Archive for June, 2006
Specialty Food Magazine, June, 2006, includes an article showcasing outstanding retailers of 2006. Full Story
I recommend that you read the story because it’s inspiring. It details how these retailers capitalized on their strengths and created highly successful businesses, not afraid of their biggest competitors.
I especially liked a suggestion offered by one of the business owners from The Epicure Market. Their shelves are stocked “with high quality items that are both unusual and adventurous, yet can be sourced on a regular basis.” According to the owner, there is nothing worse than “to find a great product, have a customer fall in love with it and not be able to get it again”.
This is great advice for our gift basket businesses. Make sure you buy from reliable suppliers who will have the products your customers want. Find several sources for the products that you use most often. If you buy from a new supplier, ask for some references and find out if other buyers have been satisfied with the company’s service.
At Apex Gift Foods,we make sure we know where to buy our most popular products if our regular suppliers are out of stock. We also keep a list of “substitutions”: other products we can suggest if a popular item is temporarily not available. You can go a long way to create customer loyalty if you can supply those gourmet treats that your customers love!
June 30th, 2006
I was just doing some on-line shopping and purchased a lovely skirt. When I selected the item, I got a message: “others who bought this skirt also bought”…and 3 more accessory items were presented that went with the skirt. And I bought 2 of those items!
At Apex Gift Foods, we have found that a similar approach works for increasing sales and satisfying our customers. We train our sales people to offer product suggestions to buyers based upon the choices the buyer has already made. For example, if a buyer purchases a case of Walker Shortbread Cookies, the sales person mentions that we carry six other flavors of Walker Cookies and may also tell the buyer which is the most popular flavor.
Or, the sales person might use another approach. When the buyer purchases that case of Walker Shortbread Cookies, the sales person might mention that other buyers have purchased a particular tea or coffee that seems to go well with the cookie.
In order to be successful with either of these approaches, our sales people need a list of products that “go together”. First, we make sure that our sales people know the range of products we carry from each of our manufacturers. That way, if a customer seems to like products from a certain company (eg. Walker Cookies), our sales people can quickly suggest other Walkers products.
Second, we create a “cheat sheet” for our sales people. The sheet has two columns: “If Customer Orders This” and “Suggest This”. This handy reference allows our sales people to be confident and helpful to those customers who aren’t sure exactly what they want.
This type of sales approach can easily be adapted to your gift basket business. Make sure that your staff is well trained about the products that are available and are knowledgable about products that work well when used together. This should include knowledge of both gourmet products and other items that would “go well” in the design such as ribbons or enhancements.
Not only will you have satisfied customers, but you will be likely to see increases in sales as those customers start to depend upon your knowledge and experience.
June 28th, 2006
For many gift businesses, increased sales volume occurs during the holidays. And because of this, we often think about our facilties and staffing needs based on those busy times. But the reality is that a very small percentage of the year involves big holiday volume. And many small businesses may be incurring unnecessary expenses during the slower times of year.
Floral Finance newsletter, June, 2006, suggests that small business owners, who rely greatly on holiday sales, should base the size of their facility, staff, and overhead on non-holiday sales.
Here’s how it would work. You would analyze your needs for work space and for staff based upon the business that you do during the non-holiday season. Then, as holidays approach, you make adjustments.
For the holidays, you might rent an extra storeroom or add extra work tables in the basement or garage of your existing facility. Use email or a fax machine to send orders to this extra location.
You might hire extra staff for the holidays. Think about adding employees who might take care of some of the activities that require minimal training: packing orders for shipping, making deliveries, keeping the displays looking clean and fresh. This way, your designers and sales staff can concentrate on what they do best.
There are many ways to streamline your business and cut the constantly increasing costs of doing business. Good planning can help you be profitable during all seasons.
June 25th, 2006
It is not unusual for corporations to expect special services such as volume discounts. Often, corporations get regular discounts from suppliers who hope to gain and maintain the high volume of business that a large company can do.
Here’s an idea from Floral Finance, June, 2006. Instead of offering your corporate clients discounts on purchases, base their discount on prompt payment of their account.
If you give discounts on volume purchases, you need to keep track of those purchases. Furthermore, you may need to be patient if the corporation doesn’t send a check within your payment terms.
Instead, if for example, you offer a discount for payment within 10 days, the corporation has an incentive to pay your bill on time. With this approach, everyone wins!
June 22nd, 2006
The All Candy Expo in Chicago, June 6-8, was a “sweet” show! According to the National Confectioner’s Association, “more than 1800 new confectionary items will be launched this year in the United States and the market for sweets totals more than $125 million”. (Fancy Food & Culinary Products, June 2006).
During the warm weather months, candy is a great alternative to chocolates in your gift basket designs. Check out Apex Gift Foods for a terrific selection of candies to add to any of your summer designs. Bulk candies are an inexpensive filler. Or choose from Apex’s exclusive line of candies in decorative cellophane bags: pastel meltys, licorice allsorts, spice drops or gourmet mints.
Order any candy from Apex and receive a 10% discount. Mention CANDYBLOG when you place your order. Discount is valid through June, 2006.
You can satisfy your clients’ sweettooths and sweeten your profits with candies from Apex Gift Foods.
June 20th, 2006
Did you know that July is Anti-Boredom Month? How about a gift basket full of great products to ward off the yawns!
In addition to your delicious gourmet treats, this might be a perfect time to introduce some new items in your product mix and have some fun at the same time. And since this is traditionally a slow time of year, you might have a chance to drum up some business with an “Anti-Boredom” theme.
Why not design a basket that’s full of puzzle books: crosswords, word jumbles, and suduki? Or check with your local bookstore to get the best “summer beach reads” and include a novel and suntan lotion in with a beach basket full of gourmet snacks? How about some games:a deck of cards, travel sized checkerboards, or even some brightly colored chalks for hopscotch on the driveway?
Go to your local toy store to find some great items that would appeal to the whole family. Talk to your own kids or your friends’ children to find out what are the “hot” new games in the marketplace. Then, send a mailing or email to your regular customers announcing your intention to help fight the summer boredom blues. Offer a discount on an “Anti-Boredom” basket to clients who want to send a gift to a friend who is ill. Run a daily promotion at your store: with each gift basket purchased, give away an inexpensive toy. Go to your local dollar store and stock up on frisbees and beach balls!
Use your imagination to fight the boredom and fight the competition with your creativity!
June 14th, 2006
Rave Reviews! Magazine includes a feature each month describing how floral designs can be used to add another dimension to your gift basket business. In the May/June, 2006 issue, specific instructions are provided for assembling unique floral table arrangements. Some of the floral supplies used include floral foam, floratape, and wire.
Apex Gift Food’s sister company is Keystone Ribbon and Floral Supply Company. Keystone has been doing business with retail florists for over 50 years and offers 1000’s of floral supply products. (Go to “About Us” to get more information about Keystone.)
If you plan to expand your business by adding floral enhancements and designs to your product mix, Apex and Keystone can be your “one stop shopping source” for all of your gourmet food AND floral supply needs. Check Apex Gift Foods for special promotions on the floral supply items you’ll see featured in Rave Reviews! articles. We’ll be adding more and more floral supply items each month, so keep checking back!
Bonus: save 15% on your first floral supply order. Mention FLORALBLOG when you place your order by phone or write this code in the comments section of your order form when you order on line.
June 12th, 2006
Tom and Pam Newell, the founders of Gift Basket School, Inc. graciously sent me a article to share with my blog readers. Tom and Pam have been in the gift basket industry for over 26 years. Their school provides classes and seminars, educational CD’s, books, sales tools and more.
Following are some ideas from their article, “How to Sell Your Wonderful Designs with Buzz Words”. The premise is that descriptive words, that evoke feelings, should be part of all of your sales and marketing information. They believe that customers buy with feelings and emotions.
Tom and Pam say “Use descriptive words and phrases that increase the customer’s desire to want your products”. Here are some examples: Amazing, Spectacular, Dynamic, Incredible…Personalized, Sumptuous, Especially for You..Melt in Your Mouth Goodies…Overflowing…Sheer Artistry”.
They also believe that it’s important to present yourself as a Gift Basket Professional (not a Basketeer) and that you stress your areas of competence and specialties.
Give Tom and Pam a call at 330-478-0555 if you’d like the full article. And, go to their web site, for more information about the services and products they offer.
June 9th, 2006
Looking for something different to include in your gift baskets? These celebratory pens make a flashy conversation piece and a great gift! Just use an inexpensive ball point pen and wrap it with this new product: two toned wire.
This versitile product is manufactured by Smithers Oasis and Apex Gift Foods carries this product in their wholesale floral division. In addition to the two tone wire, aluminum wire in bright metallic tones and bouillon wire can be used to add decorative accents to your designs.
Go to Apex’s web site to see the variety of colors available in these new wire products. If you place an order, mention code WIREBLOG and receive a 5% discount on these items.
June 7th, 2006
Just read about a great resource for marketing materials in the Fancy Foods News Bites, May 17th (this is the e-newsletter of Fancy Foods and Culinary Products Magazine.)
Marketing includes all of the activities that you might engage in to promote your business and sell your products. While marketing often involves some sort of advertising, there are many other marketing approaches you can use to get your business information in front of potential customers.
Vista Print can offer help with a part of your marketing activities. It is an on-line source for high quality graphic design services and full color printing in small quantities at affordable prices.
Go to the Vista Print web site to check out the variety of marketing materials that are available. You can use Vista Print tools to design your marketing materials from scratch or use your own desk top publishing programs and take advantage of Vista Print’s affordable printing packages.
The company also offers toll free phone support if you have questions or problems. Customer testimonials are included on the site so that you can get a sense of how others have used Vista Print’s resources.
And make sure that you download their free guide: Marketing Your Small Business on a Shoestring Budget. This includes a wealth of information about marketing and will help you understand how to get started.
June 5th, 2006
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