Who manages our online sales?

What does it mean to manage online sales of fences? Who is behind the scenes? How is everything managed? Let's find out today in this video. Hi everyone, I’m Marco from Fenceshop and today for this interview playlist, I've decided to join Amélie. Hi Amélie, thanks for being here with me today.

Amélie: Hi Marco, thanks for the invitation.

Well, you should know that Amélie, our employee, is the one who manages the online sales. So, just to be clear, when you write on our portal for problems or information or when you call us, she is the one who provides assistance. Amélie is originally French, so she also manages the ecommerce part in France, and she does it excellently in French because she's fluent.

Amélie: Absolutely, absolutely, I have no language problems.

Marco: Ok, well, let's now delve a bit deeper into her role and understand together the communicative impact a figure like hers can have in managing these sales. Ok Amélie, the first question I want to ask you is: tell us a bit more about your role.

Amélie: So, as you mentioned before, I handle the commercial management of the Fenceshop store, which means managing incoming orders, informing customers before a potential order, and assisting them at any stage of the ordering process. I also deal with the multilingual content of the store, so for French, it’s much easier, yes, and then for English too, we try to do what we can thanks also to my native English-speaking friend who helps with translations.

Marco: Just curious, when you arrived, did you struggle a lot to translate some of the technical terms for fences, which is a world unknown to many?

Amélie: Absolutely, I didn't know anything about fences. I was a French teacher here in Italy before, so my first approach to Fenceshop and Rete Plastic was the translation of very technical content, which was difficult. I also found it challenging to deal with the various dialects and accents in Italy during the first few months. Italy is very diverse in this sense. I sometimes struggle to understand certain accents from various Italian regions, which are wonderful. Imagine how hard it was to understand a very strong Tuscan accent, for example.

Marco: Yes, Tuscan, southern accents, but by now you’re well-versed, so to speak.

Amélie: I must admit that sometimes I understand better than some colleagues. Experience counts for everything.

Marco: Amélie, one more thing: we know well that in the world of online sales, one of the most important factors is the quick response when something happens. How do you handle this?

Amélie: Well, as you said, I am quick to respond. It means getting in touch with customers as soon as possible and being very transparent. So, when, for example, we are waiting for a response from a supplier about the availability of a product, even just telling the customer "look, we haven't forgotten about you, but we are still waiting for a response, we'll get back to you as soon as we have it." Quick response is very, very important.

Marco: It's very clear the sense of calm you then convey to the end user when you approach them in this way.

Amélie: Absolutely, it's crucial indeed to provide calmness because placing an order online can be anxiety-inducing for various reasons. Sometimes it's even the courier that can cause anxiety for the customer, but we make sure to tell them, and we do, that we will take utmost care to help change their opinion regarding our courier service as well. So, accompanying customers, making them understand we recognize their concerns, and trying to provide the maximum tranquility in knowing they are being supported.

Marco: Amélie, I have to ask you a tough question: what is the difference between us, not necessarily us specifically, I mean a small specialized ecommerce like ours, compared to a large marketplace?

Amélie: The first difference is that we communicate online, we sell and manage everything ourselves 360 degrees, unlike large marketplaces which are intermediaries. So, customers on a large marketplace cannot have a direct contact with the seller or the producer as quickly as possible. So, major difference already in almost immediate answers. Second difference, we sell but those who follow you on YouTube will know there is a great experience in installation, so we sell a complete package: a product and advice on how to apply, install, and use this product to its maximum quality. Therefore, a quality service and great versatility exist on Fenceshop that does not exist on a large marketplace or even on another that is growing. We offer the quantity the customer needs, so we are very, very versatile.

Marco: Cutting by the meter?

Amélie: The famous cutting by the meter, exactly.

Marco: Amélie, another hot topic, shipments in relation to cost. I won’t deny that more than once we have received critiques about our transport costs being high. Could you explain why, considering you manage them and know how much they cost us?

Amélie: First observation: it's not that many times our customers have complained about shipping costs. But when they do, do they complain? Yes, they complain more about something small and having to pay minimum shipping costs. But, I repeat, it's quite rare because even on large marketplaces shipping is free but starting from a certain purchase amount. On this note, I really want to tell those who buy on Fenceshop that we pay close attention to this aspect. We scrutinized all orders over a year and all destinations to offer the best price without us losing too much because otherwise we can’t offer our service in Italy and France. We don't send a box with shoes, we sometimes ship an order on two pallets that weigh a thousand kilos, a gate, some panels, something lightweight but very bulky, so to offer the best service you also need to know how to pay.

Marco: That’s true, I want to add something: you must obviously trust what I say, our company policy is not to earn money on shipping but also not to lose on it. This means we have adjusted the shipping costs to a level that allows us to simply cover them. So, know that it may seem strange to spend 60 euros or even much more for an item and think "hell, I found it there with free shipping." Well, still to be evaluated, still to be understood, probably the price is hidden in the product. Anyway, I can guarantee that at the end of the year, the cost of shipping we cover is what we then collect, so we break even.

Amélie: That's right.

Marco: Before closing the video, Amélie, just a couple more things. We’ve often been criticized, not really often, but someone in the trade has criticized us because we provide too much assistance to some people, some users, some customers who may have difficulties. For example: the classic elderly person who is unprepared, doesn't navigate well on internet platforms, and doesn't know what to do. One school of thought is to say "if they can't do it, they shouldn’t buy," the other school of thought is to assist them. How do you behave?

Amélie: Well, giving assistance means giving assistance, there is no in-between. And you don't know how happy I am when our senior-age customers call for this assistance. It’s important to me, both due to my professional deformation, as I was a teacher before, and because I am a mother, to help, to accompany these people who struggle to complete an order. Assistance Marco is crucial to me, and it’s also the most beautiful aspect of my job because I have contact with you, our customers, and I love this contact. You then discover wonderful things, these are stories that with these small helps, this little assistance, really establish almost human relationships that go beyond. With thanks, pleasant words, affection we receive from some users who then perhaps come back to buy again because they know there is someone behind who is pleasant like you.

Amélie: Yes, and this word is the most beautiful reward in the job: when someone recognizes that you were very very very helpful. These compliments from some customers are really the driving force because in the company policy of Fenceshop and Rete Plastic, the customer is truly at the center of our daily concern.

Marco: Well Amélie, before letting you go, one last thing or rather tell me if you have something to say before closing this video.

Amélie: Well, I won’t say it to you, I’ll say it to you all: contact us under any circumstance if you have a doubt, if you need advice because we are here to do it with heart and with the utmost professionalism. Behind Fenceshop there’s me, but there are also great professionals who can give you all the technical advice you might need in the world of fences because it’s not a well-known field. Thanks to you who are educating those in need of this information through these YouTube videos. Don’t hesitate, I’m here and we’re here.

Marco: Thank you, Amélie, I thank you in front of everyone obviously, thanks for being here with me today. It was a great pleasure. Please, a greeting to everyone, but do it in French.

Amélie: First of all, I greet our customers who listen to us in Italy, I love Italians. Greetings to all, follow us on our social media, don’t forget to visit our international site www.fenceshop.eu for our ecommerce and www.reteplastic.it for our institutional site. Goodbye everyone and subscribe to our channel.