Gift Baskets: Be the 'go to' place for your customers

How many of your customers think of your shop when they send a gift basket? Do your corporate clients know you can personalize gifts to their employees and customers?

Growing your gift basket business is as easy as spreading the word about your services and unique abilities. There are more than $3 billion dollars changing hands for gift baskets every year. You only need a tiny portion to grow your profits.

The gift basket business continues to grow as consumers shop online and offline for merchants that can deliver the goods quickly, effortlessly, and impressively. While businesses are the main buyers of gift baskets, individuals also purchase them as hostess gifts and to send to relatives and associates such as dentists, doctors, veterinarians, and teachers.

This month make it a priority to mail a flier or postcard promoting your gift baskets. You can order inexpensive pre-printed postcards or develop an inhouse flier. Either way, a direct mail piece to your customers is a no-lose proposition.

Entice with Value

It’s easy to discover what’s selling. Go online and browse through some of the top gift basket websites. Take notes on what products they offer, the brand names of frequently used gourmet foods and drinks, the names given to the baskets, the price ranges, and how the products are packaged.

Pay close attention to exactly how much product is in each basket. Looks can be deceiving – which happens to be the Number One complaint voiced by gift basket givers and receivers, according to a study published in Niche magazine. Baskets that look as if they’re full of products often are mostly full of filler, such as crumpled wrapping paper, confetti, and foam squares with a few products sitting on top.

Look for the actual size of each item. What might seem to be a generous bag of peanuts in the photograph, on closer inspection often turns out to be barely a handful. Sometimes bottles of sparkling water or other beverages are one ounce instead of eight ounces.

With this information, you can plan your own line of gift baskets to rival what you’ve seen on the Internet. You can provide important and same-day delivery.

As you design your gift/gourmet baskets, keep in mind that surveys have shown that consumers are most interested in value and making a suitable impression with their gifts. They would rather purchase baskets that contain a few quality items than ones with many small, off-brand products. Therefore, a basket containing Godiva chocolates, Hershey bars, Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies, Geoff and Drew’s brownies, and Starbucks chocolate/hazelnut coffee would please a chocolate lover customer more than a larger variety from unfamiliar chocolate companies.

Concentrate on products that offer value, name recognition, and are at or near full size.

Popular Presentations

Your travels through the Internet gift basket sites probably revealed that many of them offer similar product groupings. That’s because the selections have proven to be popular with consumers. You should include these classic selections among your offerings. Here are the most popular ones:

• Tower:   This classic presentation offers graduated gift boxes full of an assortment of goodies, all tied with a ribbon and topped with a big bow. Price depends on how many boxes are included, usually from three to five. Foods range from mixed nuts and gourmet trail mix to petite fours, fruit, and specialty cakes.

• Fruit and Cheese:  A true classic, these are particularly popular with corporate gift givers. The key to sales is to provide luscious, unblemished fruit and an interesting selection of other products, all fresh and commercially packaged. You can keep with the fruit theme by also including jars of jam and tins of dried fruit.

• All Occasion:  General, multi-purpose baskets work for many customers, whether they are buying for businesses, relatives, or a hostess gift. These baskets can include all food or food and other products such as a small plant or flower arrangement, jar candle, or potpourri. Add a Mylar balloon for an extra festive touch.

• Southwestern:  These are popular in most areas of the United States because they include food favorites such as salsa, tortilla chips, chili mix, barbecue sauce, and beef jerky. They can be upscale or down-home, depending on your choice of presentation and products.

• Personalized:  Offer to personalize corporate baskets by including printed labels and ribbons with the sender’s company names and logos. You can place the labels on the products, such as a bottle of sparkling water or on jar candles. If the sending company wants to use its corporate name, you can accommodate them.

• Holiday:  Whatever holiday is coming up deserves its own gift basket. They can include almost any item as long as the holiday is notably expressed either through colors (red and green for Christmas, green for St. Patrick’s Day, red for Valentine’s Day, etc.) or icons (angels, leprechauns, cupids, etc.). Create three sizes at three different price ranges for broader appeal and more sales potential.

• Best of the Best:  This is the choice of customers looking to impress. Products should all be top-of-the-line brands. Fill the basket to the brim with an assortment of items that will be difficult for others to duplicate. Include some locally produced items if you have premium goods available. Make sure your packaging is equally impressive.

Corporate Focus

Gift baskets can be shared and enjoyed by a staff. They comprise more than half of this $3 billion gift basket industry. That’s because they are ideal to send to offices, hospitals, clinics, and businesses. To get the most out of this important segment, you should offer more than one corporate gift basket.

When designing your corporate baskets, consider these important points:

• Size of the staff:  Design baskets for small, medium, and large staffs. Small baskets should have enough products for six to eight people; medium should satisfy eight to 12 people, and large baskets should be aimed at 12 to 15 people. Several people can enjoy one big cookie, but it’s better to include three or four medium size cookies so that everyone gets their own. Instead of one large box of chocolates, go for three or more smaller ones, depending on the size of the basket. Also, avoid one flower arrangement. It’s better to include several small ones or packages of potpourri and sachets.
  
  
• Price accordingly:  While customer gift baskets can start at $49, corporate offerings should begin at no less than $79, unless it is a staff of just two or three people. Gift baskets can easily reach $150 to $200.

Know Your Assets

Consumers have many places to look for gift baskets. If you haven’t marketed your gift baskets aggressively, both in the shop and on your website, you probably won’t be on their list. The good news is...you have relationships with the customers, you just need to get their attention.

Send marketing material to them frequently. Emphasize the special services you offer and advertise that you provide same-day local delivery. Mention that you retain order information to make it easier for them to order from you again. This service will appeal to corporate clients because they won’t have to start from scratch every time they order.

Convenience is important to consumers and this is especially so during the busy holiday season. Be sure that your customers can order gifts from your shop effortlessly by giving them several ways to communicate with you. Your marketing material should list all the means by which they can order – online, email, text, or by phone.

Order forms should ask them to specify if custom or personalized products are needed so that you can secure them immediately. Offer an extra product to customers who order by Dec. 1 for Christmas.

Don’t wait. The sooner you begin your marketing campaign, the better your chances at capturing more gift basket orders this season.