Fulfilling Fantasies Sassy Romano

Fulfilling Fantasies by Sassy Romano, “Sassy’s”

It all happened somewhat by accident, but if there’s one thing that remains true in SL and real life: People spend money on personal entertainment and particularly on self-gratification, thus adult products. The niche fetish areas particularly maintain a loyal customer following.

Rivan Dressler and I own “Sassy’s,” the store offering products for immersive ravishment fantasy roleplay. Are we promoting “rape?” No! It would be immature to believe so, just as suggesting that SL weapons creators promote going out to shoot people!

Many studies have been done on the subject of forced encounters, and they indicate that the majority of women have a forced fantasy. In most cases, it remains as that, and they have no interest whatsoever in turning that into anything else. However, this is SL. People can act out that fantasy in a safe environment. And many of the males are equally concerned, as they comment,  “I don’t want to force anyone to do anything.” Well they’re not. The “victims” (and I have to use the word loosely) are actively taking part in a consensual behavior. So we have products that bring like-minded people together for a bit of role play.

We’re just a dating operation—with a twist!

SL does not integrate with my real life. I’m exceedingly private and the two don’t mix in social engagement. I came to SL after seeing a TV program “Wonderland—Virtual Adultery” and thought that looked like fun! (The environment, not the adultery part. A shortened version of the program is on Youtube). I’ve always had an interest in graphics and that’s what attracted me. I came to play. The business was an unplanned offshoot.

I couldn’t find what I wanted for a personal toy. So I set out to make one. After a number of frustrating experiences, it kept getting more and more involved. I could draw on some real life skills that helped with the creation of the item. Finally I made something that I was happy with. I wondered if anyone else might buy it. So I rented a spot at a role play sim for a week and put it up for sale. When one sold very quickly (same day), I rented another spot. When I had sold four, I figured I’d probably saturated the SL market, as it was somewhat niche (or so I thought). But I underestimated. Suddenly, my real life range of business skills translated to SL!

SL business is similar to real life—and I challenge anyone who believes otherwise. We have an idea, do initial market research to see if the item already exists, figure out what the demand might be, determine how it should work, decide what price point to pitch at, handle advertising, sales, sales analysis… it’s all there if someone chooses to delve into that!

On the other hand, some prefer just to make something blindly, and pop it on Marketplace, then hope for the best. But just as in real life, if there’s no sales and marketing drive behind a business, it’s likely to stall or not get off the ground at all.

Although I started “Sassy’s,” Rivan, my SL partner, came onboard shortly after. He creates his products, and we both sell items via the brand “Sassy’s.” We both tend to make lots of little toys, mostly to amuse ourselves, and probably one in ten, or even one in twenty, ever makes it to become a product. Finishing things off is my biggest challenge! One reason is simply time. Because each item is uniquely built and scripted, it’s the 80/20 Rule. 80% of the functionality can be achieved with 20% effort.

We’re highly critical of each other’s work, and feel this is crucial—often what begins as a simple concept might end up with far more configuration and ridiculous over-engineering. In our critiques, we also introduce the “what if’s” and “if only it did..”parts, and it just goes on and on. Ultimately we discuss a lot of things and then never make them. *sighs*

When discussing business in SL, many of my comments will not be appropriate for some who choose not to invest much time, or don’t consider the effort and investment worth it. I pitch mostly to merchants who aspire to treat SL as a big commitment to create, promote, sell, and support their items. I don’t necessarily aim at big established merchants either, though some comments might sting to some. *winks*

If a business is to be successful, there has to be commitment, especially when a customer pays for an item. Customer services, sales, marketing, and advertising, are typically done by one person, which is a huge task! Unfortunately, there are many great creators who are clueless when it comes to sales and marketing execution.

Someone thinking of starting a business in-world should consider how it will impact their SL. For both Rivan and me, our business dominates our SL. Not in a bad way—we’d probably be bored otherwise—but there’s just so much more to it than just making products!

Never give away an idea until you’ve brought it to market. I gave a suggestion to someone, as it was beyond my skill set (non-existent at the time). Nothing happened, and a year later, I made something that was along the lines of that suggestion. On the same day, by coincidence, the creator contacted me and sent me the item she had made based on my idea. She named it after me too which was nice. My item NEVER made it to final product after that.

If someone makes a wooden barrel and prices it at L$100 and you make a wooden barrel and price it at L$99, guess what happens next? Why do we see this over and over? Make something original!

If you want to succeed, make something original, innovative, that there’s a demand for, and offer it to people who have money. Simple huh?

CUSTOMER FOCUS

I’ll be blunt: there are a lot of dysfunctional merchants in SL and that taints a customer’s experience. A simple example would be selling a complex, scripted product with functional defects, not offer any support.

Customers are the lifeline of the business. Love your customers, they will reward you. Studies indicate that someone who has a negative experience will share that experience with at least twenty others. Those who receive a good experience will share that with only a handful. So, it is important to cherish those who are prepared to spread the positive word. You can lose a customer in an instant (and their referrals)! It requires much more effort to gain a new customer than to retain one. Create a positive experience instead!

Likewise, there’s a sales phrase: “people buy people.” This means that people buy from those they feel comfortable with, so earning the trust of customers is critical. Sometimes people ask, “Sassy, why don’t you make <insert product>?” I’ll tell them, “Because someone else already makes it, and I’d rather offer my own items than just do a ‘me too’ product.” It’s not uncommon for them to respond, “But I’d rather buy it from you!” This does not compare me to another merchant or compare products, just that they feel confident with the aftercare that they know they’ll get.

We want our customers to be happy! If what they’ve bought doesn’t suit, causes distress, or otherwise isn’t appropriate, then we want to know, and we can help. We are quick to refund with NO DRAMA! In nearly all cases, the customer is so surprised that they go and buy something else instead, anyway!

Like many of us, I’ve received dysfunctional service, even banned for asking that an item be provided as described, and laughed at about daring to ask! I don’t understand this, but here is such a typical SL customer/merchant dialog:

Customer, “I bought a product from you and it doesn’t work, I want a refund!” (not necessarily the most courteous opening but

I believe that’s typical as a result of too much merchant/customer abuse).

Merchant, “All sales are final, see the store policy, I CANNOT refund you.”

(Cannot?! Seriously? There’s little we cannot do.) There’s no need to report the typical extra dialogue, but it doesn’t get better.

It SHOULD be done with an empathetic and lead-generating approach:

Customer, “I bought a product from you and it doesn’t work, I want a refund!”

Merchant, “A refund isn’t a problem, but since you bought the item, I’m sure that you wanted it to work for you. I wish to help on a solution. Is that something we can achieve together?”

From my experience, the answer is nearly always, “YES, let’s make it work,” and the customer leaves with a positive experience. Even if they’re refunded, the customer isn’t likely to use the item, so why would it need to cause the merchant drama and stress about someone getting a free item? Better to find a satisfactory solution, than for them to tell others of their negative experience.

Consider the impression that a store policy conveys. All too often we see phrases such as “All sales are final, no refunds, no exchange.” It seems that this is the standard so many adopt as a way to get out of doing anything. Is it really so important to clutch onto lindens, and create a negative experience that will be shared with others?

Create a “YES” experience. List what you CAN do and not all the things you can’t, won’t, or don’t do.

My favorite one so far has to be this quote from a policy of one store: “I like to remind my visitors that taking a suspiciously big number of pictures inside my store can be considered theft and is strictly forbidden.” …OK!

Use systems to make life easy both for customers and for yourself. When someone IM’s me and says, “Hi Sassy, I bought something from your shop and…,” typically when they are that far, I already have their full purchase history in front of me.

Why do merchants ask for transaction numbers, and for customers to jump through hoops to provide them? It’s utterly trivial to open a spreadsheet, Ctrl F, and enter a customer’s name. Merchants *should* be downloading transactions for the running of their business—most customers will not.

I asked the question in the Second Life Commerce Group (in-world group), “when you ask the customer for a transaction history for a purchase, what do you do with it?” The general consensus was that, if the customer had been made to go to the effort to find it, then they’d likely take it as evidence, without looking it up to find the same transaction themselves. We can help the customer, not put up walls!

SASSY’S SALES TIPS

• Use a staff member to greet customers. Many stores function more than happily without staff, but technical products often need extra assistance. Some merchants scoff, and say that customers don’t want to be bothered by staff when shopping. I’m not talking about staff hounding customers, but just saying, “Hi, welcome, shout if you need any assistance,” is hardly going to freak anyone out, is it?

• If you don’t feel that you’re a merchant with good people skills, employ someone who has them.

• Form a group and be active in it. Be social with customers! Give a bit of you! “People buy people!” Yes, not all groups need a chatty merchant, and that’s fine. But, if there’s an opportunity to communicate pleasantly, grab it! I often get, “sorry to bother you…,” from a timid customer. Wait a sec! You bought something from me! PLEASE BOTHER ME!!!!

EVALUATING EFFORTS

It is fair to say I have some experience in all of the major development areas, just some are stronger than others, and for those where I’m weaker, either my partner has that skill, or we figure it out.

Pricing can be like a finger in the air. A philosophy from real life is that the price is right when the customer winces, but still pays. And the merchant needs to realize value from their effort. I don’t see how someone can expect to spend hours (or weeks) on a creation, and then offer it at L$50 just because someone else offers theirs for that price. At such a price point, unless the volume of sale is sufficient to compensate, I question whether almost giving things away will sustain the interest of a merchant. Occasionally a customer might comment that something we sell is expensive, and of course they’re entitled to feel that way, but we offer value. The loyalty of our customers and interaction that we have with many in our support group indicate that we have got it right. We never lower prices to have a sale. Most merchants will do this to dump old stock in real . life. In SL, such sales race to the bottom of the price barrel in a bid to gain interest. I know many may disagree, but discount sales will alienate the customer who bought yesterday at full price. And such practices also send a strong message that the item isn’t worth the old price, and climbing back to normal is very difficult. Sales also encourage potential customers to wait until your next sale!

Promote loyalty. There are various ways to do this. Some vending systems offer discounts the more a customer spends. We can offer discounts on multi purchases and other loyalty purchases, such as buy one color and get another color at a discount, but both require the full price if individually purchased.

I also may offer an introductory discount on an item for the first few days it will be available. This is very different from a sale. The message here is that the price will GO UP soon to the normal price, so it first encourages an early buy.

I’ve also had some fun with a new item offered at a “pay what you think it’s worth” price. The guide price was L$695. Only one person bought it for one linden: most paid several hundred lindens, and some even more than the guide price. For the one that paid a single linden, I just considered it a promo item. Maybe it’s all this person could afford, I still gained a customer, and there are other related products that this individual may buy later at full price. I learned from this pricing experiment,, and may try it again. Engaging repeat customers is always a good idea. Besides, I don’t sweat the small stuff!

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For more of my articles and comments on in-world experiences, please see http://www.eleanormedier.wordpress.com.

See the issue as it first ran in the virtual world release of Bowler Business Review #11 download PDF) with more graphics and photographs.

Contributions welcome, please send to eleanormedier@gmail.com.

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