Archive for June, 2010
Mark your calendars and make your travel plans: The Ultimate Gift Show National Gift Basket Professional Convention will be held in Canton, Ohio, July 23 – 25. Don’t miss this opportunity for 13 hours of seminars, 10 hours of trade show, unlimited networking and hands-on workshops.
Check out the fantastic selection of educational seminars and workshops. Top leaders in the gift basket industry will be sharing their best ideas! You’ll learn how to organize your design room for maximum efficiency and your displays for maximum impact. Debbie Quintana, from the Gift Basket Association, will tell you how to promote yourself and your business. Learn how to expand bridal events with Mary Anne Jacobs. Get tips on managing your inventory, handling your customer service phones and much much more.
You still have time to take advantage of special registration and hotel rates. Don’t miss this premier industry event!
June 26th, 2010
We hear and read so much about Facebook and Twitter. We are advised that we should be using social media marketing techniques in our businesses. Many business owners are scrambling to get online and post, post, post! But does all this networking really matter?
Read John Jantach’s post on Duct Tape Marketing: “Why Social Media Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. To put it simply, John’s take on the issue is this: “Everything that we called social media is irrelevant and mislabed – there’s a new way of doing business and marketing for sure, but it’s a behavior and focus on customer involvement that’s become a new norm – and that’s all there is to it”.
I find this to be a very refreshing and interesting way to look at this issue. We can get so tied up in setting up our web sites, our Facebook and Twitter pages, that we may be forgetting the most important thing to do to market our businesses: find ways to create connections between our businesses and our customers….and this is often accomplished through the “personal touch”. Connecting on a personal level with our customers may still be the most important way we can acquire their loyalty.
Read the full article and weigh in with your opinion….What are you doing to make “real” connections with your customers? Maybe we should all be spending more time on “face to face” meetings with our customers instead of Facebook connections!
June 22nd, 2010
Are you ready for a challenge? Enter the Gift Basket Association Design Contest! Winners will be chosen in four categories and those designs will be featured on the Gift Basket Association web site as well as in Trends and Tips magazine.
Don’t know about the Gift Basket Association? GBA is a “community of gift basket professionals that work together to uplift the gift basket industry”. Debbie Quintina launched this membership organization one year ago, and it has quickly become an essential resource for gift basket retailers. The GBA web site offers opportunities for networking, advertising, and learning. You will learn about the latest design trends, business strategies, the newest technology for marketing and promotions, and much, much more. And GBA Talk will connect you to other professionals from whom you can learn.
Get involved and join other gift basket professionals in the “spirit of support and collaboration”.
June 15th, 2010
I just got back from a conference where I was facilitating the creation of a new organization for people who work in alumni relations. What struck me most about the meeting was the power of the group as we shared information about the work we do and brainstormed ideas for promoting our new organization. It occurred to me that if we use the power of the “group” in our gift basket businesses, and help our employees feel comfortable working as a team, we can probably be more successful than when we try to carry the burden alone.
In order to encourage teamwork in the workplace, it is critical that as business owners, we recognize and value the people who work in our companies. Each employee brings a unique set of skills and a special perspective to the workplace, based upon his/her past experiences. Author Ken Blanchard says it best: “None of us is as smart as all of us”.
Check out this article on Buzzle.com for many links to articles about teamwork in the workplace, why it’s important, and how we can cultivate a workplace that emphasizes it’s importance. Our employees will thrive if we ask them to share their perspective and utilize some of their ideas. In turn, they are likely to work harder if they’ve had input about the products and services you offer. Customers will be more satisfied and your business will profit. It’s a win/win for everyone!
June 6th, 2010
