The Gift Professional's Guide to Building Long-Lasting Business
the report
In this issue:
may/june 2011 $12.00
Gifts of Distinction www.basketwhiz.com
Table of Contents
May / June 2011 3
4
Marketing Feature
3
Tough Call
4
WhizBang Training
7
Money Matters
8
Business Resources
10
SEO in the First Place
12
Industry Hint
14
Cover Story
18
Sales Feature
22
Table of Contents
2
12
18
22
26 Smart Business Favorites
24
Balancing Act
26
In the Mix of Things
28
Socially Speaking
32
Business Systems
34
Marketing Class 101
36
Vendor Spotlight
38
Conventions and Trade Shows
40
Pearls of Wisdom
40
Notable Notes
44
Editor’s Note
the report
Now that Mother’s Day is behind us it just seems like the year is just flying by. Here we are on the tip of those great summer months that just never seem to be long enough for enjoying the weather, but are a little too long if you aren’t enjoying great sales. It’s not too late to do something about that though. Be sure to get your bonus issue of The Chief Financial Officer Basket Whiz Report and you will find tons of great sales tips to help Jerry Cole you through the summer months.
DIRECTORY Editor-In-Chief & Publisher Kimberly Cole kimberly@basketwhiz.com
Contributing Editors Any slow time you do have, don’t let it go to waste though. You will Carmelita Collier find that sales will always be better if you plan ahead. So make your Shirley Tolbert slow times pay off by implementing some strategic planning. In fact in Anissa White this issue you are going to find lots of information that will help you not only get through the summer, but help you plan ahead to increase Art Director your business income. Paolo Dela Rosa
We are pleased and very grateful for our industry contributors for Advertising Team this issue! Please see how they are THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE Paulette Vildberg BASKET in Industry Hint. We also want to WELCOME the Celebrate Account Executive Convention and Tradeshow to our family of advertisers. advertising@basketwhiz.com Enjoy! Staff Writers Jim Aldrich Lori Boswell Lynn Keeler Rodolfo N. Lentejas, Jr. Rikki MacCuish SL Ruffdan
Kimberly Cole, MBA Editor in Chief/Publisher The Basket Whiz Report www.basketwhiz.com
Guest Gift Professional Writer James Hartier Industry Hint Designers Jennifer Conrad James Hartier Barb Ireland Grace Little Judy F. McWethy Laura Pawelec Michelle Peruski Martha Smith
The Basket Whiz Report, a Division of The Confetti Group, LLC 2214 Main Street, Porterdale, GA 30014 is published 8 times a year (6 regular issues and 2 bonus issues). One year subscriptions are free to companies in the industry and $39.95 to non industry subscribers. The Basket Whiz Report is a digital publication that is delivered by email on the 15th of the issue month. COPYRIGHT © 2011 BY THE CONFETTI GROUP, LLC. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be stored or reproduced without permission from the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to The Confetti Group at: thebasketwhizreport@basketwhiz.com or call: 1-866-635-9990.
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The Gift Industry is growing. Are your sales growing with it? Hundreds of gift professionals have subscribed! What do they know that you don’t? The Basket Whiz Report was created specifically for gift professionals. The Goal: Provide gift professionals with knowledge on how to successfully run a business and to gain insight to help establish, build and maintain your customer base, stay abreast of the industry’s hot topics, to learn from our peers and to see what new products are available for the industry. NO Expense to Subscribe: The Basket Whiz Report is a FREE subscription to those in the gift industry (gift basket companies, vendors to the gift industry, event planners, florists, anyone in the industry) Competitive Edge: over 90% of our readers say that being a subscriber of The Basket Whiz Report has been refreshing, informative and glad to see the magazine being published. Being in the know about the industry will give you an advantage over your competitors.
Become a Subscriber of The Basket Whiz Report Today! Visit Us Online at www.basketwhiz.com or Call us at 866.635.9990 Now you can be an expert in your trade!
SS
Words to Motivate and Inspire
Hope that drives vision by SL Ruffdan
Hope drives vision. Set the wheels of progress in motion by allowing your innermost desires to be the catalyst for what your business can become. That spark of energy and excitement is a manifestation of your dreams. Your decisions, your leadership, and your work should be true to how you envision your company’s journey to success. Your vision can become reality because you have hoped without limits and freed your mind to go after the possibilities.
Ad Space for Sale Readership: Gift Basket Companies Florists Event Planners Wedding Planners Gift Shops Balloon Designers Gourmet Food Shops 2
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Ask about our enhanced ad options!
Marketing Feature
from
the
Making Most Bad Marketing By: Lynn Keeler
One of the aspects about running a good business is to be able to learn from your mistakes. There are many valued lessons to be learned from your previous marketing campaigns. Hopefully you have kept track of them, and retained the data that they provided to you at that time. The first thing you need to do is carefully scrutinize to see what the weaknesses were. The first thing you need to consider, was the failure of the campaigns based on your lack of marketing knowledge at that time. Perhaps now if you have gained a little more marketing experience, you will be able to quickly identify your faults. You then need to determine, if the fault was on your application of the campaign, is there a chance you can re launch this same type of campaign and now make it a success? The next thing you need to consider is the timing. Did you run the campaign at the wrong time. For example were you running a high end campaign during your slow season, as opposed to perhaps running the proper type of campaign for this particular time, such as a sales promotion type of marketing approach?
Finally you may simply need to look at the state of the economy as it was during the time of the failed campaign, and compare it to the current economy. The simple answer to the campaign not working well could have been because of an economic slump. If this is what you determine, then carefully examine the shape of the economy now and determine what has changed. If areas that caused you to fail in the original campaign are still in question based on the economy, then you are not going to want to make the same mistake again. Another option you have is to review your old failed marketing campaigns and even though they failed identify their strong points. You may be able to take the strong points from each of your failed campaigns and unite them to make one strong campaign. It is always important to retain your data from all of your campaigns. Practice your analytical skills and analyze your data in a variety of different ways. Often you will discover small issues that you may have missed the first time, which could have been the downfall of the marketing campaign and you didn't even realize it. •
The Basket Whiz Report
3
Tough Call
4
The Basket Whiz Report
Tough Call
K
THE
Great Order T That Wasn’t So Great U By Lynn Keeler The summer months are upon you, sales are a bit slow, and then all of a sudden you receive an email order for 12 large gift baskets. Now that is sure to brighten up a summer day, even if the sun is already shining. The order has been placed by a company who ran a sales incentive for their employees, and the winners are receiving these gift baskets. In your excitement and being as it was a company, you never gave a thought to check out the authenticity of the order. You feverishly prepared the order working into the night to make these gift baskets extra special. Finally you are ready to bill the credit card you were given, while you are waiting for your delivery company to pick up the order. Then all of a sudden that bright sunny day turns black! There is no such credit card holder. You figure this has got to be a mistake; after all you were familiar with the company name. No problem! You will just call up the company and get the right credit card information. This only confirms that yes there is a mistake, but its not in the billing information, the company did not place the order. It seems that someone was pulling a hoax on
the company and you ended up the victim. So what can you possibly do? There is nothing that you can do that is going to rectify the problem to make the order authentic, but you may be able to get some retaliatory satisfaction. Here are some choices: You can call up the credit card company and give them the information that you were given. There may be a chance that someone is using a fraudulent card and has tried this in the past. You can tell your story to the management of the company who the order was placed for. There may be an employee who has a bad sense of humor who goes about bragging about this hoax. You could try and trace the email to see if you can identify the culprit. All of these efforts could lead you to identifying who this insensitive person was, but it will not bring you any financial satisfaction. The best that is going to come out of this circumstance is to accept it as a lesson learned. Always be sure to verify the credibility of your orders no matter what size they are. We’d like to hear what you would do! •
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5
THIS
SPACE for sale
www.BasketWhiz.com
3
Advertorial
Things You Can Do to Work ON Your Business, Not Just IN Your Business By Bob and Susan Negen
If you’re a retailer you know that the day-to-day details of running a business can quickly consume every available minute or your day, week, even year. You seem to be pulled in all directions constantly trying to get ahead, but it feels like you’re running in place. You’re tired and STRESSED OUT!
development and more. This year the Summit takes place at the J. W. Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Grand Rapids, MI on July 18-19, 2011.
In order to get ahead of the ballgame and decrease your stress levels you need to follow this advice:
By Bob and Susan Negen, WhizBang! Training Want more great tips? Get your FREE “WhizBang! Tip of the Week” via e-mail. The tips are short, practical, profitable and fun! Just go to www.whizbangtraining. com and sign up.
TAKE TIME TO WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS, NOT JUST IN YOUR BUSINESS. 1. Do some long-range planning – put it on your calendar and set up reminders. Make a commitment to follow through on your initiatives. 2. Create a strategic marketing campaign in addition to buying your best sellers. 3. Attend workshops and find time for professional reading. Not only do you need to take time to start these activities, but you need to take time AWAY FROM YOUR STORE to do it. If you don’t, you’ll never get it done.
Take time to invest in YOU and lessen your stress.
Bob and Susan Negen 233 Washington Ave. #213 Grand Haven, MI 49417 Phone: 616-842-4237 Fax: 616-842-2977 E-mail: Bob@ WhizBangTraining.com
It won’t feel right at first to take time from the day-to-day running of your store to start these activities and you’ll need to get additional help to cover your sales floor to get it done. But these things will pay off big in the long run, and if you’re really engaged in business-building activities it will ultimately more than pay for your additional help. Think of taking this time as an investment in yourself so that you can become a better business person, an investment which will improve your business, which will reduce your stress. Big time. Are you on a budget? We recommend starting off by ordering Michael Gerber’s book The E-Myth and our bestselling book, Marketing Your Retail Store in the Internet Age and start reading! The contents in our book will give you lots of great ideas for marketing campaigns. If you really want to supercharge your business, check out the Retail Success Summit at http://www.RetailSuccessSummit. com. The two-day Summit for retail store owners will bring together over 200 retailers from all over the country to network and learn new skills in marketing and social media strategies, inventory management, email marketing, staff
The Basket Whiz Report
7
Money Matters
The Importance of Managing Your Cash Flow By: Lori Boswell
If you own a small business, the importance of managing your cash flow cannot be overstated. While it sounds like a relatively simple concept, nothing could be further from the truth. The failure to effectively track and analyze your business’s cash flow is a recipe for disaster and the single leading cause of most small business demises. Unfortunately, many business owners make the mistake of getting caught up in the daily operations and fail to take the time to track their cash flow. Good cash management is essential to the success of any business, but is critical to a small business because they typically don’t have the cash reserves, credit lines, or access to short and long term financing that larger businesses do. When we talk about cash flow, we’re simply referring to the movement of cash into and out of your business. Effective cash flow is necessary to ensure there is sufficient cash available to purchase inventory, pay employees, pay expenses and invest in the business for future growth. It doesn’t matter how much your business is booming or how big of a profit you’re making if you’re not managing your cash flow. The first part of this article will be devoted 8
The Basket Whiz Report
to discussing strategies to track your business’s cash flow while the second part will focus on analyzing your cash flow to help you develop a complete cash flow management strategy that will assist you in making good business decisions while ensuring you have adequate cash to run your business. Let's begin by defining inflows and outflows. An outflow is anything you may write a check for or otherwise is debited from your business bank account. This includes any payroll, rent, utilities, suppliers, and miscellaneous expenses. An inflow is any cash you receive to deposit into your business bank account. The majority of your inflows will be money you receive from your customers, but it may also include any revenue you receive from lenders or investors. There are two types of cash flow; positive and negative. Positive cash flow is simply when inflows exceed outflows, while negative cash flow results when outflows exceed inflows. The first aspect of a good cash management strategy is developing a cash flow analysis to determine what your cash needs are. This sounds much more difficult than it really is. Your business software may already
have a cash management feature that you can use. If not, you can easily put one together using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. Begin at any point in time, but it's definitely easier to begin at the beginning of the month after you have reconciled your bank statement for the preceding month. Build your spreadsheet with a separate column for each month. Each column will have a beginning cash balance that should reconcile to the ending balance of the preceding month and obviously your bank statement. List all sources of revenue that was described above as inflows and follow with all expenses for each month including the outflows as defined above. Start tracking your cash flow as soon as possible in order to gain a clear understanding of the cash flow demands of your business. If you don't have several months of actual data to track, begin by projecting out to at least twelve months, making sure you are revising to use actual data once it is available. Once you have accumulated twelve months worth of data, you will have a historical basis to analyze and use to make decisions for your business. Not only will you use this as a historical
16,574 14,974 13,374 6,774 10,174 9,574 8,974 11,374 15,724 20,124 37,171 Ending Cash
30,866
200
31,400 23,400
200 200
23,400 23,400
200 200
24,400 24,400
200 200
22,400 22,350
200 250
22,400 28,297
0 200 650
20,636
Miscellaneous
Total Expenses
25,686
6,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 5,299 4,230 Payroll
3,792
22,000
900 900
16,000 16,000
900 900
16,000 17,000
900 900
17,000 15,000
900 850
15,000 15,000
850 849 1,152
12,304
Utilities
Suppliers
985
21,356
2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,300 Rent
Expenses
16,902
2,300
33,000 25,000 30,000 20,000 25,000 25,000 20,000 18,000 18,000 17,555 23,116 Total Revenue
19,381
0
0 0
5,000 0
10,000 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0 0
5,000
Loans
Investors
0
0
20,000 20,000 20,000 25,000 25,000 20,000 18,000 18,000 17,555 19,381 18,116 Sales
Revenues
0
33,000
14,974 13,374 6,774 10,174 9,574 8,974 11,374 15,724 20,124 30,866 37,171 34,691 Beginning Cash
Projected November Projected October Projected September Projected August Projected July Projected June Projected May Projected April Actual March Actual February
[[ Reduce your fixed costs and lower your overhead. [[ Work with your suppliers to change the terms of when your payments are due. [[ Take advantage of early pay discounts with your suppliers. [[ Control your inventory. Don't tie up your cash by stocking up on more inventory than you can use in a month. [[ Accept credit cards. Your business will receive immediate payment and your customers value the flexibility. [[ Invoice immediately and offer discounts for early payments. •
Actual January
indication of your cash flow needs, but you will also prepare cash flow projections that will help you develop a cash flow strategy to meet your future business needs. Once you have taken the necessary time to develop your spreadsheet, it should be fairly easy to keep it current by adding each month as it closes. Updating your cash flow analysis with current data should become a normal procedure in your monthly closing process. After you have analyzed each month, it should be easy to see a clear cash picture of your business. As discussed above, positive cash flow indicates your inflows are exceeding your outflows. A positive cash position is a good indicator of your business's financial health. If your business is experiencing negative cash flow, it will only be able to sustain this for so long before the cash runs out and your business will no longer be able to maintain the daily operations. If you are currently experiencing a negative cash flow or you are projecting that you will be in the future, there many successful strategies that you can use to increase your cash flow. Following are several options that a small business can use independently or combined with others to instantly increase cash flow:
Projected December
Money Matters
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9
Business Resources
Extra, Extra... Read ALL About YOU! By Lynn Keeler
Taking advantage of every resource that is going to be beneficial to your business is most important. Finding ways to do this that aren't going to cost you anymore than perhaps your time is an added bonus. Any time you can draw the attention of the press to your business then you have gleaned some very substantial and free advertising. You can focus on doing this by Press Releases. You may wonder what in the world would you in the gift basket industry, have to offer that would intrigue the press. You can start by determining what intrigued you to get into the business in the first place. There must be a great deal that your business has to offer the general public, and that is who the press has to please Focus on a message that you want to get out to the press that would interest their readers. Remember 10
The Basket Whiz Report
this is a Press Release about something exciting or news about your company that people should know about. It is not sales copy. You may want to spend a few dollars and have a freelancer who specializes in writing press releases do one for you. Once this is done then you can submit it to well known and free Press Release Directories. A well executed Press Release placed here has the chance of being picked up by some major news media so its well worth the effort. Here is a link to directory that will give you several sites that you can submit your Press Release to. http://www.avangate.com/articles/press-releasedistribution_69.htm •
The Basket Whiz Report is pleased to announce that we are now accepting ad space! Space is limited. FULL PAGE AD: $355 EACH BACKCOVER: $395 2/3 PAGE AD: $285 1/4 PAGE AD: $215 1/3 SQUARE PAGE AD: $150 1/6 PAGE AD: $80 MARKET PLACE: BUSINESS CARD: $60 Ad Spaces can accommodate your Videos * Direct Links to Your Site or Email * Show in Printed Copies For more information, please contact Paulette Vildberg, Account Executive at 866-635-9990 or email advertising@basketwhiz.com Ask about our current promos and our affordable Basket Whiz Easy Way to Pay Program!
Previous Issues of The Basket Whiz Report
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The Basket Whiz Report
11
SEO in the First Place
How Quick Response (QR) Codes Can Make Your Business Big by: Rodolfo N. Lentejas, Jr.
12
The Basket Whiz Report
Not many business owners are aware that Quick [[ Community. When you have shared enough, the Response (QR) code is now becoming a major part in natural result is that a community will be born out almost every business transaction. Although only a few of it. Do not leave this community in the open, bring businesses in the United States have already started using them to your own place, and there is no perfect place QR codes, it is believed that it will be widely used this year. to gather them than at Facebook. Bringing your entire In fact, the airline industry in the U.S. and other parts of community to Facebook is as simple as creating a the world will soon be using QR codes as digital boarding unique QR code where they can simply “Like” your passes. The reason is simple: using QR code is quick and page. easy. As a business owner, it’s now about time to use this [[ Promote. After you have gathered your community technique to grow your business. on Facebook, the next thing you need to promote is your business. Create great offers by using QR code Unlocking the QR Code that links to your business Web site. By linking your So what basically is QR code? Invented in Japan more than Web site and Facebook with a QR code, you have a decade ago, QR code remains a novelty in the U.S. But good chances of growing your business to the next the concept is not new. QR codes are similar to barcodes level. Like the Internet, QR code can also become we see on every product we purchase. The key difference viral. lies in the amount of data they hold. Bar codes can hold up to 20 alphanumerical digits and they are merely linear Other Uses of QR Codes one-dimensional codes. QR codes, on the other hand, are Using QR code to grow your business is not limited to two-dimensional (2-D) matrix codes and they can hold online activity. In fact, you can also use QR code in various thousands of information. This ability of QR codes to hold offline activities to promote your business and market your thousands of alphanumeric characters is what makes it products. The most effective way of doing this is place your very useful for any business transactions. Since QR codes QR code in common places like the following: can hold thousands of information, you can now transmit this information to other people in an instant. It is precisely [[ On your business card (front or back) in this purpose that you can benefit from using QR codes. [[ On your brochures and marketing materials [[ At the sides of your business vehicles Important Uses of QR Codesto Businesses [[ At the packaging of your products and on your tags There are a variety of uses for QR codes, but if you want [[ On your restaurant menus to use QR code to grow your business, the following are [[ On the front page of your flyers important steps you need to take: A QR code is also an effective tool that links your [[ Sharing. Since QR code can hold a significant amount business with your clients. As a business owner, you can use of information, “sharing” of information is its most QR code to link installation instructions, create directions perfect use. As a business owner, you can share a to your business, valuable coupons and offers, and as a video of your business establishment to prospective customer feedback form. Along with social media, QR partners and entice buyers to come to your business code is another powerful tool that links and brings people through this video. You can also share a landing page together through technology. The process of sharing has or a link to your Web site. You can even share an never been easier than through QR code. The uses of QR entire eBook about your business. The possibility of code are endless; so explore all possibilities and see your sharing is actually endless. business grow. •
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13
Industry Hint
Thinking
OUTSIDE of the
BASKET! compiled by James Hartier
14
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Jennifer Conrad-Conrad Creative www.conradcreative.com Mansfield, TX
Laura Pawlec-Basketfull Gift Baskets www.basketfullonline.com Bohemia, NY
Here are some design ideas not in your traditional everyday basket.
Martha Smith-Baskets Full of Joy www.basketsfullof joy.com Edmond, OK
Jennifer Conrad-Conrad Creative www.conradcreative.com Mansfield, TX
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15
Jennifer Conrad-Conrad Creative www.conradcreative.com Mansfield, TX
Michelle Peruski-Classy Gift Creations www.classygiftcreations.com Maryville, TN
Jennifer Conrad-Conrad Creative www.conradcreative.com Mansfield, TX
Martha Smith-Bas kets Full of Joy www.basketsfullo f joy.com Edmond, OK
16
The Basket Whiz Report
Baskets Grace Little-Graceful m www.gracefulbaskets.co WA y, lle Spokane Va
Judy F. McWethy-A Biscuit In A Basket www.abiscuitinabasket.com Centennial, CO
Barb Ireland-Lil Baby Shower Diaper Cakes www.lilbabyshowercakes.com Waukegan, IL
Alternate Container Ideas
»» 2 Or 3 Tier Servers »» Baby Bath Tub »» Backpacks »» Barbie Car »» Beach Sand Pail »» Bio-Degradable Pots »» Bird Feeders -Lrg »» Bird House -Lrg »» Briefcase »» CD Holder »» Ceramic Containers -Novelty »» Champagne Chiller »» Coffee Maker »» Cookie Jars »» Coolers –Collapsible »» Cosmetic Bag »» Cowboy Hat »» Crates -Decorator »» Crockpots »» Decorator Lidded Tins –All Kinds »» Decorator Trunks »» Diaper Bags -Decorator »» Dog Or Cat Dish
»» Empty Paint Cans »» Fabric Bag »» File Folders »» Fishing Creels »» Foot Bath »» Foot Stool »» Mini Book Shelf »» Chair »» Gardening Hose(Coiled Up) »» Giant Decorator MartiniBrandy- Margarita Glass »» Glass Cake Stand »» Empty 6 Pack Soda/ Beer Cartons »» Foiled Cake Boards »» Boxco Lids -As A Base »» Container-less »» Gift Bags »» Ice Bucket »» Ice Cream Bowls »» Jewelry Boxes »» Ladies Purse »» Large Mugs »» Large Open Mitt »» Large Salad Bowls
»» Large Wok »» Laundry Basket »» Lunch Box Or Lunch Totes »» Magazine Holder »» Flower Pots »» Mailer Boxes »» Men’s Valet Box »» Mini Igloo Cooler »» Mini Milk Crates »» Miniture Toy Box »» Mixing Bowls »» Office Organizers/ Caddy »» Pasta Bowl -Decorator »» Pasta Colander »» Childs Wagon »» Cookie Sheet -As A Tray »» Cake Pan »» Cutting Boards »» Stacks »» Picnic Basket »» Popcorn Bucket »» Recipe Car Holders »» Resin Containers »» Serving Trays –All Kinds »» Sewing Box
»» Shoe-Sneaker-Baby Booties »» Small Portable Bbqs »» Paper Paint Buckets »» Small Rocking Horse »» Small Umbrella »» Small-Medium Sized Cooler »» Soup Tureen »» Steel Laundry Pail »» Storage Container »» Tackle Box »» Tea Cups »» Tea Pots »» Terra Cotta Pot -Decorator »» Tin Containers »» Totes –Any Kind »» Toy Dump Truck »» Unique Casserole Dish »» Unique Fish Bowls »» Unique Hinged Boxes »» Unique Planters »» Unique Vase »» Watering Can »» Wired Containers »» Wooden Shoe Shine Box
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17
Cover Story
Gifts of Distinction:
Vicki Baker By Rikki MacCuish
One of the most common attributes noticed in many top gift basket professionals and business owners is their ability to think positive. A touch of enthusiasm for the business and a sense of humor for its quirks go a long way, as entrepreneur Vicki Baker has proven. Baker is the founder and owner of Gifts of Distinction, a Buffalo Grove, Illinois gift basket business that has done remarkably well over its impressive 19 years of operation. Like many gift basket professionals Vicki has chosen the home business route, allowing her to operate a rent-free shop where she can balance her work, social and home life. She’s been in the industry for a good run and although things never seem to 18
The Basket Whiz Report
size up to the good old days she still manages to keep a positive attitude. As one customer, Jon Winke ‘s testimonial explains on her website, www.giftsofdistinction.us, “...I have found Vicki Baker's ‘Gifts of Distinction’ a valuable resource when the request goes beyond the typical amenity that our hotel has available. Vicki has been very helpful with recommendations and the feedback I have received has been very positive from my guests. She has gone out of her way to fulfill requests and she always takes the time to thank me for sending her our business.” Needless to say, Baker has combined the arts of customer service, business relations and practices, and gift basket design to build a healthy business
Cover Story
The three older grandkids love to help me make baskets and my husband will oftentimes deliver baskets for me
model any entrepreneur would be smart to learn from. Gifts of Distinction is run from Baker’s own home in Illinois. She has a large work area which includes a storage and showroom. An addition was built onto her house to accommodate a larger work space, and the best part about it—free rent! Many gift basket industry professionals choose to run their businesses out of their homes, which both helps save money in leasing, renting or buying commercial space and allows business owners to maintain healthy family and social relationships. Plus, you can always go home for lunch and decide your own hours. Baker has two grown, married daughters named
Lauren and Meredith and four granddaughters, named Makenzie, Makayla, Jaidyn and Juliah. She keeps close contact with her family, which likes to help out. “The three older grandkids love to help me make baskets and my husband will oftentimes deliver baskets for me,” she says, “...when they are here and I have an order they help me with it.” Vicki also employs two part time workers, one—Linda—who has been working with Baker for 25 years, and Susie who has been with her for 19 years. It’s this personal touch that Baker brings to her baskets and business. A work history as manager of a doctor’s office, duties which included reception and lab work, and the founding of her craft store built a The Basket Whiz Report
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Cover Story
strong foundation leading up to Gifts of Distinction. Gifts of Distinction was Baker’s second go as an entrepreneur. Her first business was a plaster craft painting store that she ran for 11 years. She featured childrens and adults painting parties, and open walk-in painting. Her business grew immensely, to the point that it began to exhaust her. She says that what started as a small business grew into seven days a week, after school, nights and all weekends. Running the shop combined with managing a family burned her out, and she ended up selling the business. The experience taught her some important business lessons and she wasn’t out of the game for long. “I laid on the couch for a few months and one day my husband said, ‘are you going to get up and do something?’,”she explains, “so I did!”. Thus was born Gifts of Distinction, the successful gift basket business that has continued on much longer than most home businesses. Baker’s knack for business and customer service are the choice pair of attributes most strive for for a lifetime. While the industry has its ups and downs, as any professional knows and any aspiring entrepreneur should know, Baker has kept up a steady pace and earned great customer feedback. She says knowing she has made so many people happy over the years keeps her going. “It’s such a kick when you know you’ve done 20
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something so special in people’s live,” she says. Baker has been a member of the gift basket industry for some time and she notes there have been many changes since her startup. She notes that while gift basket conventions and trade shows are making a comeback they’d lost popularity for some time. She encourages newcomers to the industry to check them out, describing that they are worth the time and money invested. She also notes that the small independent gift basket providers who would not sell products to businesses who couldn’t meet minimum purchases have become more lenient due to current economics. On the other hand, some have increased minimum purchase orders or now charge a fee to make up for lost revenue. Vicki also says Gifts of Distinction has also changed over the years. “It’s gotten broader,” she says of her home business. “I started out with realtors and expanded to corporate, hospitals, hotels and individuals, to name a few.” She includes that she sells a lot of retirement baskets as well as fresh fruit baskets. All Gifts of Distinction gift baskets are custom made to order. And while this positive woman has a great take on life and business, she does note that there are some drawbacks to the gift baskets. “One of the major ones [drawbacks] in the gift basket industry is ordering enough or too much food product,” she says. “If you don’t order enough you can’t fill your orders when they comes in, and if you order more than you need then you end up donating it when it’s close to the expiration date—I’m very fussy with my expiration dates!” Baker often donates to local charities and food pantries. She maintains community involvement through her membership with the Buffalo Grove
Cover Story Chamber of Commerce—a “I’ve had several interesting position she’s held for 17 years— requests over the years but the TIPS OF THE TRADE and is also on the Board of two that stand out the most in my Use these smart business tips Directors. She’s an ambassador mind are a condolence basket for from Vicki Baker of Gifts of for the Chamber of Commerce a dog and a retirement basket for Distinction. and is also the Chairperson a cyclist that I made up in a wire of a committee. Her business bicycle,” she explains. oo Consider setting up a home knowledge and community And if she wasn’t a gift basket business to save money involvement experience makes her business owner? Well, Vicki says oo Slow season order fewer an excellent inspiration for new she would go crazy, travel for a bit products, relax and enjoy entrepreneurs. and then open another business. the free time you have Vicki has a number of It’s in her blood. while you have it tips for newcomers to the gift Baker has been widely noted oo Join your local Chamber of basket industry. She definitely for her success. She’s received the Commerce recommends joining a local Outstanding Achievement Award oo Attend gift basket industry Chamber of Commerce and as from The Professional Candy Buyer conventions and trade aforementioned, but never said Magazine as well as a number of shows enough, she recommends attending gift basket competition awards. oo Make friends with vendors gift basket conventions. She also She was also noted as one of the and your competition recommends making friends with top 100 gift basket companies in oo Be confident, fair, honest, vendors and the competition. the United States of America for sincere and on time! “Be confident, fair, honest, three years running. sincere and on time!” she exclaims. There’s nothing like a cheery One important part of setting disposition and positive view up and marketing a business is discovering niches to on business to welcome in summer. While Baker cater to. Get to know your community and potential maintains to keep to an approximate 20 hour a week clients. Perhaps you are located in an area that caters work schedule she’ll be springing forth a number or attracts seniors to your location downtown is of beautiful summer themed custom baskets. Her perfect for corporate gifts. Discovering a specialty Planter Box baskets are the perfect gift to gear up for niche helps build smarter marketing and can help the season. maintain long term clientele. In a day and age when businesses start up as When Baker started out she wasn’t sure which quickly as new ones fail, it’s a great thing to know direction she was going, but says she just fell into real that leaders, such as Vicki Baker, in the gift basket estate, a great niche to break into as many realtors industry are doing well and continuing to strive for setup open houses and deliver gifts to new home excellence. • owners or potential clients. Researching possible business within your area or city is one of the most important parts of building a sustainable business plan. Be sure to catch our next issue of The Basket Whiz Baker is forever grateful for the clientele she’s had Report, which will feature “Navigating Through over the years, noting that if it weren’t for her faithful Trade Shows Successfully!” Also be sure to see the customer base she wouldn’t have gone far. Building ad for Celebration Convention and Tradeshow— and maintaining positive client relationships will keep you don’t want to miss it! business returning even in an economic downturn. Besides that it’s the creativity that Vicki enjoys. With a flair for the artistic she enjoys creating custom baskets to suit requests. She’s had some particularly interesting ones.
Editor’s Note:
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Sales Feature
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Sales Mistakes
Sales Feature
By Lynn Keeler
Operating a business means realizing that it is a constant learning process. All mistakes made are costly, but perhaps none as much as those sales mistakes. You can reduce the sting of potentially lost money from errors made in this sector of your business, if you realize where you went wrong, and what you could have done differently. There are common sales mistakes that newcomers to business make, and the gift basket industry has its fair share of potential pitfalls. Here are a few of the mistakes that you want to avoid when it comes to your sales tactics. Don't "sale" yourself out of business When business is slow it can almost push you to a state of panic. You become so concerned about the dropping of sales or the slow response in getting new customers, that you may lose track of your business judgment. The tendency becomes to take actions to get those customers through the doors, or placing online orders, at any cost. The problem is this type of quick action could end up costing you instead of strengthening your business. You may end up running too many sales and reducing your profit margin to a dangerously low level. In addition to this, your sales will become expected, and your clients will hold off buying in the off sale periods, because they have become accustomed to your continuous sales. Don't give it away Its great to have sales where clients are getting a
good deal. Remember though even with a sale you still have to be turning a profit. If your sale doesn't allow you a profit margin then you may as well be giving it away. There are many cost factors that you can lose sight of when pricing your sales. Remember to let your common sense prevail even though you are concerned about your business growth. The right timing Another big sales mistake is to run sales promotions at the wrong time. You may decide to run a year end inventory sale, but your year end coincides with the time of year that people are most unlikely to be buying gift baskets. Now that doesn't mean that you shouldn't run sales at this time. You certainly should in order to spur them into buying. You may want to do this though with more pertinent products aside from your excess year end inventory stock. Sales at the moment Another weakness that is easy to fall into as a sales mistake is to start bartering. Perhaps you haven't had a sale for two days, and a potential client comes in and offers you less than the ticket price of your item. You are not running a garage sale, and you should not allow yourself to be placed in this position. If you do it once, you will be surprised at how fast word gets around that you may be a bartering push over. Aside from these mistakes you will soon recognize your own sales weaknesses that can lead to mistakes. Don't beat yourself up over them, but be sure to learn from them. •
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Smart Business Favorites Any business can be enhanced with the many resources that can be found on the internet. The biggest problem is there are so many current ones, and new choices being added constantly its difficult to keep up with them. Here are some great ones that you won't want to miss, that can be of great value to making your gift basket business unique. http://billieannplastics.com/new-products.htm Packaging is always a big issue when it comes to items that you want to display attractively in your gift baskets. The perfect solution for this is the UnCanny Can. You need to see it to believe it, that’s how unique this packaging item is. It affordable and customizable for. It is one of those great packaging time savers that you are sure to appreciate.
www.plentifulpantry.com One of the hardest chores of the gift basket industry is keeping your selection current and fresh. This means a constant search for useful and yet appealing items for the contents of your gift packages. You are sure to appreciate the large selection of items that are exactly what you are looking for at the Plentiful Pantry.
http://www.mailchimp.com/ If you are looking for an easy way to design email newsletters then you will want to check out the Mail Chimp. Its an easy to learn publishing platform system that you don't have to be a computer whiz to master. They have a free plan that allows up to 2000 subscribers and 12,000/emails per month! You also have all of the reporting features as some of the others. Well worth looking into. 24
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Smart Business Favorites www.theaquablock.com When preparing gift baskets for the public it is a never ending job to find contents that are going to be unique yet versatile. The Aqua Block is one of those rare but wonderful finds that you can use in almost any your gift basket themes, and is appropriate for any age or gender. This is an item that you are going to rely on a great deal, as it is so unique it will immediately draw the attention to any gift package you have put together. Also perfect for standalone gifts or centerpieces.
www.foxglove-press.com Including a selection of reading material in your gift baskets always brings more welcomed attention to the contents. Books that are applicable to the basket theme make it even a better feature for the client. Here at Foxglove you will find a good selection of books that will certainly enhance any gift basket you are putting together, and adds the personal touch which is an important selling benefit in this industry.
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Balancing Act
A Messy Desk Makeover For A Better Business By SL Ruffdan
You have work to do. Whether undertaking a new business venture, maintaining your business, or developing strategies for growing your business, you need to be able to work with a clear mind and in a workspace that is conducive for channeling positive thoughts. However, you can easily stray off task and lose valuable production time when you have to deal with distractions. While the reality is that distractions will always exist, there are some that may be preventable and totally within the scope of your own control. One of the biggest, most preventable distractions, and one that can wreak havoc on your business if you don’t keep it under control, is your desk. Here are a few core reasons why your desk needs to have a certain sanctity about it, and a cache of key 26
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Balancing Act strategies for taming it: Your confidence could suffer because of a messy desk. It is extremely important for any business owner to feel confident about themselves, their business, and the work that they do for their customers. A cluttered desk can fray that confidence and make you feel lost in your own workspace. However, you can regain that self-assurance by recognizing the long term effect that a lack of confidence could have on you and forthrightly reclaiming your space. This will make you feel more in control and could help you to get and stay focused. Your staff and clients may begin to think less of you as an effective leader and capable businessperson. If you are conscious or have feelings of shame when people see you at your desk, that will come through in your interactions as well. Consider how difficult it will be to direct your staff with regard to specific procedures while managing them through a disorderly workspace. No doubt, you would not be viewed very favorably. Be the perfect example for your staff and be a perfect representative for your business in words and deeds. If you expect your staff to have a clean desk, then yours should be spotless. Your clients will take you more seriously and will set their expectations for your work based on how you present yourself. You could significantly increase your ability to produce and respond if your desk is in a manageable state. Organization is a definitive for any business. Without
TO TRY:
1
organization, your business model is sure to fall apart. Everything should have a place, either on your desk or in it. Determine what belongs where and make a commitment to put things back immediately. Pull things out only as you need them. This will also help you to set realistic expectations around your schedule and daily task list. Banish old papers and files from your desk. Keep the past in the past by utilizing technology to archive information. Often, people will have really antiquated or closed project files mixed in with new work. Create an archive system of hardcopy and electronic files that are stored in a safe area. Instead of having those hardcopies on your desk, simply have a working copy on a USB flash drive or organize your computer in a way that will allow you to access that old information on demand. Everything will look and feel better for you and everyone if your desk and workspace are neat, organized, and engaging for all of the right reasons. Everyone is different. You never want to forget to allow your workspace to be a personal expression of who you are as a person. So, it is definitely acceptable to have a few photos of those that matter in your life or small mementoes to reflect on or that motivate you to excel. These things encourage you to stay positive and others will pick up on your positive energy. However, try to keep these items to a minimum and use complimentary pieces to bring the entire look of your desk together for a very polished and professional look. •
Recognize the disorder and reclaim your workspace to gain confidence and control.
to putting things 3 Commit away right after use and
technology to update your 4 Use space, archive information, and
only pull out information when you need it.
forever banish mountains of old papers that can accumulate.
role model for your 2 Bestaffa and exceptional representative for your business with a clean and organized work area. your desk be a personal expression 5 Let of who you are, but take care to minimize clutter and keep your workspace clean, polished, and professional.
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In the Mix of Things
The 4P Method:
By Jim Aldrich
Finding Profit in Pricing Welcome back to this our third article discussing a valuable planning tool, the 4P Marketing Mix. Just to bring everyone up to speed the 4P Marketing Mix is a business model used to develop, implement, create, or recreate a successful marketing plan for your gift basket business. The basics for the 4P model are having the right product, with the best price, available at the best locations, and well promoted. In case you missed our two previous articles, an introduction to the 4P model followed by an in-depth look at the product part of the 4P plan you can read them at the Basket Whiz For the purpose of review, here is an illustration of the 4P Marketing Mix plan showing the relationship between its four elements: 1.
Product
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2. 3. 4.
Price Place Promotion
Today’s Article Pricing and its role in a marketing plan is the topic for this issue of The Basket Whiz Report. Before starting let’s take a quick review of where we have been. One often asked question is this: “Our gift basket business already has a marketing plan. It really needs to be more current. Can we transition or integrate our current plan with the 4P model?” The quick answer is yes. Always remember that any business plan needs to be an active and changing document. In fact, you should schedule a review of your business plan on a regular basis. Markets change as do a business’s response to those changes.
Price In my previous article Take Charge of Your Marketing: Finding Your Way around the 4P Marketing Mix you were introduced to my imaginary gift basket business You1st . My imaginary team worked their way through the 4P Marketing Mix to identify our product line. The result was a top of the line Secretary’s Day special product, the Grand Widget. There was a time when pricing a product was a simple task, you just figured your cost, add in the usual costs of doing business, plus your desired profit margin and the result, your price. In pricing this way, you also made allowances for discounts you may offer. This formula worked in a less sophisticated marketing era, but not today. In the business world of today, profit comes in small increments. Today gaining an acceptable profit from pricing takes a lot of fine-tuning. Using the price principles identified in the 4P model, allows you to find profit in places you may not have thought of. Today’s task of the You1st management team is to examine the pricing structure of the Golden Widget and find a percentage here and there that improve the cost to profit ratio. To accomplish this task, the management team needs to look at a number of factors to include in the You1st pricing decisions. As the team looks at these price considerations they must include their own “why” and “what if” questions. Here is the list of considerations associated with price. 1. Value received by the customer. 2. The price points of the Grand Widget’s competitors. 3. How will pricing effect our potential customers? Can a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin? 4. Will You1st offer discounted pricing to a particular group or market segment? What will these discounts look like? What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market? And, most importantly do we want to continue the discounts?
Value in Pricing Value is a subjective measurement. Attaching a value to something gives that something meaning. The gift card company Hallmark is a prime example of a company taking a relatively low cost product, marketing it in a way that the name Hallmark is synonymous with value, and then pricing its product in a way that capitalizes on its perceived value. People will pay more if they perceive a high value. Competition within the gift card industry is cut throat. Go to a store to buy a card and you encounter row after row of gift cards. Yet, somewhere in the back of most buyers mind is the branding done by Hallmark “If you care enough to send the very best.” What Hallmark has done is make the purchase of their cards emotionally satisfying. The gift card customer is ready to pay a premium to have this satisfaction Using this example the management team at You1st must look for a edge that gives the Golden Widget Administrative’s Day gift basket added value; value that we can use in our pricing plan. If You1st prices the Golden Widget too low we lose potential profit, too high and we lose sales. Our challenge at this stage is to evaluate what is the value of our product to the buyer. This includes our placement or ranking among the competitors, the success of our branding, and market saturation. We don’t expect our final answer to come from the discussions we have about value in pricing, but this is a valuable perspective to carry into the other areas of pricing. Price Points It is important to identify the pricing strategies of your competitors. This allows the You1st team to determine our own price points. The right price point is where your product has maximum profits AND maximum customers. There are several strategies to consider when setting price points. You do not have to choose only one strategy, but you do need to manage how and when they are used. Among the strategies are: [[ Penetration Pricing [[ Skimming Pricing [[ Competition Pricing The Basket Whiz Report
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In the Mix of Things [[ Product Line Pricing [[ Bundle Pricing [[ Psychological Pricing [[ Premium Pricing [[ Optional Pricing [[ Cost Based Pricing [[ Cost Plus Pricing There is a good explanation of each of these strategies here. (http://www.learnmarketing.net/Price. htm ) Going back to the example of Hallmark, their approach to setting the price point of their cards is premium pricing. Other card companies use different strategies to meet their price goals. There is not one pricing strategy that is right for everyone or every product. This is why becoming familiar with them is important. Effect of Price on Customer Base Another important question that the You1st management team must consider is what our identified customer base will pay for our product. This information will be used to determine our final price. By the time we get to this topic, there should be clarity regarding the target customer for our Golden Widget. The important question for us to consider here is the demographics of this group. Different demographics will have different price points. If we select as our demographics target, lower income young singles the final price will be our most important price point decision. If we want to target upper medium income married and educated couples we will probably raise our price point. One important note here, you can chose a single price point and stick to it, or you also can select a variety of price points and move your pricing around depending on the market at any given time. One of the things the You1st management team quickly recognized was that the price point decision for our Golden Widget varied from region to region. Fine Tuning Our Price Point
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Once the You1st team selected a price point strategy we then began the next step in pricing that is to fine tune it. Fine tuning means taking every possible step to eek out that small percentage of extra profit. Among the questions asked were: 1. What is the change in customer to profit ratio with an increase or decrease product price by .05%. 2. How will pricing effect our potential customers? a. Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share; or, b. will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin? 3. What are the strategies of our competition? 4. What do our competitors charge for their product? Here again the nature of a particular market is the key. Some markets are more flexible based on things like seasonal sales, tourism, graduation populations and so on. The final step in pricing is for You1st to decide on what, if any, discounts we will apply to our product. Discounts Typical parts of the cost of doing business are those discounts we choose to offer. They come in the form of discounted pricing to a particular group or market segment, discounts offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of a market. As it turned out, this was the easiest part of our pricing process. The management team was quickly able to look at this question then decide based on our customary discount program. You1st has decided on its product, the Golden Widget and have priced it to be competitive. We also assigned responsibilities for follow-up and reporting. The next step in the 4P Marketing Mix will be place, that is getting the Golden Widget to the customer. We will tackle this subject in the next issue of The Basket Whiz Report.•
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31
Socially Speaking
Learning How to
Social Network by Jim Aldrich
So you want to engage the world of social networking. You have heard tales of great success at little cost. It seems that everywhere you turn this or that business has a Twitter or Facebook connection. This social networking thing must really be effective. These are just some of the topics we will look at in today’s article. Plus, stick around I will be applying some of the answers you my have been looking for about using Facebook. Let’s get started. What is Social Networking? In a nutshell, today the use of social networking is the fastest growing and most used form of interpersonal communications on the internet. If current trends continue, it will replace email as the preferred way for communicating. Ask most any young person how they stay in contact with their friends and you will most likely hear texting, Twitter or Facebook as the method of choice. The popularity of social networking is not limited to just the young. People of all ages have discovered its usefulness. All you need do is look at the list of business participants and you will find every age group well represented. What makes social networking such a phenomenon are several things, its personalization of the online experience, its “cool” factor for the younger generations, ease of use, immediacy, and its portability. I recently attended my son’s college graduation. Granted, graduation ceremonies are not always the most entertaining two hours you can spend. This didn’t seem to affect a great many of those in attendance. A look around the auditorium gave a clear indication of the importance of social networking. A high percentage of people, graduates and audience alike were doing something with their hand-held devices, texting, surfing, gaming, etc. The very first thing my son and his wife did after getting home was to post pictures of his graduation on Facebook. Until replaced, social networking is today the king of the hill.
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Getting Into the Network Breaking in to the social network marketplace is like that first product your business introduced. You spent a great amount of time getting people to recognize the value of your product. A prime example is the story of Harland Sanders. Here was a man who invested time, energy, his life believing that his idea of better chicken in a short amount of time was a winner. Before there was Kentucky Fried Chicken, there was Harlan on the road going doorto-door with his idea. Like the Colonel, your goal of a business using social networking is develop “chatter” among the community. Chatter is just that, a lot of talk about your business. The focus may be on something you have accomplished, a good deed, an outrageous video clip, a celebrity endorsement, any event that catches the attention of the audience. It is amazing how quickly news travels. There are two basic approaches for gaining social network visibility. You can begin from the ground up strategy for branding your business or go for the in your face, over the top approach. These two approaches are very different. The first takes longer to cultivate your following but has long lasting results; the second brings you lots of immediate attention but unless you can follow up with other spectacular events it can be short lived. Social networking should not be ignored. So, where do you begin? Today, we will look at the ever-popular Facebook site. Facebook Why Facebook, well for starters Facebook reports: [[ People on Facebook • More than 500 million active users • 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day • Average user has 130 friends • People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook • Activity on Facebook
[[ There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages) [[ Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events [[ Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month [[ More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month It goes without saying that Facebook is THE place to begin your social networking. Although the origins of Facebook were and remain person-to-person communications, they have expanded to include advertising and business access under Facebook guidelines. Doing Business on Facebook Doing business on Facebook is a nontraditional approach. Facebook is not a venue for the direct selling of products. It is a place where you can put your name in front of people. In fact, many of the largest companies in America use Facebook to improve customer relations via interactions generated on Facebook. While not directly a profit center, Facebook can have an indirect impact on your bottom line. Top firms are using social-networking sites like Facebook to achieve improved interaction with customers. In one study conducted by the Aberdeen Group, they found an improvement in customer satisfaction that was 17 times greater than those firms not using social networking, The sole goal and purpose in using Facebook is to increase your firm’s presence and visibility. What dollar value is attached to this is to be determined by your own company. Although it is worth noting that such companies as [[ Coca Cola [[ McDonalds [[ Wal-Mart [[ General Motors To name just a few all maintain an active presence on Facebook. Creating a Strategy As with almost every other aspect of your gift basket business, you must have a social networking strategy in place. This includes indentifying and supporting a designated social network specialist within your firm. As I mentioned, Facebook has its own particular, or dare I say peculiar, set of guidelines and rules. Knowing these rules
Socially Speaking and using them to your advantage is important. Areas within Facebook like their Newsfeed tool, buying advertising, and managing content and important announcements are all important to be successful on Facebook. All of this adds to the development of a strong network of followers. What Activities Can a Business Conduct on Facebook? [[ Advertise any events or accomplishments [[ Post pictures relevant to your business [[ Start and be a host of a Discussion Forum from within your page. Get it started by posting a thoughtful question or comment regarding your business or industry that will generate discussion [[ Post a Video. It doesn’t even have to be one you made. Find something of general interest to your audience…for example a video on time management (who doesn’t need that). Just make sure it’s worthy [[ Reviews – this is a default application that allows people to comment on yours or someone else’s page or business. Each user can write only one review (although they can come back and edit it). Also, anyone can write a review on your business page, not just a ‘fan’, or someone who has subscribed to your page. [[ Wall – a feature of every user’s profile, it appears here as well. Only your fans can write on your wall Getting Started on Facebook Depending on size and commitment of your business to social networking, the first question you need to answer is this: Do we manage our social networking in-house or use an agency? This is an important decision, one that you need to make upfront. Either way there are many resources you can turn to that will assist you in making your Facebook home page accessible. Any good search engine will have several pages of information you can use. What Do We Do Next Your first step is to familiarize yourself with what Facebook is, how it looks, and how to navigate it 1. Learn all that you can about what are the Facebook guidelines, requirement, and rules. 2. Plan and implement a strategy 3. Delegate responsibility 4. Act Following these steps over time will result in increased visibility and an expanded customer base. Next month we will explore using Twitter. •
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Business Systems
Putting Strategies in Place
By Lynn Keeler
In our last two issues we covered a lot of helpful information to get your business off the ground and on the road to success, through implementing the business systems that map out the road for any viable business. We talked about the basic overview of the various components of what makes up the business system, and then we covered the business marketing segment that is part of this. This edition we are going to see what business strategy is all about. Business Strategy This part of the system is very important because it should lay out the foundation that you can build or grow upon. This is where you have a plan but it goes beyond the ideal of the plan. For example, a business plan basic could just be a list of ideas. The business
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strategy now focuses on how to make that plan a reality. What is it going to take to put it into action, and then from there what is going to take to make it a success. Lets say for example, on of your segments from your business plan is to have sales grow by 10% each month. So that’s the goal of the plan, now how do you implement this? You have to plan your next move which is your strategy. First you would need to look at your options that are available to you. They could be‌. To run a fairly large marketing campaign To start a newsletter To run introductory sales
Business Systems
These are just a few examples of some options, and there are certainly many more to choose from. Your business strategy doesn't end here though. This is just the first step in one segment of your business plan. You need to go through ach segment of your plan and implement another business strategy that pertains to that. For example, your plan should have an area where you have made plans for your inventory. You will have to plan a strategy for that as well. Your business strategy is a step by step process. You need to identify the proposed goal from your business plan, then plan out each step to help your reach that goal. Once you have your strategy planned then you need to launch it. From that point you need to
monitor the progress on a regular basis. During your monitoring you will have to walk that fine line of knowing when to continue with your current strategy and give it a chance or make the decision to change course of directions and rethink your original strategic planning in the areas that are not progressing the way you expected. By now you are well on your way to progressing well in the business systems operation of your business. You will be able to further enhance your progress, after you have a chance to implement the great information that will be available to you in our next issue. We will be dealing with Product Promotion which is yet again another important component of the business systems. •
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Marketing Class 101
part 3
Marketing Your Business Through Article Marketing by: Lynn Keeler
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The Basket Whiz Report
Marketing Class 101 It is easy to get caught up in direct marketing tactics when you are aggressively trying to get your business known. In the last issue we talked about getting your site known and the best way to do this was by getting your business indexed in Google. Here you were more focused on content marketing The next step now is to expand the knowledge of your presence. One of best ways to do this is through article marketing. You have a couple of ways that you can do this. You can include article marketing as part of your site content or you can article market to article directories. Here are the basics of both of these. Site content article marketing Most of your site content so far has been set up as to what you offer. It has your home page that describes who you are and what you have to offer. The supporting pages are perhaps information about your products. Now you can set up an article section. Here is where you provide helpful information to the visitors of your site. A good example would be to give some suggestions as to what types of gift baskets young boys would enjoy that are into sports. It has to be remembered that this are information articles, and not sales articles. The goal here is not to push your products. Of course there is nothing wrong with mentioning how you have gift baskets that would meet the need. The whole idea however, is to provide assistance to the reader who may need help in this area.
Both of these article marketing venues have great value. If you don’t feel that you can write your own content, then it is well worth investing a few dollars into getting a good freelance writer to write the articles for you. •
your assignment:
Exercise #1: Write a couple of interesting articles and post them on your site. After they have become inde xed in Google, then monitor the number of visit ors that are viewing this page by utilizing Google analytics. If you are not familiar with Google analytic s then visit here, to learn the basics of how it can help you identify what the visitors are doing when they come to your site. http://www.google.com/analytic s/ Exercise #2: Choose a couple of good article directories to test out. An excellent one to try is www.ezine. com. Read over their rules and guidelines for artic le submission and you will find that you will have your first article posted in no time at all.
Article marketing directories Here the basic concept is the same. Instead of posting the articles to your site in this case they will be posted to special sites that are called article directory sites. They will allow you to post your articles there for free, but they will refrain you from doing any direct marketing in the content of your articles. They will allow you to submit what is called a resource box at the end of your article. Here is where you are able to put a link back to your website. The Basket Whiz Report
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Vendor Spotlight
Creative idea Shop Interview The
This month’s interview is guaranteed to be tasty. The focus will be on the Creative Idea Shop and Popcorn Greetings! We have selected a five-year-old business with a unique management model. It is a sole proprietorship gift basket business. They offer unique graphic design and gift service. Their specialty is the customization of out-of-the-box, creative and memorable but affordable marketing and promotional gifts and favors. The Creative Idea Shop side of the business is a niche market outlet that focuses on: [[B2B and B2C marketing [[Promotional campaigns [[Customer appreciation [[Employee appreciation [[To say "Thank You" [[Special events and occasions [[Trade Shows [[Business meetings and conventions [[Destination marketing [[Gift basket filling [[Fundraising campaigns An added niche is Popcorn Greetings®, which, as the name implies, offers a wide range of gift ideas packaged with the popcorn lover in mind. The line-up of packages includes those every day events, themes around a specific city or state, colanders, and even a “naughty” selection.
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The Creative Idea Shop is the result of a change in career decision made by its owner Susan Placek. Following many years as a successful Master Pastry Chef, Susan decided to move her talents into a business of her own. What makes this interview especially interesting is the business model used by Susan. Hers is a one-woman enterprise. This is truly an entrepreneurial approach. As such, there are many useful ideas. It offers one woman’s approach to success while avoiding a highly structured organization found in many gift basket industry businesses. Do not go looking for a retail outlet for either the Creative Idea Shop or Popcorn Greetings® The products and services are only available online. To find out more about this exciting venture we cornered Susan just as she was getting ready for a trip to Europe. BWR: Susan, let’s begin with a little background. How did The Creative Idea Shop happen? Susan: After many years of being creative in the pastry industry with customized artistic cakes as Master Pastry Chef, I decided that it was time for a change and a new venture. Whatever it would be, it would have to be something creative and artistic again and so - after some brainstorming - my new business THE CREATIVE IDEA SHOP was born.
BWR: You have been in business for five years and have what I call a true entrepreneurial approach. By that, I mean you are the business; you don’t have a staff or a board and concrete location. How do you maintain a successful business? Susan: I intentionally planned The Creative Idea Shop to be something that I could be successful with while having the lifestyle I wanted. It is a sole proprietorship business. My staff consists of using temps when needed. BWR: Many businesses in the gift basket industry have a formal management structure with the delegation of responsibilities given to their staff. Why have you chosen to remain the key person in your business? Susan: As a family owned business, I answer only to myself and I am free to make decisions as I choose. This is a low overhead business. BWR: How do you market your business? Susan: I use no paid advertising; all marketing is done through the social networks online or through direct marketing and word of mouth. BWR: One of the focuses of our interviews is to discover a bit about the successes and near Successes of a business. What is the foundation of your success? Susan: I have been fortunate in being able to develop longterm corporate orders for customized client gifts, handed out to the client's customers throughout the year. It is these ongoing relationships with several key companies that serve as the foundation for my staying in business. BWR How did this come about? Susan: A client's marketing director happened to stop by at my booth at a local art market and found my service perfect for their client appreciation gifting needs. From there we worked together in creating and maintaining an ongoing employee and customer acknowledgement program. BWR: What is important to you in your business? Susan: I strive to create memorable yet affordable gifts and favors for clients. My role is that of a creative director for a company supplying them with ideas and products used for getting referrals, appreciation, practical business
gifts and out-of-the-box ideas for marketing, branding and promotions. BWR: Your business model sounds a bit more high-risk then most. What has been your biggest error? Susan: Ours is a web-based business. In the past, my biggest mistake was in purchasing way too high priced websites. BWR: So, how do you limit making mistakes? Susan: Much of my time is spent networking and using this as a way of learning through experiences other business owners share. BWR: What advice do you have for our readers who are thinking about going into a gift basket business? Susan: Be flexible and to dare to be different, take advantage of what the internet and online social networks can offer for marketing. BWR: Let’s look at your products. What is your top selling product? Susan: I think it is our innovative and creative marketing gifts incorporating seeds or with popcorn. BWR: What has made them successful? Susan: They are affordable, fun, practical, and memorable. Another important feature is that my designs work for any industry or business interested in standing out-from-thecrowd with their marketing giveaways. BWR: How do you decide what products to add to your line? Susan: When a new idea crosses my mind and when I think it fits into the concept of my business. I search for products by going to trade shows or online and choose based on practical value and quality. BWR: One last question, what suggestions do you have for others in creating a successful product line? Susan: Let the product line reflect who you are. Dare to be different with your creations. Thank you for your time, Susan.
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Pearls of Wisdom
Confidence
Believing that you can These quotes should help you build and strengthen your inner pride.
“Confidence can get you where you want to go, and getting there is a daily process. It’s so much easier when you feel good about yourself, your abilities and talents.”
Donald Trump
“Whatever qualities the rich may have, they can be acquired by anyone with the tenacity to become rich. The key, I think, is confidence. Confidence and an unshakable belief it can be done and that you are the one to do it.”
Felix Dennis
“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”
Malcolm Forbes
“When a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do.”
Charles M. Schwab
Conventions And Trade Shows American Craft Retailers Expo Las Vegas, NV June 4-6 NASFT Summer Fancy Food Show Washington, DC Jul 10-12 Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market Atlanta, GA July 13-20
San Francisco International Gift Fair San Francisco, CA Jul 30- Aug 2 Pittsburgh Gift Show Monroeville, PA Jul 30- Aug 1 Las Vegas Gift Show Las Vegas, NV July 31- Aug 3
California Gift Show Los Angeles, CA Jul 19-25
2011 National Gift Basket Professional Convention Columbus, OH vAug 4-6
LA Mart Gift Show Los Angeles, CA Jul 19-25
Salt Lake City Gift Show Salt Lake, UT Aug 4-6
Orlando Gift Show Orlando, FL Jul 23-26
Celebrate Convention and Trade Show
Philadelphia Gift Show King of Prussia, PA Jul 24-27 Oasis Gift Show Glendale, AZ Jul 28-30
Western New York Gift Show Henrietta, NY Aug 7-9 Seattle Gift Show Seattle, WA Aug 13-16 Dallas Total Home & Gift Market Dallas, TX Sep 10-12 Atlanta Fall Gift and Home Furnishings Market Atlanta, GA Sep 10-12 Las Vegas Gift & Resort Merchandise Show Las Vegas, NV Sept 20-23
Ontario, Calif. http://www.celebrateconvention.com/ Aug. 4-7 Minneapolis Gift Show Minnetonka, MN Augt 5-9
Next Issue: Find out how to navigate through a tradeshow successfully 40
Know of more industry trade shows? Would like to advertise your trade show? Email: thebasketwhizreport@basketwhiz.com The Basket Whiz Report
The Convention & Tradeshow that will change the Gift Industry…
The first Tradeshow serving the Gift Basket, Floral, Balloon & Party Planning Industry! So Save The Date To CELEBRATE! August 4th -7th, 2011 Join us in Sunny Southern California Experience Four days filled with: ★More than 34 Educational Seminars ★2 days of Trade Show Shopping and Fun ★Design Competitions ★Vendor Meet and Greet Cocktail Hour ★Luncheon with Keynote Speaker ★Unlimited Networking Opportunities… ★Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony and so much more…
Attendees & Vendors don’t miss this opportunity to take your business to a new level. To register or learn more go to www.celebrateconvention.com For Information call us at
800-204-5720 The Basket Whiz Report
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The Basket Whiz Report… A Magazine to Build Your Business! Advertise in our Inaugural Issue… for Targeted Marketing that Pays! This is no time to cut back on advertising. Create a buzz about your business with the Basket Whiz Report, a magazine designed to market your business and generate more revenue… with many tools and resources GALORE! With pertinent trade industry information and highlighted vendors; educational and promotional ideas, and more… gift companies are searching for your products to offer their customers! Gift Professionals Want to Find Unique Products. This is the time to showcase yours! Ad space is very limited. We’ll feature a vendor of the month in each regular issue. You may be given a FREE SPOTLIGHT in conjunction with The Basket Whiz Report online! Some of the upcoming features include: Marketing and Marketing Mix Articles; How to write a marketing plan; Business Resources and useful websites; Hot industry products/services; Applying Social Media; Balancing Business & Family; Finance & Accounting; Business Systems Articles; SEO/Website Articles; Solutions; Wisdom; Gift Basket Ideas… PLUS 2 BONUS ISSUES ON Generating Revenue During Slow Months and Holiday Frenzy!
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Notable Notes
Our goal is for you to take what you have read in the pages of The Basket Whiz Report and implement many of the business tips presented in your own business. Here is a list of notes (or To Do list) to take away from this issue. Feel free to add to this list! Tell us what you plan to do on our facebook page! oo Start to monitor marketing campaigns. ( Marketing Feature) oo Develop system to protect company form processing fraudulent orders. (Tough Call) oo Develop strategies to work ON business, not IN it. (Advertorial from WhizBang! Training) oo Develop system to effectively analyze and manage cash flow. (Money Matters) oo Schedule regular press release distribution. (Business Resources) oo Look into how my company can utilize Quick Response Codes. (SEO in the First Place) oo Create unique designs in unique containers. (Industry Hint) oo Employ business tips from veteran gift designer, Vicki Baker, Gifts of Distinction. (Cover Story) oo Evaluate business to make sure common sales mistakes are not being made. (Sales Feature) oo Check out Smart Business Favs products that may be a fit for business. (Smart Business Favorites) oo Work on cleaning clutter to work more efficiently--do the 5 to try! (Balancing Act) oo Evaluate our pricing strategy. (In the Mix of Things) oo Build Social Networking into our marketing mix. (Socially Speaking) oo Develop the Business Strategy portion of my business plan. (Business Systems) oo Think about article marketing...will give credibility to business. (Marketing Class 101) oo Get inspired by our Vendor in the Spotlight, The Creative Idea Shop. (Vendor in the Spotlight) oo Visit The Celebration Convention and Trade Show site. Plan to attend! www.celebrateconvention.com . oo Submit design ideas for trade show give aways!
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Notable Notes!
Have you been thinking of becoming a gift professional? Or are you already in the business and want to ramp up your sales? We have all of the tools to help you start and grow your business. Whether you need turnkey marketing solutions or are looking for extra special gift items to include in your product line--we have the perfect selection for you with BasketWhiz and Confetti Confections. www.basketwhiz.com www.confetticonfections.com 866.635.9600
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