Re-Posting: Keys to Success for 2007

Keys to Success for 2007
by Ryan Montague, Founder and CEO

December 2006

With the New Year less than one week away, most are making their New Year’s resolutions to get in shape, spend more time with the family, or to kick that lifelong habit. But what about your New Year’s Business Resolution? What are you going to do to turn your business around and take it to the next level? Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning and budgeting for 2007:

Website: How well does your website reflect the quality of your brand and products? Is it easy to navigate, and is your ecommerce platform easy to use, secure, and professional? Your website is by far the most cost-effective sales and informational tool available. What else do you have that works 24/7 without getting paid overtime, taking lunch breaks, and large commissions? Just like a brick and mortar retail store, you must create a great shopping environment and merchandise properly. It’s not all about flash and glitter, but more about a clean, professional, and easy to use store.

Just like you wouldn’t want an unprofessional, poorly articulated sales rep or broker in the field, you wouldn’t want the same for your website. If you are concerned that your site is not up to par, consider redesigning/developing your website immediately. Sure, you may have already made the initial investment to build a site, but simple enhancements can be made quickly, easily, and cost-effectively. Ensure that your visitors are saying “wow” instead of “ow”(as in ouch).

Marketing:

Unless you are positioned on 5th Avenue or Times Square in NYC, the phrase “Build it and they will come…” should not applied to any business or marketing plans. You will have better luck waiting for Whole Foods to come knocking at your door one week after production. This is especially true in our fragmented industry where brand building is even more difficult than most industries. A great product, good packaging, and lots of enthusiasm only gets you so far without a sound marketing plan and execution.

During 2006, Business Blogging became a mainstream medium for promoting ones business, services, and/or products. This practice doesn’t appear to be slowing down, either. If you haven’t done it before, give it a try. Write about your products, the story behind them, and what you did prior to being a food entrepreneur. Talk about anything food and travel related that appeals to your reader’s demographic. Let your customers or prospective clientele get to know you on more of a personal level, not just your products. If nothing else, having a blog integrated into your website can help with keyword-rich content, therefore improving your chances of moving up in the natural/organic Search Engine Rankings.

Search Engine Marketing: With the prevalence of internet access in today’s world, Search Engine Marketing is a must. More and more consumers and retailers are turning to the internet to learn about new products, ideas, and networking. Focusing your efforts on natural/organic optimization should be at the top of your marketing priority list. In the meantime, Google, MSN, and Yahoo sponsored search (Pay-Per-Click) marketing can be very cost-effective, if done right. Before jumping into any PPC campaign, you must know a few key things first: your COGS (cost of goods sold), profit margins, and average CPC (cost-per-click). It may be in your best interest to consult with a professional to educate yourself and implement best practices instead of learning the hard (and expensive) way.

Retention Marketing: So, you got the sale! Great! Now what? It shouldn’t end at depositing the funds into your bank and shipping the product. Just because you have a great product does not mean your customer will take the initiative to re-order. It is up to you to keep in touch with them, not the other way around. Increase the lifetime value of your customers by keeping them on your monthly email newsletter list, sending them a catalog or coupon, or simply let them know that you appreciated their business, after you get the business. Getting even a 10% repeat purchase rate can be significant. The beauty of retention marketing is that you don’t pay nearly the amount to market to your own customers as you do new customers. Think about it: what is your CPA (cost per acquisition) for PPC, print, trade shows compared to your CPA for retention mediums such as email, post cards, and phone calls? The difference is staggering, and marketing to your own list typically nets better results.

Logistics: If you are selling products (wholesale or direct to consumer), you have to get it from point A to point B. Unfortunately, that doesn’t come free. Losing money on shipping charges can quickly turn a profit into a loss, and can be a discouraging factor when considering expanding into distant regions of the country. To ensure that you are getting the best shipping prices possible, shop around and compare rates between the different providers. In some cases, you can negotiate better rates when shipping large quantities of products on a regular basis. Also, look into fulfillment centers that will ship out products from regions furthest from your location. For example, if you are in Seattle, shipping your bag of coffee to New York will be much more expensive to than if you had a fulfillment center in Baltimore ship it from there.

Product Photography: A picture is worth a thousand words. A bad picture, however, can cost a wasted click charge, a closed browser window, or garbage can-destined catalog/mailer/brochure. Make sure your product photography is professionally done and sends the message your value proposition promises: the highest quality gourmet, elegant product of its type. If your customer can’t be there to try it or see it in person, the photography will be the next best thing. Show your end-consumers why it is exactly what they are looking for. Show retailers, buyers, and decision-makers your exquisite packaging and labeling and how your products will fly off their store shelves. New photography could be the best investment you make this year.