How to Increase Your Corporate Sales
Every good business strives to develop a sales rhythm
that is strong and steady. As we all know, consumer traffic can be
volatile and it’s nice to have those big, dependable orders to smooth
out the cash flow. One target worth developing is the corporate gifting
sector.
After all, it’s generally one big order as opposed to several smaller orders and although there’s always a budget involved, the sender is eager to make a good impression and that bodes well for increasing the sale. Often smaller retail organizations struggle with how to develop a solid base of corporate gifting clients. If you want a piece of the corporate gifting sector, it’s really about knowing where and when to target your message.
The holidays in December are clearly an obvious place to begin. In most companies there is an executive assistant charged with the responsibility of making “the list” and “checking it twice.” They will have a budget to work within and a list of recipients. The decisions regarding what to send are usually made in the fall so it would be good to get your holiday product lineup established in August or September. Look for companies in your area and check with reception as to who at the company would make the holiday gifting decisions. Being a florist, you’ll be in the perfect position to send a lovely arrangement to that decision maker with a card indicating that this arrangement is a sample of your business gifting solution package. Follow up a day or two later with a phone call to see if you can arrange an appointment to discuss their business gifting needs. The person in charge of making the corporate gifting arrangements is like any other Canadian worker these days – extremely busy! This means that the more effectively you can position yourself as a solution provider who is reactive and easy to work with, the more you will appeal to the decision maker.
You needn’t wait until next holiday season to target these corporate clients. Companies give gifts year-round. The other department to target within larger com-panies is the human resources department. This is generally the area of the business that takes care of sending floral arrangements to employees who are ill or grieving the loss of a family member. If you’re not sure who in HR handles this area, why not send an arrangement to the entire HR department? This way everyone can view your creation and it will prompt a group discussion about your services. You should also consider targeting the director of sales since many companies frequently run sales incentives for employees with targets and rewards. An arrangement that celebrates group success is often very effective not only for staff morale but also for generating discussion with customers. One large financial institution in Ontario routinely sends floral arrangements to its top-performing branch for the month. Customers now ask, “who got the flowers?” and it gives the branch personnel a chance to share their success with customers. As a result, this helps creates a warm feeling for the customer who frequents the branch.
Larger companies aren’t the only viable targets for business gifting solutions. Many retailers have discovered that the SOHO (single operator home office) segment is a great way to develop corporate sales. Many of these entrepreneurs use local coffee houses as their pseudo offices to meet clients or work away on laptops. If the coffee house was receptive, you could provide a nice arrangement for the coffee bar with a promotional card attached and this could reach many SOHO entrepreneurs. Real estate agents, financial planners, dentists and doctors are all examples of professions keen to send thank-you gifts to colleagues, suppliers and clients.
Take the time to create a small leave-behind brochure with examples of your gifting solutions. Write some copy for the brochure that speaks to how easy you will make the experience for the sender. This is business-to-business marketing you’re doing so flashy advertising is less important than providing a solid process. Now is the time as well to leverage your website. Put some lovely pictures of your corporate gifting solutions on your site so potential clients can peruse your portfolio.
Corporate gifting is a growing segment. According to the Promotional Products Association of Canada industry sales have increased from $800 million in 1994 to now more than $2 billion a year. It’s estimated the growth rate of the promotional sector has been 159 per cent in 10 years. Business gifts represent 26 per cent of the promotional gifting market and the entire market posts $386 million in sales each year. These are very compelling numbers and the floral industry is in the perfect position to truly own this sector. After all, what better way to get a foot in the door than by delivering a beautiful arrangement to begin the conversation!
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