November 17, 2008 – 4:15 am
Our last blog post discussed the positive side of negative product reviews. Not only can negative reviews provide valuable feedback, but your response can have a beneficial effect on your business. Here are a few pointers:
November 14, 2008 – 4:15 am
Nearly every company that adds customer product reviews to their web site discovers that reviews revolutionize their business by dramatically boosting conversions and reducing refunds.
Companies that have not yet added a product review feature often cite fear of poor reviews as a concern. If that includes you, stop worrying and get moving. Here’s why: (click on headline for more…)
November 12, 2008 – 4:15 am
I cringe when I get emails like the one I received this morning. It started out promising: the “from” line came from a well respected gardening company (I’ll call them “Company X) with a terrific product line. But from there, it went straight downhill. (Click the headline for more…)
November 10, 2008 – 4:15 am
The conference brochure for the Mailorder Gardening Association (MGA) Winter 2009 conference, January 5 to 7 in Baltimore, just arrived and it’s chock full of excellent reasons to attend: (Click on headline for more…)
November 7, 2008 – 4:15 am
According to a recent survey for Internet Retailer, only 36.4% of merchants currently use online videos to demonstrate product or educate their customers. That’s about to change fast: 53.3% have plans to include videos on their web sites in the next 12 months. (Click headline for more…)
November 5, 2008 – 4:15 am
When I ask clients about their marketing goals for next year, I’m usually told, “Make more money.” Sometimes they may have a particular revenue goal in mind, but few are more specific than that.
There are only two ways to make more money:
(click on headline for more…)
November 3, 2008 – 4:15 am
Most catalogers are familiar with square inch analysis, commonly referred to as SQUINCH. Calculating the percentage of space each product occupies on the catalog page and comparing it to the percentage of sales generated provides many marketing insights. For instance, SQUINCH analysis points to:
(click headline for more…)
October 31, 2008 – 4:15 am
One last thought from the book on business blogging that I’ve mentioned before, Naked Conversations. From authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, thoughts on whether blogging is a revolutionary phenomenon for businesses: (Click headline for more…)
October 29, 2008 – 4:15 am
Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely business. Small business owners need to know a lot about many things – not just producing their product, but marketing, advertising, bookkeeping, financing, customer service, fulfillment, and more. It helps to bounce ideas off other entrepreneurs who have some understanding of your business, but few business owners have that luxury. (Click headline for more…)
October 27, 2008 – 4:15 am
The October 2008 issue of Catalog Success carried an interesting profile of Peter Cobb, the founder of eBags. (If you’re not familiar with eBags, have a look – it’s an impressive website selling 36,000 handbags, totebags, briefcases, backpacks and more.)
Four years ago, eBags tried expanding into the shoe business, only to find that it took them too far afield from their core competency. After selling the shoe portion of the business, they recognized that they could still take advantage of a synergy with that industry. They teamed up with Shoes.com to produce a joint catalog. Half the book offers eBags products, the other half offers Shoes.com merchandise. Customers of eBags receive a catalog with eBags on the front, Shoes.com on the back. For Shoes.com customers, the covers are reversed. A remarkably clever idea, I thought!
The idea reminded me of Kip Creel’s suggestion mentioned in our July 23 blog post for online nurseries to team up with garden centers.
What companies does your business have a synergy with? Is co-venturing a way to cut your costs and expand your business?
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