Customer Experience

I was a connoisseur of soap long before I started making them. Back then, I was all about how the soap looked and smelled. There was no thought to a customer experience, how the soap lathered or felt on my skin. It was color and scent only. And once I started making soap, there was no need to buy soap from anyone else, or was there?  As a hobbyist, I worked on my soap recipes for ten years before I started Alegna Soap®. I learned about the qualities different oils and butters gave to the soap, and I experimented with ingredients and percentages. I tweaked and modified until I was more than satisfied. I love everything about my soaps because I made them to my specifications.

I wanted to experience soap as a customer again.  I thought I could enhance my customer experience and learn something new. So over the past few months, I purchased soaps from over thirty soap makers. Some from friends, some from small companies I admired online. This, I thought, is gonna be fun!

First thing I noticed was the length of time it took to get my order. Once you decide to purchase something, you want that package. Depending on what part of the country the soap came from, some orders took over a week and I expected that. But one company took three weeks before they sent my soap. After two weeks, I emailed to make sure they received my order. Crickets. A week later, they sent me a notice my package was on the way. I was not happy.

Next, came the unboxing.  I never been one for frills and didn’t even know unboxing was a thing. Some of the packages were pretty and so much fun to open. I realized I need to up my game here. An easy fix though, I need to put more time and thought here.

As for the actual soaps, I have to admit there were only a few soap I loved. None of the soaps were bad, but most didn’t live up to my expectations. Thin lather, too much or too little fragrance, too soft, or the bar disappeared in a week. The prices of the soaps I ordered were from $6 to $14 each, and the more expensive soaps weren’t necessarily better. What those brands are better at, is marketing their soaps. For me, not an easy fix, but I can work on it.

In the meantime, I have a lot of soap to use up. Not a bad problem to have.

 

Yours in Gratitude,

Angela