Archive for January, 2009
While we think we know our gift baskets customers well, oftentimes, we neglect to collect information that helps us make informed business decisions. Although hiring a research firm to do market research may not be in our budgets, we can still collect information about our customers’ buying habits and preferences that will guide us to adopt some new business practices.
In an article in The Gourmet Retailer Magazine, January, 2009, authors Kenneth Herbst and Harold Lloyd outline 6 quick and easy steps to implement market research effectively:
1. Decide the specific questions you hope to answer. Do you want to know which products your customers prefer, what they think about your prices, or how they feel about your customer service. The clearer you are about what you want to learn, the more focused you’ll be able to be if changes are warrented.
2. Decide how to best collect the information. If you have a store front, you may be able to ask customers questions as they come into your store. On the otherhand, if your business is web mailed or mail order, you’ll need to think about on-line surveys or using US Mail to collect your information.
3. Design the questionnaire, survey or other instrument that you’ll use. Whatever you use, test your questions out on some of your best customers to see if you’re getting the information you want. You may need to reword some questions or may find that their answers lead you to thinking about other information you want to collect.
4. Collect and analyze the data. Think about offering an incentive for customers who complete your survey (free cookies, a discount off their next order, etc.). If you are expecting customers to mail their responses back to you, include a postage paid envelope.
5. Organize the findings on a chart. If you’re good with spreadsheets, this is a convenient way to summarize data.
6. Make changes in line with what the data are telling you. As the authors note: “if you’re not willing to make changes, don’t do the research in the first place”. Oftentimes, we are surprised what our customers are thinking. Don’t take it personally! Rather, see this as a challenge that will benefit your business in the long run. And customers will be impressed that you took the time to ask!
January 22nd, 2009
I’m excited to introduce Holly McCarthy, our guest blogger who wants to share her thoughts about how we can all succeed during tough economic times. Holly writes for a number of online publications with venues in education and business. After college, she opened a small deli before having her son. Since then, she writes about her love for running a business and insights on what the market entails. She writes from research, knowledge, and day to day experiences.
I’d love to include more posts from guests bloggers, so if you’re willing to share your own experiences, knowledge, successes and failures, I’m sure that many of us would benefit from your insights. Please email me at lorie@apexgiftfoods.com with your ideas. In the meantime, please enjoy Holly’s post.
Best Business Practices During a Recession
Yes, it’s true that times are hard and that things are looking bleaker than ever before. It’s not easy to be standing amidst the rubble of ruins, watching as giants and minnows alike fall prey to the economic recession that the entire world is facing, and hoping against hope that you don’t become a casualty too. And then the worst is over, but the sun is yet to shine through the clouds of depression that have enveloped everyone and brought with them a pall of gloom. This is when you as an entrepreneur must start thinking about the best business practices you must adopt to see your ship sail through this difficult time, and come out stronger than before when the storm has passed.
- Trim the fat: Every company has them – the employees who refuse to pull their weight and are content to just go with the flow. In normal times, they would be noticed, but because of their seniority or other reasons, they would not be chastised or fired. A recession is a different ballgame altogether though, and the first thing to do in order to cut costs is to get rid of the people who are not adding any value to the company. They may be old-timers who’re not able to keep up with the changing times; they may be new hires who’re too slow in catching up with the rest; no matter who they are, they have to go if they don’t help or further your cause. The same principle applies to suppliers who don’t provide materials and inventory when you need them and who are not committed to your organization, and to customers who turn out to be bad debts more than once.
- Plan inventory: Inventory is associated with a number of costs, and when your goods are perishable, you’re likely to be left with a large amount of waste that turns out to be a costly exercise. Plan your inventory levels so that you have just enough to meet your weekly or daily needs (according to your turnaround time). Cultivate good relationships with suppliers and logistics providers so that you can order fresh inventory and have it delivered as and when you need it. And finally, make sure you have your finger on the pulse of your inventory so that you’re ready to order when the reorder level is reached.
- Listen to your customers: Without your customers, you have to admit that you have no business at all. So listen to what your customers are saying, through their words and their actions. Take in their suggestions and see if you can use them to the advantage of your company. Remember that money is hard to come by and that people have limited spending power. So your best bet is to focus on retaining the customers that you do have rather than trying out new ideas that may or may not work.
- Don’t cut back on technology: It may be expensive, but it sure is convenient. Technology helps you do business better, faster and more efficiently. It allows you to ignore the more trivial aspects of running a business and focus on the things that really matter. Even though the economy is down, don’t stop spending on your IT needs or cut back on ongoing projects. You have to think about the long term effects; once the recession is over, you cannot survive with technology that belongs to the Stone Age.
By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of business school. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12@gmail.com.
Please also post your comments on this blog so that other readers can benefit from your thoughts.
January 19th, 2009
I’ve been reading a lot of articles these past few weeks about how to keep our businesses going in this troubling economy. Local newspapers and trade magazines alike include stories about how to move through tough economic times in a productive and creative manner.
I’ve noticed that a couple of suggestions keep coming up and although you might have heard these before, I think it’s important to keep stressing these iimportant points.
Provide Super Service! As our customers grow more cautious in their buying patterns, it is more important than ever to nurture our relationships. Review your past records and check out when your customers made purchases in the past. Is a special occasion coming up when your customer always sent a gourmet basket? Who placed orders last year for Valentine’s Day and Easter? If you handle corporate accounts, check last year’s records to see if orders were placed for Administrative Professional Week (April 19 – 25, 2009).Then, get on the phone and make calls! Although your customers may be cutting back this year, they’ll appreciate your being aware of their buying patterns and your call may remind them that it’s time to order again. Even if they don’t order the same amount as in prior years, your call will have an impact. All through the holiday season and continuing this month, the articles and research that I read continue to emphasize that price is not always an issue in customers buying decisions; rather they will often pay more for a better customer service experience.
Keep Promoting Your Business! I heard a story on NPR News that automobile companies, who in the past have purchased up to 40% of all TV advertising, have cut their advertising budgets almost in half. Consequently, ad time on television can be purchased now for substantially lower rates. (Have you noticed that infomercials have stepped up their ads? This is because they’re purchasing ad time at low, low prices.) While I’m not suggesting that you start to advertise your business on the local TV station (although this may be something you want to check out), I do think that this is a good time to call your local newspaper and radio stations and find out what advertising rates are available. And don’t forget to negotiate! Additionally, if you’ve been thinking about developing your own web site, this might be a good time to negotiate with a web developer to design a site for you and get it up and running. They need business too! The economy will eventually turn around and you may be able to make a great investment in your business right now at a great price.
Send Out Coupons! You’ve all received 100’s of coupons in the mail over the holiday season. Newspaper ads have tons of coupons everyday for everything from clothing to food to tires. The Coupon Council of the Promotion Marketing Association says that over 80% of consumers use coupons and are very responsive to coupon offers. Design some of your own coupons to mail, to leave on your check-out counter, to pass out in the neighborhood or to insert in a local newspaper ad. And you don’t just need to slash prices. Offer a free gift for every 3 purchases. Offer a one-time discount on shipping/delivery charges. Use your imagination to create coupons that benefit your customers while keeping an eye on your bottom line.
January 13th, 2009
As we begin planning for 2009, it is a good idea to think about our marketing strategies for the upcoming year. Since many business owners are looking for ways to cut costs, this might be a good time to get together with other business owners in your community and make plans to increase marketing efforts to your customer base.
For example, all of the businesses in your neighborhood could join together to initiate a marketing program for Valentine’s Day. Select a day in early February when all of the businesses will offer special promotions to bring customers to the stores to preview their Valentine offerings. As a gift basket business owner, you might offer samples of chocolate candies that you’ll be using in your Valentine designs. The local florist could give away a rose or other type of flowers that might be an alternative to the traditional gift of roses. A local restaurant might tastings from their Valentine menus. All businesses could offer coupons for future purchases to customers who stop by on the Valentine’s Preview Day. Even the local dentist could get in on the campaign by offering a discount for teeth cleaning and a “beautiful smile” for the holiday of love!
Now is the time to think creatively about how you can increase your customer base and your sales. By working cooperatively with your neighbors, you can continue to attract customers while sharing the costs for your efforts.
January 8th, 2009
The January/February issue of Specialty News Magazine includes an article entitled “Striving and Thriving in Tough Economic Times”. Based on interviews with top retailers and gourmet food suppliers, the author describes 10 strategies for “recession-proofing” your business during tough economic times. Full Story.
While I suggest that you read the full article, there are a few points that I think are worth careful consideration. First, the author suggests that we “adapt to new shopping patterns”. As our customers become more careful about their choices, this is a good time to look carefully at some numbers and facts. While you may think that a certain gourmet cookie is the best you’ve ever tasted, it is important that you analyze what is actually selling.
For example, at Apex Gift Foods, we try to add new items to our line every year in order to introduce our customers to what we consider are the best offerings in the marketplace. I’m sure this is something that you also try to do. But at the end of each holiday season, we take a careful look at what items sold best. One of the items that we’ve carried for years is Walker Shortbread cookies, a delicious, premium cookie. Although I get tired of seeing them in our catalog year after year, our sales figures indicate that this is still one of our top selling items. So when the time comes to decide what we keep in our line, Walker cookies will definitely stay. On the other hand, we’ve seen that sales of single serve Walkers cookies far out sell Walker boxed items, so while these are the same delicious cookies, the boxed cookies may be dropped from our line.
The experts also suggest that it will be important to “package and prepare creatively”. For gift basket designers, this may mean a shift from designs that have always sold well in the past. You may need to lower your price points by using fewer gourmet products but you can still enhance the value of your design with creative containers, ribbons, and other inexpensive enhancements.While you never want to compromise the quality of the products that you use, you can still offer basket designs at prices that your customers are comfortable with.
Stay in tune with your customers. Analyze what they buy (and don’t buy). Ask your best customers for suggestions about products and service. By continuing to cultivate our customer relationships, we can learn a lot about what will help our businesses survive and thrive.
January 7th, 2009
