.
Years later when we were managing affiliate programs we kind of came across the same thing. We would take on almost any client on as they were needed to pay the monthly bills. The Snookies cookies of the world seemed to be attracted to us. Why is that? We had a lower monthly fee than most of the other guys.
We ended up buried in questions from affiliate marketers. While building trust between emails with potential affiliate partners is a good thing the level of affiliate marketers we were getting were bottom feeders. People that were just starting out and not really serious about making money with affiliate marketing.
A few years later when I was making my Cadillac enthusiast site I got contacted by Cadillac asking if it was ok if they could add a link to my website. They were building an enthusiast section that was featuring Cadillac websites. Of course I jumped at the chance.
In the emails with them I asked why they were doing this. They basically told me that they wanted to sell new Escalades and not deal with questions on where people can find an alternator for a 1959 Cadillac. There is no money in it for them selling 50 year old parts.
This was not their customer. They wanted customers to come buy a new Escalade that was 60K. They were making their old customers happy by directing them to my site where I had affiliate links to every Cadillac part imaginable.
Sometimes you need to be Tiffany’s
In my town is a boat dealer that makes his money selling new boats and motors. Of course he has a service department that fixes boat motors. He sells so many new boats that he is one of the largest dealers on the East Coast.
When I was growing up I always had a boat. None of these were new of course. When my motor broke down I took it to him. Every time I went it was $500 at the least.
For me and most of my friends this might as well been a million dollars. I am sure we were his pain in the ass customers but it was easy money for him. He would hire a mechanic and have him just work on our stuff when he had time.
It was very often that we would have to leave the motor with him for a week or so. Most of the time the engine fix was so much you would end up upgrading to another motor he had because it made sense to you. Besides the fact that you always wanted a newer motor, most of these were trade ins from boats he got when a customer bought a new boat.
I started off with a 1970’s 40 horsepower Johnson to a 1989 Force 150 horsepower by the time I was done dealing with him. Most of my friends probably can tell similar stories.
I am sure some of my friends eventually bought a new boat and motor off him but we weren’t his customers back then.
We eventually either learned how to fix our motor or hired the mechanic on his day off.