Gift Basket Retailers Filling Orders Fast
Remember: Enter the gift basket business contest. Deadline is Monday. Get details here.
“Corporate spending is less, but they are still ordering baskets,” McCreery said.
“I get 800 gift baskets in one order. Instead of $50 per basket, they want to spend $35.”
That’s the order outlook from a gift basket designer in Arizona, as reported by TucsonCitizen.com in a recent article.
It’s better news than featured in other publications, the ones that seem to look for retailers who aren’t putting their best foot forward to make the best of a rough year.
There’s no doubt that getting corporate clients to buy is a tough sell. However, their budgets aren’t slashed to zero, and that’s why the Arizona-based designer who’s filling $35 orders will be the one that corporations buy from when revenues are higher in the coming years.
In the past I’ve recommended, in the newsletter and on this blog, offering clients gifts and baskets in varying amounts – from approximately $20 to $200 – so that you are their gift solution specialist no matter what the economy.
It works for the Arizona designer, and it will work for you.
The above photograph shows most of the grand prize items to be awarded in the gift basket business contest. A few more items will be delivered today.
Thanks to all who entered. Only three will receive prizes, but all of you are winners.
Is It Time to Make State-Made Gift Baskets?
Remember: Enter the gift basket business contest. Deadline is Monday. Get details here.
Did you see the question about a basket shaped like the state of Missouri at News-Leader.com?
The basket’s actually a handle-less tray, and the products, according to the reporter’s response, are all made in Missouri.
Do you specialize in this type of design for your state? You may not for several reasons.
Dana Sonia makes New Hampshire gift baskets and successfully sells them to individuals and corporations. She’s one of the designers featured in The Gift Basket Design Book.
Some tips Dana shared with me personally and in the book for creating her state design:
I’ve been able to find plenty of products in every U.S. state, many of which are found on the GiftBasketWholesaleSupplies.com and OrganicWholesaleSupplies.com Web sites.
There’s no need to buy lots of products before you know it’ll sell. Buy just enough items to create samples or prototypes. Take pictures, and add them to your site with a cute, clever, or memorable name associated with your state’s slogan (example: Big Apple Basket for New York designs).
Be careful when choosing names. A Big Sur basket (referring to a popular California region) may sell quicker than one called The Terminator (referring to California’s governor).
Basket ideas and supplies are also found at BasketsGiftBaskets.com.
How popular is your state-made gift basket?
That’s Not Wine in Your Gift Basket
We all know how popular wine is as part of a gift basket, and we also know that many of us cannot legally include wine with our designs.
I thought about this as I read an article in New York’s Observer Today. Last week, the online paper featured a story about a winery that’s just hired a “new staff member with background in gift basket production.”
She’s now in charge of creating the winery’s gift baskets, and of course, the firm expects their gift basket sales to increase, especially in the fourth quarter.
You may not be able to buy wines, and perhaps that’s not what your customers prefer. However, you can expand your line by designing with crates and other containers that are often selected for wine inclusion.
Look at the above picture. It’s a prototype I created a few years ago for Total Wine. It includes the wine, breadsticks, and peanuts, a super-simple combination.
It’s very easy to create a crated design, so why not replace the wine with a sparkling cider or another beverage in a wine-type bottle?
This is not only easy to make and shrink wrap, it’s also easy to ship and easy to transport to the receiver’s front door.
What items are a good pairing with non-alcoholic beverages?
Wine-based containers aren’t just for alcohol. What do you think about this alternative?
How Gift Baskets are Marketed in Another Country
Remember: Enter the gift basket business contest. Get details here.
How many gift baskets would you expect to sell if you had a budget of $850,000 to $1.1 million for marketing?
That’s how much a supermarket chain in Bangkok plans to spend this holiday!
The story is found here in the business section of BangkokPost.com along with a photograph of three gift baskets created in a way that appeals to their customers.
What do you think about the gift baskets made using lantern shapes shown in the picture? It looks as though fruit is in each one, but I could be wrong.
I calculated the supermarket chain’s budget amount using an online converter, which also helped me determine, from the numbers in the article, that their gift basket prices range from $43 to $567.
You’ll read in the caption beneath the photo that the company expects 10-12 percent sales growth from their efforts.
What budget have you set to market your gift baskets? A few years ago, while preparing to conduct a seminar at the L.A. Mart, I learned through research that the average marketing budget for our category is 3 to 5 percent of annual sales.
Example: if your 2007 sales were $100,000, it’s appropriate to spend $3,000 to $5,000 in order to take full advantage of multiple marketing methods. This amount is yearly, not just for the end of year holidays.
It’s okay if you did or didn’t make exactly $100,000. Just follow the same guidelines to calculate your budget. Then decide which methods will generate the highest income.
101 Ways to Market Your Gift Baskets reveals many more ideas used by successful designers.
Calculating and maintaining a yearly budget is another step in your marketing plan as well as forming a plan on the best ways to spend that budget.
If you set a marketing budget for this year, what have you learned from this exercise up to now?
Gift Baskets Help Needy Families
I was so pleased when the trunk that’s part of the grand prize in the gift basket business contest arrived. You’ll see its photo on the left.
Its rich, brown color and leather strap trim will make a great addition to your offerings.
Be sure to see the contest information here if you haven’t yet entered.
Years ago, when I invested in my first large trunk, I created an enormous gift with luxury items so that clients knew that both small and large gifts were available at my shop.
If you don’t let clients know about your full assortment, they’ll only come to you for smaller designs. You want them to know the broad range of options you offer.
Gift baskets continue to be in the news as a donation item for needy families. Here’s one of those stories, which includes a photo of 350 gift baskets and the volunteers who made them.
Click on the photo, and another window will open for you to scroll through three pictures of the baskets and makers.
I encourage you to take part in a gift basket donation event in your area. Lending your expertise to worthy causes, especially during the holidays, is a wonderful way to support others. I’m also looking for a local group.
Next week, the rest of the first-place bounty will arrive, and I’ll show you a complete photo of the grand prize.
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