When I began my gift basket business in the early 90’s I didn’t even own a computer, a website and certainly not an e-commerce system.

My first customers were friends, relatives and people I met at networking meetings. They ordered by telephone and paid by check or cash.

Even after I invested in a computer, I still didn’t have a website for about a year. Of course, many other businesses had not moved into cyberspace either. When my customers would call for information I would describe some basket ideas on the phone and mail them a brochure.

The Internet has definitely changed the way I do business, and I suspect it has changed the way you do business as well. If you want to be profitable, there are three ways you must change your business now that the Internet is at the hub of modern communication.

1. How you get customers

Meeting potential customers at networking meetings, Chamber events, holiday boutiques are still popular ways to attract new customers.  But with the advent of the Internet you have access to larger number of potential clients and can meet them at a much faster rate.

Now you can get at these potential clients by going to them virtually.  One way to do this is be sure your website is optimized to place you near the top of the top page of search engine results.  This happens when you carefully select and place keywords.

The second way is to build up leads by offering a free newsletter or other incentive that appeals to your customers.  Once you have the email addresses of your leads you can keep in frequent contact with them, reminding them of your services and announcing new products.  Unlike regular mail that takes time and costs postage, email enables you to create one message and send it to an infinite number of people for a very low cost.

The third way to get customers is to build online relationships on social media sites. Facebook and Twitter are at the top of these. On YouTube you can post movies that you’ve created that give some advice or offer demonstrations.

To neglect any of these ways to get customers via the Internet and you’re leaving money on the table.

2. How you serve customers

Unless you are intentionally restricting your sales to just a few customers, you need a website to extend your reach.  And not just any website.

Because your website is competing against thousands of others who sell gifts, gift baskets, flowers and other retail gift items, it needs to stand out.  In addition to being attractive and easy-to-navigate, it must also have a seccure and easy-to-use e-commerce system. Reassure your customers by using a safe system and announcing it on your site.

Modern customers expect a variety of choices, options to customize and payment system that not only takes their credit card information, but confirms their order with an email that arrives within minutes of the sale. Customize the thank you email so that it takes customers back to a page on your website where you can also list other similar items and services for sale.

In addition, to be competitive with other online sellers your shipping method should provide tracking information so that your customer can follow if she wishes.

Once visitors land on your website the selection of a gift or gift basket through payment should be a smooth, seamless process.

3. How you keep customers

Regular contact helps keep your customers coming back to you. When they make a purchase be sure to follow up with a thank you email. Reward loyal customers with something special, a bonus or an add-on.

Find out what your customers want and need by asking them on a survey. This will help you better serve them when you shop for inventory and supplies.

One of your most powerful Internet tools in staying in touch with your customers is email. You can set up regular emails to go out through an autoresponder program such as AWeber. It is a proven business fact that it is much easier to sell to existing customers than it is to get new customers. So once you have earned a customer’s trust and business, nurture it by frequent contact.

One of my subscribers sends out an attractive newsletter to her customer base and has experienced increased sales. Here’s what Jean, owner of Bountiful Baskets by Jean said,

Since [I began sending out my newsletter] I think [sales have] increased at least 30 to 40 %. Consistent reminders of holidays have improved my customer contact and have also given the ones that have never ordered ideas on what to order!

Another way to stay in touch with your customers is to find out where they hang out. If your customers are active on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and other social media, connecting with them there will help strengthen your business relationships. Be sure to post the social media icons on your website to encourage them to follow, friend and link with you.

Speaking of rewarding loyalty

To thank you for being a loyal subscriber I’ve set up a special 48 hour sale of my special report, Prescription for a Successful Gift Basket Website. This report will save you money and time by avoiding the mistakes I made in the early days. It will also point you to tips, strategies and advice I gained from my experiences and those of other successful businesses.

In addition to my 96-page special report, you will also receive as a bonus a report by marketing expert Marcia Yudkin, Charge More and Get It where she gives actionable advice on pricing your products and services. You will be able to download both reports as soon as you place your order.

Follow this link to download this 90-page special report and the free bonus report. Remember this sale only lasts 48 hours and will end promptly at midnight on Thursday, October 1, 2009

If you’ve spent the year attending networking meetings and building business relationships, it’s time to reap the benefits of all that connecting. Begin by sending greetings expressing your gratitude for the help, advice, leads and encouragement you’ve received.

If you aren’t a member of a networking group, perhaps you enjoyed exchanging tips, strategies and constructive criticism with a mentor, colleague, peer or informal group of business associates. Time out for tea or brunch would be a wonderful way to show your appreciation. If this isn’t convenient, how about sending a small gift with a card.

Next, let your contacts know how you can save them time and stay within their budget by taking the stress of holiday giving off their hands. Wise companies know that the recession is no time to cut back on their gift-giving. With keen competition going aggressively after customers, it’s time for your business clients to thank and reassure their customers with tasteful and affordable gifts.

The time you spent nurturing your network can pay off in holiday orders if you take the steps now. The rewards of a business network are countless and priceless.

As you plan your holiday designs note that during times of economic downturn one of the hottest niches is the spiritual and inspirational market. Many people are drawn to products that comfort, encourage and draw them closer to family and friends. To find the wholesale sources you need for this niche, get our directory, Religious and Spiritual Products Directory, priced affordably at $17.

Like delegating, outsourcing is another way to free up your time and enable you to focus on your area of expertise within your business.

Outsourcing is subcontracting with an external third party to carry out some of the operations or tasks of your company. Unlike delegating where you have personal contact with the workers, in outsourcing you are often working with people or companies you may never meet in person.

Creating the marketing material is an area where I outsourced. While I enjoy creating, graphics and layout are not my strong suit. So, when I wanted a logo created, I went to an online company, Elance, and hired a designer who happened to be located overseas. He was quick, talented and priced right.

Dropshipping is a type of outsourcing popular with gift basket companies who want to sell gift baskets, but not create all the themes themselves. A gourmet gift basket company, for example, may get an order for a baby theme. They want to satisfy the customer, but don’t want to stock the baby items since they don’t get request for this theme too often. So, they contract with a gift basket dropshipper who specializes in baby themes. This dropshipper creates and ships the design directly to the customer. Find gift basket dropship companies on this free online directory.

Outsourcing arrangement typically take place by computer or telephone. Even though you may not meet providers face to face, it’s still important to do your research and check out credentials, portfolio and references before you hire them. This way you can maintain the quality that will help your business succeed.

In the early stages of your business you may have worn all the hats: buyer, designer, marketer, sales manager, inventory stocker, accountat, shipper  and more.  It probably didn’t take long before you became exhausted and overwhelmed.

Even in a small business, managing all the necessary tasks is not only tiring, but can hamper your success.  Delegating can help you tremendously. Delegating is not just a good idea or a suggestion, it is essential to business success.  And yet, you may hesitate to delegate for a few reasons:

• You are a control freak
• You think you are the only one who can do things right
• You are an adrenaline junkie and like the rush of having too much to do
• You have a gigantic ego that causes you to disregard others
• You want to be liked so desperately that you think you must have your hands in all parts of the business

If you recognize yourself you must be honest with yourself and work on the area that is blocking you. Then, to begin delegating take a look at the tasks at which you are best and which ones don’t need your constant attention and could be done equally well by someone else. Find someone you trust and assign them small tasks to start. If they require training, allot plenty time and patience to give them instruction and practice they need. Check back with them periodically, but don’t hover.

Bookkeeping is one of the first areas many people delegate. While you may be good at keeping your books, it’s an area of expertise that takes dedication and consistency.  Because of many changes in tax laws and business rules, it’s also an area that requires vigilance. Turning this over to an able and efficient professional will not only save you time, money and energy, but also avoid stress.

Delivering your own gift baskets takes you away from your studio and from taking orders. Turning this over to a company skilled at delivery will cost a fee, but you can pass this cost on to your customers.  In addition to using local couriers for hand deliveries, use UPS, FedEx and USPS. They have become increasingly easier to use since you can create your own labels and arrange for pickup from your business.

These are just a few places you can begin to delegate. When you turn over tasks to you others you will discover that you benefit in new-found energy, improved mood and increased business profits.

The time you free up by delegating will feel like a breath of fresh air. Get inspiration for using your time well from our e-book, It’s About Time.  Download your copy here.

This week we’ve been talking about reasons your website sucks.

Reason #5: You are too timid about promoting your website online.

Networking online is fast, efficient and powerful, and yet many companies are not sure they should network online.  Are you one of them? Let’s take a look at another popular social network website, Facebook.

Originally called thefacebook, Facebook was founded by former Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (while he was at Harvard) who ran it as one of his hobby projects with some financial help from Eduardo Saverin.  Facebook become popular within months across dorm rooms at Harvard, and soon at Stanford
and Yale.

When Mark was joined by two other fellow Harvard students–Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes–Facebook grew to become a national student network phenomenon. In August 2005, thefacebook was officially called Facebook and the domain facebook.com was purchased for a reported $200,000.

You still needed to be enrolled in one of the participating universities to be on Facebook until 2006 when anyone 13 or older could join. By January 2009 Facebook had moved ahead of MySpace in popularity.

While many businesses questioned whether MySpace was right for them, there was less hesitance for many businesses considering membership on Facebook.  A noticeable difference between the two may account for how they’ve been received by businesses.  MySpace allows to members to customize their pages with HTML and Cascading style Sheets, whereas Facebook mainly allows plain text and now photos, as well as a free classified ads in the Marketplace.

One glance at my grandkids pages on MySpace convinced me that I didn’t want to list my business there (To call their pages and those of their friends “garish” is being polite.) But Facebook has a more professional and controlled appearance. Besides, the History Channel has a Facebook page.I also like the fact that Facebook now has the capability of  linking to my articles from Ezine articles, my blog posts, and my radio episodes from BlogTalkRadio.

You are right to be thoughtful about what personal information you share on any website, but people want to know who you are before they trust you with their money and their projects. Networking websites give you the option of keeping some information private or limiting who views it. That can be useful when you build a big following.

Regardless of which social networking site you select, keep in mind that you’re there to make contacts, offer information, and be a resource.  By building relationships you create friendships and connections who sometimes turn into fans. That will grow your business in ways that old fashioned advertising never could.

We discussed the #1 reason your website sucks. Here’s the #2 reason.

Your website design is unprofessional and inappropriate for the service you offer.

• You put up an unfinished website.

In the early days of the Internet it was common to see websites that were published before they were finished. But nowadays if you put your website up before you’re ready to do business, how can I do business with you? Furthermore, what does it say about your judgment.

• Your choice of music, colors and flashing graphics are distracting and say “amateur.” Just because all the extras are available doesn’t mean you should use them.

This website , http://www.dokimos.org/ajff/indexpage.html, has a serious message but distracts from it and even dimishes it with their choices. If their purpose is to save my soul, they missed it by a long shot.

MGM Grand , by contrast, uses appropriate music and flash to set the mood to lure their intended target to their hotel. Besides, they are competing against other Las Vegas hotels with entertainment and amenities so their message needs to be glitzy and over the top.

• Your efforts to be clever backfired.

Brill Publications , for example, came up with a clever metaphor, but how many visitors will understand it and go through the steps to find out what the company does and how to use them.

In an effort to avoid having your website suck any longer, see what Chris Flanders has to say on his website, Web Pages That Suck

If you’re ready to make your gift basket website more professional, subscribe to our free e-course, “How to Dramatically Improve Your Gift Basket Website.”

Many gift basket designers bemoan the fact that they are turned away by major retailers and hotels who employ their own in-house designers. One way to approach this problem is to ask the retailer or hotel how you can become an in-house vendor. Another is to seek out companies who support local entrepreneurs.

If you have a product that’s absolutely fantastic perhaps the store will ask you to create your product in their facility. That’s what happened at Kowalski, a popular Minnesota specialty supermarket, reported in a Specialty Food article. They sold so much of a shortbread from a local company, Bramblewood Cottage, that they asked the owner to make it at their central bakery.

Kowalski is noted for promoting their local food entrepreneurs. They carry locally-produced products in the store, even giving them special signage. The store encourages them to bring their products in for tasting.

Other stores support local entrepreneurs also, such as my local Border’s that displays the work of local writers in a special section.

Search your community for companies who support local entrepreneurs and using low-cost secrets to landing corporate accounts, you will soon enjoy increased profits.

You can’t believe how many times I’ve heard gift basket designers say “I love to design, but I don’t like to sell.” Then they ask how they can go about getting customers.

If you are stockpiling inventory, creating beautiful designs, but not enjoying any sales, then you are a gift basket scaredy cat. You are headed down a course that spells financial disaster and mental distress.

But all is not lost. If you are ready to get over your fear of selling and watch your business prosper, here are seven things you can do.

1. Hire an associate or take on a partner who is skilled at sales. This person’s job will be to gather and follow leads to keep you busy filling orders. You will still to work on your own sales skills but the whole burden won’t be on your shoulders.

2. Become active in your local chamber or business network where you can meet potential customers on a weekly or monthly basis. Focus on building business relationships rather than selling. Getting to know your colleagues will reduce your fear and alleviate their hesitance. Most people buy from companies they’ve gotten to know and trust.

3. Listen to your colleagues and potential clients. Encourage them to talk about their themselves and their needs. The more people talk about themselves, the more they like you.

4. Face the fact that no one is a born salesman. It may seem that way to you as you watch others land accounts with little effort. But the truth is, becoming good at sales takes effort, work, perseverance and practice.

5. Face your fear. You are not alone. Good salesmen have had to overcome shyness, low self-esteem, stuttering, physical deformities and many other hurdles. They were determined to succeed and it was this determination that pushed them to learn and grow. You can too.

6. Take a baby step each day toward getting the sales you need to stay in business. You can learn about this by reading articles, books, subscribing to newsletters, attending conferences and networking with the successful members of the gift basket industry. The Small Business Administration offers tremendous free to low-cost help to businesses in every state.

7. Stop thinking of yourself as an interruption. You are offering a service that clients need. By neglecting to offer your gift basket service, you are depriving potential clients of a service that could help their businesses grow.

 Gifts that require light labor are those that need some wrapping or enhancement, but not much.

1. Each year, stores such as Costco and Trader Joes sell chocolates that are delicious and popular. Wrapping a box of truffles in printed cellophane with a dashing bow works well for low budgets. Don’t worry that your customers will recognize these products. They probably already like them and will be delighted to see them all dressed up.

2. The plastic portfolios found in office supply stores were intended for documents, but make wonderful gifts when filled with snacks and wrapped with bow.

I created such a design for a real estate firm for their associates during Administrative Professionals Week.

3. Fill a tin box, imprinted box or gable box with candy, cookies or other affordable pre-wrapped snacks.

Find out where to get a wide variety of containers from www.GiftBaskets Containers.com, our free online directory, listing over 100 wholesale sources. You will discover companies that offer baskets made of willow, grapevine, bamboo, birch, twig, coco bark, mesh, shabby chic, galvanized metal, wood, ceramic, paper mache and wire.

You can also crates, starter trunks chests, themed boxes, tins, movie reel tins, trays, planters, bird cages, picket fence, picnic baskets. You’ll find companies that carry containers in all types of shapes: round, rectangular, hexagonal and even some shaped like the major states of the USA.

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Short-cuts, low labor and high profits can be yours by incorporating

• Drop-shipping
• Ready-Made Gift Baskets
• Consignment and Partnering

The first time I was asked by a potential client to make $5 gifts I had to hold back a laugh.

Was she kidding? There was no way I could imagine making a profit from $5 gifts, even if she did want to order 100 of them.

If you haven’t already encountered the client who wants low cost gifts–under $25–you will.

Of course you have the choice of turning away such orders or referring them to others.

Many basketeers set a minimum such as $25, and don’t offer anything for less.

By dismissing low-cost gifts, however, especially during tough economic times, you will turn away many corporate clients looking for large quantity orders for special events, conventions, giveaways, tokens and more,  

If you decide to provide low-cost gifts, how will you possibly satisfy such customer demands and make profits at the same time? This week’s blog will be devoted to answering this question.

1. Establish a pricing formula that allows you to profit.

Many basketeers triple the total wholesale costs to determine the retail price of a standard gift basket. A $25 gift basket, for example, would cost no more than $8.33 in materials and contents. 

For gifts under $8, however, I adjust my formula to doubling the total cost, since for these I use stand-alones that require little to no labor. So, for a $5 gift, for example, I’d locate a gift that cost no more than $2.50.

2. Consider the quantity before you accept the order. An order for 1,000 gifts may be  worth your time more than three $5 gifts. This only works, of course, if you can provide the large orders with little to no labor.

3. Become a shrewd shopper and a clever designer so you can find gift items that require little to no labor on your part.

 Short-cuts, low labor and high profits can be yours by considering

• Drop-shipping
• Ready-Made Gift Baskets
• Consignment and Partnering