PetalsNCents Marketing News

"Build it and they will come! Not TRUE! You can have a terrific site, with lots of bells and whistles and if people don’t know you exist, you never get any visitors, let alone customers."

Before becoming a netpreneaur, I was an entrepreneur. First, I owned a successful child care center which grew to capacity in less than two years. When I sold that, I bought a little flower shop that had less than 300 customers and grew it to what it is today, one of the most successful, award winning companies in South Florida with more than 7,000 customers who purchase from us on a regular basis. To better serve our customers, we took our business to the Internet. We still have a brick and mortar storefront, yet everyday we receive more and more customers via the Internet.

How about you? Do you or did you have a traditional business or professional practice? Is it successful? Unless you were born under the star called “LUCKY,” you probably did lots of planning. A business plan, a marketing plan, maybe even a succession plan for what to do with your business when you were through.

You may have heard the statistics that half of all small businesses fail in their first year and of those, only 25% make it through to five years. According to youngbiz.com it can be even less for e-businesses.

Build it and they will come! Not! You can have a terrific site, with lots of bells and whistles and if people don’t know you exist, you will never get any visitors, let alone customers.

Planning is the key to success in business. Amazon.com had a plan, Bill Gates had a plan, eDiets had a plan, and I’ll bet they still do. Once a business launches on the net, you will need a marketing plan to be successful. Your biggest challenge will be to find time to plan. However, if you don’t find time now, you will find yourself with plenty of it (time, that is) later on, and no business to speak of.

To read the rest of the article, click here or visit: http://www.speakingwithspirit.com/Howtoachieveecommerce.asp

This article was excerpted from GET MORE BUSINESS - The Women's eMarketing Guide to Promote Your Products and Services on the Internet. To get your complimentary 125 eBook, visit: http://www.speakingwithspirit.com/get_more_business.asp

© 2006 - Heidi Richards

MarketArt

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edgar Degas

Congratulations to Tana Dawson of The Posie Shoppe in Prineville, Oregon winner of the Telefora Florist Design Challenge. Her entry, “Bright and Sunny Birthday Bouquet” was the winning design.

Product reviews

"Flower Power Vase Cleaner" cleans and deodorizes the interior of Tower, Bud, Bottle vases, etc. made of glass, metal, ceramic, and pyrex. The 32 oz. bottle is concentrated and re-usable to clean dozens of intricate vases while removing stains, mineral deposits, and hard water spots. Perfect for florists, event planners, and retail consumer. Please contact Barbara Threet Enterprises www.barbarathreet.com or 800-334-9964 for additional information.

Corsage pins from Easy Pin now feature smoother, thinner and safer pins which can be used on every type of fabric. Samples are available as www.easypin.net – for info call 866-814-3900.

MarketTime

Flower Humor: The pistol of a flower is its only protection against insects.

Take our Marketing SURVEY and enter into our “drawing” for a complimentary book – Every week through the end of April, we will draw 3 new names to receive one of the following: "Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget," "Career Compass for Women," "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," "Forbes Greatest Business Stories" and others. To take the survey visit: http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB224WJXV8PP3

Did you know that April 18th is Wear Your PJ's to Work Day, April 22 is Earth Day and April 26th is Administrative Professionals Day? In April we also celebrate Humor Month, Couple Appreciation Month, Jazz Month among others.

For a complete calendar of holidays visit: http://www.edenflorist.com/holidays.asp.

MarketTalk

Help this florist...

Hi, Heidi, I have emailed you thru the years. I have a very small (600 sq ft) shop in IL. I am at a loss lately on how to attract local gals for wedding work. It seems the trends have been changing dramatically in this area. The wedding work I have had has been extremely small. Is this the norm lately? Want to have a fashion show with a local bridal house, but room is the problem. The local Bridal shows have become so expensive to get a booth. ($800-$1k). Not a very practical means to advertise with the wedding budgets so tight. Help! I need to drum up some larger ticket biz!!! BTW, I Love your ezines! Joanne Carpenter - Impressions Floral Design & Gifts

My answer: Joanne, I am so glad you asked about wedding work. I too have struggled with that. However, I think one possible solution is to host your own bridal fair inviting other vendors to participate. You could host it at a country club or church social hall or even a park where there is a reception hall. They could be a co-sponsor and the venue would not cost anything. You could split the costs with the other vendors (photographer, cake decorator, tux rental, etc) and even have some prizes to encourage brides to attend.

To get a list of possible brides, I would start looking at the wedding announcement section in the paper and those that are 6 month to a year out, invite to come. You might include a media partner in your local paper and see if you could get discounted rates (or free) - I would also see if you could get some air time and also send media releases to your local radio and TV stations. If you have a contest (say something like a total wedding give-away package) you will most likely get lots of media attention. I would also ask any company that has anything to do with weddings to help promote the event even if they don't participate by handing out flyers. It could be a REALLY BIG event and stir some excitement in your community.

If you have a chapter of the professional wedding guild or International Special Events Society around, I would also start networking with them to get business.
ASK EVERYONE you know for a wedding referral. And finally, have some four color flyers made at Kinkos or Office Depot announcing your wedding business. See if you can post them in your local restaurants, grocery stores, nail salons, etc. If the salons and restaurants will allow you to do so, offer them a small arrangement each week to display somewhere near their register or entry to the business. It is the best advertisement for the money. Hope this helps!

Resources

Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget – How to Grow Your Business Without Spending a Fortune by Heidi Richards ($19.95 – ISBN- 0-9745959-2-6) is “jam-packed full of easy-to-do marketing programs, valuable insights, real-life success stories and resources. In this book you will learn how to advertise for free, create win-win partnerships, become a magnet for referrals, and hit your target market with direct mail and grow your business without spending a fortune! Now available at www.WUNPublications.com.

According to Phil Kleweno, President and CEO of Teleflora, “Rose Marketing is simple, useful and practical. Heidi Richards provides innovative tips small business owners can implement today.”

Just released “GET MORE BUSINESS – The Women’s eMarketing Guide to Promote Your Products and Services on the Internet.” Published and Written by Heidi Richards and 21 members of WECAI.org, this book is a compilation of strategies by experts in various fields of business. For your complimentary copy, visit: http://www.wecai.org/get_more_business.asp

Meet the Publisher

Heidi Richards, CPPM, CLL, is an author, business coach, inventor and elan'trepreneur. She specializes in “Helping Small Businesses Bloom™,” by sharing her insights and experiences in Leadership Development, Marketing and Strategic Planning not to mention, having FUN! Her experiences in "growing" successful businesses and community organizations give her a greater perspective on challenges that companies and organizations face today. To learn more about Heidi, visit www.HeidiRichards.com.

Meet the Editor

Suzannah Richards - Suzannah is the Chief Financial Officer and WebGoddess for the Women's ECommerce Association International, Inc (www.WECAI.org) and a full-time student at Florida Atlantic University. She has been studying business and e-commerce for the past three years and works closely with several web developers in various capacities, learning and perfecting her craft. To learn more about Suzannah, check out her bio at http://www.wecai.org/suzannah.htm.

Tell A Friend

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Keep those comments coming! I personally read and answer EVERY e-mail I receive. Just e-mail me at Heidi@PetalsNCents.com or reply to this e-mail. I'll get back to you right away.

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