Responding to Online Reviews

Man, I can't believe the end of the month is here already.

Spent most of last week at a mastermind meeting in Dallas, got home at 130 am Saturday morning, got my daughter to her lacrosse game by 0800, then drove to Virginia as my son was in a triathlon on Sunday morning.

And here I am....

I came across an interesting marketing strategy and I wanted to know what you thought of it:

Yesterday I got a follow up email from a leather luggage company that I had purchased from in the past. It looked something like this:

While we take great pleasure in knowing you're enjoying your Carl Friedrik product, it's the criticism that really gets us thinking. After all, constructive customer reviews offer us guidance on how we can refine our service and better serve our community.

Let's address a few less-than-perfect reviews below:

Review of the Palissy Weekend: "The only negative is the leather is very stiff and hard to fully open the bag because of it. I hope it will soften with time."

• Reply from Friedrik: We do hear comments from time to time about the initial stiffness of our leather. the Italian vegetable tanned leather we use takes a little while to break in, but will soon become supple and flexible. This is a natural part of the leather ageing process, so no need to be concerned. For more info on vegetable tanned leather, click here.

They included a picture of the the bag in question as well as a link to purchase it.

Review of the Carry-on Pro: Nice bag, but too small. It looks like a standard roller bag for an airplane, but it is about 2/3 the size. It's good for about two nights away, but no more.

• Reply from Friedrik: While the Carry-on Pro is compliant with most European and US airline cabin size restrictions, there are certainly larger cabin suitcases on the market. we suggest checking the product details for the key measurements before buying. The Carry-on Pro will actually hold up to 5 days worth of clothing. We know that packing is a fickle art - so check out our Suitcase Packing Guide here.

They included a picture of the the bag in question as well as a link to purchase it.

Before I tell you what I think of this email, I would like to hear your thoughts.

• What do you think of the strategy?
• Would it move you to buy?
• Anything that could be done better?
• Anything they should not have done?
• What did they miss?

A portion of the email is below