Taylor survey

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

Has anyone else gotten the email survey?  Kind of interesting, they asked questions about registering the guitar and then asked what kind of incentives would help influence one to register.

Then at the end they gave 15% off TaylorWare.  I don't even go to the website anymore, it's been horrible for several years now and no sign of changing.

[BathTimeStrummer]

I got it. I used the discount on some strings and an extra truss rod wrench. I give 'em credit for the effort...

I wish they would invest in a decent CRM software so they would know it's me when I call. They should know what guitars I have and what questions I've asked in the past. They could really take their customer service to the next level.

[michaelw]

no e-mail survey, but there was one several months back that popped up in a window
after going through a few pages on the website & the discount was 1/3 greater too -
the $ for wave compensated 6 string acoustic bone saddle is much more reasonable now

there have been some specs added to guitar pages such as body dimensions, scale length &
nut width & it'd be nice to see a few more like bracing width, fretboard & top radius,
string spacing at the saddle & i think it used to show gloss 6.0, satin 5.0 & varnish 2.0
finishes on all of the series, but now it seems to be just on the 800 series (gloss 3.5) -
what would really go a long way to help navigation, imho, is just a little thing, but if one more
rollover pop-up window was added to the main page, it would be quicker & more user friendly

when rolling over guitars & going to the acoustic side to series, if another window
were to pop up with all the series lined up to where the series could clicked on

presentation
koa
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
mini
baby

it could be 2 clicks & one could be at whatever model was being searched for -
shapes, woods & categories could be done in the same manner also

on the series page, rather than having the horizontal scrolling window, have the series in a list format
& when a series is rolled over, have another window pop-up with all the models within the series -
searching for a 914ce could take 2 clicks, no matter how it is navigated, using shape, woods or series

having another rollover pop-up window, from the first one could make it a one-click affair -
rollover series-900-914ce, but that would be pretty much how the old site was set-up

if the models within a series were in a list format on one page rather than a gallery on two, it
could speed things up a bit as well, with a small "avatar" of the model that when rolled over
popped up with a larger image & the body dimensions, the way rolling over the shape works now

the horizontal scrolling window & the multiple gallery pages are the 2 things that make the site a bit "clunky", imho -
adding more info would be nice as well, such as LTD & wood & steel archives, but i would hope that's coming soon

[TaylorGirl]

I did the survey.....found the questions interesting......incentives to register new guitars and "free subscription" to W&S....hmmmmm.  I register all my Taylors regardless, but if they want to give me an incentive, I'll take whatever they want to give me. Will we be paying for W&S in the future???

Haven't used the 15% discount yet. 

[ataylor]

I took the survey. One thing I thought was particularly curious was a question about a "two year free subscription to Wood & Steel" -- I wonder if they are going to try and monetize that going forward. Ugh.

[DennisG]

As an old marketing guy, I found the survey both illuminating and highly flawed.  Illuminating for what it says about Taylor's plans about incentives in the future, and flawed because they learn nothing about the motivating power of specific incentives from those of us who regularly register our guitars without the need for incentives.

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

I agree with you Dennis, as I was going thru the survey I thought really......a t shirt....."c'mon man."

And 15% is not enough to get me to the terribly functioning website and the overpriced store.

It does look like W&S is either going to be digital or we'll have to pay.  I've not been that impressed with the last few issues anyway and I sure as heck won't read it as a digital offering.....but hey, that's just me.

[Tarekith]

I'm glad they're considering a tablet version of W&S, will be much more convenient way to consume my quarterly ad 

[mikeguywest]

I haven't received a survey yet. As much as I enjoy W&S I wouldn't subscribe to it. I though the price of the guitar was worth a free subscription. If they start charging I'll simply visit my FLGS and get a free copy while strumin' some tunes.

[DennisG]

It probably costs them several dollars to produce, print, and mail out a single copy of W&S.  If they switched to a tablet format, they'd eliminate two of those costly steps.  I'm okay with that.

[michaelw]

I haven't received a survey yet. As much as I enjoy W&S I wouldn't subscribe to it. I though the price of the guitar was worth a free subscription. If they start charging I'll simply visit my FLGS and get a free copy while strumin' some tunes.

in some way, shape or form, the W&S at the dealer is not "free" -
it may be provided to a customer, or anyone walking in off the street, without charge, but
the cost to produce it & to actually get it to the guitar shop's shelf is considerable, which is
probably why most other manufacturers don't do this type of publication on a regular basis

W&S also has content that is a good bit more than just a straight product & spec sales brochure
that one would find at an automobile dealership & even those are getting harder to find as well ($)

[Jersey tuning]

Turning W & S into a paid publication would amount to Taylor shooting themselves in the foot.  The most passionate purchasers of upscale Taylor guitars are existing owners;  I for one would not bother with a paid subscription to Wood and Steel, especially with Acoustic Guitar magazine and the Fretboard Journal arriving at my door.

[mgap]

If W & S becomes a paid subscription I don't think they will have enough subscribers to pay for it to exist, and it will end up being a online mag. only.  I for one would not like that.  I look forward to my issue arriving in the mail and love to read a real magazine.  I am not interested in a online issue.  Bob please don't do it. 

[michaelw]

Turning W & S into a paid publication would amount to Taylor shooting themselves in the foot.  The most passionate purchasers of upscale Taylor guitars are existing owners;  I for one would not bother with a paid subscription to Wood and Steel, especially with Acoustic Guitar magazine and the Fretboard Journal arriving at my door.

other companies charges for certain "privileges"
http://www.martinguitar.com/about-martin/owners-club.html
why shouldn't Taylor be any different

[Captain Jim]

I haven't received an e-mail survey, but I always register a guitar right away.  Wood & Steel is a very unique publication - having been in the imaging business, it is absolute first class: quality images and writing, gorgeous paper stock.

Most magazines, if financially viable, survive due to advertising; the subscription cost paid by the readers doesn't begin to pay the bills.  Many publications have gone away, those that are still around are visibly thinner.

It would be a shame to see W&S go to an on-line only format, but I can understand if it goes that route.  There is only ONE advertiser for W&S, and that advertiser gets to decide if producing that beautiful publication is cost effective.  One sure way to keep it around: mention it when you register a new guitar.

If I get the opportunity to vote, I'd give two BIG THUMBS UP for Wood & Steel.   

Jim