http://www.weather.com

I am pleased to announce that I have signed on as a staff writer for this new, exciting venture.

With the expertise of Joyce and the rest of the leadership group she has assembled this has a great chance of success.

All we will need are people to subscribe and vendors to advertise. As musch as I hate to see something as tremendous as Rave Reviews become a memory, rather than a product of Cherie’s vision that we could hold in our hands, we must realize that times are changing.

I too long for the old days in many respects, but we have no choice but to move forward. Think of what our parents thought about change as the 20th century progressed.

From the Wright brothers to men on the Moon. From crystal radios to the Internet. From tiny black and white televisions to video sytems that cover a wall.

Progress comes with change and there isn’t a whole lot we can do but accept it. I used to read two to three real newspapers a day. Now I get my news, weather and sports online and in less time.

Our industry is changing and those who are still in it are survivors. We have just finished a decade that saw terrorism expand, economic hard times, wars being fought on several fronts and had many of the major financial and industrial conglomerates fade into our memories.

Yet, with all that negativity, I feel a revitalized spirit. I see people that say the cup is half full, not empty. I see more people saying we, not me.

I see people looking for someone to tell them it’s ok to be scared. I see a need for people to pull together, pooling thoughts and strategies.

We will miss Cherie Reagor and the old days. If anyone ever writes about the history of our industry, she will be a prominent part of that history.

Now, as we begin a new decade, it’s time to band together. Being a community online is not unlike living in the same small  town 100 years ago. Now with the Internet and forums such as this we are bonded as vendors and gift basket professionals.

Like I keep saying, and as I wrote in the several articles I wrote for Rave Reviews last year, we’re all in this together.

People have been looking for someone to step forward in our industry and assume a leadership role.

I think by that someone has indeed done that. Hat’s off to Joyce for not saying, yeah somebody should do that. No, she took the bull by the horns and said let’s do it.

Now it’s important to realize that a person in that role is more of a wide scale monitor, or catain of a ship. It’s not a my way or go away type of role.

Joyce is perfect for this because she knows that it takes a team to make something work. She is well known and respected throughout the industry and has demonstrated an ability to pull people together.

This e-zine idea fills a void that is necessary and I am looking forward to being a part of it.

Mike Nease

We’re excited to announce “Gift Entrepreneurs”, your new online magazine for the gift and gift basket market. 

Gift Entrepreneurs believes in the success of gift retailers and vendors and offers the tools to enable all of us to maintain and grow our businesses.  We are committed to providing an online publication that is user-friendly, creating positive relations and integrity within the gift industry.

You’ll find insightful business articles from a wide range of experts,  marketing calendars and ideas, trade show calendars and so much more.   And of course you’ll see design photos from people that work the gift business every day.

Gift Entrepreneurs’ first publication launches with the March/April issue, absolutely free. 

We’ll let you know where to find it online and are sure you’ll enjoy it and find it useful in your business.

Joyce Reid                Editor-in-Chief
Sandee Overstreet     Managing Editor
Pam Monroe             Staff Writer
Lisa Allen                 Staff Writer

Many of us create our own websites using either FrontPage, Dreamweaver, or Expression Web.  Pat Geary and Tina Clarke, owners of the website www.frontpage-to-expression.com , provide a wealth of information for FrontPage users who want to migrate to Expression Web.  If you have any interest in learning how to use Expression Web to create a website, this site is one that you should visit.

But back to this marketing idea. . . the two ladies have created a giveaway with prizes that any user (or potential user) of Expression Web would love to win.  All you have to do is write about the giveaway on Facebook, a blog, etc. and let them know about it.  Some lucky writers will be the lucky winners of the great prizes. 

This is my entry because I would love to win any of the awards but also because I think they provide outstanding information to anyone interested in the program.  I’ve made it a practice to never recommend something that I wouldn’t use myself and this is not an exception.

Now that I’ve encouraged you to enter that giveaway, let me also suggest how you might use a similar idea to market your own business.  People love FREE.  They love the opportunity to win something.  And they rarely hesitate to enter their name in a contest that is giving away something they want.  But what makes this marketing technique different is that you have to tell others about their product if you want to win it.  In other words, you give to receive. 

Some gift basket companies have a monthly drawing for a free gift basket in order to collect email addresses.  Why not make those entering your contest work a little bit for it?  Enter their names in your drawing if they mention your business on Facebook or write something about you in an ezine or newsletter or blog.  That giveaway gift basket (and you could make it even more enticing by adding a few other simple prizes) then provides a return on your investment.  And isn’t this what marketing is all about?

So go check out their giveaway at Expression Web Giveaway and create your own marketing campaign.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously this week to extend the stay of enforcement for testing and certification of some children’s products until February 10, 2011. These products still must comply with existing applicable rules and bans.

Products covered by the stay include:
- children’s toys and child care articles with banned phthalates
- children’s toys subject to ASTM’s F-963 toy safety standard
- caps and toy guns
- clacker balls
- durable infant products
- electrically-operated toys
- youth all-terrain vehicles
- youth mattresses, children’s bicycles
- carpets and rugs
- vinyl plastic film
- children’s sleepwear

The commission also voted 4-1 to extend the stay on certification and third-party testing for children’s products that are subject to lead limits under CPSIA until February 10, 2011.

Under today’s decision, some children’s products manufactured after February 10, 2010, will be required to have third-party certification beginning on that date. These include bicycle helmets, bunk beds, infant rattles and dive sticks.

Additionally, general certificates of conformity (GCCs) will not be required for children’s products, but some nonchildren’s products manufactured after February 10, 2010 will require GCCs. These products include:

- candles with metal wicks
- contact adhesives
- cigarette lighters
- multi-purpose lighters
- matchbooks

Why Santa’s Marketing Works Better Than Yours!

©2001-2009 Psychotactics Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Article written by Sean D’Souza.
Wouldn’t you love to stumble upon a secret library of small business ideas. Find simple, yet electrifying ideas,on website strategy, marketing strategies, copywriting, public speaking, article marketing, sales conversion, psychological tactics and branding. Head down to http://www.psychotactics.com today and judge for yourself.

Here are the ten lessons discussed in the article.

1. Passion wins — There are many reasons for starting and growing a business.  But the zeal that comes with passion for what you really love doing can make the difference between a business that grows and one that stagnates.
2. Focus is required -  But passion without focus can lead you astray.  Focus doesn’t mean saying “yes” to the one thing that you consider most important.  Focus is saying no to the 100 other good ideas that you discover along the way.  You have to pick carefully.
3. Vision is required too – “Without vision, even the most focused passion is a battery without a device.”  Google’s vision to make “all the world’s information available and to first and foremost serve users” is what drove their stepping into uncharted territory and eventually led to their success.
4. A team culture is vital – Google has managed to establish a networked management model that functions from the bottom up as well as the top down.  A sense of proprietorship unleashes ideas and effort from employees that overwise would never see the light of day.
5. Treat engineers as kings – Those who produce for you are the most important people in your business.  I’ve heard gift company owners say they would be lost without that employee who ties the beautiful bows or creates the ideas. 
6. Treat customers like a king – This is a mistake that many businesses make.  Advertising produces 97% of Google’s revenue but the customers don’t realize it as they use Google’s service which are free and user friendly.  They feel that the only reason Google created those services is to make their lives better.  Google’s adage for employees is similar to Sam Walton’s:  “If you don’t listen to your customers, someone else will.”
7. Every company is a frenemy – Google operates under the principle that there are no permanent allies, only permanent interests.  The internet blurs the borders between companies creating allies and competition which is oftentimes difficult to tell apart.
8. Don’t ignore the human factor – The deeper you dig into a situation, the more complicated people become.  Many decisions are not made as a result of logic but of emotions based on experiences that you may have never dreamed of and will probably never know or understand.  All of us have had occasions when making decisions about our business future is not about business but about us and who we are.  Remember the same is true of our employees, customers, and even our competition.
9. There are no certitudes -  None of us have any guarantees that our business will be here tomorrow or even that we will be.  Google appears impregnable.  But so did AOL and IBM .  Our business models have to be constantly looked at and changed as needed based on current circumstances, economic factors, and our reason for existing.
10. Life is long but time is short -  These words belong to Eric Schmidt, who explained, “Life is long in the sense that we have long memories.  Time is short in that you have to move very quickly.  But to me the most important thing to know is that life has a way of working things out.  We forget so quickly what the problem was three or four years ago.  So my personal view of life is that every problem is an opportunity.”    Google has taken this to heart as they think and act boldly, take risks, and are not tied down by long memories.

Lessons can be learned from any business.   I’ve read lots of business books and taken lots of business classes.  I even teach a few.  But the most amazing insights that have affected my own business haven’t come from books, magazines, or classes.  Most actually come from people who really aren’t in my industry or sometimes they are not in business at all.

 What have you done to promote your business today?

Other valuable questions are: 

• What did you learn today?
• What new promotion did you hear about this week that you could adopt or adapt for your business?
• What technique did you read about that could make your business more efficient?
• What new website did you hear about that can help your business?

Rick Siegel, a master at retail selling, suggests creating an idea book.  This is something I have been doing for years but I have called it a swipe file.

You can use a file on your computer, buy a notebook just for the “idea file” purpose, or set up a folder in your filing system or even use all three methods.  Each and every time you read or hear something that you could use and adapt, add it to your “idea file”.

 I collect ads, from every kind of publication ranging from the daily newspaper, the Wall Street Journal and even AARP magazine, that trigger an ah-ha moment.  Looking through this file, ideas are generated for headlines, graphics, and even descriptions.  It’s like having more brains than my own working together to create effective marketing materials.

For example, an ad that I cut out of the Wall Street Journal several years ago was something about an investment company not being a cookie-cutter company.  I took the idea from my “swipe file” and created an ad with a graphic of a gingerbread man and the headline “Creative Gifts To Go is not a cookie-cutter gift business.”

Try an “idea file” for yourself.  I think you’ll be surprised at how helpful it can be

Fear of being different is often what keeps us in place and keeps our business from standing out in the crowd.  Fear stands between us and success. 

Do you really want to be successful in your industry?   Do you want to be what Seth Godwin describes as a “purple cow in a field of brown cows”?  Then. . . . ..

Don’t be afraid to stray from the proven patterns created by others!

What worked for other people, might work for you. But it might not also.  It might make you just another one of those brown cows munching away in the field instead of the “purple cow” that gets the attention.  If you want to stand out from all the other gift companies, then find the unexplored paths. Lead people to places they have never visited before! Try new things.  Add new products.  Create new markets.  If it doesn’t work, try something else.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself!

It’s your business and you are your business.  Don’t try to be something you are not.  Let a little bit of “you” show through in your website and both your online and offline marketing.  It makes the business less commercial and more friendly.  And, best of all, it creates TRUST. 

If you’re writing a blog, and have an opinion, state it.  If you’re not comfortable with your own opinions and viewpoints, don’t blog. Blogging is about being personal.  It’s not about being more of the same. Your voice is YOU and is different than all the other voices in all the other blogs within your industry.   Even if all of the bloggers in the gift industry say the same thing, your voice is what will make your statement stand out and be different.

Don’t think you can please everyone all the time!

Because you can’t.  If you’re blogging, your opinion is going to be different than that of others.  That’s a chance you take when you let YOU show through.  Without intending to, you may offend someone or they may read something entirely different into your meaning.   If you’re operating a business website, there’s no way you can offer something for everyone.  Even the way you have your site set up may offend some.  A Bible verse may turn off those who are not Christian while those “Naughty” gift baskets that you offer on Valentine’s Day may offend the more conservative.  Sure, whichever direction you take, you may lose a few customers along the way.  But you will be yourself and, by daring to be yourself–even if it’s different than the standard– you may attract even more customers.  You may even discover a whole new market that you never thought of targeting before.

Don’t be afraid to dream!

Dream. Hope. Believe! If you continue doing things the same way all the time, you will achieve the same results.  Act on those dreams or  you’ll never achieve them. Believe in yourself and understand what makes you different.  Don’t just march in the gift industry parade or even in the parade of life.  Step up and LEAD THAT PARADE!

The leader of every parade is someone who  DARED TO BE DIFFERENT!

Make Your Customers Work for You

As an entrepreneur I know about the headaches and hassles small business owners have to deal with every day. We invest a lot of time and money on marketing our products and services and only a fraction of the many approached prospective customers really turn into new accounts.

That is why I decided to make my customers work for me. Every time I send off a customer as happy as a clam, I have recruited a new sales representative, who doesn’t show up on my pay roll.

Industry studies show that it is five to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. Consequently these accounts should be treated like precious nest eggs with the utmost care and attention in order to make our marketing efforts worthwhile.

In a world of increasing competition and a tough economy, smooth business transactions are simply not reason enough anymore for customers to return. Excellent products, fair pricing and overall customer satisfaction are the basics for happy customers, but no guarantee for customer loyalty.

By definition, customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation.

To leave a lasting and positive impression we have to go beyond of what a customer expects when doing business with us. Establishing a merchant-customer relationship built on quality of product or service, fair pricing, competence and trust, is fundamental for a thriving business and the most cost-effective way to grow sales. Customers will not only return, but also become messengers by promoting our businesses, simply by telling others about the positive experience.

The renaissance of good old values is, in my opinion, a positive effect of this recession. Building a business focusing strictly on profit doesn’t leave any room for the human factor. This kind of business philosophy may have worked for some time but it has come back to haunt many businesses and the results are all too obvious.

So what does it take to prosper and score in the game of business?

To better understand, we have to look at things from the customer’s point of view. What motivates us as customers to come back and recommend a business to others?

• Friendliness, respect and courtesy are a must and nothing goes without it.

• Patience will pay off, acting pushy signals desperation and stress and will not be appreciated by customers.

• Customer questions are a perfect way to start working on a solid and good customer relationship. Being able to answer, advise and explain proofs knowledge, and is a base for the customer’s trust in business competence. Sadly, a clue less facial expression is often the answer one gets these days to questions about detailed product information. “I don’t know” is not a good answer either, unless it is followed by “… but I will be happy to find out for you”.

• Passion for the business has a positive effect on how a company performs and on the quality of products and services. Don’t we all prefer to make business with people enjoying what they do?

• Being able to call a business and actually talk to a person without getting trapped in the automated phone system is every customer’s dream. I absolutely despise these endless recordings and dial options and every time I have to deal with it, I get very annoyed. Real humans answering phone calls bring back the human touch. I like this.

• It is good advice to listen to customers to avoid any kind of misunderstanding, to acquire conversational skills and to control your own emotions. Taking things personally does not help when dealing with customers.

• Punctuality of phone calls, meetings and shipments helps establishing trust in the business.

• Handing out unique customer appreciation gifts without breaking the bank, is a nice way to show gratitude, and with the right product it is also an excellent business marketing opportunity. Customization adds to the personal touch of a thoughtfully chosen give-away, saying “Thank You” is always in season.

• A caring attitude and genuine interest in the customer’s needs is a safe investment into a thriving and successful business.

Is your customer service ready to ask, “May we help you?”