Years ago when I attended a seminar, the event leader said something I will always remember.

Always Be Marketing was his success formula, and he told us that if we truly wanted success in business, we must constantly market our products and/or services.

Is this something you practice, or is marketing a task that’s done when you have time?

Marketing is the first task on my mind when I enter my studio. I brainstorm on my own each day, reviewing what I’ve done in the past and what’s on the horizon for the future.

If your marketing is not an every day practice, that’s the reason why your gift basket sales are low.

It’s time to brainstorm either on your own, with staff, or with trusted associates who can help you get your marketing train on track.

Choose either a pen and paper or computer screen to list your marketing options. This will range from direct mail campaigns to social media connections.

Try your best not to rule anything out that comes to mind. The focus of this project is to write everything down without bias. It’s wise to think big during this exercise. It’s not just about what you’ve done in the past; this is also about the grand ways you can market to many rather than to one person at a time.

Once you devise your initial list, start deciding which campaigns can be done right away, and set up a plan for that marketing on a daily basis. Yes, daily. Then move on to the next easiest, and continue until you get to the campaigns that take time to set up. Work on those campaigns until you have the steps and schedule. Then launch it without fail.

This is how to market your gift baskets. You will learn what’s working, what needs to be changed and relaunched, and what needs replacement.

There is no wrong in your plan unless you don’t follow through or you harm children or animals, and I highly doubt that’s part of your plan.

If you had time to decide to make the sell gift baskets, you have time to figure out how to put more of your dynamic gifts into customers‘ hands.

Now that you know the basics, what more do you need to make sure you market every day?

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

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3. Why Inventory Purchased this Year is Perfect for Mother’s Day Gift Baskets

My hope for you this holiday season is that your phone will ring frequently with potential buyers who’ve purchased in the past and who are buying for the first time.

As those calls reach you, keep this article on separating the buyers from the browsers, written last year and still valid today, in mind.

Some people will be prepared to order, and others will need hand holding to complete the sale.

In either case, there’s other information to collect from each customer before the call ends.

• Ask about other friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and staff they may have forgotten but deserve to receive a gift basket.
• Request the customer’s email address, and ask if you can add the address to your newsletter for details on upcoming designs for the New Year.
• Find out if they have a pet, and if you have pet treats in stock, wrap it in a cellophane bag for delivery to the customer (this is huge for loyalty).

What other questions are on your list for capturing customer information?

Shirley George Frazier

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1. Where Do You Share Comments from Happy Customers?
2. How Will You Keep the Competition Away from Your Customers?
3. Create What Customers Want, Not What’s “In”

When calling Macy’s to start a relationship with them by creating gift baskets for their customers, I had no idea that the first call would connect me with the right person who hired me within five minutes of our conversation.

That discussion did much to boost my confidence.

That relationship did much more to promote my business, expand the locations where I provided this service, and earn a healthy revenue.

You may be hesitant about calling a potential client, thinking that you’ll be rejected or never get a return call if you leave a voice mail message.

But what’s the other possible result?

You’ll get the order, establish a great relationship, receive referral orders, and build your business to heights you dream about.

And what if it doesn’t happen?

That’s okay, because chances are that due to your follow through, a much better opportunity is on the horizon.

So, make the call. Your dream life is waiting.

Shirley George Frazier

Related articles:

1. Make Sure that Networking is Part of Your Gift Basket Business Plan
2. Three Tips to Take Your Gift Basket Business to the Next Level
3. Why You May Be Overthinking the Corporate Sales Process

Not too long ago on the GiftBasketBusiness.com site I shared information with you on marketing your gift baskets with video.

Here’s the link to watch the video and read the 10 marketing tips.

What type of video did that post encourage you to include on your website?

Perhaps you haven’t created any videos because you’re not sure how to start.

The video that accompanied that article didn’t have the best lighting, but that didn’t stop me from making it.

I knew, in time, that my video quality would get better, and that’s happened. The videos I upload on the Golden Basket Club membership site are of much better quality, but let’s get back to your situation.

If you haven’t yet created videos to market your gift baskets and want to add some before the holidays, here are three ways you can get videos up and running.

1. Offer this project to a college group. Contact an advisor at a local college to propose a video-making project where students gain college credits and/or your recommendation to potential employers when they graduate.

2. Ask your cable station if they allow local businesses to use their equipment to create videos. This professional atmosphere will save you the time and money it takes to put this environment together in your own studio.

3. Place an ad on Craigslist. There may be a videographer that’s located in your city with space and equipment to help you create videos so, like No. 2, you spend more time on quality and less money on supplies.

Which of these options is the best choice to finally offer video messages on your website?

Shirley George Frazier

Related articles:

1. Three Ways to Increase Sales through Social Media
2. Three Gift Baskets to Offer Without Fail

What happened this year in your business that went wonderfully right or terribly wrong? I bet there were more positives than negatives.

Here are some examples you can relate to:

• A client account didn’t work out, but you took a different approach the next time and signed another client.
• Products in a shipped design broke, so now you have another shipping technique that’s much better.
• One marketing campaign was a total dud, and the one that followed delivered lots of orders.

You may have felt isolated each time you tried something new, but you weren’t. Even I launched what I thought were great ideas that turned out to be the opposite. But like you, that first try didn’t stop me from finding the right solution.

Here are three blog posts shared with you earlier this year, plus an informative one from 2009, that continue to remind you of what’s achievable as we move into 2011.

Why Every Business Won’t Be Your Gift Basket Client

Lining a Gift Basket with a Wide Weave

Social Media for Gift Basket Designers

How Does Gift Basket Drop Shipping Manage Growth?

I encourage you to write down all the accomplishments that come your way in 2011 so that when things go wrong, and they will, you’ll have a comfortable cushion of success to sustain your passion for making and selling gift baskets.

Happy New Year,

Shirley George Frazier

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One of the questions I’m frequently asked by designers worldwide is, “How do I market my gift baskets?”

It’s the same question I was asked by a gift retailer in 1990 at the Washington Gift Show. We exchanged information about our businesses, and she asked me to reveal my marketing plan.

I became defensive but realized that my plan couldn’t help her because our businesses were in two different places catering to distinctly-separate customers.

This fact is also true for you and other gift basket designers, whether they are local competitors or outside of your region.

No one else’s marketing plan will work for you. The plan that’s perfect and correct for your business is created by you from experience and dictated by the people most likely to buy your gift baskets.

Marketing plans, tips, and ideas available in books and on the Internet provide insights on how to craft your planning, but none of it is usable as is no matter how much you want it to be.

When you started your business, how long did it take to realize that marketing plans created by others had to be customized to your specifications?

Shirley George Frazier

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During a daily fitness walk around my town I see lots of ideas that may fit into your summer marketing plans.

Some of the ideas you may not have considered, while others may be as interesting as the shoe in this post, which is a unique marketing tool on its own. Here’s what I saw during the walk.

Any of these marketing opportunities will work to sell your gift baskets as long as you understand the target market that reads, sees, and visits these locations.

That’s just three ideas to build your business, and 200+ more marketing opportunities are available on the CDs 99 Sizzling Marketing Ideas to Make More Money, January-June, and 99 MORE Sizzling Marketing Ideas to Make More Money, July-December. You’ll find information about the two CDs through this link.

What’s your plan to market your gift basket business this summer?

Shirley George Frazier

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Postcards and newsletters keep your customers interested and returning to buy more, but what else will gain their attention and bring you new clients?

If you’re considering adding online videos to your Web site, you’re on the right track.

You’ve no doubt read or heard about video being an important medium in today’s society, and according to statistics, it’s true.

You may have concerns about making videos and its potential for earning more revenue, so I’ve included a video in this post to help you better understand the options.

I welcome your questions and feedback. This avenue may be new and uncertain, but it’s definitely one to consider including on several of your gift basket Web site pages.

Shirley George Frazier

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