We've all done it. We've all bought something from Amazon (other selling platforms are available), or from a website, and that is the end of the interaction. We've done our bit, we've bought the product, our part of the deal is done. And then we get an email asking if we could leave a review, and let's face it, we just ignore it. Or delete it. I rarely leave reviews post purchase, even after receiving a gentle request to do so. It can take time, and it takes effort to write a review. You have to think about what to say.
We are a small brand competing in an industry where there are roughly 2000 new board games released each year. It is competitive. It is hard to get noticed. Especially when there are big companies behind some great (and some not so great, perhaps) games. And these companies have big budgets to advertise and market their games, they become well-known games and they are well-known and established publishers with big followings. At the moment we have neither the budget nor the following to compete, even though we are certain that the game itself is as good as any in its genre/category.
So how do we get Strong Point noticed? How do we get people who love games and who love trivia to know about our game?
Well, we can pay for advertising and marketing, on Amazon, on Google, and on Social Media. Which we do, but the budget available to us for this is pretty small in comparison to most of our competitors.
We can send the game to popular board game reviewers for them to play and review. This is something we definitely need to utilise much more. We have had reviews from the Whose Turn Is It Anyway podcast and from the Board's Eye View site, but there are other game reviewers we need to make aware of the game. This is something that we absolutely need to get better at.
Great as these reviewers are, they largely work for and with established board game fans. The average person who doesnt play games probably isn't aware of No Rolls Barred or Shut and Sit Down, two of the best and most popular board game channels on YouTube.
So for us customer reviews and recommendations become vital. Every review we get is important to us, they become the basis for a social media post, they can be used in promotional materials, they can be used in the product information that we send to games retailers and distributors.
But word of mouth is as important to us as the reviews. If you've played the game and loved it, spread the word. Tell people that you think it is great, play it with them and show them how great it is!
A happy customer video testimonial.
Recently we received an email from a someone who had been gifted a copy of Strong Point for Christmas. This was the body of the message:
"We played Strong Point recently for the first time and I just had to write to congratulate you on such a great idea. When we suggested playing it with our friends they weren't too enthusiastic at first as they didn't feel their general knowledge was very good and consequently they didn't think they would enjoy it - especially as my partner and I both play in a quiz league!
We played as individuals (although it would obviously be suitable as a team game) and the brilliant format means that points can be scored even if you don't manage to answer many of your own questions. In fact the questions were perfectly pitched - with enough easier ones to enable 'non-quizzers' to register some points but mixed in with more challenging and interesting material - thus keeping everyone happy! I write and verify quiz questions for a living (Uni Challenge, The Chase etc) and thought the question quality, accuracy and difficulty level was excellent.
This was straightforward, with no complicated rules...easy to play and adaptable (we split the large number of cards into 4 piles to give players a choice of topic).
So congratulations once again - I hope you have achieved high sales and go on to greater success. We will most certainly be recommending it and look forward to playing it with a large group of friends when we all go away together in May."
There is so much about this message that makes us feel blessed. Firstly, it reinforces what we hoped about Strong Point, some of the things I touched on in my last blog: that our game can appeal to people who either don't like or don't think they are good at trivia games. Secondly, it confirms what we hoped in that the level of questions is pitched just about right. And this is from someone who writes questions for University Challenge and The Chase! We must be doing something right! Thirdly, it also tells us that no matter how we say to play the game, people will find their own adaptations, and this is great. And finally, this is someone who will recommend the game to others, which is amazing. And this is what we want our customers to do.
Gill and Si after receiving a review
So my appeal to anyone reading this is simple: if you own Strong Point and you haven't already done so, please spare 2 minutes to leave us a brief review, on Amazon or our website. We have sold hundreds of copies on Amazon, yet we haven't even reached 50 reviews. And on Amazon reviews are gold. And again, if you haven't already done so, recommend the game to someone who you think might enjoy it, even if they think they won't! Even better, play it with someone who you think would enjoy it, even if they think they wouldn't!
Recommend and review. That is all we ask. Don't be like Michael from The Office US. Without your help Strong Point might never become a bestseller, and we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?!
Honourable mentions in today's blog:
https://norollsbarred.com/ Great for video playthroughs and live event comedy shows at UK Games Expo.
https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/ Great reviews and playthroughs with more comedy.
https://www.whoseturn.co.uk/ Board games podcast, a lovely bunch who we met at last year's UK Games Expo (If you go to about 9 minutes 20 seconds in on their Games Expo podcast you can hear them talk about Strong Point!)
https://www.boardseyeview.net/ Board game news, reviews and 360 views...
Until the next time, enjoy your gaming, enjoy your quizzing,
Si.