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Replies
Thanks for taking the time to read them James.
Steve
They look pretty good generally and as a source of information. I'd be tempted to advise to give them a little tweak from a marketing perspective though. There are a few areas where you seem as if you are covering your back in anticipation of complaints, when in fact you could be using the opportunity to sell some more benefits.
I'll give you an example. In the section about small chips you wrote:
'Processing, handling and transportation can cause small chips to the edges and corners of slabs. Although we invest heavily in packaging and take great care to get your stone to site in excellent condition, some small chips are unfortunately unavoidable and are considered the norm within the natural stone industry. The vast majority of these imperfections will not be noticeable once the stone is installed and pointed. We recommend opening all crates and arranging your slabs before commencing installation. This will allow you to set aside any slabs with larger chips to be used for cuts.'
If I were advising you as a client I would have had the copywriter put a more positive angle on this. For example, you could have written about the fact that all your stone is completely natural, and as such often has small irregularities. It is these irregularities that give natural stone it's unique appearance, and is actually why many clients choose natural stone over it's rather boring and 'run of the mill' cast concrete alternatives.
The above example is probably not the best, but I hope it serves to demonstrate my point.
FAQ's (along with every single thing your business does) should be thought of as marketing, not just a process of giving information to prospective clients.
Thanks for that feedback Stuart.
Its more about managing peoples expectations, something which is of huge importance when you are supplying people with a natural product. That particular line was written with specific reference to sawn paving (I will be changing the FAQ to clarify that :)). What you say is correct when referring to riven stone and tumbled stone but with sawn stone in all honesty I am not sure if a small chip on the edge of a slab does add to the character because when people use sawn paving they are looking to achieve a contemporary, modern look with clean lines. I'm probably shooting myself in the foot by saying that but that is all part and parcel of managing peoples expectations and making sure they know exactly what they are buying. Really appreciate the feedback and will be making the change that I mentioned
All the best
Steve