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The $242 Billion Business of Corporate Gifts

May 17, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Are you making sure that your products can be sold as gifts for clients and employees?

COVID helped the Corporate Gift Market to double in size, and it now stands at US$242 billion annually, worldwide, according to a study done by Coresight Research. It is even a bigger gift market than Christmas.

Of this $242 billion, approximately 60% will be spent on gifts to clients and partners outside the organization and 40% for internal employee recognition and awards.

For sellers, there are even marketplaces designed specifically for corporate gift buyers, such as CorporateGift.com and gifts include everything from food and alcohol to candles and apparel to (if you remember my blog post two weeks ago) “experiences“.

The only caveat is you might have to be able to produce significant volume in a short time, and the company might want corporate personalization on the product.

Be sure to also read my post, “How to Get Corporate Holiday Gift Orders“.

Memorial Day Sales & Ongoing Offers for Veterans

May 11, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Did you know that every May, “Memorial day sales” is one of the top searches on Google? In terms of annual sales, it is not as popular as “Black Friday sales“, but it is a more popular search than either “Cyber Monday sales” or “Labor Day sales“.

No matter what type of business you run – store, restaurant, realtor, etc. – if you offer any type of ongoing offer for active, reservist, veteran, and retired Military personnel, then let your local newspaper’s business writers know, as they will likely include you any editorial they are planning for the Memorial Day weekend. Stories like these are very popular this time of year, and again in November for Veteran’s Day.SEO Tip (4)

You should also include your ongoing offer to veterans and military personnel as part of your business’ Value Statement (a writing service I do provide).

Since Memorial Day is May 29th, you might want to take advantage and offer an early bird sale now to get ahead of your competition.

You Have To Try This Email Marketing Idea

April 30, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

I saw this email in my in-box and I thought the subject line was simple but brilliant:

This florist, who I have purchased from in the past, is using the various national days to drum up business, and you can do the same.

Below are some upcoming occasions to email customers about the way they did (except, you might want to say “This Month is” instead of “Tomorrow is“):

May 2 – Teacher Appreciation Day
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
May 12 – Military Spouse Appreciation Day
May 12 – Nurses Day
May 13 – Dog Mom Appreciation Day
May 14 – Mother’s Day
May 24 – Brother’s Day

Click to download

I have a detailed timeline of every major holiday, event and other occasion for each month of the year in my brand new 2023 Etsy Holiday Sales Planner.

New Business Idea: Sell An “Experience”

April 25, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

You’ve heard a lot about turning your knowledge into an online course, but that approach has become pretty exhausted.

A different approach, which I think is more effective, is what Uncommon Goods is doing. Capitalizing on the gift market, they are selling “experiences” as gifts.

In fact, a survey by SurveyMonkey found that 67% of respondents said they’d rather receive an experience than a physical gift.

I actually wrote about a similar idea about a year ago, where 1-800-Flowers teamed with Alice’s Table to offer a mother-daughter online flower arranging workshop as a gift for Mother’s Day.

Therefore, chefs/restaurant owners, florists, artists, psychics, crafters and more, can sell their “experiences” as a gift on Uncommon Goods. The gift approach means you can buy it for someone, or buy it for someone and yourself to do together (two sales instead of one). Think couples gifts, bridesmaid gifts, corporate gifts, Father’s day, Mother’s day, etc.

The Top-Selling Experiences:

Paint Your Pet
Romantic Mapmaking
Astrology Chart Class
Flower Arranging
Mixology Class
Scandinavian Baking

You can also use the “experience” to upsell your products. Be sure to also read: All New Small Business Ideas for 2023

Click to download the planner.

Thinking of Starting a New Business?

Download my best-selling How to Start a New Business Planner.

Consider This Billion Dollar Business Idea

April 20, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Looking for that billion dollar business idea? Well, I have one for you that was just under a billion in 2022, but might reach that height this year, considering its 20% year-over-year growth since 2019.

The billion dollar idea is pet Halloween costumes!

When doing research for my new 2023 Etsy Holiday Sales Planner, I found that, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent $710 million on Halloween costumes for their pets in 2022!

And, there is not as much competition as you think. There are only 3,000 listings for dog Halloween costumes on Amazon, and only 12,900 listings on Etsy. So there’s lots of opportunity!

Currently, 69 million US households own a dog and 45 million US households own a cat. Since the NRF also found that 1 in 5 pet owners plans to buy a Halloween costume this year, that’s 22.8 million costumes to be sold!NEW BUSINESS STARTUP CHECKLIST

Dogs costumes are three times more popular than costumes for cats. The most popular costumes for pets include a pumpkin, hot dog, bat, bumblebee, witch, lion, spider, ghost, super dog and devil. Consumers start searching July 31^st and searches peak October 23^rd.

My 2023 Etsy Holiday Sales Planner is available now.

You might also want to read: 54 Small Business Ideas for 2023.

A Brilliant Co-Marketing Idea

April 10, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

I was writing something for a restaurant in Texas called Doña Maria Dominican Cuisine and they told me something unusual. They said that people who came to their restaurant, and had never even eaten cuisine from the Dominican Republic before let alone even heard of the island, loved the food and vibe so much that they ended up booking a trip to go there.

So, I thought, if you’re a travel agent, or sell vacation real estate, maybe you should be forming a business relationship with some of your local ethnic restaurants. You recommend them, and they recommend you. It’s a win-win.

In other words, the travel agent tells their clients to visit XYZ restaurant so they can try the food before they go, and the restaurant tells customers, if they love the food, then go visit XYZ travel and book a trip to go there. Don’t you love marketing that costs you nothing!

More Inspring Ideas:

Online Products to Sell

April 3, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Are you looking for some new and fresh ideas for online products to sell?

When I wrote my latest ebook, 187 All-New Product Ideas for 2024, I brainstormed how to take currently top selling products and make them even more desirable to customers, based on feedback from reviews. This is always the key to business success – improve upon an already successful, proven product idea. I also came up with with some new product ideas based on current customer needs and demand.

Since then, I have seen three of the products I suggested in my ebook now being sold online, so I guess I was onto something!

For example, one of my product ideas was for a Camping Blanket Hoodie. This is because it was the perfect combination of blanket and hoodie for sitting around the campfire, and camping continues to be a top activity. online products to sell

Then there was my idea for a Cold and Flu Remedy Kit, because COVID made people want to nip every cough and sniffle in the bud, and everyone loves a compact, all-in-one remedy.

I also had the idea for holiday pillows that had a dual purpose – one occasion such as Halloween on one side, and then another, such as Christmas on the other, so you are not drowning in holiday pillows for every occasion, plus you can charge twice the price as they are really getting two products in one. I noticed sellers are doing this with door mats as well. The company, MudPie, took it further and created a Four Sided Holiday Pillow.

Download these product ideas

I bet you’ll discover your next great product idea in my ebook download, 187 All-New Product Ideas for 2024.

You might also want to read my blog post: How to Create Products Editors Love

How A Thank You Card Can Be An Awesome Marketing Tool

March 17, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

thank you card marketing tool A thank you card can be a very versatile marketing tool. Two things it can do:

Gives you an opportunity to get repeat business by offering a discount off their next purchase, or other type of offer.
Gives you an opportunity to be remembered by your customers, for repeat or referral business, by putting something useful on the back so they will keep the card.

For example, take my editable Thank You Card template shown here. Let’s say that you sell gifts. Then the back of the card having a calendar highlighting the various holidays throughout the year makes sense. The customer is more likely to keep this card and post it to their fridge, desk wall, etc., and remember your business as a result.

For example, in my Etsy Holiday Sales Planner, I always recommend including a Christmas cookie recipe card in every gift package, because the customer will keep it, and then pull it out year after year and remember your business.

Other Ideas for the Back of a Thank You Card:

For a Hair Salon: “10 Classic Nail Colors”
For a Travel Agency: “Travel Packing List”
For a Plumber: “How to Turn Off Your Home’s Main Water Valve”

Be sure to also read: What to Post to Social Media in April.

Using Your Business Forms to Get More Sales

March 8, 2023 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

You should always be trying to make a sale, even when you just made one.

For example, I created this new Editable Invoice Template and at the end I added:

WANT A FREE GIFT?

Refer us to get a $25 gift card for every new customer you send our way!

Why not use your invoices and other business and marketing collateral to their maximum sales potential?

This same offer could also go on your business cards, social media profiles, order forms, customer receipts, packaging – anywhere your customers will see it.

It doesn’t have to be a free gift. It could be a discount off a future purchase, a free service, anything to keep the sales funnel going, but the point is, this is free ad space for you!

Remember, always be selling!

Be sure to also see my Editable Thank You Card and Editable Order Form.