Does anyone read Newsletters?

I wonder how many of us read the free newsletters we often come across on websites. 

 

Until last week we offered a newsletter from our Somerwood site (which sells walking aids such as rollators and walking sticks).  We used to include news of our latest products and promotions and any other stories we thought might interest readers.

 

But we discovered that hardly anyone bothered to download the newsletter, so after some soul searching we took the decision last week to suspend it.  We concluded that anyone who has already reached the website will get all the information they’re interested in from there, rather than getting a little additional information from a newsletter they have to download.

 

I’d be interested to know if anyone has any views on this – either as someone like us who offers (or has offered) a free newsletter, or as someone who just likes reading them!

A time for walking

This is obviously a time of year when people buy hiking sticks and trekking poles – walking sticks designed to aid the serious walker (and the enthusiastic amateur).

 

At Somerwood we discounted all our hiking sticks over the Christmas period, and we’ve been astonished by the amount of interest from buyers.  It’s not just that people were buying them as Christmas presents, because they’re still buying them into the New Year.  So we’ve decided to extend the promotion for the next few weeks.

 

Anyway, a Happy New Year from all of us here at Somerwood to everyone reading this blog – and enjoy the walks!

All I want for Christmas is a Walking Stick

We’ve recently been selling quite a few walking sticks from our website, somerwood-walking-aids.co.uk   It’s made me wonder how many of them have been bought as Christmas presents.

 

Walking sticks make a pretty good present.  The range of sticks available now – from traditional wooden and hand-carved sticks through to fashion canes in stylish colours and patterns – means there’s something for everyone.  And then there are hiking sticks and trekking poles for those who take their walking a little more seriously.

 

The only problem arises when it comes to wrapping up the walking stick!  At Somerwood we’re only too aware of this from posting sticks to our website customers.  You need a lot of wrapping paper, and the shape tend to give the game away long before the lucky recipient begins to undo the parcel.  What’s more, walking sticks are not renowned for fitting into Christmas stockings.

 

There is some good news, however.  Many modern walking sticks fold up when not in use – ideal for transporting, for storing and for wrapping up as a Christmas present!

Tartan catches on in time for New Year

Here at Somerwood, our customers are celebrating New Year early this year. 

 

We sell walking aids, such as walking sticks and rollators.  With one eye on the New Year, we decided a few weeks ago to have a sale of tartan walking sticks.

 

The campaign has been very popular, with many customers ordering the discounted sticks from our website. 

 

I’m beginning to wonder how many people by New Year we’ll see out and about with Somerwood tartan walking sticks.

More postal problems

We’ve just had another very frustrating experience with Royal Mail.

Regular readers of this blog will know that, as on-line retailers of walking sticks, we have a problem despatching parcels longer than 30 inches (76 cm) to destinations outside the UK.  This is because the cost has recently risen to no less than £18!

We recently had an order from a gentleman in continental Europe for a wooden walking stick.  He didn’t require us to reduce the height of the stick, so the length of the parcel we sent him was very slightly over 30 inches.   Our post lady looked into possible alternative methods of sending the stick, and also asked the local Post Collection Office and our postman what to do.  They both said that as it was only a couple of centimetres over the maximum length we should post it in the normal way, which we did. 

It was returned some days later as “not deliverable” because it was too long!  Needless to say, we received no compensation for the money we had spent on postage, and no explanation of where the parcel had been for the previous several days.  

We explained the difficulty to our unfortunate customer and were about to credit him with the money he had paid us for the stick when he agreed to pay for the extra postage himself.

 

The new scale of postal charges certainly makes life very difficult for businesses like ours that are trying to export lengthy items.

All I want for Christmas is a walking stick

With Christmas approaching, it’s the time of year when we need to start thinking about what presents we can buy our family and friends.  One unusual idea is a walking stick!

 

If you know someone with mobility problems, they may already have a walking stick.  But if so they might well like another.  Walking sticks, like so many other things, are now fashion accessories, and there are styles and designs to suit every occasion and to accompany every costume.  There are also different types of stick that may be useful in different circumstances: alongside traditional wooden canes there are aluminium canes which fold up so that you can easily transport or store them.

 

Walking sticks aren’t just to assist those with mobility problems.  Walkers regularly use hiking sticks and trekking poles.  And it’s not just the very serious walkers.  Even if you walk on flattish ground where the going is relatively easy, a stick can be a very helpful companion.

 

So if you’re looking for a present people will remember, a walking stick could be the answer.  Check out an established website like http://www.somerwood-walking-aids.co.ukor visit a specialist shop.

 

Of course one difficulty is that walking sticks are not easy things to wrap up!  But even that problem is overcome if you get a folding stick – which compresses into a small packet that even Graham could make an attractive Christmas parcel out of!

Catering for the customer’s needs

One of the hallmarks of good service, I am sure, is being flexible and trying to accommodate a customer’s particular requirements.  That can be difficult when you’re selling over the internet and don’t normally speak to the customer, as we know from our own business.  (At Somerwood-Walking-Aids.co.uk we sell walking aids online, including walking sticks and rollators.)

 

The best solution we’ve found is to include a space on the online order form for the customer’s miscellaneous comments and requests.  That way people can let us know about any special or unusual requirements that our standard order form doesn’t cate for.

We just wish other websites did the same thing!

The tribulations of moving house

I mentioned last week that Leah and I were currently moving house.  Well, the move was more or less completed last week, and in fact a day later a relative of ours came to visit from Russia.  That certainly made us tidy everything away pretty fast!

 

One of the most difficult problems turned out to be our business telephone line.  We run a small business, selling walking aids such as walking sticks and rollators.  We have our own warehouse for the stock, but we do much of the office work and administration at home. So that meant we had to arrange for the 0845 number to be re-directed to our new home phone number – a task that unfortunately takes about a week.

 

Luckily most of our sales are via the website, but we do also get some telephone enquiries.  In fact, we always enjoy the opportunity of speaking direct to our customers, but just for the next few days that’s a pleasure we will have to do without.

 

Ah well, they say moving is one of the most stressful things we do . . .

On the move

Leah and I are in the process of moving house this week.  We’ve lived happily in Saffron Walden since we were married, but the time has come for a change, and we’re moving – not very far – to a little village near Cambridge.  

As I write, the first day of the move is over!  All our surplus stuff has gone into storage.  We went into Cambridge this afternoon to sign the lease and pick up the keys – all very exciting.  The village is rather on the small side compared to Saffron Walden, but we will manage.  The really good thing is that the house has a very cottagy feel to it – and there are chickens on the grass verge outside the front door!

All the while that we are moving, our business – selling walking aids (such as walking sticks and rollators) via our website – of course has to continue.  All the physical effort of moving makes us think we could probably do with some walking aids ourselves.

Walking aids and the postal dispute

As I write it’s looking as though the dispute between the Royal Mail and the postal union is coming to an end.  The agreement they have negotiated is be balloted by union members, and let us hope that both sides reach an amicable deal. 

As a company selling goods via the internet, we are very dependent on the postal service.  We sell walking aids such as walking sticks and rollators, and many of our customers rely on the products they buy from us.  Despatching the goods promptly and speedily as soon as we receive an order is therefore very important..

Fortunately, we at Somerwood haven’t been too badly affected by the postal difficulties, but we are looking forward to being able to reassure our customers that normal service has been restored.