On a warm and sunny
afternoon, you’re shopping at Costco, Sam’s or another warehouse
club.
You weave up and down
the aisles, stopping to browse books, inspect luggage and sample
those new chicken patties. Your last stop is the meat case located
in the back.
You glance to the left
and look down at the newly-filled case of shish kebabs, but
something across the aisle catches your eye. No - it couldn’t be -
baskets filled with stationery and books, more baskets with cookies,
biscotti and chocolates, and still more with gardening seeds, tools
and supplies. And look at those low prices!
Suddenly, the shish
kebabs don’t seem so savory, and you leave the club empty-handed,
dazed and depressed, wondering, "How can I compete with that
selection and cost?"
Competition comes in
all shapes and sizes, and there’s another truth: every gift basket
seller is not your competitor.
There are designers
who live in your region and possibly on your block. They are your
direct competition, the ones you must watch incessantly. They are
small and/or homebased. They are after the same clients you have and
want. They struggle with the same types of problems that you are
also trying to solve or haven’t yet experienced.
Then there are
retailers who happen to sell gift baskets. This group is known as
indirect competitors (Macy’s, clubs, specialty stores, etc.).
Their inventory is
composed of thousands of products. Gift baskets are a small
component of the inventory.
Indirect competitors sell cookie-cutter
gift baskets, the kind that look alike. Indirects don’t deliver and
won’t let you customize anything. You like it, you take it, goodbye.
The next time you
become rattled when seeing a store’s gift baskets, ask yourself
these three questions.
-
Do my customers buy look-alike
baskets, or are they prone to buy baskets that are personalized
by theme, color and style?
-
Does the retailer save
customers’ time by taking orders to ship baskets, or do
customers drive to the store, buy a basket, buy shipping
products, bring it all home, wrap and label it, drive to UPS or
the post office, pay for postage, come back home and collapse?
-
What are the customer service
differences between the retailer and me? I send a thank you note
after each purchase with a photograph of the gift basket. I also
mail quarterly flyers and birthday cards to each client. Does
the retailer do this?
Don’t let the retail
price fool you. Each store’s buyer purchases goods for hundreds of
stores within the chain. When you start ordering merchandise to fill
hundreds of stores, along with leasing space the size of football
fields and hiring thousands of workers, then you can also price your
baskets between $15 and $30, just like the retailer.
Until then,
keep your eyes on the direct competition. She’s just down the street
making a gift basket for a client that's meant to be yours.
Now go back to the club and get ideas for your baskets by inspecting
theirs. And don’t forget the shish kebabs.
©Shirley George Frazier. All rights
reserved.
