Gift Basket Business - Hosted by Shirley George Frazier

9 Ways to Check Your Gift Basket Competition

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:26:08 +0000

Whether you’re new to the gift basket industry or a veteran designer, you’ll either be: 1) the new competition that existing retailers watch, or 2) a veteran retailer watching the new competitor.

How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business includes a chart to document everything you find out about the town newbie. Here are nine ways designers tell me they spy:

1. Call to ask theme questions or to learn if the phone is manned by a live person or machine.

2. Enter the store posing as a customer (supermarket executives do this all the time at new supermarket openings).

3. Send a friend or family member into the competitive shop for a look around.

4. Attend the grand opening or open house event.

5. Pay a college student to monitor the store’s walk-in traffic on a weekday and weekend day.

6. Visit the county clerk’s office to review the store’s recorded vital statistics (this public record is open to everyone).

7. Learn (by phone, review of public records, etc.) if the store has a Web site, and review the online location.

8. Set up alerts in Google and Yahoo! to learn if store management releases grand opening news to the media.

9. Monitor your local newspaper for new store announcements.

Above all, I endorse respect for other people’s property while completing your research. No questions outside of what a customer would ask, no hidden cameras, no sabotage.

This past summer, a rivalry ensued between two ice cream truck drivers who sold their frozen products to the same community. One accused the other of assault and showed police where the competing driver allegedly hit him in the head.

It was all a hoax.

The injured driver hit himself in the head to try and remove his competition through arrest. He was charged with issuing a false report and paid a stiff fine. None of us need to go that low when competitors come to town.

Curiosity about a new store is natural. You want to know why an owner chose to open in your area and will do what’s possible to learn the truth. How do you complete your espionage?

Related Article: Competing with the Real Competition

© 2008 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley Frazier is known as "the gift basket expert." She speaks at trade and business events worldwide and is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, a free online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

How Anniversary Cards Increase Gift Basket Sales

Shirley George Frazier — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:53:48 +0000

Do you send clients anniversary cards to mark the month they first ordered from you?

Your administrative records contain all the information you need to begin this campaign.

How does marketing your business through sending Happy Anniversary cards work?

1. Review all clients‘ names and look up the date of their first orders.

Place each name in month order so you know how many anniversary cards to prepare every month.

2. Choose a card with a straight-forward message.

“Thank you for your past purchases. Here’s a gift for you” is adequate.

3. Add the gift, which can range from a discount, dollar amount, credit off the next purchase, gift card, or an edible gift.

Retail stores have the option of including something that the customer brings to the store for redemption.

If you want to increase business, selling to those who’ve already purchased is the way to go. You’ll strengthen ties, expand through referrals, and wish yourself a happy anniversary every additional year you’re in business.

Liquor Licenses and Gift Baskets Don’t Always Mix

Shirley George Frazier — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:20:12 +0000

Liquor licenses continue to be a frequently-asked question at gift basket classes. I also talk about liquor laws at Ask The Gift Basket Expert.

A newspaper article recently made public on the Web explained another side of getting a liquor license that I didn’t realize, and perhaps you also want to know.

Most cities have reached their maximum for issuing these licenses, so if you want one, you must buy it from a licensed store that’s closing. The inflated price must be staggering. And it doesn’t end there.

Once you and the seller come to a price agreement, transfer paperwork must be completed to let your city, county, or other issuing department know that you are the person purchasing the license.

Is all of this worth it just to tell clients that you can add liquor to their gift baskets?

This transfer option is, of course, only available to retail stores, not to home-based designers.

Wine and liquor alternatives are abundant. From ciders to flavored beverages, in traditional bottles or unique containers, there’s something non-alcoholic to include that will intoxicate your clients without liquors’ involvement.

If you are still searching for a liquor license, how do you see it increasing your business?

Are Your Gift Baskets Protected?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:33:09 +0000

I’d be in a Miami hospital right now from heat exhaustion had it not been for the umbrella that shielded me from sun rays during my short walk to the convention center to demonstrate gift wrapping techniques at the Miami Beach Gift Show.

The protection of fabric, stretched by a wire frame, provided comfort in the sun. Insurance protection provides similar coverage for your gift basket business.

In the 1990s we used to only be concerned with product liability protection, but now there’s more on the insurance plate. There’s protection against:

Errors and omissions in our print and online materials.

Clients hurting themselves while in our stores and on other properties we own.

Recipients suing when couriers leave liquor baskets in minors’ hands.

Buying insurance can be a significant yearly expense, but what’s worse is having no coverage if a suit begins.

I’m personally covered by an umbrella in the sun and insurance for business protection. Are you?

Learn more about insurance options here and also about the CD, Legal Tips to Keep Your Company Out of Court.

Make Gift Baskets, Not Excuses

Shirley George Frazier — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:55:29 +0000

A woman in my town who owns a flower shop asked me to critique her gift baskets.

She has a beautiful mix of themes, and her enhancements complement each design.

This woman also sells fruit baskets, which were subcontracted through another firm.

“I’m through working with them,” she told me. “They tape all of the fruit, and then my customers tell me the fruit comes apart when the tape is pulled off. I used to make excuses to cover myself, but I lost some customers.”

Her solution? To find another firm for this outsourcing task.

Customers don’t want to hear why a gift basket wasn’t delivered, was made sloppily, etc. They just want it right. Don’t you?

Stop making excuses for situations that can be solved. Make changes, and start handling business professionally every day for every client.