Archive for November, 2006
Are you looking for an inexpensive container to use for your holiday designs? Check out these metallic pots and dishes from Syndicate Sales, one of the largest manufacturers in the country of containers for retail florists.
Reflections,a line of lightweight, stable, plastic containers are a perfect choice for your holiday gift baskets. 
Bright, shiny gold and silver pots and dishes are damage resistant for safe shipping. These affordable containers can be put to use after your gourmet treats have been enjoyed. Let your customers know they can drop a poinsettia into the attractive tapered pot once they’ve finished the tasty treats that you sent, or use the attractive design dishes 
for a holiday centerpiece.
Go to Apex Gift Foods to see these versatile metallic containers. Call Apex, at 800-348-2369, to get a brochure showing the full line of Reflections metallic containers.
November 30th, 2006
In previous articles, I suggested that asking What, Who, and Where could help you get organized for the holidays. In this final article, we’ll deal with the last of the 5 W’s: When and Why.
Here’s a question you may not have considered as you planned for holiday orders: WHEN is the last date that you’ll accept orders? I know of many floral and gift basket businesses that continue to take orders up until Christmas eve. In many cases, this results in chaos! It’s important to analyze well before the holiday season is in high gear just how many orders you can REALISTICALLY get out.
First, You need to think about your design staff and your delivery staff. How many people will you have working those last days before the holiday? Will your staff be willing to work late on Christmas eve? Disgruntled staff will not do their best work and you risk ending up with dissatisfied customers. You also need to make sure that you know when UPS or FedEX (or whichever service you use) will be making their final pickups and be very sure that you know exactly how many days their deliveries will take.
It’s also important to ask yourself: WHY should customers buy from you? This is actually a question to consider at the beginning of your planning process, even before you start to make your advertising and marketing plans. Think about all the ways that you can make holiday shopping a real pleasure for your customers. Maybe you offer free delivery, or you provide special gift wrapping services, or a “shop at home” service. Whatever makes you stand out from the crowd should be emphasized in your brochures, on your web site or throughout your showroom so that your customers know exactly why they choose to do business with you.
November 28th, 2006
This is the second in a series of entries: Holiday Planning, Use the 5 W’s. In the last article, I suggested using the 5 W’s to ask yourself some questions that could help with holiday planning: “WHO are your customers” and “WHAT are you promoting”. In this entry, I’ll make some suggestions about “WHERE you are going to promote your line”.
Once you decided on your target audience, and created the designs you want to sell, you need to think about WHERE your customers will be able to see your line. Certainly, you can print a brochure, create a web site, or if you have a storefront, set up gorgeous displays. Whichever method you choose, put your efforts into making it great!
One way to decide how to proceed with any of these marketing approaches is to look carefully at what others have done and identify the things that appeal to your sense of style as well as to your common sense.
For example, if you decide to show your products on the internet, go to established web sites where you like to shop. As you click through the site, think about what makes the site attractive AND what makes the site easy to navigate. How does the home page invite you into the web store? Are the products organized in any particular manner? Are lots of photos used? Lots of text? Keep thinking about what you like about the web site and make notes so that you can include those features in your site.
Use this same approach if you’re printing a brochure or setting up store displays. Gather lots of catalogs and brochures from other businesses and ask yourself what makes you browse through certain printed materials and throw others away without opening. Likewise, visit other shops in your neigborhood. What makes you stop to look? Check out the lighting, the way displays are set up, colors chosen, whether products are grouped in any particular order.
This type of planning should be undertaken well before the holiday season starts. And there are many resources that you can refer to. Listed below are two of my favorite web sites that offer loads of information specific to the gift basket industry.
Shirley Frazier’s web site: Gift Basket Business.
Flora Brown’s web site: Gift Basket Business World.
November 26th, 2006
Remember the 5 W’s: WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHEN? Use these to help you plan your holiday promotions.
First, think about WHO you hope to sell to this holiday season. Is your target the stay at home mom or the corporate executive? Answers to this question will guide your decisions about basket designs, types of products you will choose, as well as marketing materials you will create. It is unlikely that the same basket will work for the different market segments that you serve.
Second, WHAT will you be promoting this holiday season? Because the holidays are so busy, it is worth your time to think carefully about the designs you plan to promote. Here are some suggestions to help you insure that you’ll be ready.
1. Create prototypes for each gift basket that you will be selling for the holidays. Make sure that you have gift baskets that sell at a variety of price points. Take photographs of each design. Use the photos for brochures, email marketing and to show staff who will be working with you. All employees, including drivers and bookkeepers should be aware of what you will promoting.
2. Decide how many of each design you expect to sell. If you’ve been in business for a while, you can refer to last year’s records to see how many baskets you sold at each price level. If this is your first year in business, try to talk with other gift basket designers. Go to the Gift Basket Exchange Message Board or the Gift Basket Review Message Board to chat with other gift basket business owners.
3. List all products that you will use in each basket design. Then, list all of your sources for those products. Call your suppliers to make sure they will have the merchandise you need. If there is any question about product availability, you may want to consider choosing new items. Also use this list to create a guide for any designers who may be helping you during the busy season so that everyone knows exactly what to include in each design.
Check back at this blog address to for more tips on the WHERE, WHEN, and WHY of holiday planning.
November 19th, 2006
Make sure you read Mary Anne Jacobs’ article in Rave Reviews Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 6: “Networking Has a Payoff”. Maryann covers the ins and outs of networking: what it is (and isn’t), why it works, and how you can make it work!
Of special interest to me were her “networking tips that boost sales”. These are great ideas for getting networking group members to use your business, then talk about your business to others.
One of my favorites is to “give your fellow group members a perk for doing business with you”. She suggests that if group members buy a basket from you, you can upgrade the basket by 10% by adding a free product to the design. She goes on to explain how this puts you ahead of someone who simply offers a 10% discount on the basket.
For example, if the basket sells for $50, the additional product you would add would sell for $5. That product probably cost you $2.50. If you had simply given a 10% discount on the $50 basket, that would cost you $5.
Be sure to read the whole article for more tips. Your business will benefit!
November 16th, 2006
Did you know that December is National Stress-Free Family Holidays month? How about letting your customers know how you can help them have stress-free holidays!
Put together a list of all of the services that you provide and reword those to demonstrate how you can help relieve holiday stress. For example, instead of just saying “we deliver”, make sure you let your customers know that you will save them time and money and “road rage” because you’ll be delivering their holiday gifts!
If you offer special gift wrapping services, don’t just say ” gift wrap available”. Let your customers know that they can pick out special ribbons or wraps or even bring in a “special keepsake” that you’ll add to the gift wrap so that their friend gets a truly personal gift.
Make sure your customers know how you can make their holiday shopping easy, fun and stress-free.
December 21st is Humbug Day. Any thoughts about how you might turn this into a holiday promotion?
November 11th, 2006
From Fancy Foods Newsbites, October 4, 2006: “The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute launched a consumer television advertising campaign on The Food Network beginning September 25. The campaign promotes wild and abundant Alaska seafood and prompts customers to ‘Ask for Alaska’.”
The Food Network has become a very popular viewing channel and it’s highly likely that your customers, who show their appreciation of gourmet treats every time they send a basket, are watching that channel. So why not show your customers that you’ve got the “hottest” products in the marketplace and include Alaskan smoked salmon products in your gift baskets?
Check out smoked salmon fillets at Apex Gift Foods. This delectable salmon is hand-filleted, cured and smoked in pure alderwood. With distinct packaging designs, including great graphics and popular colors, your customers will be delighted to find smoked salmon fillets in their baskets.
Go to Apex Gift Foods to see these tasty salmon items, plus smoked salmon pate. Mention ALASKABLOG if you place your order by November 17th and receive 5% off any of the salmon products.
November 8th, 2006
Want to offer personalized service to your customers?
Here’s a thought: How about a “Shop at Home Service”?
Let’s start with something that many gift baskets businesses may already do:
1. Create a brochure or flyer that shows your most popular holiday designs. Be sure to include a variety of styles, colors and price points.
2. Mail this to your customers and suggest that they can make their purchases from home by simply calling you and choosing the baskets they want to send to friends and family.
Now let’s take this a few steps further.
3. On the back of your brochure or flyer, show photos of the gourmet treats that you carry. Include those that you use frequently and try to keep in stock at all times. Also include photos of a few containers, and a variety of ribbons from which your customers can choose.
4. Create two columns (A & B) and sort the items so that products listed in column A are ones that sell for about the same price. Repeat for column B. Also choose containers and ribbons that are comparable in value to one another.
5. Create a formula. For example, for $50, suggest that customers pick four items from Column A , three items from Column B, a container, and a ribbon.
Sort of reminds me of Chinese take-out! But it may offer a fun way for customers to pick and choose what they like. At the very least, it may prompt customers to call you and ask lots of questions. Here are some caveats:
1. Expect that substitutions will be requested! Be ready for this and explain that you will not be able to match the price listed on the brochure, but would be happy to quote a price for a basket that includes the specific products they want.
2. Cover yourself by stating on your brochure that products of similar value may be substituted if you are temporarily out of stock of a particular item.
3. Set a date for the end of the promotion. Stop taking “Stay at Home” orders 10-14 days before the holiday. These could be time consuming calls, and you don’t want to turn something fun into a hassle for you and your staff.
Any thoughts about adding to this idea or modifying the format of the promotion? I’d love to hear your ideas!
November 6th, 2006
