Posts filed under 'Web Site Ideas'
In May, 2010, FedEX Office released the results of its third annual survey of small businesses. Read the full article and consider their findings as you make your marketing for the remainder of the year.
The first interesting and encouraging finding: “almost three-quarters (72%) of small business owners say they will be the driving force behind the U.S. economic recovery in 2010″. This optimism is a real testament to the veracity of small business owners and the importance of small businesses in the marketplace.
Other provocative findings: 61% believe traditional marketing and advertising methods are more effective than web-based counterparts at bringing in customers”. And 44% of small business owners plan to grow business in 2010 by increasing communication with customers via printed materials”.
While we need to keep up with our on-line presence, don’t forget about more traditional avenues for advertising such as newsletters and direct mail.
July 15th, 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
A newsletter can help you create a distinctive identity for your business. It’s a way to communicate regularly with your customers; let them know about special promotions, new products, and share other interesting information with them that will make them want to visit your web site or store.
I recently read an informative blog post about the importance of choosing a name for your newsletter. The writer suggested quite a few great tips for making this determination:
- Determine your focus. What do you want your customers to think about your business? What image do you want to portray?
- Think about a name that’s friendly and inviting. Keep it short, but concise so that it’s easy to remember and if emailing, so that it will fit into the subject line.
- Set your expectations for delivery. How often will you publish your newsletter.
While you’re thinking about your newsletter, check out this publication from SCORE. Author Roger Parker lists 12 steps for a successful newsletter and makes several suggestions about stylist things such as layout, spacing, columns, color and more.
May 14th, 2010
Want to make it easier for your customers to find you online? Major search engines now have local business listing sections. According to Daniel Owen, vice president of a New York interactive advertising agency, “these sections allow you to list your local business for free” (read full story).
Check out these search engines for information on how to add your business to their business listing sections.
You might also want to consider paid search marketing as a means to help customers find your online business. But before going in that direction, learn how that process works. I found a series of articles called “Introduction to Search Engine Submission”. Although written a few years ago, I found it to be a good primer on how search engines work. You can also read read Biznology Newsletter and Blog. for a more recent “take” on the topic.
March 23rd, 2010
So why does your business need a web site? According to an article I recently read, we all need web sites because “websites work”. No matter what your business or profession, a website can generate business, promote goodwill among customers and prospects, and deliver strong marketing messages.”
Even if you’re not ready to sell your gift baskets on a web site, you can still set up a web site that will describe the products and services that you offer and methods that customers can use to get in touch with you. “The vast majority of business websites are still information and communication rather than purchase-oriented”. If you want to set up this type of site, read about 4 simple steps to take to set up your site.
If you’re ready to set up an e-commerce sight so that you can sell your gift baskets on-line, be sure to check out Web Sites: How to Create, Promote, and Profit On-Line” by Shirley George Frazier. Shirley is a “professional speaker and Internet entrepreneur with more than 25 profitable Web sites, shares quick and easy steps to create and market your online space.”
March 9th, 2010
I just read a blog post on BuildaBetterBlog.com that you may find of interest. Blogger Denise Wakeman is offering a free review of your blog. She guarantees that she’ll “find 3-5 things on your blog that can be improved so you get better results.” Go to BuildaBetterBlog.com to find out how your blog can be considered for a “quickie blogging hot-seat review”.
Denise is a blogging guru. Check out her web site for more information about her, and her experiences in the world of blogging. She’s an author, speaker, consultant and has been helping business professionals create successful blogs for over two decades. You can sign up for her free newsletter and get her “Build a Better Blog” emails. If you’re new to blogging, connect to her resources page for must-read articles about blogging.
I submitted this blog to be considered for her review. If you decide to submit your blog….good luck….and have fun!
January 27th, 2010
According to Platform-A, AOL’s advertising business, more and more people are using on-line generated coupons for purchases than the traditional newspaper coupons that were popular in the past. Furthermore, “younger couples are the most likely life-stage group to use online coupons, indicating an opportunity to influence product choices within this segment.” Full story.
With this in mind, those of us in the gift basket industry might try incorporating more of this type of marketing on our web sites.This can be done simply. Create a coupon using Microsoft Publisher or any other design software that you use. Most software includes templates that you can use. Save your coupon to your desktop. Then simply upload the coupon to your web site just as you upload photos of your gift baskets. Send an email to your customers directing them to your web site in order to print the coupon.
A few other tips: Make sure you are very clear about the promotion you offer (Save $5 on your next purchase; Get 10% off your next purchase, Receive a discount on a particular category of products such as all Baby Baskets, etc.). State the dates when the coupon can be used. Also be sure to indicate if there are certain items that you carry that for which the coupon does not apply. Use your logo or your “tag line” on all your coupons.
April 18th, 2009
Even though we may be trying our best to land new accounts and keep our old customers satisfied, it seems these days that customers are hesitant about buying. Sometimes, instead of trying to push the features and benefits of what we want to sell, it may be a good time to listen more closely to the reasons why customers say they’re not buying. Then, we can target our efforts in the direction of overcoming their objections.
There are many different responses that we can make to customers once we understand why they’re not buying. Although in the current economic downtown, when customers tell you that “they’re not buying anything right now”, you may nod your head in understanding. But you have to wonder: how are they staying in business? While they may not be buying as much, they’re still buying somewhere. So when customers say “no”, that’s the time to start asking questions.
One common objection you might hear is that your prices are too high. If a customer says they’re not buying your products because of this, it’s time to ask where they’re buying and what prices they pay. If they’d rather not share that information, you might ask what price points are comfortable for them. You can point out alternate items in your line that are more in their price range. Offer your designs at three different price points. You can use the same basic theme and the same container, but use different products in the basket. Or use a less expensive container but still offer the same gourmet items in that container. Enhancements, such as ribbons or flowers, are an inexpensive way to add more value to a design without drastically increasing it’s cost
But customers may not be buying your products due to other reasons, possibly related to service issues. If this is the case, your responses will be much different. Now, you need to find out what services the customer wants and decide if you can make changes in your policies to meet their needs. For example, if a customer gets free shipping from another gift basket company, you may want to consider whether your profit margin would allow for this service. If the order is large enough, the increase in volume may allow you to eat some of the shipping charges.
Maybe your web site isn’t user friendly or your customer service staff is not providing adequate information to callers. Lowering your prices will probably not increase your sales. On the one hand, this may lead you to update your site and you can ask your customer about sites that they prefer. Go to those sites and try to place an order. Pay attention to the details and see how on-line ordering can be made more efficient. If the problems are with your service representatives, then some staff re-training is in order.
Now is the time to ask some hard questions. “I’m not buying now” may not be the final answer. Use this time to find out how you can better serve your customers. While you might not turn a specific “no” into a “yes”, you’ll gain some valuable information that you can use to reach out to other customers.
March 8th, 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
