How do people respond to your soap?

[angiem915]

Hello, I am new to soaping in that I have only soaped for 4 months or so. But in that time I have made a lot of soap and given a lot away. I am pretty proud of my soap even though it may not be perfect. I have had super mixed feedback. I wait with baited breath for feedback. Sometimes I get, "Its soap" or "I haven't used it". I have been discouraged by no feed or frankly unhelpful feedback. Does this sound normal?

 

[jblaney]

Yes! I did not get helpful feedback at all, except from my husband. My own parents did not say much and when I would ask months later I would get "Oh, it was nice." I gave a bunch away to be tested and one person set it aside and forgot about it until I asked him 6 months later...and I work with him and see him every day. The other person would test each and just say that it was nice and they liked the smell. Not helpful at all. I now have a very good recipe and give that away because I know it's good and I get very positive feedback from it, even from my parents who love it. Hope you have a better experience than I did.

 

[Susie]

Yep, absolutely normal. I send a brief questionnaire with my soap these days:

Rate with 1 being worst, and 10 being best.

How do you like the scent? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If less than 5, what could I do better?

What scents would you prefer?

Circle one: More scent Less scent Just right
____________________________________________

How do you like the lather? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If less than 5, what can I do better?

____________________________________________

How do you like the conditioning? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

If less than 5, what can I do better?

Etc.

Specific questions get specific answers. I tell them that filling it out is the price of the soap, and they can either email it to me, or mail it to me(SASE included.)

 

[Seawolfe]

That is smart Susie. I get some usable feedback - but sometimes its from the wrong audience. For instance I gave soap to friends of mine where I know one of the partners is very concerned with skin care, and doesn't have a lot of money to spend, so it was all rich oils and the fancier soaps. Of course I only hear back from the grubby partner who sells commercial laundry detergents who tells me my soaps "don't clean enough"! It wasn't for you dingleberry! You wash with Gojo and dish soap!

 

[Dahila]

I am new to soaping too, I give a lot of soap away and like you guys I want feedback. In general everyone is happy with it, especially lard soap)
I do it for my own amusement, not selling

 

[katsntx]

I do the same thing as Susie. I give them the questionaire and tell them that I need it back within ONE week! And I jokinly tell them that if I don't get it back on time, they don't get any more soap because I have a waiting list of people who want to be testers for me. )

I usually get them back pretty quickly and if not... no more soap for them!

 

[LunaSkye]

I received a positive review of my soaps for the most part. The only soap that received a negative review was on that left an annoying residue on the skin. My testers and myself did not like the soap (I'm finishing it off as quickly as possible).

 

[Susie]

I do the same thing as Susie. I give them the questionaire and tell them that I need it back within ONE week! And I jokinly tell them that if I don't get it back on time, they don't get any more soap because I have a waiting list of people who want to be testers for me. )

I usually get them back pretty quickly and if not... no more soap for them!

I give them one warning about not sending me the email. After that, I cut off their supply. LOL, you should hear the whining when I do cut them off. But, word gets around, and everyone in their circle suddenly sends in forms quickly.

 

[Earthen_Step]

I gave hundreds of bars away for months. It took a long time to start getting constructive criticism. At first it was just a bunch of "It's the best" or "Yeah I like it" type of thing. I took all the feedback from dozens of people to refine the bars. Now our website is live and the "real reviews" are coming in even slower than the initial feedback. If any of you have a website that is compatible with Yotpo, I'd recommend it. It has really helped. We have gone from 1 review over 4ish months to 7 over the last 2 weeks. I now send out a "Please review your purchase" email out 45 days after any order. I figure that gives them enough time to really test at least one bar out. When you first set it up you can also send out an email to everyone who has ordered in the past. I don't work for them or anything, I just like the free portion of their product.

The one issue I'm trying to figure out how to fix is on my homepage and main product page. If you click the "# reviews" it looks like a hyperlink, but goes nowhere. If anyone has figured out how to code in a hyperlink to this code that would be so appreciated. I asked the Yotpo team, and they said it was up to the users to code where they want it to go.

 

[Dorymae]

When I develop a new recipe i have a group of testers. Some are friends, some customers that have agreed to be testers. With each soap they try they get a prepaid postcard with the name of the soap and a small questionnaire. ( you can get these at any post office and print them yourself. ) Since they are already addressed and prepaid all they need to do is fill it out and drop it in the mail. I get more responses using this method.

 

[Ellacho]

Same here. I don't get many reviews from my family and friends. Not because my soap doesn't work for them, but mainly because they cannot tell the major difference between commercial and my soaps. Basically they have good skin.

However, I always receive many compliments from people who have been suffering from very dry skin, eczema & vitiligo. One of my greatest joy of giving was from a youth pastor at my church. He has been suffering from vitiligo most of his life. Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes depigmentation of parts of the skin.

Two years ago, I gave him a gift basket of my soap as a welcoming gift to our church. A week later, he reported to me that my soap was the best soap he ever used in his entire life. His skin felt immediately better with my soap! Since then, he gives amazing reviews about every single soap I give - what works, what doesn't, how his skin feels after using each soap, etc. It felt very rewarding and happy to help him such a small way. In return, I get great reviews from him about my soaps.

 

[CaraBou]

That's a great story, Ellacho. Makes it all worth it. I think your observation is right on that most people who don't comment just have good skin, and it doesn't make that much of a difference to them. Soap is "just soap" to most of them, whether it be handmade or commercial. Some of these people might even actually like their commercial bars better for one reason or another :wtf:, but that is their prerogative.

Other categories of people I've found who appreciate handmade soap besides those with skin issues include: (1) those who also make their own crafts/gifts/etc, since they understand it takes time, money, and thought to create them; and (2) people who are motivated by scents.

I have a core group of people who are really supportive and openly state how much they love my soap. These same people tell me what they do and don't like about particular soaps, which I really value. I try to keep these people stocked and I have never taken money from any of them. I share with a lot of other people, too, but aside from a few family members who are STUCK with me and my soap, they don't get more soap if they don't say something about their gift after they initially received it. In other words, if they aren't compelled to acknowledge it after they've used it, I'm not compelled to give them more. My list of groupies is growing so there's no need to force a fit.

I've used a questionnaire to get feedback on specific test soaps, but I don't do it for soap I give as gifts. I probably take this hobby too seriously as it is, lol!

 

[neeners]

Most of the feedback I get are that people love it. It's hard to tell if they actually have something constructive to say as they are friends and may not want to hurt my feelings...

I did get great feedback once about a scent blend they didn't like. But, I didn't like that blend anyway, so it wasn't surprising. Lol. I also have been told how they enjoyed the creaminess of the soap and the lather.

I do tell people I gift soap to that I expect feedback, and usually give them a month or so before I badger them.

 

[dixiedragon]

I usually get pretty positive comments on how it doesn't make them feel dried out.

I think it's hard for us to remember that the vast majority of people aren't as passionate about soap as we are.

 

[neeners]

I think it's hard for us to remember that the vast majority of people aren't as passionate about soap as we are.

but but but......they SHOULD be!!!!! :shock: lol

 

[LazyUmbrella]

The only person who commented about my soap was my four-year-old niece who immediately told me that the next soap she wanted was a pink, bubblegum soap. She then awarded me a 40% grade for the current batch. (Yikes, tough customer)

The people around me prefer to use body washes and expensive store-bought soaps, so they look at my offerings with more curiosity rather than something that they can use.

I like the idea of providing self-addressed, stamped post-cards where people can give feedback.
I can see a scenario where I would offer free bars on my Website with the promise to give out more free samples if the recipients give me their feedback.
To save money I can also give them the option to fill out the feedback form online.

And of course, promise not to sell their personal information to telemarketers.

 

[Earthen_Step]

I think it's hard for us to remember that the vast majority of people aren't as passionate about soap as we are.

but but but......they SHOULD be!!!!! :shock: lol

I have converted quite a few people. Once most people use 2-4 bars in a row, sometimes even one bar; if they go back to supermarket soaps they understand. The difference is so easy to see, even using $3+ dollar a bar soaps from normal supermarkets are terrible soaps. Most people I sell to don't have any skin problems, they just love how superior the soap is.

It's like food for the skin. Most people are used to crappy food and think it's great. Once you try a truly magnificent meal you realize what crap you used to think was amazing. Or a fine crafted beer compared to bud light. And so on, and so on. Of course most people just go back to the junk due to costs, habit, availability, etc.

 

[Sapwn]

Personally, I never offer soap to anyone who doesn’t ask for it. Most of my male friends don’t even know that I am making my own soap and usually they get to know about it from a common female friend. Most of my female friends, and the friends of my girlfriend, know that I make soap. I never offer to give them any if they don’t ask for it. Even if they ask, I usually let them insist for it. If I am convinced that they really what to try it, then I give them at least a dozen of different bars, and only the ones I consider successful recipes. In that way I always get feedback and usually they ask for more, which I give with great pleasure.

I beleive it has no meaning to offer soap to someone that didn’t ask for it at first place.
For many people it is difficult to be convinced that someone can make his own soap in the kitchen and that soap could be equivalent or even better than a commercially available bar.

 

[Dorymae]

I beleive it has no meaning to offer soap to someone that didn’t ask for it at first place.

This is a great point! If you are selling I highly suggest finding a group of customers and or friends that want to be testers! If you are not selling then find the same with a group of friends but either way you must tell them to be brutal. Sure it feels good to hear good things, but you learn more from what people don't like than from what they do. There is no sense in just giving them out wilynily even at shows I only give samples to people who I believe are truly interested in trying them.

 

[neeners]

that can be true, but when you're first starting off, people don't know to ask or friends/family don't want to be presumptuous and ask for free stuff. I gave a lot of mine away over Christmas, requesting feedback (which I received from almost everyone, comments from "it's really nice, I like the bubbles" to "this is the most amazing thing I've ever showered with, love the smell, the feel, etc"). the ones who loved the soaps asked for more or asked to buy. sometimes, when you're starting up, you may have to give out stuff willy-nilly for a little bit until you can weed out those who won't give good feedback from those who do.