Waters Music tunes into a new way of doing business
Their musical instrument repair shop in the Tumble Creek area south of Chipley might not look like your idea of a global enterprise. But as the first to take advantage of West Florida Electric Cooperative’s Trueband e-Store technology, Waters Music is ready to serve a worldwide market.
Michael Waters and his daughter Autumn specialize in brass and woodwind instrument repairs, including complete overhauls and restorations. In addition to their shop near Chipley, they maintain a Panama City location where they perform emergency repairs by appointment. Michael’s area of particular expertise is large tubas, while Autumn’s is classic instruments, such as those made by Selmer. They also carry reeds for woodwind instruments.
Until now, Waters Music’s customer base has been mostly wholesale, in Bay County, southwest Georgia and south Alabama, largely the schools in those areas. That’s about to change as their e-Store allows them to tap into markets they never dreamed of serving before. But, you might wonder, how does an instrument repair business make use an electronic storefront?
Recognizing a need for quick, convenient access to reeds, Waters Music has launched a Web site, www.buyreeds.com, where beginning to advanced musicians to order a variety of reeds via the Internet. "We thought we saw a good market," Michael says. "A reed is a small thing, but you can’t play a clarinet or saxophone without it."
The site’s 24-hour availability is a significant benefit for one of Waters Music’s primary target markets -- school band students and their busy parents. "A lot of times, people get home from work late, they’re trying to get the kids dinner and everything, and it’s really hard for them to get to a music store to buy reeds," Michael explains. "Usually it’s when they’re putting the kids to bed that they hear, ‘Oh yeah, mommy, I need a box of reeds.’ It’s eight or nine o’clock, and they wish there were a music store open. Well, we are."
Besides removing the restrictions set business hours create, the Waters’ e-Store eliminates other inconveniences traditional stores can pose for potential customers. "Many rural areas don’t have a music store nearby," says Autumn. "Also, for a lot of parents, going into a music store can be intimidating. Some stores only sell reeds to get people in there so the salespeople can sell or rent them an instrument."
Product pictures and descriptions on the site help customers select the right reeds each time. "One of the hardest things in our whole business is getting information from a child to a parent in a coherent form," Michael laughs. "Now kids can bring buyreeds.com up on the computer screen and say, ‘Look, mom, get the blue box.’"
In considering what features they wanted on their Web site, Michael and Autumn focused on simplicity. After logging to buyreeds.com, customers can complete a transaction in just three steps. "I know there are Web sites you can go on where you have to wade through page after page of stuff. It’s totally unnecessary," says Michael. "Customers don’t want to be more busy, they want to be less busy."
E-Stores offer convenience for businesses, as well as customers, who use them. Waters Music can change the items in their online catalog at no extra cost whenever they like, and order processing is almost automatic. "We can come in, check the computer and print out the names, addresses and credit card numbers of everybody who wanted reeds. Then we can print out a mailing label and ship the reeds to them whether they’re in Panama City, Florida, or Panama City, Panama," Michael says. "The package will be delivered to their door within three working days, guaranteed, regardless of the location."
With their customer-oriented e-Store, Waters Music can reach a new level of competitiveness. "We’re a very small business competing with a lot of large businesses," Autumn notes. "We can’t compete with them by being the same as them."
Michael and Autumn credit WFEC Internet Services Manager Steve Hall with tailoring buyreeds.com to their objectives. "Steve just asked us what we wanted to do, and he’s been able to come up with a solution for every problem we’ve had and make it work," Michael says. "He took the business we had and translated it into this cyberstore. We don’t expect to do all our business through an e-Store, though; it’s a supplement."
The partners plan to soon offer a new site, featuring troubleshooting tools with which customers can diagnose their own instrument problems. "Our whole thing about service is going one step further," says Michael. ‘You’ve got to make a difference in somebody’s life. You’ve got to make it easier."
"People have asked us why we give our customers so much information," he adds. "The smarter our customers are, the better off we are. We say when they’re smart, they’ll choose us. When they’re stupid, they’ll choose someone else."
The two will spread the word about buyreeds.com through direct mail, as well as in person at band directors’ conventions and summer band camps, where they often conduct clinics, In fact, with a laptop computer, they can take their e-Store on the road with them.
From his experience, Michael sees excellent potential for the site in areas having many musicians and few music shops. "For example, when I had a shop in Miami, I repaired a lot of instruments for people from Costa Rica, and they kept telling me they have a beautiful symphony and every child plays a musical instrument there, but it’s really hard to get reeds," he says. "When I had a business in Seattle, I saw the same thing with people from Alaska." He also hopes his customers stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base will remember buyreeds.com if they’re transferred overseas.
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