Keep up with the latest trends, marketing tips & product info.
Check out our Top Vendor Picks for 2024! Click a quarter below to view Top Vendor Picks Videos.
April
May
Vendors: Tortuga Rum Cakes, Sweet Shop Candies Inc., Eventswholesale.com
January
February
March
Vendors: First & Main, Iowa Smokehouse, Bates Family Farm LLC, Colorco, Enstrom Candies
Like what you see? Sign up for text alerts on exclusive deals from vendors like these!
The buying cycle is a step-by-step journey your customer will make before they finally buy your product. Your job as a company is to deliver the right information, at the right place, and at the right time, to make the process easier for customers. One excellent and effective way to do so is through your website.
The buying cycle is made of 5 steps:
Awareness – In the first step, possible customers become aware of an unfulfilled need.
Research – Your audience’s attention is captured. They conduct research about available options to fulfill their need.
Alleviation of Risks – Be aware that prospects perceive a certain level of risk when considering to buy a new product. Thus, within the third step prospects are looking for risk alleviating factors. They gather evidence on why it is “safer” to buy the product from you and not from your competitor.
Decision – In stage four, the actual decision to make a purchase happens. Now you have a new customer – congratulations! But, the work isn’t finished yet.
Achievement of Results – The goal of the fifth stage is to make the new client a happy client! This ensures that they will repeat their purchase, and in the best case they will promote your products to others! Customer satisfaction is crucial!
And the best news? Your website helps already with all of those steps. You are not the only seller in the market. To set your company apart from your competition, use your website to talk about why you are different.
For more on the buying cycle, visit Kissmetrics blog, and their article on the buying cycle.
Nothing gets customers excited quite like a mouthwatering barbecue sauce. They can’t resist it. And once they’ve gotten the taste for a particular brand or recipe, they’ll accept no substitutes. You want to carry the best, and that means Daigle’s!
The Daigle family developed this sauce in south Louisiana over the course of many years. What began as a family recipe used at home and for friends grew in popularity with everyone who tasted it until Tommy and Gayle Daigle were persuaded to turn their delicious sauce into a business. Once the idea took hold, it couldn’t be stopped.
Now this amazing Cajun made and Cajun approved complement to any meat dish is ready to be carried in your store!
Besides the original Cajun Sweet and Sour sauce that puts the perfect glaze on any ribs, they also carry a large number of other flavors. Your customers will love the Cajun Sweet Pecan Garlic Sauce and the Sweet Hickory Rib Sauce.
Are they looking for some real spice? How about the Cajun Sweet and Sour Spicy, the Cajun Sweet Applewood Jalapeno, and the Sweet Habanero Rib Sauce? The fire in your mouth can only be matched by the fires of your desire for more!
And there’s more than barbecue sauce available. They also carry Cajun seasonings and rubs, sweet and spicy jalapenos and even gourmet bread pudding mixes. And if you’d like to give your customer the option to buy a little bit of everything, they provide ready made gift baskets!
A good sauce can make all the difference for a meal, and customers will do what it takes to find the sauce they love. Make it easy for them and carry sauces from Daigle Family Co.
Unless the name of your business is Wal-Mart, there are probably other companies in your market with higher annual sales. And that’s a good thing! After all, when it comes to marketing techniques and strategies, there’s nothing better than using one that’s already proven itself successful!
Those businesses that lead the way in your industry are there because they’ve already perfected the marketing techniques required to make money and pique the interest of customers. That makes them perfect models for you. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. You should be able to make a few small tweaks and simply adapt their plan to your own business.
Never be afraid to learn all you can from the leaders.
But what makes a particular businesses marketing model viable for your business? The key is to look for similarities, not just in products you carry but also in markets you’re targeting.
For example: Wal-Mart is a large company that sells a variety of items. You are probably a bit more specific in the products that you carry, so their general marketing plan may not be the best model for your business. Even so, they have departments that most likely coincide with your own business, and seeing how they choose to use signage and marketing materials for those departments can be applied to your model.
You’re going to have to do more than a simple copy and paste, but using your industry leaders as marketing models is always a great idea!
When creating marketing content, you want to leave your customer with a good impression of you and your business. After all, a customer who respects the business is a customer ready to buy from that business.
You may believe achieving that result will take some special writing wizadry, but in actuality it’s a simple effect to achieve. Just maintain a positive tone!
Customers tend to be more receptive to positive content. Successful content marketers will tell you that negative images, even if directed at the competition, can still cause an association in the customer’s mind with your business. Conversely, positive images also form an association with your business.
That’s why a funny .gif or video is never remiss on your Facebook page or blog. It may not be talking about your company, but the positive feelings it generates will still be associated with your business.
But what about your writing? How do you write content that shows all the ways your business is better than the one down the street without making an explicit comparison?
Write about all the things that you do well. For example: a local florist knows that big online flower stores require customers choose from a set of preselected floral arrangements. But rather than call out the impersonal nature of such a selection, she can comment on how her services allow for personalized customization.
By showing that she can make arrangements which speak directly to the customer’s need or the intended recipient’s tastes, she has effectively set herself apart from the online store without appearing to say anything negative about them in the process.
Staying positive isn’t hard. It just takes a little thought organization. Just remember that for everything negative you want to convey about your competition, it can better be said by focusing on something positive about yourself!
All of your customer’s use personal care products. Lotions, body creams, lip balms, the list goes on. So what better items to carry in your store and at your front counter? Of course, the secret to getting customers to buy your stock is by stocking the best. And that means you need to check out Paige Meadows!
The first thing to look at when considering a line of products is its quality. This company prides itself on using only the best ingredients for its personal care line in proprietary formulations your customers will love.
For example: their hand creams are concentrated and contain a high grade seed oil called Meadowfoam. The oil forms a membrane to prevent moisture loss leaving hands feeling soft, even after hand washing. And because their hand creams are so concentrated, only a small amount is needed for an application. This ensures that your customer gets the most bang for their buck.
But it doesn’t end with hand creams. They carry hand lotions, hand washes, body cream, foot cream, body wash, soaks, meadowfoam oil, scrubs and lip balms, everything your customer needs!
Once you’ve established that the product has quality ingredients, you have to be sure that it comes in a variety of aromas to entice your clientele. If it’s intoxicating aromas you’re looking for, you need look no further.
This company carries a broad selection that includes their signature scent, Paige, which carries a light pear scent. They also have sunburst, a refreshing splash of citrus, sapphire spring, a seductive interplay of woods and floral notes, meadowsweet which embodies raspberries, cranberries and currants warmed with vanilla and many more. They even have unscented!
So if it’s the best in personal care products your customer’s crave, sate their desire with Paige Meadows!
Buying quality plants is integral to every florist’s business model, but they can also make a great addition to any store or gift shop. After all, they aren’t difficult to maintain, and customers love them. But like anything else you buy for your shop, you have to be sure you’re getting the best quality available so that your customers will be happy with their purchase.
If you’re looking to get into the plant business or are looking to upgrade your current provider, check out Creations of Earth!
This company offers more than 2,000 varieties of plants and blooming plants in all manner of shapes and sizes. From 3” pots to specimen trees to the most stunning Orchids you will ever see, they can be counted on to provide the best. Every time. Their products consist of two constants:
If it doesn’t meet these two standards, they don’t ship it!
This company has been delivering lush, vibrant and beautiful Florida house plants to stores and businesses for over 40 years. And keeping the doors open that long is all the evidence required to show they provide excellent service and carry only the best stock available. Their experience shows in every order, providing you with the ability to order with complete confidence.
And even better? They are primarily wholesalers. They have vast experience handling orders for small and mid-size retailers, even chain stores, as well as other wholesalers and business entities. That means you never have to wonder if they can handle your business. If you can order it, they can fill it!
So if you are looking for the best quality and service in the business, you want Creations of Earth!
Valuable content marketing isn’t just about getting a customer to view one article or social media post. Single views might be great for whatever you’re promoting at that moment, but to build a successful business, you’ll need to keep those viewers coming back for more!
The secret to repeat views is setting the hook. That means never giving all the information in one post. The customer must always be left wanting more so they’ll return to get even more information. This can be accomplished most easily by placing a sentence or paragraph advertising your next post at the bottom of each new one. It may require some thinking ahead as you have to plan each article in advance, but it’s sure to keep your viewers thirsty for more!
For social media, teasers are definitely the way to go. Give your viewers a small tidbit of information, and then include a link that takes them to a larger post with even more information. If you place a teaser at the bottom of that piece, you can keep them coming back again and again!
Once you’ve given your viewers a reason to come back, you need to continue feeding them quality information. Hooks are great, but if you aren’t giving them value for their time, customers will find somewhere else to go for the knowledge they need. As a business owner, you are a specialist. Present your advice from that angle, and you’re sure to build even more repeat business!
Building and keeping an audience isn’t as hard as it sounds. It merely involves providing quality information and presenting it so that your viewer always has a reason to come back!
Have any tips of your own? Leave them in the comments below, and don’t forget to come back next week for another great marketing tip!
Whether you need bags for customers, boxes for your stock or even some holiday gift wrapping supplies, packaging supplies are a necessary part of doing business. In fact, it’s impossible to run a business without it. That’s why you should make your way over to Jim Allen Packaging, the one-stop shop for all your packaging needs.
Need a little more incentive? For a limited time, they are running a special for new buyers: $25 of your first $125 dollars spent is on them!
No matter what you’re looking for, odds are this company has it in a variety of options and styles. Looking for wine bags, boxes or carriers? How about candy or pastry boxes? Maybe you want paper or plastic shopping bags? It’s all available and in a myriad of colors and themes sure to match your store’s style.
But sometimes a different color isn’t good enough. Sometimes you want a bag with a nice design and a little personality. No problem! You’ll find four different design groups including bags that look like they’re made out of newsprint, gingham, animal prints and drawings by C.M. Russell.
But if you would like your own logo emblazoned on those bags or boxes, that’s easier done than said. They offer hot stamping printing, flexo-graphic ink printing and even silk screen printing!
And don’t fret if you need more than just the packaging itself. Sometimes packaging supplies are just as important. They’ve got you covered.
Looking for gift wrap dispensers, bubble wrap, heat guns or paper cutters? How about carrying handles for boxes or tape and tape dispensers? You’ll find it all, and in the quantities you need. They even carry labels and tags as well as gift certificates!
If you need packaging of any type, Jim Allen Packaging is right for you. And don’t forget that for new buyers, $25 of your first $125 dollars spent is on them!
As a small business owner, you understand that sometimes the items you carry can offer comfort to a customer to coping with grief in a way that nothing and no one else can. It is with that end in mind that led Kathy Bernu to create the gorgeous Memorial Tear and make it available through her website.
If you are looking for a small trinket that can mean so much to your customers in their time of grief, you need to take a look at Kathy Bernu Design.
The Memorial Tear is a simple image, a rose encapsulated by a single tear, but that simplicity is the secret of its beauty. It ensures that the meaning is not difficult to interpret or understand, and yet is no less important for all of that.
It evokes the words of Paul in I Corinthians 13:8, 13, which show that love survives everything, even death. The rose acts as the symbol of love, and its presence in the tear shows that grief is both an expression of that love and that it is ever-present, staying with the bereaved even after death of their loved one. The Memorial Tear is available in different styles as pendants, lapel pins, lockets, charm bracelets, rings, rosaries, ornaments, photo frames, sympathy cards, tokens and stones!
But where did the idea originate?
When a person grieves, they are in the middle of an emotional maelstrom that often leaves them searching for something, anything to hold onto for support. This happened to owner Kathy Bernu following the loss of two people she loved.
She was already a jewelry designer and stole time in the early mornings to do drawings, but this particular morning she realized she had been mindlessly drawing tears. She immediately equated the tears on the page with those which had been endlessly spilling down her cheeks for so long. She took a portion of another design and placed it over the tear, and the result left her crying once more.
It was a rose, and with that the Memorial Tear was born.
If you’d like to carry these beautiful symbols of love persisting through loss, head over to Kathy Bernu Design!