Posts Tagged ‘Customized Gifts’

Challenges abound for the small business owner, especially when his or her business is producing custom, handmade, or specialized products.  In some ways it would seem that these entrepreneurs have an advantage over more conventional business — their product is more unique, for example, which you would think would attract more customers — but it is very difficult to be successful going against the grain.

Sweating the Little Things from Start to Finish

That’s why, if you are a customized-product business owner, you have to find ways to impress your customer at every level.  Don’t miss any chance to wow them.  For the most part, you probably already do this: your product is a high-caliber one; you don’t charge shipping; you find ways to impress customers with the little things.

One area that is commonly neglected, however, and one that can also greatly affect the experience of a product, is packaging.  Creative packaging is like icing on the cake, and could be thing that your customers remember most, if it is well-designed and creative. 

Selling the Drama

Consider the last grand example of architecture you visited.  A large part of the thrill of viewing famous structures is the approach to it.  The greatest architects masterfully designed the approach to the building for maximum emotional impact, so that by the time you finally reach it, you have caught glimpses, seen suggestions of the magnitude, and so forth, making the full experience of the structure that much better.

You want to create a similar experience for you customers with your packaging.  Think of the joy you feel when opening something you just bought.  That feeling is almost as good as finally using the product itself.  Apple has set a great standard for product packaging, and has made the act of opening a case dramatic, exciting, and rewarding. 

The Complete Package

Whatever your product is, try to brainstorm several ways of presenting it that are unique and would be memorable to your customers.  Study other great packaging systems and take notes on what works and why. 

Think about what makes your product special, what you want to showcase about it, and try to reflect or highlight that quality in the packing.  If, for example, you sell dog collars, consider a box for the collar that looks like a doghouse; or if you if you make jewelry, design a packaging system that can double as a jewelry case or put a mirror underneath the jewelry that reflects the incoming light when the box is opened, to create a sort of magical atmosphere for the customer.

Whatever you provide, don’t just settle for a plain brown box or bubble mailer.  Give you customers an experience and they will return the favor by spreading the word and giving you new and maybe repeat business. 

Author Bio:

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.

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Brand loyalty is dead or dying out!!!  That’s why my last post listed 6 reasons why businesses should not expect brand loyalty. 

But in this post and the one I plan to write next I’ll talk about what you can do to create some sort of following for your product, service, venture or business.  I won’t say I’ll help you create or build brand loyalty, nothing so profound but yes I’ll take you through 9 things you can do to win customers and keep them coming back for more…

Know Your Customer

Customer profiling is the first step to building successful customer relationships.  There are no two ways about this…knowing your customer is the secret to business success. 

When I say this I mean drawing up a customer profile in terms of:

Age, gender, income, occupation, tastes, frequency of purchases, motivation for purchase and other factors that may be specific to your business.

I have had the same hair stylist for over thirteen years now and the reason I go to her is because she knows what I want, what my lifestyle is, just how much time I have on hand to take care of my crowning glory and what my strengths and weaknesses are in terms of facial features.  She knows me and my hair care needs that is what matters. 

For tips and ideas on effective customer profiling click here. 

Be Friendly

I was reading a short story the other day.  It was about a little boy who was at the beach with his father.  He came across a turtle and as soon as he touched it the turtle put his head inside his shell.  The little boy began poking him with a stick but the turtle refused to stick his head out.

His father forbid him from doing that, instead he picked up the turtle and took him home where he put him by the fireplace.  Soon the warmth in the room compelled the turtle to stick his head out.  Moral of the story…People are like turtles…warm them up with affection and they will open up to you.

Use genuine warmth to draw customers to your venture or store.  Even if the customer is angry, non-cooperative and disinterested, make a genuine effort to be warm and friendly.  You never know he might just have a change of heart. 

Look for Ways to Add Value

Look for ways to add value to the end deliverable and when I say this I don’t mean spend a lot of money.  Helping a customer find a product that he needs instead of leaving him to scour shelves, offering to watch a child as a harried mother shops, offering to get your customer’s car out of parking while he gets his stuff out of the store are all small ways of adding to the shopping experience at your store.

Even something like referring a customer to a good tailor when you are only in the business of selling fabric is offering value.  Think a step ahead and you will always be able to find things to add value in the end analysis. 

Be Flexible

Exhibit a willingness to work around customer needs and specifications with regard to their budgets, tastes and preferences.  Take the trouble of talking to them and finding out what they want instead of compelling them to buy what you have.

Designers who work with fabric that the customer brings in or are ready to incorporate the customer’s designs in to their outfits find more favor with people than those who want the customer to wear what’s on the rack at their store. 

Make Customer Convenience Your Mission

Shopping today is more about convenience and personalization and less about affordability.  People are willing to pay for both convenience and personalization.  This is precisely why a kirana (small grocery store in India) finds favor in the face of competition from supermarkets.

The grocery store owner opens his store at 6 am and is open for business way up to midnight; he is happy to take orders down on the phone and will send your necessaries across no matter how small the quantity.  He will remember which brand of soap you like and tell you if there’s an offer on a certain product.  If you are in a hurry and pop in at his store he’ll give you goods even if you don’t have the money to pay him right away.

He’s teaching you lessons in customer convenience which is his mission…make it yours today!

Automate Payments or Offer Options

The best part about making a purchase is having lots of options to make payments and if there’s automation then that’s even better.  Offer your customers the option to pay:

• By Credit Card or Debit Card
• By Cheque
• PayPal
• Cash on Delivery

It just makes life a lot easier on both sides. 

Brand with Wheels

I have written an entire blog post on how brands with wheels can make a difference to a business.  Let me tell you about a recent experience that I had and how brands with wheels really do make a mark in an intensely crowded market.

I always get my clothes tailored at a certain store but recently found that the tailor always delayed delivery and gave me a poor fitting despite my numerous rounds made first to collect my clothes and later to get them altered and get them back from him.  I was fed up with the amount of time, money and effort that I was spending on getting my clothes stitched from him.

I then came across a lady who offered customized tailoring and got in touch with her through her page on Facebook.  I spoke to her over the phone, met up with her once, picked out an outfit based on my budget and preferences with regard to color, embroidery and the like, gave her my measurements and was pleasantly surprised that she always delivers outfits at the customer’s doorstep.  Though I needed some alterations she was more than happy to deliver it when she made her next round of deliveries on my side of the town.

Am I going back to her?  Yes!

To know more about how brands with wheels can benefit your business click here. 

Keep them Posted

Let your customers know about the latest happenings at your store or venture.  Strike a relationship with them through a Facebook page or tweeting on Twitter to let them know about your latest collection, a discount offer or a contest you may have organized.

Let them hear about your achievements too.  So if you were featured as one of the top 10 social ventures in your city then scan a copy of the magazine that featured you and post it on your wall.  Watch how quickly the word spreads and the kudos and compliments keep coming in.

Keeping customers in the loop is all about making them feel involved as far as your progress goes.  They after all contributors to you being there and they should know about how the world perceives you and your efforts too!

Stand for Something

We live in times that are plagued with a number of problems and social issues like poverty, education to marginalized groups, neglect of the differently abled and businesses that set out to support a social cause tend to win more brownie points than those that are simply driven by profit.

It might be a simple move like an hotelier supporting budding artists by allowing them to display at his restaurant or a courier service that employs only handicapped people or the chocolatier whose chocolates are crafted by the blind.  These are just some instances of businesses that stand for something and as such find favor with the public on account of their association with that cause.

If you can’t go all the way you could donate some part of your earnings or products to a charity like giving away surplus food to the nearest soup kitchen instead of throwing it away.  

In the end I would say businesses that adopt an innovative and people centric approach do much better than those that simply churn out products and expect people to buy them.  You can turn cursory visitors in to regular customers if you follow the tips listed above and those mentioned in one of my earlier posts.  Do let me know what you think; I’d love to hear your responses!

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Are you looking for a special greeting for your loved ones birthdays or anniversaries?  Would you like to capture life’s best moments to create a customized film?  How about a poster that encapsulates memories and people in their myriad hues and moods?

Then Dimple Kapri’s venture, Mice@Work, the world’s first emotive communication studio is just the place for you!

Who needs the same boring gifts…flowers, chocolates, cakes, paintings and the like when you can create something so personal and unique that has you and your loved ones at the very core?  Here’s what Mice@Work has on offer…

Personalized Greetings Film (PGF)

You can have a custoimized story board with animated caricatures of your loved ones and yourself and relive memorable moments in a short film (150 second film).  Your Personalized Animation Greeting Film will be ready in 10-12 days.

Personalized Animated Card (PAC)
A shorter message with two frames (approx 10 seconds) to capture just the one or two key elements for a simple yet effective greeting or invitation will be ready in 5 days.

Message In A Poster (MIP)
A collage of pictures (ready in 3 days) with a poem to express your sentiments is a keepsake forever.

Photo Album (PA)
A slideshow with animations, captions, background music, to convey what that special person means to you spread over 2 minutes guaranteed to create a long lasting impact will take 5 days to create.

Occasion Specific Digital Memento (OSDM)
Unique digital mementoes to mark every special occasion be it the storks visit, the birth of your child, a birthday, an engagement, an anniversary or celebrating an accomplishment or award.

Pictorial Digital Biography (PDB)
The animators and creative design team can create a PDB using photos of an individual, institution, community or family covering landmark events and turning points.

Critical Time Digital Communication (CTDC)
If your relationship is going through weather and face to face communication is nearly impossible then CTDC will help you pour your heart out.   

You can view samples right here: http://www.miceatwork.co.in/samples.htm

The venture has evinced a lot of interest in the media click here to see news reports, stories and clippings.

So the next time you think of getting greeting card, bouquet or a gift think again, standardized is passé and personalized is in. There is now a more emotive, more creative and more personal way of saying what you want to. Just get in touch with info@miceatwork.co.in or with Dimple on
98333 71278 or simply fill up the contact form at www.miceatwork.co.in

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