Gift Business Owners

Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness But It Sure is Nice To Have!

joyce — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:10:15 +0000

Remember that money doesn’t bring happiness.
People with ten million dollars are no happier than those with nine million.

Irving R. Levine

Irving R. Levine was a financial reporter who died last year. That statement was tongue in cheeck but when it came to money and finances, he was right on target.

Money can make the difference between a successful business and a failed one. That is why it is so important to create a feasibility plan when starting your new business. You need to know how much money you are going to need to start and operate your business during the first three years — and, just as important, where that money is coming from.

Are you going to be able to make a profit, break even, or is it looking more like a loss? What expenses will you have? What is your projected income (and be realistic). This is not the time to let the “dreamer” side of you take control.

If you are going to be a one-person operation, can you reasonably put in enough hours to create the products or produce the services that will be required to make the income you are projecting? And don’t forget that a one-person operation has to do much more than just produce products and services. What about the time necessary for marketing? For billing? For ordering products? And for all the other parts of conducting a business.

If you’re starting or operating your business without any kind of financial plan, you’re playing Russian Roulette!

Customer Service – A Little Detail Can Create a Lot of Magic

joyce — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:46:59 +0000

Customer service that makes customers return again and again consists of many thingss. But it is often the little details that come straight from the heart that can make a world of difference. The video below says it much better than I ever could. Turn up your speakers, click on the link below, and discover the magic.

http://www.stservicemovie.com

Learning from those who have been in the trenches and survived

joyce — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:00:56 +0000

It seems like yesterday, but in actuality it was many, many years ago. The afternoon heat in the deep South drove us to the front porch where there was occasionally a breeze flickering through the leaves of the trees around us. My sister and I worked on the crocheting that our Mother was teaching us while she told us stories of her childhood. These were not life shattering stories but tales of everyday life about the the challenges and rewards of another era. Without realizing it, we were learning the history of our area and of our family, the rules of relationships, and the appreciation for those who had survived without the technology and benefits of our generation.

My own daughters occasionally asked questions about my childhood and I relayed tales of growing up in the 40’s and 50’s. But the time available to spend with this seemingly wasteful past time was much less than when I was a child. There were friends to enjoy, TV programs to consume, homework to be done and all the other benefits that their generation offered.

As iphones, mp3s, and all the other gadgets of today’s world that I am not even familiar with, consume more and more of our children’s time, I wonder how much time the children of today spend learning from previous generations. I suspect it is miniscule.

Does this have anything to do with the creative entrepreneurs of today or is it just the mind of an old lady regressing to memories of childhood? As this old lady remembers a quieter time in the protective cocoon of childhood, she also understands how much this relates to business owners of today.

Are you learning from those who have built businesses that have survived through the good and the bad, through economic downturns and periods of excess? But that is all has been– history–in the past, you may say. But history is what teaches us how to avoid mistakes and how to know which is the right turn in the road.

The history of my mother’s generation taught me how to live life while the history of those who were in business long before I arrived on the scene taught me how to succeed. The children of today don’t feel that they need to learn from the past while there are so many technological advancements to learn from today. Many business owners of today don’t feel they need to learn from those who have gone before them while there are new gurus on the scene that can teach them the very latest techniques of success.

I learned about life on the front porch of my Florida home. I learned about business from retired business men and women who volunteered their time to SCORE. I learned about my industry from the pioneers in the gift basket industry. I learned from those who had been in business long before I had ever followed my dream of owning my own business. I also learned from those who were struggling to create a business at the same time I was, as we shared our experiences.

My first business experience was almost 30 years ago and I owe that success to what I learned from those who had already been through the trenches and had succeeded. Building on that knowledge, I continue to learn today from those who went before me as well as from those who have struggled along the road beside me.

Sure, there is no question that new technology makes things so much easier. Cell phones eliminated the need for pagers which eliminated the need for always being in the office when the phone rings. Advancing computers and software eliminated the need for using wax and layout sheets when I created my first statewide publication for print. The publication a group of us old-timers have created for today’s world is being done with computer software and distributed through the internet.

Learning takes many forms and comes in many formats. The internet is teeming with self-proclaimed gurus who are anxious to teach us. Progress has made it even easier for anyone to be anything they want to be by just proclaiming it. Each of us can be anyone we want to pretend to me through the miracle of the internet.

Yes, this is an old lady remembering when times were simpler, when experts were easy to spot, and when learning was easier. As a child, I knew that Mom was the expert. As a fledgling small business owner, I knew how to recognize who had been successful at what I was striving for. It’s not as easy today. But, if you’re careful, you can still find those who have lived through the past and can help guide you through the present.

Gift Entrepreneurs – And the winner is. . .

joyce — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:37:00 +0000

The winner of the drawing for the free book “A Cup of Cappuccino for the Entrepreneur’s Spirit, Volume II” is Rhonda Schissel, owner of Lasting Expressions in Beloit WI.

For those of you who are unaware, this was a drawing from all the subscribers to GiftEntrepreneurs Magazine. The deadline for the drawing was March 31 and the drawing was done yesterday, April 1. Every subscriber was assigned a number with the numbers put into a box. Rhonda’s number was the one drawn.

You can still subscribe to GiftEntrepreneurs online magazine at www.giftentrepreneurs.com. The next issue (which will be available by subscription only) will be online on May 1st and promises to be as informative as the first issue. You can still download and read the first issue for free.

Beware of Help Haiti Scams — Legitimate Charities

joyce — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:43:20 +0000

We all want to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Regretfully, the scam artists are are attempting to collect donations by posing as charities. One reliable source of information – including a list of legitimate charities – is the following link:

http://www.weather.com

New Gift Magazine — Comment

joyce — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:36:12 +0000

I’d like to thank Mike Neese of Imperial Foods for the following:

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

New Gift Basket Online Magazine Announced

joyce — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:44:49 +0000

It’s a New Year and a great time for all of us to move forward with fresh starts, new ideas and something new on the horizon.

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

Expression Web Giveaway – A marketing idea to copy

joyce — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:59:55 +0000

Sometimes we stumble upon marketing ideas in unexpected places. Even if they are in no way involved in our own industry, they can be molded and used within our business. I get lots of marketing emails from lots of people trying to sell me something, but my email yesterday contained one that caught my attention enough to read rather than to just hit the delete key.

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.

New Decision on Testing and Certification of Children’s Products

joyce — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:00:10 +0000

As gift basket company owners, we have to be aware of product safety. Most of us are aware of the requirement for testing and certifying some children’s products. Here is the latest news.

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

Is Your Marketing as Effective as Santas?

joyce — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:13:48 +0000

One of my favorite blogs is written by New Zealand blogger Sean D’Souza and this particular blog entry is a perfect reminder for all of us at this time of year. By the way, his blog and website is a wealth of marketing information. You’ll find a link to it at the end of this article.

Why Santa’s Marketing Works Better Than Yours!

Santa Claus Inc. is well and profitable, right through recessions, depressions and just about any economic scenario. The reason why his marketing strategies work better than yours, is because he uses solid, dyed-in-the-wool psychology. He knows he doesn’t have to use new fangled techniques, when his simple marketing has stood the test of time.

If you don’t believe in Santa, you’d better change your mind, because the fat man from the north pole rocks on and you too can do the same if you stick to the basics. Find out if your product or service matches up by reading the article below.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way…
If you go to the heart of Santa’s marketing, the one word you come away with is ‘consistency’. Generation after generation have been exposed to one brand, one message, and the same powerful imagery.

Just like Mercedes own the term ‘luxury’ and Volvo owns the term ’safety’, Santa owns the word ‘hope’. Every kid worth his Nintendo, hopes he’s got enough points on the goodness scale to justify a mountain of gifts.

Yet, most companies get tired of their own brand. They chop, change and pour thousands (if not millions) of dollars into a bottomless pit of mindless change. Take a look at McDonald’s advertising, for instance. McDonald’s own the word family outing yet their ads have been straying down the teenager path.

Does It Make Sense To Consistently Occupy One Niche?

You bet it does! Families go out with their kids to McDonalds. These kids sprout into budget-conscious teenagers that hang out at McDonalds. They have kids and grandkids and guess where they all end up. At the big yellow ‘M’, that’s where!

Santa doesn’t waver. His customers are kids. Like several marketers, he might have been sorely tempted to enter the gift market. With bad advice, he would have tried to get to teenagers, adults and everyone. Can you see the magic still working? Even the tiniest of niches is huge and niches have a way of expanding by themselves.

At the end of the day, it’s the consistency that takes the jingle all the way to the bank. Too many companies lose focus and give you seven reasons why you should buy from them. Santa sticks to one: Be a ‘good’ kid or you can keep hoping!

You Can Spot Him in the Middle of a Crowded Sky
Do you know anyone who comes to visit on a sleigh in the middle of the night? With reindeer and gifts? The reason why Santa stands out so vividly in our memories is because he’s different. The postman does the same thing, but leaves without the flourish.

It’s Really Important To Work Out How Your Marketing Message Differs
Santa’s core marketing term is not built solely on consistent branding but also on a very hard-nosed differentiation. Too much communication out there fits in with what’s safe. Customers have just one slot in their mind. You have to enter that slot at such an obtuse angle that they remember you for life.

Rose Richards runs Office Doctor. What sets her apart from all the rest of the administration crowd is the term, Small business pain relief. Can you imagine your reaction when you hear something like that?

The human mind is intensely curious and a marketing statement like that is pure bait. You want to know what pain relief she brings and how she goes about it-specially if you’re the one in pain. That’s only half the story. The construction of the message elevates her from simple number crunching to brain surgery and makes her unique.

If you want differentiation you need look no further than the guiding light of Santa’s sleigh– Rudolph, with his shiny nose. Can you even remember the names of the rest of the eight reindeer?

One very important point, however, is that the marketing message isn’t just different, but also customer-oriented. Rose takes the clutter out of administration and Rudolph provides a beacon for clearer navigation.

If you don’t have a benefit for the customer, just being different is going to get you nowhere.

Give and You Shall Receive
How many of you are out there networking like crazy? Trying desperately to fill in your steadily depleting bank reserves? You want, want, want! Take a look at Santa’s style.

He’s into giving first. If you probe deep into your mind, you’ll find the people you like best are those who have given you their time, their money or their knowledge. You trust them, and it’s very hard to say no when they ask you for a favour in return.

The deepest core of human emotions is fear. Every single product or service, without exception, is sold on the basis of a problem. The only known antidote to fear is TRUST. When trusts struts upwards, fear banishes itself to penguin land. The more you pile up the trust, the more you can do business.

Wouldn’t Santa be able to sell you just about anything? Would he be able to cross-sell and up-sell product? Santa could knock on your door next summer and you’d be more than happy to have him join your barbeque.

It’s up to you to build up the trust one Lego block at a time. Identify your clients and see what you can give them. It could be information, time or even a chocolate covered scrumptious cookie. It’s the old ‘What’s in it for me?’ theory. If you can’t find something calorie-ridden for their minds or bodies, they won’t want to see you.

Play Santa. It works.
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good…

Heck Santa knows his customers. He even knows when you are sleeping, or awake.

Then, there’s you. Look at your biggest customer. What’s her name? When is her birthday? Does she like Indian curries or sushi? In curries can she handle hot or medium? What does she think about you? What doesn’t she like?

You’re guessing for sure. You can’t be dead certain because you’ve been so busy looking at dollar signs that you’ve missed the plot completely.

The reason why Santa’s marketing works is because he intimately knows your individual needs. If you want a drum kit, you get one. If you want a Barbie, you don’t end up sulking with a xylophone.

Santa knows because he’s interested in giving. To give, you have to know exactly what the receiver wants or your gift is not worth the packaging it’s wrapped in.

Some people worry about invading personal privacy. Hogwash! When was the last time you got upset because a supplier turned up with a big chocolate cake (your favourite) for your birthday? or with rare stamps for your son (because he loves collecting stamps)?

Santa’s invades our privacy gently and uses it to give, not to take. That’s why we don’t mind it. The tax department on the other hand, uses our information to take and therein lies the principal difference.

Once a Customer, Always a Customer.

Santa Doesn’t Lose Customers. Period.
One of the primary reasons why he’s able to achieve this amazing feat is because he thinks of his customer’s customer. His customer is the kid, who in a few years gets a little wiser about Santa and his customer’s customer is the parent who has the amazing power to get their children to be nice not naughty, if only for a short while.

Since the concept works in their favour, they do all the advertising. Without TV, radio or the internet, Santa’s message gets a grip on millions of kids around the planet. These kids grow up and the marvel of Santa is handed down through the generations.

While It’s OK For Santa, How Would This Work In The Real World? Say, If You Sold Jeans.

Jeans West, a jean retailer, has several of the answers. I needed one pair, but Stephanie (the sales girl) sold me two–not by hassling me, but by gently reminding me I would get $20 off the second pair.

Then, with my purchase, she gave me a gift voucher of $10, for my use or to pass on. They, also signed me up for a loyalty program that offered to give me a 10% discount if I purchased over $250 worth of product in the next 6 months.

This Is Effectively What Jeans West Did to Make Me a Permanent Customer.
Step 1: The sales person asked the right questions to find out my need.
Step 2: She up-sold the product giving me good value for money.
Step 3: A gift voucher with a validity date, ensured an additional purchase. Or even better, the chance for me to pass it on to another person thus ‘creating a customer’ for Jeans West.
Step 4: Tying my fickle consumer head into a loyalty scheme. They wanted me to stay with them forever.

Santa’s steps may vary, but in essence he ties you into a solid loyalty program that is near impossible to get off. It’s ‘customer get customer’, rather than ‘advertising get customer.’ It’s cheaper and it works!

In conclusion here are the main points why Santa’s customers keeps coming back. These concepts may sound old, even trite, but have been proven time after time to work well. Test them against your company and brand to see where you can learn from the man from the North Pole.

1) Solid branding: We’re not talking lease here. Consistency is the key. This applies everywhere from networking meetings, advertising to any sort of communication that goes out. Keep hammering home the same unique message and put it up front. The weather changes all the time which is why we can’t trust it.

If you must change, it’s because your old message isn’t doing a complete job. I changed our first baseline from ‘Recession proof business principles’ to ‘Reactivating dormant business clients.’
The proposition was the same but the second line got 10 times the response.

2) Differentiation: Santa knows he can be a courier with a difference. You, too, can create your own legend. Nike used Just Do It. Coke threw in the concept, Rum and Coke, indelibly burning the word classic into our consciousness. Sameness is in your mind. No matter how many brands exist on the market, your product has a fingerprint of its own. You just have to dig deep to find out.

3) Build trust by giving first. Life is all about sowing, then reaping-but sowing comes first. If you don’t give first, you will only get limited results. The more you stop thinking of yourself and focus on what the customer needs instead, the more you are trusted. Business is all about trust. If you don’t have it, you’re yesterday’s soup.

4) Know your customer… Like you know the hair on your head. Data collection and its optimum usage will get you right into their minds and keep you permanently rooted in. Every time they see you, they should think you are Santa coming to town.

5) Reactivate dormant clients. They are all volcanoes. Sitting there with the power to erupt mightily. Figure out who they are and how you can work in tandem with them. Forget your product or service. That’s a given– It has to be good. Find out the ‘everything else’ factor and you will keep them for life.

Like Santa does…

©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.