Deciding to be self employed I feel has been a great blessing. This has provided me the ability to accept jobs as they come and also decline jobs if there is a conflict (which does not happen often). Last week I was hired to film exams four out of the five days, I would have had a “double day” on one of the days if the second appointment was not at the same time of the first exam.
Even though I felt bad that I was not able to accommodate my clients needs, I got word from the attorney that they blame themselves for this because they didn’t notify me earlier (I had a two day notice of the exam). Knowing that they trust me and my ability to do a good job is very assuring that I am doing the best I can to put out a “product” that meets their needs.
So what does all that have to do with board games? It means that if a company puts out shoddy products, people will not come back to support them if they consistently have issues.
With my videography business, if my videos were just a cell phone mounted on a tripod, I would not be working as much because the quality of the work will not be great. But because I put out high quality work, I keep getting hired over and over by the same attorneys.
In the gaming world, we have been blessed that only a handful of games we own have had components that we felt have been sub-par. Even the new smaller companies and designers have put in the extra work to make sure their products meet their standards of quality before sending out product.
PREVENTING BAD WORK
One of our Kickstarter projects we backed had an estimated delivery date of May 2021 but will not be out until, best guess, Q2 of 2022. Not only was Covid an issue, which we totally understand, but the samples that the designer was provided from the manufacture were completely below anyone’s standard.
He had shared pictures of each item that was a problem and apologized to us backers for the problems. He even got to the point to tell all 211 of us that if we wanted a refund that he would issue it. To my knowledge, not a single backer withdrew. As of the last update, he was still working on finding a new manufacturer that will meet the quality standard.
A few other companies I know have delayed releasing products for the same reason. As we have stated before in the past, we prefer quality over quantity. We want the publishers to be proud of their work and put out products that keep clients coming back over and over.
MORALS
The bottom line for all of this is that if you are looking to make a quick buck and do not care about receiving poor ratings, then mass produce a game and get out of the business. Just know that people will lose all respect for you and more than likely not support you again. Treat others how you want to be treated.
If you want to gain the love and respect of the gaming community, you will stick to your guns and make sure that only the best products carry your name. This is why my wife and I continue to back projects from certain publishers as well as make continuing purchases from them.
LOYALTY PAYS OFF
I want to share with you an email that I got the other day from one of my favorite game companies. We just placed another order with them since they are having an awesome sale right now on some add-ons that we are missing for a game that we gifted to a family member.
“We hope this message finds you and your family well.
We just want to say thank you for your continuous support over the years and your amazing and contagious positive energy.
So we added an extra gift to your order, we hope you enjoy it!”
What makes this message so special is not the extra gift that was added to the order (a nice gesture) but the acknowledgement of being a supporter of the company and the “contagious positive energy” that I have while promoting their games to others.
Companies that notice and show appreciation to their supporters will tend to build a strong fan base which ensures longevity.
DON’T FORGET THE SMALL GUYS
Another small publisher who has only created 3 projects thus far (we missed the first project but picked up the game with his second one) has small but devoted following of under 500 backers. He responds to all questions timely, he keeps everyone informed of the progress being made, he also puts into his games more than what is promised from each campaign because of the love of gaming he has and puts out product that he is very proud to take ownership of.
Because we love his abstract games, we will continue to support him in his efforts to put out the games he creates. His love and devotion to the craft does set him apart from other small creators who just want to do the bare minimums to get something made. 
BOTTOM LINE
Of course the bottom line of it all is to be wise in whom you support. As I mentioned in a previous entry or two, there are some publishers who we will not further support because of the way they treat the people who keep them in business. Sometimes you must live and learn, it’s only human.
No comments:
Post a Comment