Posts filed under 'Holidays'
In addition to the popular national holidays that we traditionally celebrate, there are hundreds of organizations that celebrate their causes through a day or month of recognition. For example, you may not be aware that March is:
- American Red Cross Month
- Irish-American Heritage Month
- National Nutrition Month
- National Noodle Month
- National Peanut Month
- Women’s History Month
- Workplace Health and Safety Month
Any of these can serve as a basis for marketing your gift basket business.
And most of these have web sites that include information to support your promotional efforts.
For example, the American Red Cross offers a multitude of opportunities for Americans to donate time and money to many worthy causes. Have you ever checked in with your local Red Cross office to find out about their activities? Maybe you can arrange to have some percentage of your gift basket sales donated to the Red Cross? Your customers may appreciate this opportunity to have their gifts also be a “gift” for someone in need.
You might check out the National Irish-American Heritage Month web site and get some ideas about what local communities may do to celebrate. If you find that local organizations in your community are holding a parade or some type of special event, you may be able to promote your gift basket business by joining in the festivities. Donate a basket to giveaway or set up a booth on the parade route.
National Peanut Month or National Noodle Month provide opportunities for you to design and promote a special basket featuring those products. If you do more research on the web, you can find recipes that you can add to a “pasta” basket or “fun facts” that you can use to make your “peanut” basket unique. (Did you know that four of the top 10 candy bars manufactured in the USA contain peanuts or peanut butter…how about a peanut butter candy bar basket?)
Spend a little time on the web and use your imagination to learn about these “national holidays”. Then, create exclusive basket designs and unusual marketing opportunities to promote your gift basket business.
February 12th, 2010
Although you may still be putting away your Christmas decorations, it’s time to start promoting your Valentines Day designs. If you’re accustomed to sending out emails or direct mailings that simply list your holiday promotions, think about a new twist.
Put together a checklist that will help your customer make choices about your basket designs. Point out the features of each basket, what products it includes and the type of person that might find it appealing. For example, a basket that includes an adorable bear might be appropriate for a younger person; a basket that includes a coffee mug might hit the spot for someone who works; a design that includes some spa products might be the perfect choice for a busy mom.
You can also share information about extra services that you offer: delivery and/or shipping options; special wrapping, cards, ribbons, balloons or other enhancements for a more “customized” basket. Think about offering cash discounts or a coupon for a discount on an Easter basket. Or team up with a local florist to include a some silk roses with your design.
Let your customers know that you’ll go the extra mile PLUS offer fabulous designs full of gourmet treats and goodies!
January 7th, 2010
During the holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible.
It is in this spirit that I say….Thank you and Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.
Apexgiftbasketpros will be back in 2010 with lots of new ideas, tips and industry trends to help make your business grow!
December 22nd, 2009
Well, the holidays are here. Black Friday and Cyber Monday signaled the official start of the hectic holiday shopping season. By this time, you’ve already developed your holiday designs, created advertising materials, and started to implement your marketing plans.
But there are still some last minute details that you can take care of to make these last few weeks run more smoothly.
- Chart out your employees work schedules for the remainder of the month. Make sure that all employees double check the schedule to insure that you have adequate coverage every day. During December, employees may request some extra time off to attend their children’s school pagents, help an aging parent with some shopping, or just need a little extra time for their own holiday preparations. Instead of being caught off guard at the last minute, plan for these situations ahead of time. Your employees who need some time off will appreciate your understanding and be more willing to put out some extra effort on the day that one of their colleagues takes some time off.
- Double check your shipping and packing supplies. You’ve been so busy thinking about your designs, now make sure that you have everything you need to pack those gorgeous baskets so that they’ll arrive safely and intact. Check your boxes, bubble wrap, peanuts, tape, shipping labels, or whatever else you use for shipping. Contact your delivery service (UPS, Fed EX, etc) and get a copy of their holiday pick up and delivery schedules.
- Take care of yourself! In an article in the September issue of Trends and Tips Magazine, author Mary Ann Jacobs lists some “life saving tips”: take your vitamins, cut down on your sugar, select your social engagements carefully, delegate to others. I would also add that it is especially important to not miss the important things you regularly do for yourself: keep up with your exercise, yoga, meditation or whatever it is that you usually do for relaxation. Remember that you will be able to take care of your responsibilities and the important people in your life only if you’ve first taken care of yourself!
December 5th, 2009
I recently read an article in Incentive Magazine about corporate holiday parties. “After a brutal year of highly public censure of meetings and events, corporate planners will devise their holiday parties very carefully….the current environment makes 2009’s year-end functions golden opportunities for corporate social responsibility”.
It occurred to me that 2009 could also be the perfect time to incorporate charitable giving into our daily business activities. How about promoting a particular gift basket design by donating a percentage of sales to popular charities in your community? Involve the charity that will benefit by having them announce your promotion in their newsletter.
Or, think about asking your customers to help out with your charitible giving program. When customers place their orders, they might also purchase one or two extra products ( eg: a box of cookies or chocolates; a package of popcorn or nuts) that you will include in basket to be taken to a local nursing home before the holiday. The more products purchased, the more baskets you’ll be able to create, the more nursing home patients and staff will benefit!
Think of ways that your business can provide opportunities to give to others. Your staff will be proud to participate in these giving programs and your customers will support you with their loyalty!
October 26th, 2009
April is a big month for holidays which means you can add some fun to your offerings of gift baskets to your customers. Send an email to your customers or put together a flier that you can mail. Ask other retailers in your community to hang your flier in their stores. Include a 10% OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE certificate with your notice.
- April 1st is April Fools Day. Design a basket that includes some games/toys from your local variety store in addition to your gourmet treats. Alert customers that have kids in college: this might be a fun gift to send to students who are getting ready to study for exams.
- April is National Pecan Month. Offer a basket full of pecans, cookies and chocolates with pecans, etc.
- Easter falls on April 12th. Instead of loading your inventory with Easter candies and novelties, check out some Ready-Made Gift Baskets that you can advertise to customers.
- April is also Customer Loyalty Month. Send a small gourmet gift to your best customers to thank them for their continued support.
- For National Pretzel Appreciation Day on April 26th, design a basket with lots of flavored pretzels and dipping mustards.
Even though times are tough, this is the best time to market your business. Let your customers know that you have lots of new gifts that they can send their loved ones, friends and business colleagues.
March 31st, 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
