If you are a DIY/indie musician you are a ‘business’ and like any other business you have to treat your fans or your customers right.  Here’s an example of that from my own music career that happened just yesterday.

To make away for a new product on our online shop, I reduced the price of an ‘end of line’ merch item to just £1 and promoted the deal on my bands website and socials. Lots of people took advantage of the offer, so much so that due a stocking error by the company who handles our merch, they oversold the item by twenty three units!

Someone made an error and it wasn’t even my fault!

It wasn’t my fault but it was my fans who had been inconvenienced.  To try and make up for people’s disappointment I told the people who run the shop to email all who had been affected, offering a 30% discount code as a way of an apology.

Some fans still weren’t happy.  An angry fan posted on our Facebook page annoyed at missing  out on a bargain through no fault of his own.  I managed to find an old copy of the item I had lying around and offered to send it him for free, not even a charge for postage.  His anger quickly dissipated and he was over the moon.

Customer service is all about turning frowns into smiles!

This incident demonstrates that providing ‘customer service’ to your fans is a key part of building a life long relationship with them.  It’s all about caring.  If a fan is inconvenienced, even if it wasn’t your fault, you’re going to have to do something to keep them happy and show them that you care.

You have to make sure that your music fans are happy!

If someone has bought tickets to a show and they contact you saying the sound was an issue you should refund their money and offer them free tickets to another show.  If they ordered a CD and it arrives with a cracked or damaged CD case, send them not only a replacement but an extra item as well.  It’s all about providing great fan/customer service and putting them at the heart of what you do.

If you want to know more about this, read Gary Vee’s The Thank You Economy and watch this classic clip from him here.

Got any questions about this post or how you can better market yourself?

Twitter:  @60secondmm

Facebook: www.facebook.com/60secondmusicmarketing