Ask The Gift Basket Expert » Business Basics

How Can I Fill Gift Basket Orders with a Limited Inventory?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:34:19 +0000

Erika asks: “It seems that every time a person asks me to make a gift basket, I don’t have everything they want. How do I get around this problem without buying lots more products?”

As a designer, you want to accommodate every person who calls, but this isn’t possible without buying one of everything in the marketplace, and even then there will be a problem with size, color, or shape.

Think about large stores such as Macy’s and Harrods. They own a huge amount of inventory. However, people who shop at those stores walk out every day without purchasing. Even if this fact doesn’t solve your dilemma, it proves that you’re in good company.

The only thing you can do is continually review your inventory to match it with what customers consistently request. Stock the basic items such as cookies, crackers, cheese, popcorn, nuts, and beverages, and also keep gift items for spa and baby baskets in inventory. Wholesale providers are listed at Gift Basket Wholesale Supplies and Organic Wholesale Supplies.

Whatever your customers order most often is your target. You cannot stock everything, but you can satisfy most people who buy.

© 2008-2010 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the leading authority on the gift basket industry. She is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

How to Start a Gift Basket Business on a Tight Budget

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:11:04 +0000

Amanda asks:

“How do I start a gift basket business when I’m on a budget and don’t have a lot of money to buy what’s needed?“

It’s true that the business of gift baskets requires that you invest in a considerable amount of inventory.

However, many industry participants began their businesses with a tight and lean product assortment, allowing them to make a specific number of every day gift baskets to market their businesses. This allowed them to promote, sell their designs, and gradually buy more products and offer more variety.

This is how you start on a budget. Here are the main tips.

1. Determine who will buy your gift baskets so you know where to market.
2. Decide which types of gift baskets you’ll make so you purchase the right inventory.
3. Research where to buy products so you select high-quality items at the lowest prices.
4. Set up your workspace in a room that’s already paid for with rent or mortgage monies.
5. Invest in business cards and postcards for marketing purposes as well as a blog or social media page.

Focus on these five steps, and you will accomplish what many of us experience now — gift basket businesses that provide us with satisfaction as it satisfies the personal and professional needs of our customers.

How Do I Pick My Name?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:17:04 +0000

Amanda asks: “I can’t think of a name for my gift basket business, and it’s driving me crazy! How to you figure out what to call yourself?”

Choosing a name for your gift basket business or any business is critically important to your overall success, so your dilemma is a good one because you’re not taking this step lightly.

Selecting a name is very personal. At the same time you want it to sound right, feel right, and easily roll off the customer’s tongue when they say it.

Here are three things to consider as you decide what to name your business.

1. Will the name include your name?

Amanda’s Amazing Baskets and Amazing Baskets by Amanda are examples of adding your name so that customers know instantly who is creating their designs. If you prefer to not have your name in the title…

2. Will the name highlight what you create?

Glamorous Gifts and Glamorous Gift Baskets are examples of highlighting what your business is all about. Some designers prefer to include the word “gifts” or “baskets” to let customers know, in an instant, what they make. Perhaps you want to be more neutral…

3. Will the name be both interesting and obscure?

Creative Occasions and Distinct Impressions are example names that are keeping in line with a gift-giving theme without actually saying that you make gift baskets. Sometimes such a name is valid because you plan to go beyond gift basket making and provide customers with all types of all-occasion gifts.

These questions probably don’t make your name selection easier, but they do point you in the right direction to decide which type of name is best.

The article, How to Name Your Gift Basket Business, will provide more insight. Best of all, once you choose your perfect name, you’ll celebrate by telling everyone and marketing your business worldwide.

How to Decide to Keep or Lose a Customer

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:19:25 +0000

Suzanne asks:

“How do I tell a customer that the gift baskets she wants for a low price cost a lot more for me to make? I don’t want to lose her, but I don’t know what to say.“

This person may have already visited retailers in your local area and found that their prices are not to her liking, so she’s now asking you to make what retailers already know is not profitable.

I’m guessing, of course, but some potential customers approach us with requests that are simply impossible to complete.

A woman once asked me to make a large gift basket and charge her a small basket price, plus she wanted 30 days to pay, and this was her first order!

How did I handle it? I explained that while I wasn’t able to fulfill her requests due to my pricing structure, I was happy to recommend her to other designers who might be more accommodating.

Those other designers turned her down as well. She wanted too much for too little, and all of us found the words to turn down her request since staying in business is a top priority when you decide to become an entrepreneur.

You have a choice to either:

Inform the customer that you are unable to produce her preferred gift baskets at the cost she wants to pay,
Provide her with alternative styles from your design inventory, or
Make the gift baskets for her and take a loss.

If the first option is best, the words are easy to say. Do not allow emotion to get in the way; you’re making a business decision based on your desire to stay in business.

If the second option is best, inform the customer about the value and satisfaction other buyers have experienced with those particular styles.

If the third option is best, make the gift baskets, but be ready for additional orders from the customer that will keep you profitless.

Which is your choice?

Which Gift Basket Products Do I Buy?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:31:29 +0000

Ashley asks:

“I’m trying to decide what products to buy for my business, and I can’t make up my mind. There are so many choices. How can I choose the best products to offer my customers?”

Before you buy one product, you must thoroughly understand the people who will be buying your gift baskets. What are their likes and dislikes? Popcorn, nuts and chocolates are products that regularly appear in baskets, but plush animals are a specialty item.

If customers aren’t the plush-loving type, the decision to buy such a product will be a waste of your inventory money.

Many designers start their businesses by buying enough inventory to make 12 designs. Your decision will depend on the amount of investment money available and the initial size of your business.

Try not to buy products that you think are cute. Chances are that if it’s too unique, customers won’t want it in their baskets, and that case of product will become yours alone. Good luck!

Ask The Gift Basket Expert » Business Basics

How Can I Fill Gift Basket Orders with a Limited Inventory?

Related posts:

How to Start a Gift Basket Business on a Tight Budget

Related posts:

How Do I Pick My Name?

Related posts:

How to Decide to Keep or Lose a Customer

Related posts:

Which Gift Basket Products Do I Buy?

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