The Season is Upon Us

Seasons Greetings Everyone,

The beginning of my favorite time of the year is on us. I want to say, thank you, to everyone for your patronage and support. From my heart, I want to wish everyone success and good fortune. Mostly, I am thankful that we can all be a part of something bigger and better. How do I know that? Well, the way I see it, if things are so bad then I am sure better is just waiting to happen.
With that said, I think this might be a nice time to tell you a little about me.

It is the coming of winter, when the leaves begin turning colors and the air takes on a fresh crispness; these are my favorite months of the year. I love the drift of the summer but the advent of winter brings its own seasonal festivities. It is all comfort and joy for me and I live for it. Starting with Halloween, I have been known to be involved in many haunted house shows. Currently haunting with the Boys Scouts of America’s yearly themed ice arena haunts, which had their origins in one of the Essex County Hospital Center (Overbrook) Medical Doctor’s Homes. When my children were young, there was always a military barracks and a few good men nearby to use for my earlier hauntings.

The trees are almost bare and the days in Jersey are sometimes wet and cold and sometimes very comfortably warm. The weather changes frequently. Halloween tucked back in the attic, and the celebrations of the season’s holidays are in the air. As a child my father decorated for this season and other celebrations. He had an imported Italian family business. My grandfather, my father and his 7 brothers all worked in the family ‘flag and decorating business'. My family grew up decorating the towns – literally. We had a warehouse full of rolls of garland and huge boxes of lights. The garland would be wrapped around wire frames and I remember helping to twist in the large colored lights. It was exciting for a kid, lighting up these huge frames to check for dead bulbs and the lights were bright and hot to touch. The men would work long hours stringing holiday decorations that spanned across the streets in town and lit up the night. It is a busy time of year for everyone, but I always felt I held an inside secret that no one knew about; the secret behind that spectacular finish.

Imagine my house in December? Oh Yes, the lights spelled out 'Seasons Greetings' and stretched across the whole length of our ranch home! I always loved it, the bright glow at night outside my window … did I mention that they blinked?

I still love the prep for the holidays… and it is no surprise that I opened a business where the busiest season is all about the holiday prep. It must have something to do with my circadian rhythm! This time of year, if you walked into Grove Baskets and Gifts you could see the elfin magic working. We are working on our own inside secret.

I love being part of the giving of thanks and the celebrating of the season. The bonus is that the business at Grove Baskets and Gifts is always about giving and celebrating, all year round. Each gift basket sends a message and we specialize in that spectacular finish.

Best Regards, Judy Bennett

In Case of Emergency

This message will be a community service message from the nurse side of me. This is truly a public service announcement in every way.

I find more and more of my elderly patients have cell phones on them when I stop to visit them. I am always pleased to see this, because the cell phone has become such an important emergency tool for a senior living alone or traveling about their day by themselves. I bought one for my mom. It is a convenience for her to be able to call me if her car breaks down, or when the Atlantic City bus arrives at her destination and she needs to be picked up at the bus stop.

Many are not aware of an emergency initative by Paramedics across the nation that actually has its origin in England. It is called "ICE" and it stands for 'in case of emergency'. The idea is a fantastic one and home care nurses across America encourage their patients to add this entry into their cell phones. This is not just for the elderly, but for everyone with a cell phone. I am encouraging everyone to do this and pass the word. It is simple to do, all you have to do is enter the entry ICE or I.C.E. into your cell phone address book and enter the phone number of the person you would want to be called "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" and save this entry. You can also add a second or a third...ICE1, ICE2, ICE3. In an emergency where you are not able to respond, the rescue squad or hospital staff will be able to contact the person you have designated. You may think that the entry MOM works, but not everyone wants their mom called, or possibly your mom lives in another state. This is an entry that emergency response personnel have been educated to look for. It is so simple to do and this information should be forwarded to everyone you know.

I hope everyone takes a minute to enter ICE into their cell phone. I have to also mention that there have been some Internet scares out there claiming that this entry will cause a virus to get into your cell phone and everyone connected to your ice number will get a virus....this is a hoax, it is just not true, you can check it out on 'snopes'.

Wishing everyone and your loved ones a safe holiday.
Thank you for reading this blog, please pass it on, to really appreciate the message.

You can shop at our website:
http://thoughtsinabasket.com/

Marketing Tools at Grove Baskets

Today at my LeTip group, I was asked what marketing tools does Grove Baskets use. My marketing plan has two lines of marketing; budgeted and do it myself. We spend a small amount of Grove's budgeted dollars on marketing tools that take a little more of our time. Here are some of our tools.

At Grove Baskets it is a priority to develop our own local network of business connections. Sometimes this is a reciprocal relationship and at other times it is simply to pay if forward. We know that to grow you must always work on building new relationships. Networking offers multiple opportunities to work with other business owners.

1. Stacia and I have both enjoyed Speed Networking. This is not for every business or for every person, but it is a great way to shake hands, collect business cards and give a three or four minute elevator speech. In each 'one on one' you are provided with an opportunity to individualize your message to each player. This is rapid fire elevator speaking!
2. I belong to our County Women's Business Organization. At NJAWBO I am involved with Programs and look for speakers that will be of value to our members and guests.
3. As a member of the local chamber I take advantage of the varied menu of networking opportunities they offer. The programs are usually held at local restaurants.

For print marketing I send out flyers and postcards. This is usually to announce an event at Grove Baskets or to promote a special offer. I mail this to my customer list, which we continually update and build. We repeat mail to our data base. How many times does a potential lead need to hear from you before they remember you? The mail list brings in new customers and serves as a reminder to our existing clients.

Over the ten years selling gift baskets we have been collecting our customers email addressee's, and add to this list by networking. (Remember those business cards?) I use web-based marketing to send email marketing promotions. This delivers our store promotions to our customers timely and it never fails to spark an interest in our product.

My personal favorite is spending time every week engaged in online social networking, I speak of LinkEd In. It was slow learning at first, but now I move around the areas with more expertise. I am looking forward to developing this tool as I realize that online marketing has powerful potential.

• This past month I found a speaker for a dinner meeting for one of my groups. I answered a question she asked.
• Our original web designer that created the http://www.grovebaskets.com/ website, found me on this site. Ten years ago he was a college student in NYC, we mailed him our photos. We never met him face to face, even still.

These are some of the tools that we use today. When the need arises, we love the press, be it paid or free. The more the merrier...which leads this Blog right into the holidays...yes I went there! I have to close with a Fabulous Holiday Offer:

Open House at Grove Baskets and Gifts

August 13, 2009 - 11:00am to 2:00pm

Location 627 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ

We are offering a huge discount on holiday orders booked at our OPEN HOUSE.

For more information go to our website: http://www.thoughtsinabasket.com/

275% Profit Gain in Down Economy

Promoting your Business during a recession has been proven to be extremely profitable.

• In the gift basket industry we also believe that this is the time to promote your business.
• We offer Gift Baskets for Corporations to Thank Customers for their business, Reward Referral Sources for bringing in new business and Show Appreciation to their Customers.

How many times have you heard these words: “The most important time to promote your businesses is during a down economy”?

OK, just like you, when I hear those words, I admit that it sounds like a ploy to get me to buy someone’s product. Then why do I believe this to be true?

Think about this for a minute:

• The economy has slowed way down.
• Your competition, if they are still in the game, has slowed down their spending.
• Everyone’s marketing budget has been reduced.

Promotions and marketing is usually looked at as an expense but if you can turn this around and look at marketing as an investment, you will turn your sales volume up dramatically in the long run.
At McGraw Hill, researchers studying past recessions found that businesses that are aggressive in their sales and marketing during down economies have experienced revenue growth of 275% during the first year following the downturn. Conversely the study showed that businesses that cut back on these same expenses show growth of only 19%.

Now you tell me, should the dollars you spend on sales and marketing be considered expenses or investments?

Your client is missing you and they have noticed that there has been less attention spent on them. Do you want your clients to think of you before your competition?
This is the time to take advantage of the reduced sales traffic and invest in your future. Call us at Grove Baskets and Gifts to discuss how we can help you reach that 275% turnaround in sales. (973) 226-4430 and visit us at our website, http://www.thoughtsinabasket.com/

Pedaling in this economy

Yes, I can say business is good. The retail business is like riding a bicycle, you have to pedal uphill at times and then at other times you get to coast downhill. The summer is generally a slower time for the gift basket industry. Pedaling uphill is the norm during the summer months, in this industry. Without a holiday to coast along on, we look to other niche markets to get into. How do I pedal into other markets?

It is during that I time that I look to market to corporate clients that have year round appreciation programs for clients or employees or some other customer gift campaign. Thankfully, we have a long list of loyal corporate customers that do not take the summer off when thanking their customers. This is usually a comfort for us, while we plan our holiday sales.

While we search for the next corporate client to market to, we have our steady stream of popular niche gifts for wedding favors and personalized gifts, sympathy and Shiva baskets, newborn gifts and baskets for mom/ baby and of course the new home gifts are also very popular this time of the year.

But...the 'status quo' has changed. Overall the economy has slowed, and now the summer looks like a mountain instead of a hill. The pedaling begins. How do you respond when the satus quo changes and slows? Do you pedal faster or do you give in to the hill? A slow economy is not the time to stop thinking about your customers. It is the perfect time to show them that you value them. I promise you that a gift in kindness always comes back around. Just ask yourself "how does it feel when someone genuinely thanks you"? Does it change you? I am sure you understand the pay it forward principal?

We all need to respond to the changes ahead. What can you do to reach out to your current customers? Is there a low cost promotion that can help you market to new clients?
We can pedal together.

Call us to help create the perfect selection to send your thoughts in a basket.
Grove Baskets and Gifts, LLC - http://www.thoughtsinabasket.com/ - (973) 226-4430

Today I was visited at our Gift Basket shop by one of my fellow LeTip members. LeTip is a networking group that I have been a member of, for the past 3 years. We are a group of business owners that work for each other as sales reps. The purpose of this visit was to learn more about my business. The theory here is that he will be better prepared to recommend my business to others. Todd stopped in and witnessed a new client working with my daughter, Stacia and our assistant designer, AnnMarie. Together they customized the clients holiday gifts. On Wednesday, Todd will report to our group of almost 40 local business men and women and tell them firsthand about todays visit. Spending time to learn about another business is the ultimate form of relationship building. The result for Grove Baskets has been the most tried and true method of increasing sales. Our most satisfied clients have come to us through a referral from someone else. These are the clients that return and send their friends too.