What Makes a Gift Basket Website Work?
The Gift industry is a very crowded niche. A popular one, partly because when you do it right, your chances of creating a strong and stable business are very good.
If you don't know what you are doing, or get a webmaster who does not know the industry and the most effective small business startup website strategies though, you may struggle for a long time wondering what you are doing wrong, and why your business isn't earning.
Make no mistake... If your website isn't earning, SOMETHING IS WRONG! It can be any one of dozens of things. It can be on the business end of things, it can be a lack of marketing, it can be poor site function, poor text, ineffective sales processes, ANYTHING inside the site. Spotting what it is takes skill, and knowing how to fix it takes more skill.
We have many gift basket clients across the country. We know what makes a business work online, and how to do an end run around the top companies to get business for new startups. We know how to do it on a low budget too. Most of our clients have pretty much a zero marketing budget - their website is all they spend money on.
So what does it take to make a website WORK?
1. A design that matches your style, and that appeals to your target market. Each gift retailer has a distinctive style, and wants to reach a specific group of people. If the design does not appeal to them, and reflect your distinctive style, it is not likely to make them feel comfortable enough to buy.
2. Unified marketing messages. Once we decide on that style, the WHOLE site needs to echo it. The words we use, the way we present the images, the supporting documents, etc. This is another thing that makes buyers feel comfortable on the site. And comfortable means they are likely to buy.
3. Optimized content. Your text needs to be written so that it appeals to people, and explains very directly what it is you have. This helps people and search engines find it and respond to it.
4. Something unique. You have to have something desirable, fun, special, original. SOMETHING that makes them want to buy from you, instead of from someone else.
5. Transparency in site ownership. Something about you, that helps them trust you. And full contact info available so they feel there is a face behind the business.
6. A smooth, logical purchase process. You'd think this is a given in shopping carts, but it isn't. Our carts allow a logical process.
7. Consistent, effective marketing. It need not be expensive. It just has to be done right. We teach you how to do this so that you can get it right.
You don't just need someone to build your site and walk away. You need them to be there three months down the road when you are assessing results, to help you figure out what is working and what is not. You need them to be there to help you adapt if the economy changes and suddenly your target market has dried up! And you need those things to happen without it costing you an arm and a leg every time you need someone to just point you in the right direction.