Archive for February, 2009
Make sure to check out details for an exceptional gift basket convention July 9 – 11 in Canton, Ohio. Sponsored by the owners of Gift Basket School, Pam and Tom Newell, this extraordinary event will include a trade show plus a multitude of daily seminars taught by well known gift basket professionals from around the country.
If you register by March 15th, your $199 registration will include a FREE 3 hour seminar on July 9th, led by Pam and Tom and Mary Anne Jacobs, one of the top designers and teachers in the industry. You will have an opportunity to see lots of “hands on examples” with an emphasis on style and design, learn many practical tips, top secrets from the experts and special packaging ideas to wow your customers. After March 15th, the registration package including the trade show, seminars, plus the 3 hour workshop on July 9th will cost you $284. So register early for tremendous savings on this fabulous event!
According to Pam and Tom, this convention is designed for retail gift basket business owners, hospital gift shop salespersons, resort gift shop managers, florists, event planners and bridal professionals. Both seasoned and new gift basket business professionals will profit from the tremendous number of educational experiences that are planned. In addition, a trade show, including vendors from across the country will provide attendees with opportunities to see the newest products and trends. Be sure to stop by the Apex Gift Foods booth to take advantage of special convention promotions.
For more information on registration, hotel accomodations, and convention activities, go to Gift Basket Professional. We look forward to seeing you at the show and learning how we can all “survive and thrive” during the 2009 gift basket season.
February 27th, 2009
Read Incentive Magazine to learn 14 ways to keep customer loyalty high during tough economic times. This article covers 14 inexpensive ways to nurture your customers’ loyalty to you and keep them as customers when times get better.
Here are a few of the ideas that are worth considering and won’t cost any money, just a little bit of your time.
- Stay in touch with your best customers on a regular basis. Find out how they prefer to hear from you: a phone call, an email or even a personal visit. If you’re calling or visiting, find out what time of day is most convenient for them. Be prepared to tell them something that will interest them: a new product that you know they’ll like; a special sale on items you know they use; a reminder about an upcoming holiday that they’ll want to remember with a gift to someone special. Know your customers! Don’t waste their time with information that is irrelevant to their particular interests and needs.
- Let your customers know that you care! Make sure that you stay in touch even if these customers are not placing regular orders. Times are tough right now; buyers are cautious. Let them know that you’re thinking of them and will be available to help them out when they’re ready to buy. Although your business may be suffering too, be a person who they look forward to speaking with.
Read the full article for more great ideas. By keeping up with your customers even when you might be feeling a little stressed, you will be making an investment in the future of your company.
February 19th, 2009
Administrative Professionals Week (it used to be called Secretaries Day) is celebrated during the last full week of April. Now is the time to start gearing up and marketing for this holiday!
Start by making sure that your current corporate/business customers know that the holiday is fast approaching. Send emails with photos of your selections or put together a direct mail marketing flier. Call these customers and let them know that the holiday is coming and you’ll be sending some information. You can also make their gift giving even easier by reminding them about the gifts they gave last year and to whom they sent those gifts.
If you don’t already have a customer base that includes businesses, you can use the same emails or fliers to send to new, potential customers. Get a list of businesses in your community from your local chamber of commerce. Call each business and find out to whom you should send your information. Getting your information to the right person is half the battle! Think about personally delivering your promotional materials along with a small gift (some cookies or candies) from your line to make your business stand out from the others. Make sure you communicate how your services will benefit them. Don’t be afraid to ask your satisfied customers from prior years to give you referrals for this holiday season and approach new customers by referencing the name of your satisfied client.
If you’re not already involved with your local chamber of commerce or other business groups, this is the time to start your networking efforts. Find out about business groups in your community and take your business cards and promotional materials to their next meeting. Make an effort to find out if you know anyone who is already involved in one of these business groups and try to arrange to go the next meeting together and get some personal introductions.
When meeting potential new clients, be prepared to tell them how your current customers have benefited from using your services, and how the recipients have enjoyed your gifts. Don’t be shy about letting them know what a good job you’ll do for them.
February 13th, 2009
I was thinking about how to encourage your customers to buy Spring baskets, and while browsing through some on-line trade magazines, I read an interesting story. A study conducted by MerchantCircle, the largest social network of local business owners in the nation, shows that “a merchant who has written one blog sees an average of 30% more traffic to their website”. Full Story
So what do blogs have to do with increasing your Spring basket sales? This may sound overly simple, but you first need to get customers to your web site so that you can entice them to buy your gourmet baskets. And one of the best ways to increase traffic to your web site is to create a blog.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with blogs and the way they work….well, you’re reading a blog right now! According to Wikipedia, “a blog (a contraction of the term “web log”) is a web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video”. MerchantCircle defines a blog as ” a web log” or an online diary, which is increasingly being utilized by business owners to attract new customers through unique, business-related content that is indexed by search engines. When consumers go on-line to research a particular topic, internet search engines “find” web sites that mention that topic.You can create your blog so that it’s part of your web site. Or you can create your blog as a separate web site, then include links to your web site where your products are featured.
So what are some topics that a gift basket owner might write about? First, you need to think like your customers: what might they search for when they go-line?
- For many holidays, people go on-line to look for “unique holidays gifts”. The gift basket business owner might write about how people from different back rounds celebrate those holidays, and how a gourmet gift basket fits into the celebration.
- Use the blog for direct advertising: share information about your businesses, the services you provide (and how that benefits customers) and the products you carry.
- Blog about community events and how your business gets involved in these events.
- For your customers who have their own businesses, write a blog about how gift baskets can be used as thank you gifts or why they might want to send a gift basket to a solicit new business.
- If a lot of your customers have kids in college, your blog entry could describe gift baskets that can be sent to students during exam time.
The better you know your customers, the more you can customize your blog entries to match their needs and interests. And of course, every blog entry should include a link to your e-commerce web site so that readers have a chance to see your product line.
There are many books available to help you learn more about blogging. One of my favorites is “Blogging for Dummies”. You can also spend some searching the internet: search for “gift basket blogs” and you’ll find quite a few that can give you some idea of what others are doing. Concentrate on bringing customers to your web site, then you can “wow them” with your gorgeous designs.
February 8th, 2009
I was reading an article in The Week Magazine about the challenges of starting and growing a business in a recessionary economy. Although you may not feel that this is the best time for you to start a business or make changes in your current business, you can start to take the important steps to identify your resources for future planning.
You may want to think about contacting SCORE and get advice from successful business advisors who have been in your shoes. SCORE, a program that is part of the SBA (Small Business Adminstration) offers free and confidential advice to small businesses. On-line workshops give you access to tutorials on starting, managing, growing and financing your business, and there’s a special section for web-based businesses.
On-line mentoring opportunities provide immediate answers to your business questions from a mentor that will personally reply to you. You can also sign up to receive SCORE’S newsletter for current business tips, trends and advice.
The SBA has even more services for growing your business. You can learn about SBA backed loans, and access a wealth of training opportunities and resources.
Even if business is not great right now, you can use this time to collect information, make plans, and be ready to act immediately once the business environment starts to change.
February 1st, 2009
