In the Loupe
In the Loupe
Expectations & Ease of Use: Breaking Down the Best with Moo.com
This week, Mike talks through his favorite website to order from, and the consistency that has made them stand out to him for nearly 8 years. Moo.com is a company that makes business cards and greeting cards, and their communication, ease of use, and overall quality stand out in a crowded field.
Mike tries to pull out a few key lessons that you can learn from this company and apply to your own business.
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Welcome back everybody to In the Loop that I decided I would do another one about another awesome experience that I've been having with one of the companies I do a lot of my own buying through but also Punchmark does as well. There's this company called Moo. They do our business cards and I order a lot of postcards through them for my own business, and it's mainly because of their expectations and how they communicate and I want to touch upon that and about why I'm so willing to go back and give my business to them so regularly and I just know that it's going to be a good experience. Every time I'm going to see if I can relate that back to being a good business owner and running a successful business. So if that's something you're interested, stick around and we'll lock in for that one.
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Speaker 1:And now back to the show show. Okay, let's do this thing. Normally when I do these solo podcast episodes I talk way too fast and I'm going to try my hardest again to slow things down. So again, this whole thing is going to sound a little bit like an ad, but I promise I have not gotten any money from Moo. I just really like their company and I also like their you know just their products and I think that they do it the right way and I think we can learn from how they do it.
Speaker 1:So again, this company is Moo and what Moo does is paper products, but really high quality, you know, kind of expensive ones. I use them for my greeting cards and the postcards that I design and sell as part of my watercolor business, and every year I order a pretty big bundle of greeting cards from them, and I've been doing it for a bunch of years and every single year I order more and more. So things have been really good. I looked and I've spent over $2,000 with them and I've ordered, you know, 1,800, I guess quantity of products. And Punchmark also uses them for our business cards they make that's how I originally found them was through business card making and their quality is just through the roof. I can't recommend them enough and over the years I just quickly looked at one of our accounts we have over 5,000 business cards ordered through them and we've spent like over $4,000 with this company, so suffice to say we're frequent flyers.
Speaker 1:But the thing that I like about them so much is that I know what to expect, and I think that this is something that occasionally gets overlooked. When it comes to retail, whether it's online or in store, I think we need to look a little bit more about expectation setting and also meeting expectations, and the kind of comparison I want to explain is like for example, when a customer comes into your store, what are the expectations? I think that we all can agree that for a lot of people, especially people that are my age, which is to say, in the late 20s, early 30s, those people a lot of times are a little bit hesitant to go into a jewelry store, mainly because we think it's going to be really expensive or we're not dressed nice enough, or it's just like a just an overall kind of a weird experience. We don't really know what to expect, and I think it comes down to you know how do you greet them. Are you okay with, like, there being a little bit of music in your shop so that people feel comfortable and at ease, instead of it just being like super silent, like you're walking into a church and you can only hear your breathing, and stuff like that? I think expectation setting is super important, but I think, with Moo, what I really like about them is their consistency and how they meet expectations. So I just want to walk through a couple of things like this so I know what to expect. Their products. It never changes.
Speaker 1:I originally designed my first set of greeting cards back in 2021. And I ordered, you know, like 200 or 250 of them, and then they allow you to just duplicate your project and then change it up a little bit. And I think why that's so nice is we're able to start with something that we know is correct and go from there. So I think that has to do with, for example, that Omnichannel experience. They're doing it from an order to order, an online order to online order experience, and that is part of Omnichannel. I mean, omnichannel has to do with a lot of times being in store, but also online. I think that's the more traditional sense of it, but I also think it's just that user experience feeling of remembering your shipping details and stuff like that, and I think I've seen people do it with the edge, where, if you make an account, it's a really good experience.
Speaker 1:I've seen it with you know, scott Stambaugh. I talked to him one time and he was explaining about how they have case. You know locations and you're able to scan stuff and view it online and things like that. I think that's a really cool way of tying your digital to physical stores. But with them, what they're doing is they are tying your physical experience you know getting your printed goods and your online experience. So they're kind of doing it almost in reverse, and I think that that is just one of those things that I don't want to order more cards or whatever and have them be different.
Speaker 1:And I always know I've done it now with over 2000 products that they are going to be perfect and accurate and they're going to be the same, as I placed my first order with them on March 2017. And I placed my latest order two weeks ago, so it's like I know that when they come, they come really well packaged. So again, it's these expectations that I think really can't be overstated enough. They, for example, they always include a shipped by card and what that means is, like, you know your, your box is going to come with all of these. You know packages with your cards in them, but there's also going to be a loose card that goes in there and it says this was shipped with love by Moo and handled by, and usually it's the person who packed the box signs off on it, so that you know there's a little bit of accountability and I find that was really nice. I've never gotten anything in all my orders where it's like less than stellar, and I think that that is also one of those things that you know in-store experiences can do.
Speaker 1:I think we all are trying to automate a lot of our experiences, so much we want everything to be efficient that we kind of are sometimes losing the humanness of it, if that's weird to say, and I find that if we add a little bit of human touch to things that usually are digital, then it allows it to kind of realize like, oh, this experience is a little bit more personal. I think Ross says it best. He said at one time where you should make your online experience more human and your in-store experiences more technology based, and I think that that's a really good point and you can do a lot of that with the edge. I've seen people with their wish lists. They are syncing them from online to in-store, where people can add stuff to wish lists and then you can invite them to come in and try it on or you'll set it aside for them. I think that those are really novel ways of doing it.
Speaker 1:But again, I think it's that expectations where you know whether that's the box that things come in, it's like the little details I find are just so they really kind of get me jazzed up. You know, I've seen jewelers they. It costs a lot of money, but I think that that's the stuff that I remembered. You know, beyond, when I throw the box away, is, I remember, if I get an order, it's going to be, you know, well packaged and not just a ring in a box just shaking around and just loose. It's a, you know, a well packaged ring that comes in a separate box with a little bit of tissue paper around it and then packaged in a box that is the right size. It's not a massive box. I think that paying attention to those kinds of things again, not just online but in store. Attention to those kinds of things again, not just online, but in store is something that has had a profound effect on me and I hope that maybe the next time you order from your blue chip companies that you think about them.
Speaker 1:What's kind of too bad sometimes with these blue chip companies and I use the term blue chip mainly like they are the best companies that we are super loyal to. They are the best companies that we are super loyal to. I have Moocom, I have Osprey Backpacks what else do I have? I'm trying to think Honestly Under Armour I think that they're fantastic and probably Nike. It's like those companies.
Speaker 1:What happens is, unfortunately, when their products are so good, a lot of the times they become what is it? They don't wear out quickly, so we actually don't get experience buying them too many times, and I think that you know we kind of have to decide. Are we going to make a bad product and have people buy it a lot of times because it wears out quickly, or are we buying? Are we making something that is going to last generations? It's, you know, the Patagonia problem. Patagonia makes clothing that is so good that it never wears out and, as a result, they probably eat into their bottom line a lot because they never wear out and you know it's like, I guess, with jewelry we sometimes have that problem too because you know you can wear a bracelet a hundred times, a thousand times, a million times and it's never going to. I mean buying process that is going to get people hooked almost beyond or separate from the product that they're also buying.
Speaker 1:That's why I think that those you know buying your packaging and your boxes is a great way to go a little bit further so that I see them at the trade shows all the times. They do like incredible uh boxes. There's a couple of companies out there and I think like having like a, whether that's like an insert or a card or something that goes in there. I think it's a great opportunity to include um future discounts. You know I I've found that uh, I've ordered off of Etsy before and a lot of Etsy's. They'll include a card that's like thanks for your order, your next order is 10% off on us, and it's like a. You know it's a card expires in six months or three months, and that way they become a future customer if they like the product. Those kinds of things can really push things along. All right, everybody we're going to take a quick break and hear a word from our sponsor In the Loop is so excited to announce our new giveaway for a pickup media gem loop, and if you didn't hear our episode where we unbox one of these gem loops, it is a fantastic tool that a lot of jewelers are using when they go to trade shows, where they can look at jewelry on the show floor in a quick and easy way.
Speaker 1:It snaps right onto your phone, but also in your store, right in front of clients, you can document how a piece is brought in for repairs. And if you don't have one of these already, we're giving one of these away, and all you need to do is go to punchmarkcom slash loop that's L-O-U-P-E and fill out the form at the top of the page. I'll just ask you a couple of questions. It's a $400 value and we're so grateful to Pickup Media for enabling us to give one of these away to a lucky listener. And now back to the show. Back to the show and we're back.
Speaker 1:One other thing I want to talk about. Well, two more things. One is about their builder, and I don't want to get into the builder too much, because I went and got a piece of feedback about the solo podcast. I think I did it on a breaking down the best episode where I was talking about the builder on a different website. They're like, well, what does it matter? Like we can't edit our builder.
Speaker 1:I think that's a good point, but what I will say about it is that the branding is so on point and the writing, especially the copywriting that's in there, is so accurate and so well thought out that I think it goes a couple steps beyond what I would expect. So, for example, on their greeting card builder, what I find is so excellent is they have on the fronts you can upload your fronts. Here's all of the copy that they have on just this one location and I'll just kind of explain why it's so good. So on the front it says front design, one of one, and then in parentheses it says you can have up to 25 different designs. And then they have a little question mark. It says you can have multiple designs on this side, up to 25 unique designs on this side, at no extra cost. Simply click the button with the plus symbol and then below that it says upload your fronts. You can upload many photos or designs at once to make a printfinity pack, and what I find is so cool about that is that they understand where the questions are coming from. And I think that the little nugget we can take into our in-store experiences are that you can realize that people are going to have similar thought, trains and tracks in their purchasing. So get ahead of them and then people will really think that you are getting. You know that you are so well versed with this product.
Speaker 1:Here's a couple of examples. When someone goes in to buy a ring, you know what are they going to be the questions that a guy is going to have if he's buying a ring. Do you do resizings? Is there going to be insurance on the center stone? What if I lose the center stone? What if we lose the entire ring? What about wedding bands? Do you guys have boxes for the engagement? All of these questions I'm sure you have heard hundreds of times, but again, getting in front of them and knowing where the common pitfalls are is just part of understanding your own project and your own product. That allows people to really feel that confidence. And I understand that you can't go in and customize your engagement ring designer on your Punchmark website, but it is something that could be, I guess, customized or tailored to your in-store experience is that, when someone comes in with their wishlist item, showing it to them, knowing where the products are really well, so that there's not a huge delay, is just one of those ways that you can really kind of make the experience shine. When it comes to omni-channel experiences going from online to in-store or even going in-store to online Maybe someone sees something, letting them know, hey, this product is available online. When they're on the way out the door, if they don't seem ready to buy yet, letting them know, hey, this product is available online. When they're on the way out the door. If they don't seem ready to buy yet, letting them know, hey, you could buy this online. Showing them on their website, letting them add it to their wishlist, so that way there's kind of like a you know, a leave behind or a line in the water. It's just part of the experience that matters.
Speaker 1:Okay, maybe just one or two more points. I don't want to ramble too long. The big one that I noticed when it comes to Moo is I really, really like their branding. So I've said this a million times, but I kind of want to break it down just to a few noticeable touch points that Moo does really well and how you can do it with your own store. So, example Moo has this very simple branding that is just this it's like a teardrop almost. I don't even know if this is like what the icon is, but they do. It's just M-O-O in this beautiful green, but they put it pretty much everywhere and they have high saturation on their photos. So like things pop a little bit more. But I think what really stands out the most to me is how their copywriting meaning the text that's on their website is so well written. And I think that you can do this on your website by looking at the copy on your own website as if you're a shopper or you know, just kind of reading it out loud. Does it explain things? I mean, I have it open on the side but it's written so you can understand it.
Speaker 1:It's not using, I just I sometimes shake my head like jewelers, like I gotta be honest, a lot of shoppers aren't caring about you know, a VVS the term VVS versus VS versus you know, like there's this kind of a lot of times. It's just like talking about it in like a little bit more approachable terms and like, for example, with, with Moo. They talk about their paper quality, but a lot of the times they are using like these words, like these are this is the, the Lux paper, and they just like they don't describe it. You know, they don't tell you oh it's, you know, 30 pounds per square inch or something like that. They're just saying this is the expensive paper. Do you want expensive paper? If you do, then get this. If you don't, normal paper is just as fine. And I think that that kind of approach where it's like the devil is in the details, but sometimes you don't have to, like, stick your head all the way into the details every single time, if that makes any sense. Explaining things the way that they're meant to be understood by the end consumer is the mindset I wish that more retailers would have in general.
Speaker 1:But also, again, I want to just kind of reiterate that your tone is part of your branding. So like, think about it. Like, what is your website's tone or what is your brand's tone? Are you fun? Are you sarcastic? I mean there's the Wendy's. Wendy's like differentiate itself just because they are so sarcastic online. I mean that brand is kind of starting to go away now because of people switching away from using Twitter or X, but that brand really did differentiate them.
Speaker 1:And what I really love about Moo is that their brand is fun, professional, but it's not coy. I'm going to say it's not coy Coy, is like it's a little bit too. It doesn't take itself seriously. But to me, what I think is they take themselves very seriously, but they also know like this should be like an experience. It should be fun. You know one that says stick out with branded stickers and it's just like a little bit of clever wordplay kind of goes a long way, showing that a lot of videos, a lot of videos of people using their products and I noticed it also with, like, even some of Punchmark's competitors they focus on the people and I think that they market their people as opposed to their product, and I think that that's like a pretty smart and clever way is showing what makes them special. It's the people that use their products and I think that that's something Punch Bark is going to do more of.
Speaker 1:Is. You know, we have awesome people that use our products. We should be marketing those people as opposed to just the products. You know, do you really care about, like how many landing pages you get with your website. It's like, yeah, a little bit, but it's like we want to know that it makes your. How does it make you feel it makes it's easy to use and it's effective and you can picture yourself using it, instead of diving in and being bogged down by details. The way you talk about your company is part of your brand. So there you go.
Speaker 1:Okay, that is kind of a long, rambling way of talking about this company, moo, that I love. I have, yeah, over 25 orders with them. I've spent thousands of dollars with them, and the reason why is because I know what to expect. I trust them. I know that their products come quick. I know that when I'm going to receive their product, it's going to be really well packaged, it's going to be really premium. I've never had an issue with their printing. So, as a result, I know that you know when it's showtime. When I've got a you know an art walk coming up, I need to get my order in at least six days ahead of the art walk, because that's how long their shipping takes five days and never takes seven, but it also doesn't usually take four. You know it's it's. I know exactly how long it's going to take. So I want you to think about that a little bit.
Speaker 1:With how you are presenting yourself online, whether that's your business, you can go in and edit your copy. Or you can maybe think about if you want to update your branding, if your branding isn't doing it for you anymore. Or think about your in-store experience. You know, do you have all your products online that you carry in store? Do you have all your products in store that you have online? I mean in reverse, it's like those details are going to be what really can differentiate yourself in this really crowded world of you know online retail. That's all I got. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. We'll be back next week, tuesday, with another episode. Cheers, bye. All right, everybody. That's the end of the show. Thanks so much for listening. This episode was brought to you by Punchmark Bye on punchmarkcom slash loop. That's L-O-U-P-E or in the text me link below. I look at them every single time. Cheers, everybody. See you next week, bye.
