Mark your calendars: August 4 – 6, 2011. The National Gift Basket Professional Convention will be held in Columbus, Ohio. Convention hosts Pam & Tom Newell have put together 3 days of education, networking, seminars, workshops, discussion groups and a trade show including a splendid collection of gourmet and gift vendors who will display the newest products and trends.
For more information about this “must – do” convention for gift basket professionals, go to the 2011 National Gift Basket Professional Convention web site. Read testimonials from attendees from prior years. Also, be sure to get out details about early bird registration: just $99 if you register before Dec. 31st.
October 31st, 2010 at 09:05pm
Lorie Obernauer
Read in Gourmet Retailer online magazine: a summary of NASFT’s annual report on consumer purchasing habits and trends in the specialty foods category. Most of the products that we include in our gift baskets fall under the category of “specialty foods”. Not only will you learn about WHO is buying specialty foods these days, but also a lot of valuable information about their buying habits. This can give you great information about what products to include in your gourmet baskets, and also, who your target markets might be.
Some things you’ll learn:
- Those in the 25-34 year age bracket are big consumers of specialty foods. With this in mind, you may choose to market your gift baskets in particular print publications and online venues that appeal to consumers in that age group.
- The specialty food consumer is concerned about sustainability of the foods he/she purchases. This might prompt you to include products in your baskets that have been produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way.
Read the full summary, and look for the full report in the October issue of the NASFT’s Specialty Food Magazine.
You can learn more about sustainable food products at these web sites:
October 24th, 2010 at 05:41pm
Lorie Obernauer
How you can be sure that your emails will be opened? The July issue of Target Marketing describes six sure-fire methods to insure that your emails….and your direct mail pieces….will be opened.
Read the full article to learn classic techniques that have been used for years and still work today. Some suggestions include:
- Offer time-savers and enhanced performance. “Find the newest products and trends on the most updated and easy to use web site”
- Use a provocative question or statement. “Are you ready to be the best?”
Make sure that your email subject lines and direct mail pieces entice your customers to learn more.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:37pm
Lorie Obernauer
How engaging is your web site design? You can answer this question by taking a test that appeared in the July online issue of Target Marketing magazine.
Author Joe Dysart poses five questions that will help you take a new look at your website. You’ll learn:
- the maximum number of clicks that it should take to get to critical information
- what you should put on the right side and left side of the home page
- how often you should check out the effectiveness of your promotions
- the best time to ask visitors to register
- how fast your pages should download
Read the full article to learn how you can make your website be most effective.
October 10th, 2010 at 07:38pm
Lorie Obernauer
I just found a web site that includes a wealth of information about email marketing. Email Marketing Reports includes “hundreds of articles, reviews and links to help you start or improve your opt-in email marketing (whether you send one or a million emails).
Here’s a list of what you’ll find on the site:
Email advertising basics
Email marketing services
Email list software
Email and social media
Strategies and tactics
Online copywriting
Email formats & layouts
Email deliverability
Building an email list
Email marketing metrics
Publishing e-newsletters
Anti-spam laws | Blogs
Blacklists | Books
Wireless / mobile email
Need I say more? If you use emails to connect with your customers, take some time to browse Email Marketing Reports. It will be worth your time: there’s lots to learn.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:03pm
Lorie Obernauer
Have you ever walked into a store and had to look for a sales person who could wait on you? What kind of mood were you in when you finally found someone who could help you? This has happened to me on numerous occasions and all I want to do is finish my transaction and get out of that store as quickly as possible!
During these times when customers are even more discerning about where they shop and what they buy, many business owners and managers recognize that good customer service can really make a difference and that good service begins the moment a customer walks in the store or as soon as a phone call is answered. As we move into the busy holiday selling season, it’s a good time to take another look at the service you provide and make sure that all employees are doing their best to satisfy customers.
Read the article “Are you Being Served?” in the August, 2010 issue of the The Gourmet Retailer. Author James Mellgren discusses the importance of first impressions and reviews techniques that your employees can use to deal with customer complaints. He also recommends a book called “Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service”. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for ways to education your staff in the fine art of customer service!
September 28th, 2010 at 07:17pm
Lorie Obernauer
In the September issue of Target Marketing, I learned a lot of new marketing techniques in an article titled “Positive Anticipation”. Author Pat Friesen shares 13 tips on how to include the emotion of anticipation in your marketing messages. Why is it important to build anticipation into your marketing messages: “Anticipation leads to customer engagement and engagement leads to responses…clicks, calls and visits.”
Whether you communicate by email or snail mail, Friesen’s suggestions are easily applied. For example, her first tip, “create that special feeling” explains how words can make a difference. Words like ‘exclusive’ or ‘by invitation only’ can make your customers feel special…and that can lead to loyalty. Keep a thesaurus handy to come up with creative words to describe your products and services. In another tip, the author explains that pre-announcements, such as a Save the Date card, can increase customer responses by 30% – 40%. This leaves your customers watching and waiting for notice of your promotions.
Read the full article to learn more effective marketing tips for both your email and US mail promotions.
September 19th, 2010 at 02:29pm
Lorie Obernauer
Many gift basket businesses hire additional workers for the November-December holiday season. Well, now is the time to hire…and train those employees. Read Maggie Bayless’ series on staff training in Gourmet Retailer Magazine. The first installment appears in the August issue.
Bayless suggests that this the time to put together a training plan for seasonal employees. To begin, you can answer these questions:
“What is expected of the trainees…and by when?”
“How will that information be made available?”
“How will we know the expectations are met/not met?”
“What are the rewards/consequences?
Read the full article to get the answer to the first question. Start thinking about what skills/tasks the employees will be required to complete. As you make that list, consider what type of skills are represented on your list: for example customer service skills or operational skills. How much product knowledge is needed? It’s probably true that designers need different information than delivery people, but both types of employees might need the same general information about your business.
You can prepare your seasonal employees to be efficient and effective. Start thinking about that now. Watch for future posts describing the full series of Maggie Bayless’ articles.
September 10th, 2010 at 09:08pm
Lorie Obernauer
There’s a new industry trade magazine that includes monthly calendars that list a multitude of ideas for your gift basket business. Each issue of Gift, Gourmet & Decor Plus magazine has an “Idea Calendar” with suggestions about seasonal promotions as well as notes about national and legal holidays. In the August issue, flip to page 6 in the online magazine and you’ll see ideas for promotional activities that you might try in September and October.
For example, September 8th is International Literary Day. How about a gift basket design that includes a best selling novel. You might even work with a local book store in your neighborhood for this promotion.
The calendar also notes two Jewish holidays in September: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and National Grandparents Day is celebrated on September 12th. Bosses Day and Sweetest Day will both be observed on October 16th. With this calendar, you can plan ahead and create new baskets designs for some unique holiday promotions.
Get your complimentary subscription of Gift, Gourmet & Decor Plus and stay ahead one step ahead of your competitors.
September 6th, 2010 at 08:20pm
Lorie Obernauer
There’s a new trade industry magazine for gift basket business buyers who want to expand their product line. Gift, Gourmet, & Decor Plus is for the buyer who wants to stay ahead in the competitive marketplace. Presented by Giftware News, a long time resource for gift basket businesses, Gift, Gourmet, & Decor Plus will allow buyers to view products in a variety of market segments, identify trends, find out about industry trade shows, and discover new opportunities for cross merchandising.
Check out the August issue of this new online magazine and find the perfect products for your gourmet and gift sales. Go to the Gift, Gourmet & Decor Plus website, and sign up for your complimentary, online subscription.
September 1st, 2010 at 07:24pm
Lorie Obernauer
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