Picture Taking - Where Do You Draw the Line?
Taking this picture outside of a New York City-based gift basket and flower shop was no easy feat.
The shop is located on Broadway, and if you’ve never walked on that street, you can imagine how busy it is during rush hour (when the photo was snapped) or any other time, especially since it’s a few blocks north of Macy’s.
It’s almost impossible to take a street-level picture with people walking past the window every two seconds. Thankfully, there was a brief lull in traffic, and my camera was poised and waiting for that moment.
The photo was captured not for competitive reasons but to ask you the following question.
How many times have you seen a gift basket design inside a competitive store and wanted to take a picture to remember the technique?
The consensus on doing this is don’t. It’s considered as rude and simply not permitted on private property.
I remember reading, on a now-defunct message board, how one new designer was shocked that she was escorted out of a gift basket shop because of her in-store picture taking. She couldn’t understand why the owner didn’t let her take pictures “in the spirit of camaraderie.”
We’ve talked about taking pictures inside of other people’s shop at Ask The Gift Basket Expert, where you’ll find many insightful comments about this practice.
Even public photography can be viewed as dangerous. Although you’re outside on the street, the proprietor may still not be pleased with picture taking, as they don’t know if you’re friend or foe.
What’s been your experience with someone taking pictures of your gift baskets?
What’s Your First Reaction to Competition?
Concerned, nervous, and scared.
Those were my feelings early in my gift basket life when I saw a competitor’s baskets sitting in a store window.
I wouldn’t stop long enough to look at the product for comparisons or to review the design techniques. All I knew was that there was someone else making a product I wanted exclusively available through me.
Looking back, I realize that these emotions were due to lack of mentorship. I had no idea how to view competitive products, how to talk to competitors (as if I were a prospective customer) to learn about their products, and how to uncover their weaknesses to boost my own strengths.
When you see a new, local source for residents and visitors to buy gift baskets, what’s your initial thought? Is it to:
Your next move may be something totally different than what’s listed here. The bottom line is to not bury your head in the sand. There’s a reason why this company has set up shop in your locale.
Perhaps gift baskets are a natural line extension because of the products sold separately within the shop. Perhaps one of their employees worked at a gift basket shop and is in charge of creating designs.
You may never learn the reason, but you can be thankful that competition is there, because they add instant credibility to a product that may have been difficult to sell in the past. This is a strange way of viewing the competition, but their presence can actually increase your revenue.
When you first saw a new gift basket seller in town, what was your first reaction?
Even Temporary Competition Needs to Be Watched
During the fourth quarter every year, gift basket competition of some type comes to town. They set up makeshift shops in malls, standalone stores, and even in supermarkets.
This is in addition to the competition you already prepare for at superstores, discount retailers, and office supply chains. How do you convince clients to order from you rather than the other outlets that try to trump your sales?
One gift basket designer I recently spoke with says she deflects competitors by expanding her services during the holiday season.
That includes the distribution of free gifts (beautifully wrapped, slow-moving merchandise) and the mailing or Emailing of a customized gift-giving list generated according to the client’s order list from last year.
She says that she knows her clients appreciate her services because her sales increase each year.
What’s your plan for watching how and when the competition comes to your town, and how do you convince customers to buy from you and not from them?
How Do You Watch Your Back?
Competition appears online and in your community as quickly as you blink. Take your eyes off this part of your business, and here’s what may happen:
1. The corner drug store displays baskets in the store window supplied to them by a home-based business you didn’t know existed.
2. The business section of the local newspaper publishes a feature article about another designer.
3. A search of gift basket companies in your area reveals that another firm is always listed above yours.
Solving this maddening problem are part of the Golden Basket Club’s benefits.
What are the ways you convince buyers to come to you rather than go to the competition?
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