Archive for December, 2007
While consumers are anxious to try new, unusual flavors, there is a competing surge in demand for foods and things that remind us of our past. “Although desiring the new and hankering after the old seem to be complete opposites, Datamonitor (a research marketing firm) suggests that both can be used to promote sales. Full Story
I think it’s important to add new products to your selection in order to keep your customers excited and keep them coming back for more gourmet baskets. On the other, don’t forget that customers like to see their “old favorites”.
For example, Walker’s Shortbread Cookies have been manufactured for over 100 years. The packaging and rich buttery taste is probably familiar to all cookie lovers. At Apex Gift Foods, we’ve carried Walkers Shortbread since we bought the company over 10 years ago. Yet, every year when we are considering what to include in our next Apex Gift Foods catalog, I think that it’s time to eliminate Walker’s Cookies. I tell my business partner that Walkers shortbread has “been around too long”. Then, he reminds me that Walker’s shortbread fingers and rounds are two of our top selling items all year round!
Keep your eyes open for new products in the market place. Pay attention to consumer preferences and food trends. But don’t forget about the “old favorites” that your customers love and look forward to receiving when they are lucky enough to get one of your gourmet baskets.
December 21st, 2007
I love the articles in Specialty Food Magazine that are written by Ari Weinzweig. He writes an article in every issue in a special section called the “The Educated Retailer’s Guide”. In the November issue of Specialty Food, Weinzweig writes about 26 proven strategies to keep customers coming back for more.
Here are three of the author’s suggestions. First, when you are waiting on a customer or talking with a customer by phone, pause for a moment and ask yourself: “if the customer were to leave now or if our phone call just ended, how satisfied would she/he be with the service I gave?” If you think that the customer may not be having the best experience so far, you still have a chance to turn your customer into a “satisfied” customer by making a small change in your behavior (change the tone of your voice if you’re on the phone; smile more if it’s a face to face interaction).
Next, for customers who have come into your store, make sure you’re not being careless with your greeting. Remember, this is the first impression they have of your business! Stop what you’re doing, make eye contact, smile “and make the customer feel that you’re happy to see them”. Also, keep in mind that your tone of voice can convey a much different message than your voice. A “canned” greeting, delivered with no energy, can sometimes be worse than no greeting at all.
Third, “jump at the chance to compliment and connect”. Mentioning that you like something the customer is wearing or how cute their children are can go a long way to creating a loyal customer, a customer who will come back! This of course gets back to the point made previously: you need to stop and look and pay attention to the customer to make these types of comments.
Weinzweig has more ideas that you should read about. And here’s the good news: you can get a free subscription to Specialty Food Magazine and read his articles each month. Go to Specialty Food to complete the application. I expect that you’ll look forward to receiving your issue each month as much as I do.
December 16th, 2007
You still have time to register for the 33rd Winter Fancy Food Show. The show will be held Sunday, January 13 through Tuesday, January 15 at the San Diego Convention Center.
Here are some of the show highlights:
- 1,100 domestic exhibitors
- the debut of the Natural & Organic Pavilion, with nearly 200 exhibitors
- 17 seminars, workshops and special events
- 80,00 of the finest foods in the world!
Go to the NASFT web site for more facts about the show as well as registration and hotel information. While you’re on the NASFT web site, be sure to check out the list of Exhibitors that you’ll see at the show as well as “What’s New, What’s Hot”, a list of the newest products that will be featured at the show.
December 13th, 2007
According to an article in Specialty Food Magazine (November/December issue), health benefits have fueled a large increase in sales of nuts, dried fruits, and trail mixes. Suppliers will continue to offer many new items in these categories in the upcoming year with an emphasis on premium products and unique flavorings.
You still have time this holiday season to buy a variety of these products from Apex Gift Foods to include in your gourmet baskets. Apex’s line of Sunburst Snacks includes a fabulous selection of flavored nuts and trail mixes. Try Sweet and Salty Peanuts or Cajun Peanuts for a new flavor twist to an old favorite. Margarita Almonds and Cinnamon Spiced Almonds are big favorites in the premium nut category. Or, include Tropical Trail Mix or Chocolate Trail Nut Mix in your baskets for a great, crunchy snack.
December 9th, 2007
In October, I posted an article about using your marketing dollars effectively. I just read something in Gourmet News that led me to think about another way to use your marketing budget. How about setting up a sampling program so that your customers can come in and taste the products that you use in your gift baskets? You can either designate a specific day when you’ll have samples available for customers to taste, or you send out a notice to customers letting them know that you’ll be sampling something new everyday (to keep them coming in!).
Obviously, you’ll need to take some items from stock in order to provide tasting samples. Instead of looking at this as an extra cost of doing business, work this into your marketing budget. You may need to adjust other marketing activities to allow you to do this.
You should also take some time to assess how the program is working. If you keep records of how much you sell of a particular product each month, you can also keep track of how much of that product you sold after you offered samples to customers. You might even find out that certain products slipped in popularity after customers tasted them. This of course, would let you know that you should probably eliminate that product from your line.
December 4th, 2007
