A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

A week or two ago, I posted about Jennifer Murphy's business.  She designs, crafts and then sells miniature stuffed animals.  If you don't remember all of the details about her remarkable creations, read the post.

Jump forward to a week ago.  My wife had told me back in January that Jennifer's new designs were going to be launched on Tuesday, February 6th.  Being the loving husband that I am (or claim to be, at least) I noted the date and time of the release on my calendar and made plans to buy a figurine for her for Valentines Day.

In today's online e-commerce world, that wouldn't seem like such a memorable experience.  You point, you click, and voila!  You're done in 20 seconds.  Most businesses make buying their products about as memorable as paying your cable bill.

Not Jennifer Murphy.  Whether by accident or design, you remember a purchase on her website.  Here's the process I went through to buy one of her limited edition creations:

1. I went to her website, where I was told when the new line of creations was to debut (10am PST, February 6th).  I couldn't buy anything prior to that.  There were no "pre-order" options. 
2. Furthermore, her website doesn't refresh itself automatically.  I had to sit there from 9:58 until 10:00 hitting my refresh button every few seconds to see when the new product page went live.  Why?  Well...
3. Because her items sell out in a matter of a few minutes.  In fact, even when the new product page loads, you can't just click and buy.  You are instructed to look at her new line, and then e-mail her your top two or three preferences.  She'll let you which one you were able to purchase, depending on where your e-mail comes in and what's left based on who made the same choices but got their e-mails to her before you did. (The competitive male in me loved this...it made the purchase exciting). 
4. Finally, the page freshes to her new line.  I scan it quickly.  I e-mail her my top three choices within a minute of the page going live. 
5. Now I wait.  And hope.
6. About an hour later, I got an e-mail from Jennifer.  Not an auto-responder or bulk e-mail, but a personal one.  My first choice had sold out before my e-mail came in, but my second choice was available (pictured).  She wanted to know if I wanted it, and how I would be paying for it.  I told her "yes", and with a credit card.  Then I waited some more.  By the way, I should mention that I didn't mind the waiting, and the non-technical purchase process.  To be honest, it was kind of entertaining.
7. I expected to next receive an e-mail with a link that I would click on to finalize the purchase.  Some kind of online credit card site.  What I got instead was a phone call from Jennifer.  That was something that I hadn't experienced much from a website - actual human interaction.  And not from a customer service rep, but from the actual owner.
8. The call was nice because she let me ask questions, get to know her business a little, and wasn't just a call to get a number and then hang up.  She was pleasant, and wasn't in a hurry to move on.
9. My item arrived yesterday via Priority Mail.  From the label, to the packing material, to the little certificate of authenticity, everything was branded as Jennifer Murphy.  If you go to her website, that's the look that you get when you get a product.  Very professional, and was right in line with her corporate image that is projected on her site (which has a very non-corporate feel to it).

It was a very interesting buying experience from start to finish.  What's unique about her business is that you can only buy her original works during a few select minutes of the year, which increases their monetary value as well as the "buzz" factor during those times that new products are introduced.

The thing about it is that Jennifer seems like a really wonderful person who loves what she does and is genuinely honored that people like her work.  That makes you want to root for her, and buy more of her creations.  The other thing that makes her business work is that she I really don't think she's trying to create a unique purchase experience.  It's just happening because of the way she chooses to sell her product, which is primitive compared to other huge product websites out there.  But that's part of the charm, as well.  And it makes the experience of buying a Jennifer Murphy creation special, and worth the price.

Good job, Jennifer.