Archive for April, 2007
Have you been debating about opening an online store to sell your gift baskets? If you don’t already have an internet site, now is the time to act! According to an article I read in Yahoo Finance, consumers are increasingly going online to research products they intend to buy.
According to a survey of U.S. consumers. consumers go to the internet before they go to a store to make their purchases. They use the internet to look at product features and compare prices. The internet has become “an extension of consumers’ in-store shopping experience”. Moreover, consumers report that “the most powerful influencers of their purchase decisions are word-of-mouth, followed by advertising and online information”.
So how do you build an online store? A logical place to start might be to search the internet for information! But if you do a search on Google for “building an online store”, approximately 1 million results are displayed and that of course, is overwhelming.
My suggestion is to start looking close to home. If you know someone who has an online store, ask them how they got started. Look in your local Yellow Pages for businesses that build internet sites. Call your local Chamber of Commerce and ask if they have any resources for you. Then, go to the library and find a book. “Starting an Online Business for Dummies” is a great place to start.
I can also recommend Yahoo as a great resource for building an online store. Our ecommerce store, Apex Gift Foods, is part of the Yahoo Store “chain”. Yahoo offers a very affordable program for starting an online business. Go to Yahoo for a complete explanation of the features and benefits of the Yahoo store programs. In addition to great service and support, Yahoo offers a wealth of free information to Yahoo store owners about managing and growing your ecommerce store. Then of course, you can read “Starting a Yahoo Store for Dummies” (I refer to it on a daily basis).
April 28th, 2007
With all the news of late about contaminated dog foods, it has become increasingly clear that we are wild about our pets. Most pet owners take their pets seriously! The rise in sales of organic pet foods, pet toys and supplies is further testimony to our love affairs with our dogs.
Given this penchant for our canine and feline pals, maybe it would be wise for gift basket businesses to offer a gift basket just for pets. I’m serious! If a friend of mine wanted to thank me or acknowledge a special event in my life, I’d be thrilled to receive a basket that was full of treats and toys for my loyal canine companion. And of course, I always buy birthday and holiday gifts for my pooch.
For information on where to purchase wholesale pet products, go to Shirley Frasier’s web site, Gift Basket Business. She sells a directory that includes 40 sources for pet products. You should also check out Flora Brown’s web site, Gift Basket Business World, for additional pet product resources.
April 26th, 2007
May is National Barbecue Month. Go to the official web site of the National Barbecue Association for information about the history of barbecue, recipes, accessories and anything and everything you might want to know about barbecue!
In the meantime, design a Barbecue gift basket. Include chips, salsa, meats, cheeses, mustards: all the stuff your customers will want for their backyard barbecues. Check out your local Dollar Store and add barbecue mitts or grill accessories to your basket. Make copies of a few great barbecue recipes and include those in your basket. With Memorial Day coming up at the end of the month, add a red, white and blue bow to your basket and celebrate two holidays at once.
Please share your ideas for Barbecue Gift Baskets. Have fun with your basket creations!
April 23rd, 2007
Administrative Professionals Week (also know as Professional Secretarys Week) will be celebrated this year April 22-28. Although it may seem like it’s a bit late to start promoting your gift baskets for this holiday, you might be surprised at how many bosses forget all about the holiday until the last minute. So if you’re willing to put together a small presentation, including samples of your work, you still have time to visit some local businesses to see if you can sell some gift baskets!
One further tip: retail florists have been promoting this holiday for years. And of course, they are promoting that flowers be sent as a token of appreciation. If you aren’t able to pull off a full scale program for this year’s holiday, try to get a copy of the advertising literature that your local florist is sending to businesses. Check out the prices for the arrangements that they promote. This may give you some good information about how to promote your products next year. And mark your calendars: Administrative Professionals Week is always celebrated during the last full week in April. In 2008, this will be April 20-26.
For more information about this holiday, visit the International Association of Administrative Professional (IAAP) web site. If you have any ideas about successful promotions you’ve run in past years, we’d love to hear your thoughts.
April 19th, 2007
If you are able to pack wine in your gift baskets, take a look at some of the new boxed wine varieties that are now available in the marketplace. According to an article in the Cinncinnati Enquirer, “box wine is now the fastest growing wine category….With better wine varieties now available in boxes, wineries are attempting to give the category a new identity far from the rowdy boating trips and drunken fraternity parties that gave box vino its cheap, low-quality image.” And you can even buy wine in plastic bottles and cans.
This is great news if you’re concerned about using bottled products in your gift baskets. Certainly there are lots of issues about packing and shipping any bottles in a gift basket. But more importantly, you need to check out the rules in your state about selling alcohol and make sure you’re not breaking any laws.
April 16th, 2007
How about celebrating National Pretzel Day on April 26? Here’s a thought for a promotion.
Stock up on a variety of flavored and specialty pretzels: cajun, seasoned, garlic pepper, and red chile chipolte are a few suggestions from the superb line of East Shore pretzels. Or try jalapeno or honey mustard flavors in decorative black bags.
Create a gift basket that includes pretzels, dipping sauces, salsas, mustards and cheese spreads. Try raspberry honey mustard dip, sweet and tangy mustard, or raspberry wasabi dipping mustard. Or pair your pretzels with brie or wisconsin cheddar cheeses.
Send a flyer or an email to your customers offering a discount on your pretzel basket. Be creative: design your flyer in the shape of a pretzel.
Invite customers to your store to taste your specialty pretzels and condiments. Do some research ahead of time and have information available about the pretzel’s history.
Have fun with some pretzel trivia: “U.S. President George W. Bush famously choked on a pretzel in January 2002 while watching an NFL football game, momentarily losing consciousness.” (from Wikipedia.org).
Offer customers a recipe for making their own pretzels.
Please share your ideas for a National Pretzel Day celebration!
April 14th, 2007
I read a lot of articles in the specialty food and gift basket trade magazines. Although many of the articles don’t relate specifically to my business (selling gourmet foods to gift basket retailers), one of the purposes of this blog is to share interesting tidbits of information with my readers. Hopefully, my postings provide some good advice and ideas that are helpful to running your business. Likewise, you may offer some good advice to your customers that may help them in their everyday lives. For example, see this article entitled “Heavy Coffee Drinkers Show No Blood Pressure Rise”. If you sell coffee in your store or use coffee in your baskets, this might be some great information to share with your customers!
So what’s my point? I think that we can all differentiate our businesses by providing our customers with information about the products and services we carry. Give it try! I think that your customers will appreciate your efforts to keep them informed and will show their appreciation with orders!
April 11th, 2007
April 14th is National Pecan Day! Although I was unable to find the origins of the holiday, it sounds to me like a perfect holiday for gift basket businesses to promote!
Create a “nutty” basket full of your favorite pecan products. Here’s a great time to introduce some interesting twists on the basic pecan. How about pecan brittle or praline pecans?
Send an email or mailing to your customers announcing your new pecan basket. Include some information about the history of the pecan to add some interest to your flyer. Collect recipes that use pecans (how about the ever popular pecan pie) and give these to customers who order your pecan basket. Or do some baking yourself and invite customers to your store to taste your home baked pecan cookies. While they’re snacking, use that time to show them your suggestions for Mother’s Day gift baskets.
Each month, The Gourmet Retailer Magazine, includes a promotional calendar that lists “holidays” you can “celebrate” while promoting your business. In addition to National Pecan Day, April’s “holidays” include Stress Awareness Month, Jazz Appreciation Month, and Earth Day. Use your imagination to come up with promotional ideas for each holiday that are fun for your customers and profitable for you.
April 9th, 2007
Go to the NASFT Fancy Food web site for information about the upcoming trade show in Chicago, Illinois, May 6th - 8th as well as information about other Fancy Foods shows later in the year. Some highlights about these shows:
- Those who attend the shows are from a variety of types of businesses: specialty food, wine, gift and department stores, supermarkets, restaurants, mail-order and gift basket businesses.
- More than 1,800 exhibitors from around the world, present more than 150,000 specialty foods.
- In one place at one time, you can discover new lines and items to add to your product selection. Many of the exhibitors are entrepreneurs who developed the recipes for their products and started the company, so you can learn about the products and do business with decision-makers.
- Focused exhibits offer you a targeted area where you can find products that appeal to a certain segment of your business. Categories include: What’s New?, Gift Avenue, Natural & Organic Foods, & Kosher Foods.
- Seminars & Workshops. The NASFT presents up to a dozen seminars, four workshops and several events at each Fancy Food Show. One seminar at the Chicago show will be of special interest to gift basket businesses: “Profiting from Gift Basket Sales Year Round”. See the full list of seminars.
If you can’t attend the shows, go to the Focused Exhibits Showcase on the NASFT web site. You’ll be introduced to hundreds of new products that will be featured at the show. Links are provided to each company’s web site, so you can learn about “what’s new” right from your office!
April 4th, 2007
I recently received a Google Blog alert entitled “What You Need to Set up a Gift Basket Business”. The short article suggested that what was needed was creativity, design skills, and a desire to learn. The author also suggested that minimal capital was needed to start a home based gift basket business.
As a wholesaler, selling products to gift basket businesses for over 15 years, I feel obligated to state firmly: It’s not that simple! In the years that I’ve been in the gift basket industry, I’ve seen hundreds of home based businesses come and go. While creativity and passion are essential for success in any new business venture, there is lots more to know!
If you’re thinking about starting a home based gift basket business, you need to do a lot of research. The author of the article mentioned above suggested two excellent resources. Check those out along with the links to resources listed on this web site. You’ll find links to industry trade magazines, and educational opportunities for learning more about the gift basket industry.
Access to the internet will offer you even more opportunities to find out about starting a gift basket business. Look at existing gift basket web sites and ask yourself questions about what you see: what are they selling? what are their prices? what delivery services do they use? what other services do they offer? Find a gift basket supply wholesaler and ask them for input about starting your business.
In addition to immersing yourself in information about gift basket businesses, contact your local Small Business Administration to take advantage of the wealth of resources they can offer to help you set up, manage and expand your new business. Talk to other small business owners in your community and pick their brains to find out what issues they encountered when they set up their business.
Starting a new business may sound like a simple proposition. But it requires careful planning. There are great resources available but you must make an effort to find and utilize them.
April 1st, 2007
