How Do You Handle Gift Basket Donation Requests?
Charities all over the world are conducting donation drives to fund their projects, and that means they’ll request help from your business.
This support is provided in numerous ways including:
This can be helpful to you and them, as some customers will align themselves with this effort, selecting you as their gift basket provider because you’re paired with an organization.
Attending the event where you donate gift baskets is mandatory to extend your business life. This is explained in detail in the book, How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business.
Many organizations will reach out to you in hopes that you will support them through products or cash donations.
Determine which group serves your community or focuses on an issue affecting family members. That will be the right affiliation for you.
What do you say when an organization asks you to donate gift baskets?
A Great Idea from a Competitive Catalog
While in the doctor’s office waiting for my mom to complete her x-rays, I found and reviewed an Edible Arrangements catalog in the examination room.
The pictures representing each month highlights a celebration and features a fresh fruit assortment to order for the specified occasion.
Although your budget may not allow for a 12-month brochure or catalog, you can supplement this marketing idea by distributing a print newsletter, Emailing a monthly Ezine, or sending postcards by mail.
This task is made easy by reviewing photographs you’ve taken of gift basket designs before shipping or delivering them to recipients.
Pair those photos with one or two sentences that remind readers about occasions and events that occur during specific months.
The Edible Arrangements’ photos also include plush animals, balloons, and table settings alongside the featured designs, a cozy styling that you can create in your workspace.
This is another reminder of why re-inventing the wheel is not necessary. Take what a multi-million dollar company creates and pair that strategy down to a size that fits your business.
If you’ve seen the Edible Arrangements catalog, was your first impression:
Spa Gift Baskets Sell Fast on Valentine’s Day
Chocolates, cookies and candy create a great assortment for clients ordering Valentine’s Day gifts for spouses, daughters, and other relatives, but don’t forget to offer spa gift baskets as alternatives.
Soaps, sponges, sprays, moisturizers, powders, and bath pillows arranged in a miniature tub were a big seller for me in 1996 after showing it on a local New York television morning show.
Today, the golden shoe containing bath beads, in the above picture, is ordered by customers who request it for shipping to relatives worldwide.
One gift basket design also included a plush dog with a ball and chain on his leg dressed in a T-shirt with the words Prisoner of Love written on the front and back. The dog was so popular that I couldn’t keep it in stock for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
What’s most important about selecting inventory is making sure that it can be transferred to another event later that year. I didn’t realize this my first year in business and had to eat or throw away some items because they could not be saved until the next Valentine’s Day.
One more tip: identify your Valentine’s Day gifts with special names. That will create a whirlwind of excitement that encourages prospects and clients to buy quickly.
What methods are planned this year to market your Valentine’s Day gift baskets?
A Report to Benefit Your Gift Basket Business
Setting the tone for a productive and profitable year starts by:
1. Reviewing your current systems for changes and updates.
2. Adding new practices to streamline production.
3. Incorporating habits that are practiced every day by veteran designers.
Here are three more tips that create a great experience for your clients.
1. Learn one new bowmaking technique (a great starter bow is found here at GiftBasketVideo.com).
2. Send your best customers a sample sweet with a note of appreciation for last year’s orders.
3. Ask these same clients how you can be of help to them this year. What do they want to achieve, and how can you be part of attaining that goal?
I’ve asked my designer clients this question, and to help them, I created a special report entitled, Five Steps to Achieve Success with Gift Baskets.
You also have access to this special report. Just join the Gift Basket Business fan page on Facebook. Here’s the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gift-Basket-Business/271093563655
Once there, click the “Become a Fan” link on the page (at the top), and you’ll then have access to the report’s download link.
This page complements the Gift Basket Business Facebook group page, which is here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=74453386284
The difference between each Facebook page is that the group is where we discuss industry issues. The fan page is where you’ll receive downloads and other unique reports for your success.
I’m pleased to make this report available to you and look forward to receiving your comments through this blog and suggestions for other information to benefit your business in 2010.
-
Gift Basket Books
-
-
Welcome, from Shirley George Frazier
-
Visit Our Sponsors
