Lots of artisans and crafters do custom work or take special orders to draw in a certain demographic of customer. These customers are generally willing to pay more for something special, uncommon, or unique to them.
A special order is an order for an item you make or have made but perhaps don't carry as part of your regular inventory. Someone saw one and wanted it so you take an order for it, produce and sell it to them.
A custom order is an order for an item that is personalized to such a degree that you wouldn't likely be able to sell it to anyone else. An example of a custom order would be a one-of-a-kind design made for a specific customer or to that customer's specifications.
As soon as you throw the word 'custom' out there, the potential purchaser's brain busily goes to work. Here's their opportunity to get EXACTLY what they want, just for them alone. Then they'll give you a description of what they think they want. Or they may dither around because they don't really know what they want; they just like the idea of a custom made item.
You think it's great when they can be specific, but I'll 'guaran-darn-tee' they will change their minds a few times before you ever hand over the finished product. Or if the description provided to you is vague, you're then forced to ask a gazillion questions to try to get at what they have in the far recesses of their minds.
Eventually you spend so much time and creative energy trying to second guess the customer and read their minds, it becomes a frustrating game. The payoff is often just not worth all the effort. People just often don't really know what they want. I guess "they'll 'know it when they see it'"!
For these reasons, I stopped doing custom work. I wasn't very smart about it and left the whole process too open ended. It was never a win-win situation for me or my customer. And it made a grinding, stressful chore out of my happy, blissful pastime and led to too much waste of time and materials trying hard to satisfy a customer.
However, if you are of a more organized, and patient temperament than I, go for it! Just make sure you ask plenty of questions before you get started. If I were to ever go this route again, this is what I'd do differently:
First, write up a firm process to follow for doing the custom work. Include down payment requirements, when final payment is due and make it clear that custom work is not returnable unless there is a quality issue of some sort--then it would fall under your normal return policy. Establish a reasonable time frame up front for when the work will be started and finished and stick to it.
Create a custom order form chock full of specific questions to ask the customer, such as the info listed below.
Provide a selection of Available Styles/Design Concepts:
(such as classic, southwestern, specific-themed, organic, eclectic, whimsical, symmetrical, asymmetrical and so on)
and
Colorway Options:
(such as autumn, spring, blues, greens, jewel tones, etc.).
Get accurate measurements of the wrist circumference for bracelets.
Provide choices of standard necklace lengths (choker, princess, matinee, opera, rope, lariat)
Specify lengths & styles for earrings.
Have a blank space available for the customer to add in any special requests.
Ahead of time, make up trays of materials (stones, beads, metals, etc.) available that can be shown to the customer to choose from. This allows them to be a greater part of the design process. If you're working with someone online, take lots of good photos of the materials to email to them so they have a good idea of what you're working with.
Sit down with your customer and listen well. Make plenty of suggestions and don't be afraid to 'wax poetic'. I just mean be very descriptive and paint a good verbal picture for them so they can better visualize what you have in your mind. Repeat back to them what you think they are telling you so you are sure you understand their vision.
Ask everything you need to know prior to getting started! Exceptional communication is the key to success in doing custom work. Pinning down all the information first will eliminate second guessing, mind-reading and so forth. You'll save time, money, and materials plus take great strides toward ensuring a happy, satisfied customer.
Till next time,
Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; 'Twas not given for thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another's tears, 'Til in Heaven the deed appears - Pass it on.
Henry Burton (1840-1930)
Clergyman, Writer
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