INTERNET & CATALOG MARKETING FOR SPECIALTY FOOD COMPANIES

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at some of the major trends and response data we have seen so far this season. The numbers have been up and down, so it’s difficult to get a good read on just how this season will play out. That being said, we believe…

• It’s going to be a challenging season, and food mailers will have to fight for every order they get.
• Consumers are ordering later and later each year, and this will likely continue in holiday 2006 season.

Therefore, it’s more important than ever to have promotions and programs in place that can be executed on short notice to take advantage of more last-minute ordering by customers.

The ideas below have proven themselves effective for driving late-season sales and orders.

Last-minute sales drivers

1. Pull a list of your top buyers from last year. The quantity will depend on the size of your business, but think in terms of the top 5% to 10% of your customers. Send them a personal note of thanks, and include a gift certificate good for $X off their next order.
   
   You may want to mail this in a box with a small gift. This makes a big and positive impact on your best customers and gives you an opportunity to sell to them one more time this year.
2. Extend the discount you give employees to their family & friends. Several of our clients have “friends and family weekends” and give a bigger discount for orders to ship before the really busy second and third weeks in December. This helps people closest to your organization save some money and spend it with you vs. the local mall, and it helps (a little) soften the December 10-20 order spike.
3. Promote gift certificates, gift cards and e-certificates. It’s cheaper and easier to ship a piece of paper or plastic card than it is a cooler of steaks, a fruit basket or gift tower. Use this to your advantage.
   
   Send email and perhaps even a mid-December post card to promote your gift certificates as great stocking stuffers and last-minute gift solutions. If your sales are really flagging, you can run a “gift certificate sale” to bring in extra cash now.
4. Make sure your web site is loaded with quick gift ideas. The home page should have a few of your best sellers in key gifting price points.
   
   Make it easy for time-starved customers to get in and get out of your site and take care of all of their gifting needs—navs should show last-minute gifts, gifts by price, gifts for special dietary needs (e.g., sugar free, low sodium), hostess gifts, gifts by gender, corporate gifts, gift certificates/gift cards.
5. Change the copy on your paid search ads to communicate a sense of urgency—stress “supplies are limited” or “only X days left for guaranteed Christmas delivery.”
6. Include a strong offer in all email order confirmations. This can be “gift-giver specials” to promote a self purchase, a discount on gifts for anyone they may have forgotten with a link to the site for this offer, or any other discount or offer to drive them to order again.
7. Don’t forget to upsell and cross sell all callers.

   1. Have a list of “phone only specials.” Work with your operators to teach them how upselling benefits the customer. This will reduce the resistance you will get from your operators, many of whom are not comfortable even suggesting a gift solution, let alone trying to sell add-ons.
   2. Games and contests work well in call centers. Give movie passes to the operator with the highest upsell percentage in a shift.
   3. Other low-cost incentives that work well are paid time off (after the holiday season of course), bringing in pizza or lunch, and gift cards to Blockbuster. Generate some fun around your upsell program and the reward will be yours.

8. Ask everyone in your organization to recommend one potential new corporate customer (caveat: they must be able to recommend a company and a named executive)…send that prospect a free gift (something edible) with a catalog and a sales letter. If they become a customer reward the recommender with a merchandise credit, paid time off, or even cash.
9. Call radio stations with an appropriate demographic and ask if they will trade air time for freebies for contest prizes.

We hope these ideas for quick and low-cost promotions help you add a few more orders and sales to your holiday 2006 season.

Catalog Solutions/5th Food Group helps specialty food catalogers and internet marketers grow and make more money by developing, managing and implementing their mail order and online marketing programs. We are the only catalog/internet marketing consulting firm that works exclusively in the specialty food industry. Helping smaller companies or large companies with small mail order or internet divisions is what we do best.

Visit us online at CatalogSolutions.net to download a copy of our free booklet, The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Catalogers, and for information on our fully guaranteed introductory program called JumpStart.

WILL YOU BE ATTENDING THE FANCY FOOD SHOW IN JANUARY?

Mo Frechette, my friend and client of Zingerman’s Mail Order fame, and I will be co-presenting a workshop titled, 10 Steps to Increase Website Sales and Profits. The workshop with be held at the show on Monday, January 22 from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. For more information, visit the NASFT’s Web Site. We’d love to see you there.